Improving labor productivity through production control

This research collected production data from a pipe installation project to study how construction labor productivity is related to four variables: Percent Plan Complete (PPC, a measure of work flow reliability), work load, work output, and workers per week. The results suggest that productivity is not improved by completing as many tasks as possible regardless of the plan, nor from increasing work load, work output or the number of work hours expended. Productivity does improve when work flow is made more predictable, thus enabling a better match of available work load with capacity (labor hours). These findings can help project managers understand the relationship between work flow and productivity and to focus on actual drivers of productivity. It may also help consulting companies pinpoint responsibility for productivity losses in claims.