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Evaluate Workforce Perspective in Industrialised Building System
Abstract
The workforce is essential in the construction sector for the Industrialised Building System (IBS). Previous researchers often obtain data and opinions from the perspective of construction professionals and often neglect the labour workforce opinion. The research is to study the perspective of IBS by evaluating workforce performances factors to improve IBS performance amongst the workforces. The data collection amounts 60 targeted respondents. This study found a strong correlation between motivation, education, and workforce skill level, affecting productivity in implementing IBS. Eventually, the resolution proposes an improvement of the workforce's monetary incentive and academic level.
Construction firms are currently facing intense competition in the market, prompting them to seek new business strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Factors such as market fragmentation, globalization, and increased customer bargaining power have intensified this competition. A recent study evaluated the ability of local construction firms in Katsina State to compete with multinational construction firms by applying the constructability principle. This study aims to assess the ability of indigenous construction firms in Katsina State to compete with multinational firms by implementing constructability principles. The study found that professionals in indigenous construction firms possess substantial skills and knowledge and highlighted the importance of modularisation/pre-assembly design in enhancing competitiveness. However, barriers such as a lack of awareness and resistance to formal constructability programs, poor communication skills, and insufficient construction experience must be addressed for indigenous firms to implement the constructability principle and compete with multinational firms effectively.
Some firms say they care about the well-being and “happiness” of their employees. But are such claims hype or scientific good sense? We provide evidence, for a classic piece rate setting, that happiness makes people more productive. In three different styles of experiment, randomly selected individuals are made happier. The treated individuals have approximately 12% greater productivity. A fourth experiment studies major real-world shocks (bereavement and family illness). Lower happiness is systematically associated with lower productivity. These different forms of evidence, with complementary strengths and weaknesses, are consistent with the existence of a causal link between human well-being and human performance.
Industrialized construction (IC) leverages manufacturing principles and innovative processes to improve the performance of construction projects. Though IC is gaining popularity in the global construction industry, studies that establish the best practices for implementing IC projects are scarce. This study benchmarked practical lifecycle-based best practices for implementing IC projects. The study employed a qualitative research design where nine IC cases from Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong were analyzed to identify best practices. The methodological framework of the study followed a well-established case study research cycle and guidelines, including planning, data collection, data analysis, and reflection on findings. The study identified and allocated key considerations, relevant stakeholders, best practices, typical deliverables, and best indicators to the different construction lifecycle phases of IC projects. It also developed a lifecycle-based framework of the best practices for IC projects.
The study provides practitioners with practical insight into how best to effectively implement, manage and evaluate the performance of the IC project lifecycle phases. The proposed framework can serve as a practical diagnostic tool that enables project partners to evaluate the performance upfront progressively and objectively in each project lifecycle phase, which may inform timely corrective actions. The study’s novelty lies in developing a framework that identifies and demonstrates the dynamic linkages among different sets of best practices, typical outputs, and best practice indicators across the IC project lifecycle phases.
This study aims to examine types of communication such as horizontal communication, downward communication and upward communication that impact employee performance in a property development company in Malaysia. Survey questionnaire approach was applied to collect data in this study. A total of 120 respondents participated in this research. The results indicated that downward communication (DC) and horizontal communication (HC) have significant positive impacts towards employee performance. The research finding is able to provide insights and important information to the property development firms to better understand the importance of communication among employees in enhancing employee performance. For this to happen, management may focus on the development of soft skills to increase the ability to express and communicate among the employees. Management should organize more activities such as inter-departmental meetings to create quality bonding among superiors and subordinates. Proper training and development plan should be established to realize effective communication in the organization.
This research is aimed to identify and comparatively assess the motivation factors influencing labor productivity from the construction employees’ perception. Based on results of a filled-in and returned questionnaire distributed among 350 workers and managers from 25 construction companies throughout the Republic of Azerbaijan, motivation and demotivation factors were identified. The statistical analysis of motivation drivers showed that most important ones for all construction employees are remuneration (including its timely payment), job security, bonuses, and fringe benefits. Among top demotivators for all types of employees are unsafe work conditions, underpayment, and colleagues’ aggressive management style. Workers are also affected by bad treatment by managers and changing on workmates. While workers are more concerned with quality of site management and good relations with colleagues, managers are more motivated by responsible job and challenging tasks and demotivated by chaos and incompetent colleagues. Thus, according to the study, both economic and non-economic motivation and demotivation drivers occurred to be important for construction employees, and must be accounted by human resource (HR) officers. The results of the research would assist construction companies’ management in developing more precise and employee-oriented human resources strategies and policies.
