In recent years, construction companies have been trying to increase the level of productivity on construction sites. The contractors are trying to make incremental improvements to the productivity of laborers. In the construction industry, even small levels of tweaks and increases in productivity yield massive positive results.

The Problems in Communication and Coordination

When it comes to all the aspects that add to decreasing labor productivity, a majority of contractors say this happens due to two things. One is a lack of coordination, and the other is poor communication among crew members. With better communication between all the crew members and other stakeholders – there can be a lot of improvement in productivity. Access to accurate and timely information is another critical communication-based aspect that improves productivity.

Poor Execution of Schedule

Apart from a poor state of communication and coordination, contractors think that poor management in the making and execution of schedules is a big problem. Not being able to cope with the regular schedule changes – especially on the part of subcontractors lowers productivity.

Another survey done by Dodge found out that poor schedule management can further exacerbate productivity due to one more thing. That thing is prefabrication. According to the report, the contractors tell that 50% of their work must be pre-fabricated in the shops, rather than on the field. A majority i.e 0% of contractors recognize the importance of prefabrication in boosting productivity on construction sites.

Poor Safety Standards Result in Loss of Productivity

If your company does not have high standards of safety policies and requisite safety training – then productivity will definitely decrease. Whenever a skilled worker is injured, you will have to wait for their recovery until they come back. This way, productivity goes down dramatically. Also, the morale of workers is badly affected realizing that you have not paid proper attention to fostering good safety practices at the construction site. And a lack of morale and motivation automatically results in a lack of productivity at the construction site. 

As a construction company, it is essential to give laborers proper safety training. Also, providing them with safety manuals, demolition SWMS documents, and other technical guides all add to increasing productivity. Safety measures and strict adherence to safety policy play a big role in construction crew productivity.

The Issues in the Quality of Contract Paperwork

Another hurdle in the way of construction site productivity is the quality of contract documents. The type of contract that’s signed can greatly impede productivity – depending on what it says. When one party to the contract allows too much legal insulation, then it turns very hard for the construction teams to communicate directly. This way the likelihood of errors and problems is triple-folded. All this can then lead to inefficiencies and loss of productivity.

Below are a few effective strategies that help in improving productivity:

• Reevaluation of manual and administrative work
• Use software related to preconstruction, coordination, field, and project management
• Do research to bring the right technology on board
• Use a project management software