---
title: Qualitative Analysis of Lost Labor Productivity in Electrical Construction from the Perspective of Field Personnel
tags:
  - authorship/other
  - exclude-from-word-count
  - topic/construction/electrical
  - topic/estimating
  - type/media/article
authors:
  - Godwin Ashley Dilibe Offiah
date: 2017
---
# Qualitative Analysis of Lost Labor Productivity in Electrical Construction from the Perspective of Field Personnel

A thesis submitted in a partial fulfillment of \
the requirements for the degree of \
Master of Science \
(Civil and Environmental Engineering) \
at the \
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fall 2017

## Executive Summary

The stagnant production practices,
the decline in experienced workers,
and the steep economical labor cost
has challenged the construction industry
to improve labor production practices.
This research study investigates the impact and the influence of labor performance
through the perception of electrical construction workers.
Electrical construction workers are present throughout the construction phases
and acquire substantial understanding, insight, and intuition
on factors that impact labor productivity.
These electrical construction workers are typically the first on-site:
pulling conduit, installing circuit breakers, operating heavy equipment,
and ultimately executing the project design.
Nonetheless, their expertise and intelligence
is unfortunately seldom discussed among academics and industry personnel,
thus by considering it this research will convey a more precise understanding
of the impact of labor productivity on the construction industry.

This research study is influenced by a previous research study
conducted by the Construction Industry Institute (CII),
which examined the influence of factors
that impede worker labor production of numerous trades.
However, this research looks to study the factors
that influence labor productivity exclusively for electrical workers.

There are various factors that adversely influence electrical workers' performances. One being the Electrical construction trade is exceptionally labor-intensive and accounts for nearly 70% of construction project costs. To improve project cost and efficiency, the electrical construction industry continues to aspire for innovative and new methods that impact the industry while developing a more productive workforce.

Technological innovations such as AutoCAD, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Solids Works, and Primavera have significantly influenced the electrical construction industry through advancements in construction methods, designs, planning, and implementation of project scope. However, the industry still faces several challenging factors that impede production including inadequate engineering design, work scheduling, and resource management. These challenges obstruct electrical workers' labor performance. The wealth of knowledge that electrical workers possess enables this research study to examine which factors have the most significant impact to workers' performance. The data that is collected can assist owners and contractors in enhancing their knowledge regarding factors that impact worker performance.

To further enhance the research study, electrical workers were surveyed to acquire their perception of factors that impede their labor production. From the 182 workers responded out of the 3000 electrical workers that were emailed in the United States and Canada. This accounted for a response rate of 6.07%. These electrical workers varied in experience, job position, perception of factors that influence labor productivity. The compiled data was examined to determine trends and correlations. Furthermore, the findings from the analyzed data enabled an improved awareness of labor production of electrical construction workers.

Considering the perception of electrical workers allowed this research study to gain significant knowledge on factors that hinder the appropriate labor production of workers. Knowing the factors that impact construction labor production, owners and contractors can better manage their construction workers. Consequently, this reduces rework, design-plan errors, and omissions, and essentially enables a more productive project work schedule. Additional efforts are recommended to improve company culture, working conditions, and adequate communication amongst project team members. Continuous improvements of labor production practices are essential in the systematic growth of the electrical construction industry.

## Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the following individuals who helped me throughout the duration of my graduate tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

First, I am grateful to God for all of His guidance, comfort, and support throughout my graduate work. With His unwavering support, all things are possible, which inspires and transcends my work at the institution.

I am undeniably thankful for the support that I received from my family, as I matriculated through graduate school, they were available to console me in challenging times as well as rejoice with me in times of triumph. To my parents Dr. Godwin and Dr. Edith Offiah, who instilled in me tenacious morals and steady values and who encouraged me to never to be afraid to work hard and humbly achieve my goals, I am indeed thankful. I would not have been able to complete this research without their genuine care and love. And to my siblings Odera, Dumebi, Kosi and Ebube, I will always cherish their love and support.

Next, I would like to express great gratitude to my advisor Professor Awad S. Hanna for his interminable support, commitment, and motivation throughout my research. The wealth of knowledge he possesses guided me through the preliminary stages of survey development to the advancement of thesis writing. I am deeply appreciative of his patience and timely words of encouragement throughout the progression of my research. Without his contributions, none of this would have been possible.

Finally, I would like to thank all the electrical construction workers that assisted me in completing my research. I am sincerely grateful for their knowledge that inspired the purpose of my research, thus furthering the existing knowledge of the construction industry.

## Chapter 1 Introduction

### 1.1 Introduction

The stagnant growth of the construction industry can be associated with the challenges with labor production in both the United States and Canada. In the U.S., construction labor productivity has been progressively declining over the past half century. As shown in Figure 1 the U.S. Department of Labor, while non-farm labor productivity has increased at an average rate of 1.6 percent annually since 1964, construction labor productivity has decreased on average of 0.05 percent annually (Teicholz, Goodrum, and Hass 2001 and 2004). However, the Canadian sector has faced different concerns. According to Statistics Canada, construction productivity in Canada has been improving marginally at a rate of 1.3 percent while the business sector has improved at a rate 2.5 times of 3.28 percent annually. This rate is 2.5 times higher than productivity improvement in the Canadian construction industry

There are numerous reported reasons for inadequate productivity performance among the construction sector in both the U.S and Canada, such as unavailability of experienced workers, decrease in worker's morale, and inefficiencies resulting from inadequate working conditions (Gundecha, 2012). The experience of construction workers and their awareness of labor productivity practices within the construction industry enables them to be knowledgeable of inadequate labor practices, which is the fundamental principle of this research.

> Figure 1: Productivity Index for Construction and All Non-Farm Manufacturing Industries (Teicholz, Goodrum, and Hass 2001 and 2004)

### 1.2 Problem Statement

The electrical contracting trade
is one of the most critical and labor-intensive trades
among the construction sector,
which is frequently delayed by other construction trades due to incomplete prerequisite work.
These delays ultimately result in inefficiencies and decreased labor productivity.
The adverse working conditions and severity of electrical trade significantly impacts the construction industry. This research examines the compelling perception
of the electrical workforce's awareness
of inadequate labor production practices.

Construction workers play a vital role
in achieving adequate labor practices
that essentially progress the development of the project.
Without the strong support of the workforce,
the construction sector would falter.
Inconsistencies in workers' performances
may obstruct the production of other workers and other trades.
These trades are influenced by factors
that affect workers' productivity and their work environment,
which is crucial to improving industry practices.
There has been limited research investigating labor productivity at the worker's level,
more specifically for the electrical construction industry.
To gain a better understanding of the worker's ability to work efficiently,
this research study focuses on filling the gap in construction literature
by evaluating the perception of electrical workers with a comprehensive set of factors.

These factors are comprised of core issues
that affect labor productivity among electrical workers.
To acquire the electrical workers' knowledge of the factors that impact their labor production practices,
an elaborate survey questionnaire was formulated.
This was utilized to quantify the workers' perception
of labor production in the construction industry.
Furthermore, the findings of this research study will increase the awareness, efficiency,
and render suitable recommendations to the electrical construction industry.