Industrialized Building System (IBS) refers to prefabrication and offsite construction
in Malaysia. The construction industry embraces IBS for better construction quality with
reduced failure risks and cost effectiveness. This method is highly supported by the Malaysian
government through Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. However,
IBS demands workforce that is skilled enough to produce and install construction components
either on-site or off-site. The workers are deemed to be knowledgeable in handling materials,
methods, and tools for constructing structures like houses, buildings, highways and roads. In
fact, workers involved in construction projects are often found with low knowledge, skills, and
accustomed to conventional methods instead of IBS. This research aimed at determining
factors that may contribute enhancing skilled worker requirements for improving the
implementation of IBS construction projects in Malaysia. The questionnaires were used to
collect data from contractors involved in IBS construction projects in Malaysia. Statistical
Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0 software was used to analyse the collected
data. The results show that skilled labour with awareness of IBS implementation can handle
and implement IBS projects properly. The results of this work revealed that the skilled workers
also ensure the projects can be accomplished on time with better quality. The usage of foreign
workforce can be minimized by encouraging local labours to participate in IBS as skilled
workers, which enhances the market share of construction industry in Malaysian economy.
This research provides valuable information regarding the importance of skilled workers and
addresses the role of stakeholders in improving knowledge in IBS construction.
In Malaysian construction industry, Industrialised Building System (IBS) has been introduced to replace the traditional construction method. While the government has been making significant efforts to encourage the IBS adoption, the uptake of IBS in Malaysia construction projects remains low. This study seeks to identify the barriers to the uptake of IBS and to propose the strategies to enhance the implementation IBS in Malaysian housing construction process from the perspectives of consultants. Interviews were conducted with five selected experienced individuals who were working with consultants (civil and structure engineer and quantity surveyor). The results revealed that, lack of knowledge and insufficient skilled workers are the main factors that impede the IBS uptake in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the most strategy proposed by the interviewees is to increase the facilities and incentives in order to expand research and development in IBS.
We estimate the impact of education on productivity, wage costs and productivity-wage gaps (i.e. profits) using Belgian linked panel data. Findings highlight that educational credentials have a stronger impact on productivity than on wage costs. Firms’ profitability is found to rise when lower educated workers are substituted by higher educated ones. This effect is found to be more pronounced among younger workers and women. Findings thus suggest that the productivity to wage cost ratio of low-educated workers is detrimental to their employability, especially when young or female. They also support the existence of a glass ceiling on women’s career development.
The manufacturing sector has been a major driver of GDP growth in Bangladesh. The sector recorded an impressive average annual growth during last a couple of decades. This study is an attempt to test empirically the Cobb-Douglas production function for manufacturing sector of Bangladesh.
Many developed and developing countries are experiencing large and growing levels of international migration of labor. However, the large majority of research on the economic impact of inflows of migrant workers on host economies focuses exclusively on developed countries. In this paper, we address this gap in the literature by examining migrant-induced productivity effects in the emerging economy of Malaysia. Importantly, the Malaysian case is typical for many Asian economies where, next to high skilled foreign workers, large numbers of migrants consist of low skilled workers that are employed in host economies on a temporary basis. Using detailed industry level data for the period 2005 to 2009, we find that both high skilled and low skilled foreign workers generate positive productivity effects in Malaysian manufacturing industries. Furthermore, our results identify a strong presence of industry heterogeneity, as the effects of foreign workers, in general, and low skilled foreign workers, in particular, are pronounced in labor and assembly intensive modern industries with a strong export focus. This indicates the importance of foreign workers for the contemporary international competitiveness of the Malaysian manufacturing sector. As such, our findings provide important new input to the debate on the role of low skilled foreign workers in processes of development of the Malaysian economy.
The purpose of this study is to explore the link between job satisfaction and organisational performance and to determine if there is an empirically provable relationship between these two variables, and the direction and the intensity of this relationship. Empirical research was conducted on a research sample of 40 large- and medium-sized Croatian companies, with 5806 employees surveyed. The results of this study show the existence of a clear link between employees’ job satisfaction and organisational performance in both directions, but with pretty weak intensity. Detailed analysis showed that the connection between job satisfaction and organisational performance is stronger than the connection between organisational performance and job satisfaction. It could be stated that job satisfaction determines organisational performance, rather than organisational performance determining job satisfaction.
The Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) can be defined in which all building components such as the wall, slab, beam, column and staircase are mass-produced either in the factory or on the factory site under strict quality control and minimal wet site activities (Warswaski, 1999). This research aims at looking into the current awareness of the IBS usage and its exposure method to the relevant population in Perlis, Malaysia. A total of 100 questionnaires were handed out to several parties, namely the Officer's Contractors’ Association of Malaysia (20), Public Works Department (PWD) Perlis (20), Repository Development Officer at River Chuchuh, Perlis (10), Lecturers, Engineering students (25) and the public (25). From the methods, 80% respondents have demonstrated an extent of general knowledge about this system. Meanwhile, 40% know about this system in great detail. Gradually, more respondents agree on the implementation of this system taking place in Perlis. Developers are under the impression that the implementation of the IBS is accompanied by high costs. As the conclusion, profound awareness of the benefits of using the IBS system is pivotal, as this technique is able to function effectively in the competition-based construction industry today.
Government of Malaysia has done a lot of effort to promote the usage of
Industrialised Building System (IBS) as an alternative construction methods compare to
conventional building system which is a more labour intensive. This paper describes the
experiences of Malaysia in the adoption of industrialised building system (IBS) from the first
level of establishment until its development along with various IBS definitions and categories.
A comprehensive literature review from various sources was made to carry out the study.
The idea of using IBS in Malaysia was first developed during the early sixties when the
Minister of Housing and Local Government visited several European countries and evaluated
their building systems performance. Then, in 1964, the government took a significant
decision to implement one pilot projects using IBS concept which was launched on 1966.
The findings of this research illustrated the timeline of IBS establishment and development in
Malaysia along with the significant consequences of IBS implementation in construction
industry. Therefore, it is hoped that the finding of this research could assist professional
parties in construction industry in providing a better knowledge ground for improving
decisions making to achieve the success of IBS construction projects implementation that
could be along with attaining the project objectives in terms of predetermined objectives that
are mostly within the time, specified budget and standard quality.
Construction skilled shortage workers have become worldwide issue. It also becomes the greatest challenge facing Malaysian construction industry. Moreover, participation by local workforce is not very encouraging and there’s understood that skilled workers produced from vocational training were not meeting industry’s needs. Some of them left construction sector even after undergo training from construction training institutions. Malaysian construction has problems in the ability to get the source of labour as well as retained skill people and has to depend on foreign worker to respond to the high demand of skilled workers due to rapid development in Malaysia and poor participation from local people. This paper explores on construction skilled shortage issue in Malaysia and how serious it is. Discussion of the paper will be on initiatives taken to overcome this issue by introduced technical and vocational skills training and education in Malaysia such as National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS) and National Dual Training System (NDTS). Those initiatives will be discussed and compared. Moreover, success factor of dual system will also be discussed which are based from other country that successfully implement dual system. Last but not least, reasons of local reluctant to join or work in construction sector will be explained. Some strategy to attract local’s participant to join construction industry will be discussed
Human resource today has a strategic role for productivity increase of any organization, and this makes it superior in the industrial competition. With the effective and optimum usage of it, all the advantages supplied by the productivity growth can be obtained. This usage is just possible by establishing clear and understandable criteria for the factors affecting labour. Therefore, it is aimed in this study that the factors influencing construction labour productivity in Turkey are determined, defined, and examined in detail. A survey was applied to 82 firms to obtain required data. According to results, the most effective factors group is organizational factors.
Santrauka
Šiuo metu vienas iš svarbiausių veiksnių, lemiančių bet kokios įmonės produktyvumo augimą ir konkurencingumą rinkoje, yra žmonių ištekliai. Produktyvumo augimas gali būti pasiektas tik efektyviai ir optimaliai naudojant šiuos išteklius. Efektyviai naudoti žmonių išteklius įmanoma nusistatant aiškius ir suprantamus kriterijus veiksniams, darantiems įtaką darbui. Šio tyrimo tikslas yra nusistatyti, apibūdinti ir išsamiai išanalizuoti veiksnius, veikiančius statybos darbo produktyvumą. Norint surinkti reikiamą informaciją, buvo ištirtos 82 įmonės. Remiantis gautais rezultatais, buvo prieita prie išvados, kad efektyviausia veiksnių grupė yra organizaciniai veiksniai.
First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010
Reikšminiai žodžiai: motyvacija, statybų darbai, produktyvumas, Turkija.
