Factors Influencing Effective Productivity on Construction Sites in Nairobi County
Absalom H. V. Lamka1, Sylvester Munguti Masu2, Githae Wanyona3, Stephen Dianga4, Abednego Oswald Gwaya5
1Absalom. H. V. Lamka, Asst. Lecturer, Department of Construction Economics & Management, Technical University College of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
2Abednego Oswald Gwaya, Lecturer, Department of Construction Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
3Sylvester Munguti Masu, Asst. Prof., Department of Construction Economics & Management, Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
4Dr. Githae Wanyona, Senior Lecturer, Department of Construction Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
5Dr. Stephen Dianga, Senior Lecturer, Department of Construction Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
Manuscript received on November 02, 2014. | Revised Manuscript received on November 04, 2014. | Manuscript published on November 05, 2014. | PP: 24-30 | Volume-4 Issue-5, November 2014. | Retrieval Number: E2416114514/2014©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The construction industry has been cited to have a muiltiplier effect in the performance of any economy. It is necessary to make the industry more efficient and effective in terms of better utilization of resources. Part of the most important resources include labor, materials and money. The lack of data on labor productivity in Kenya has made planning and estimation of activities on construction sites unpredictable. This paper is based on a study of labor productivity in Nairobi with the aim of providing up to date data on what can assist building consultants, contractors and developers in the planning and management of construction processes. The prioritization of the factors which affect productivity in labor intensive construction will enable the project team to leverage the limited resources at their disposal to improve the onsite labor management, in order to improve labor productivity efficiently. The research design used in this study was the survey methodology where project managers, contractors and developers were engaged on their experiences in Labor productivity in the construction industry. During the study, the participants were asked to rank and assess the factors that affect productivity on labor intensive construction The paper has further compared its findings on labor outputs for selected operations (e.g. masonry and painting) with theoretical propositions from previous studies (Wachira,1999) and the practices in Kenya. The data obtained from the field was quantitatively analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel software. The study established that delivery of materials, adequacy of supervision and motivation of workers, are the most important factors affecting labor productivity. These factors can be improved through training in skills like planning, scheduling and motivation of workers. The results of this research can be used to excite academic research in this area. Furthermore, the findings are useful towards the necessary training for the construction industry to be more efficient and effective in Kenya.
Keywords: Construction industry, labor productivity, intensive construction, output, productivity measurement, productivity improvement.