BENCHMARKING THE LABOR PRODUCTIVITY: AN ACTIVITY ANALYSIS ON SEMI HIGH RISE BUILDING PROJECTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Construction is a labor intensive industry and onsite labors are one of the most variable and costly factors which influence the project profits. Due to inconsistent nature of construction labor and its correlation with profits, construction managers require a comprehensive understanding of the activities of workers onsite. For project success, it is important that workers are spending the majority of their time doing the activities which advance the project usually known as “direct work” or “tool time”. It is important to assess these work activities in detail. For assessment of labor productivity, activity analysis technique based on Construction Industry Institute (CII) guideline is used in order to understand the distribution of labor time throughout the day with a good level of statistical accuracy. The aim of this research is to assess the labor productivity of different construction projects in Pakistan, identify the productivity inhibitors and determine the causes of low labor productivity based on the results. It was found that on average the labor spends almost 35% of their time doing direct work and 37.25% in supporting work. Alarmingly, around 28% of the time is wasted due to delays which can be improved if effective planning and supervising of works is provided on site.