This paper focuses on the literature review of construction industry towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). It is not easy for construction industry to adapt to the new technology which mostly based on internet of things (IOT), internet of service, big data and etc. However, the recent devastating Covid 19 outbreak more or less has opened the eyes of the construction industry towards IR 4.0 due to the movement control order (MCO). The impact of Covid 19 forces all the industries including construction industry to move toward IR 4.0. Some of the elements to support the construction industry to move toward IR 4.0 are discussed in this paper including Building Information Modeling (BIM), the use of drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAE) to monitor construction site, virtual meeting among stakeholders and the use of prefabrication works such as Industrial Building System (IBS). Systematic and efficient construction works can be achieved by implementing the elements of IR 4.0 in construction industry.
The drive toward implementing an industrialized building system (IBS) in Malaysia is in line with Malaysia’s Construction Industry Transformation Plan 2016–2020, which seeks to increase more than double the construction industry’s productivity. IBS is able to accelerate the construction timeline, provide a safer working environment on site, produce a higher quality of construction, and save costs. Although the introduction of IBS in Malaysia is not new, its acceptance has not been extensive, and IBS implementation is still slow. Thus, to support the successful implementation of IBS, it is vital to determine the factors that influence the achievement of this aspiration.
Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate the critical success factors (CSFs) that contribute to the smooth implementation of the IBS dimensions within the context of the Malaysian construction industry. By doing so, the uptake of IBS can be accelerated. In order to consolidate the set of candidate success factors, these CSFs were identified from the literature review and confirmed through a self-administered survey questionnaire. Then, the value of importance of each CSF was calculated in a second survey. Based on the factor analysis, 15 CSFs were identified and grouped into five major elements: strategy, sources of funding, process, people, and enabler, with each factor comprising its own set of components. The findings indicate that the CSFs in IBS implementation have different priorities and weights.
This chapter discusses the profound and influential impact the construction industry has on the national economy, together with the huge negative effect it has on the environment. It argues that by adopting smart and industrialised prefabrication (SAIP), the Australian construction industry, and the construction industry globally, is well positioned to leverage the circular economy to advance future industries with less impact on our natural environment. It discusses aspects of the application of digital technologies, specifically building information modelling, virtualisation, augmented and virtual reality and 3D printing, coupled with reverse logistics as a proponent for advancing the circular economy through smart, digitally enabled, industrialised prefabrication. It further postulates a framework for SAIP for the circular economy.
In countries all over Europe the need for building renovation is receiving increased attention. One reason for this is an ageing building stock. Another reason is the need for more environmentally sustainable buildings with reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to limit the harmful climate impact. There is at the same time a need to upgrade many buildings to improve the quality of life – social sustainability, for instance improve indoor climate; and to increase productivity in the building process to ensure affordable housing – economic sustainability. Low productivity and frequent conflicts in the construction sector have led to an increasing interest in new forms of collaboration between the different stakeholders involved in construction projects. Development of strategic partnerships concerning a portfolio of renovation projects are seen as a promising way to achieve more sustainable building renovation for some large building clients and for companies with a high maturity in collaborative practice. There is a large number of tools for design decision support and systems for sustainability certification of buildings, but there are not many tools and systems dedicated to building renovation. Measuring the different dimensions of sustainability is a challenge. Regulations play a central role in opening the markets for sustainable building renovation through incentive schemes, building codes, etc. Although traditional approaches to energy renovation emphasize more efficient heating and lighting systems and better insulation, there is a tendency to address the challenge more holistically by emphasizing social targets.
Purpose
As the construction industry undertakes complex and innovative projects, improving the labor productivity that helps accomplish the triple bottom line dimensions (time, schedule and performance) assumes greater importance. It is of even greater importance in developing countries like India where most of building construction takes place on a manual basis. In response, the purpose of this paper is to develop an evaluation framework for assessing the labor productivity in the construction industry. The application of the framework is demonstrated for the case of the Indian construction industry and key insights are reported.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature review and expert survey has helped to identify 4 main dimensions and 14 different factors affecting labor productivity in the construction industry. An application of Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory was deployed to investigate into the causality of labor productivity dimensions.
Findings
The research delivers a quantitative labor productivity assessment framework for evaluating causal relationships among the factors influencing labor productivity in the construction industry. The result obtained for a typical case of the Indian construction industry showed that the safety at construction site has a profound effect on labor-related factors.
Originality/value
The paper makes two contributions in the domain of labor productivity assessment in the construction industry. First, it proposes an evaluation framework to investigate into the causal relationships among the labor productivity factors. This proposed framework is robust and can be used to compare the performance of different construction projects using an integrated approach proposed by this research. Such exploratory analysis would assist benchmarking studies. Second, it undertakes an empirical investigation for the Indian construction industry to develop key managerial insights and extend policy-related recommendations.
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