An Examination of Contextual Factors that Cause Variations in Labour Productivity

The performance of labour is one of the factors that contribute to the success of the construction project. Labour productivity alone has been ascribed the sole measure of poor project performance without an examination of factors giving rise to this claim. Furthermore, there is limited research that examines the primary factors affecting labour productivity in the context of South African construction industry. This study examines the contextual factors affecting labour productivity on construction projects and whether there are key factors that impact on labour productivity on construction projects. The aim of this study will be achieved through a review of literature pertinent to contextual factors impacting labour productivity on construction projects. Additionally, a distribution of a questionnaire survey to construction companies listed on the cidb Register of Contractors in the grades 2–6. It emerged from the study of extant literature that delays in delivery of material, inspection delays from engineers, change orders from designers/consultants, lack of experience amongst workers and mismanagement of resources on site, critically and negatively impact on labour productivity on construction projects. This examination of contextual factors that affect labour productivity provides necessary information for use by construction organisations in implementing measures to properly address issues pertaining to poor labour productivity on construction projects. Based on these findings, the study recommends that construction organisations create a database that clusters contextual factors per region/location of the project. This is to ensure that the critical factors such as inadequate supervision and remuneration disputes that impact on the performance of labour are addressed, while those that are out of the organisation’s control such as shortage of materials and industrial action are planned for at the pre-construction phase of the project. Further studies that investigate the contextual factors impacting on labour productivity, using empirical data is recommended.