A Review of Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity in Developed and Developing Countries

Abstract

The construction industry remains a major player in the economic development of any nation. As a result, a number of studies have addressed construction productivity over decades. However, schedule overruns, cost overruns, and quality challenges remain the recurring issues that impair the optimum performance of the construction sector. This paper reports on a survey of the literature constrained in terms of selected construction productivity research conducted during the last twenty-nine years. The findings obtained in the articles reviewed are presented under related headings to determine the frequency of each factor. The study determined that management-related, design-related, and material-related factors are the underlying issues influencing construction productivity in developed and developing countries. The study presents the need to measure the impact of productivity-influencing factors against each of cost, quality and time as this has been unheeded in construction labour productivity related research. Subsequently, a review of the existing body of knowledge in terms of the factors influencing construction labour productivity across developed and developing countries is presented. It is concluded that improved construction labour productivity will engender cost effective, quality, and timeous project delivery to increase construction stakeholder satisfaction. This will ultimately improve the contribution of the construction industry to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in both developed and developing countries.