Productivity in building design and construction
Productivity is the relationship between goods and services produced and the resources used. This concept is critical for the development of any business activity, as those that do not improve their productivity compared to their competitors, are likely to fail.
An increase in production does not necessarily translate into an increase in productivity. To increase productivity, all processes that constitute a company’s activity must be analysed and their efficiency optimised. The resources necessary to increase productivity are:
Capital investment:
- Design of new procedures or improvement of existing ones.
- Installation of more modern machinery or equipment, with a greater capacity or modernisation of existing equipment.
Improved management through a reduction in:
Productivity must not be confused with performance, which is the relationship between forecast and executed work.
Loss in productivity (in terms of time of execution) results from inefficiencies in the total time invested throughout an operation.
The time taken for activities can be broken down into the following:
- Base work content. This is the quantity of work that would be required to manufacture a product or develop an activity if the project were to be perfect, if the procedure, manufacturing or execution method were ideal or if there were no losses in time attributable to any cause. This is the minimum possible time for execution.
- Unnecessary work. This is additional work required due to poor design or specification of the product, or inefficient production or operating methods.
- Ineffective or unproductive time, due to deficiencies in management or deficiencies in workers.
This text in this article is based on an extract from CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, by Eugenio Pellicer, Víctor Yepes, José M.C. Teixeira, Helder Moura and Joaquín Catala. Valencia, Porto, 2008. The original manual is part of the Construction Managers’ Library – created within the Leonardo da Vinci (LdV) project No: PL/06/B/F/PP/174014, entitled: “COMMON LEARNING OUTCOME FOR EUROPEAN MANAGERS IN CONSTRUCTION”. It is reproduced here in a modified form with the kind permission of the Chartered Institute of Building.
--CIOB
NB Social Value and Design of the Built Environment, published by the Supply Chain Sustainability School in 2017, suggests that: ‘Productivity is about doing (or achieving) more with the same. It can relate to financial returns, and also to outcomes such as learning and health.’
Reinventing Construction: A Route To Higher Productivity, published by the McKinsey Global Institute in February 2017, states: ‘…In its purest form, productivity can be described as the output achieved by a given amount of input.’
See also: What is productivity, and how do you measure it?
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Benchmarking.
- Delivering an infrastructure revolution.
- Earned value.
- Identifying the causes of trends in construction labour productivity.
- Key Performance Indicators.
- Productivity in construction: Creating a framework for the industry to thrive.
- Study reveals cost of inefficient contact tracing.
- Tackling the productivity challenge.
- The history of human resource management.
- What is productivity, and how do you measure it?
Featured articles and news
Download your free guide.
Four new types of prior approval for solar developments
Online Planning Portal application types from 5 September.
Election fails to spark construction industry revival
Contract awards and planning; post election.
Making diversity and inclusion easy for SMEs
The CIOB tool for companies with limited resources.
Sustainable Futures: Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living
BSRIA Briefing 2024, initial speakers announced.
Looking back at the UK's first Passivhaus leisure centre
Reflections on St Sidwell’s Point with CIAT.
A-Level results and electrical apprenticeships
Electrical Skills Index highlights areas with skills shortages.
One of the world's more unusual drive-throughs.
A quick introduction.
Hadrian's Wall Path and the national trails
The trails are heritage assets in their own right.
Articles on timely advice and hydraulic lime.
Building Designers Association of Australia
CIAT and BDAA sign Memorandum of Understanding.
Built Environment Inclusive partners issue statement committed to inclusion.
Building regulation requirements can have unintended consequences.
CIOB announces 2024/25 vice president
Sustainability champion Professor Saul Humphrey.
Accelerating towards a net-zero built environment.
Comments
To start a discussion about this article, click 'Add a comment' above and add your thoughts to this discussion page.