Impact of shift work on labor productivity for labor intensive contractor

Awad S. Hanna, Chul Ki Chang, Kenneth Sullivan, Jeffery A. Lackney

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

94 Scopus citations

Abstract

Generally, a contractor has three options in accelerating a construction schedule: working longer hours, increasing the number of workers, or creating an additional shift of workers. There has been a significant amount of research conducted on scheduled overtime on construction labor productivity. However, little information has been found in the literature addressing the labor inefficiency associated with working a second shift. This paper has qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative part details why and how shift work affects labor productivity, and then addresses the appropriate use of shift work. The quantitative component determines the relationship between the length of shift work and labor efficiency. The results of the research show that shift work has the potential to be both beneficial and detrimental to the productivity of construction labor. Small amounts of well-organized shift work can serve as a very effective response to schedule compression. The productivity loss, obtained from the quantification model developed through this study, ranges from -11 to 17% depending on the amount of shift work used.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)197-204
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume134
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Construction industry
  • Contractors
  • Labor
  • Productivity
  • Scheduling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Industrial relations
  • Strategy and Management

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