Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt

Sherif M. Hafez; Remon F. Aziz; Enas S. Morgan; Madeha M. Abdullah; Eman K. Ahmed

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt

Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, Enas S. Morgan, Madeha M. Abdullah, Eman K. Ahmed

Published in American Journal of Civil Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 2)

Received: 29 January 2014 Published: 30 March 2014

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Abstract

The construction industry plays an important role in any developing country. This sector will promote the infrastructure required in socioeconomic development which also a major contributor to the overall economic growth. One of the main factors that had influence in the construction industry growth is productivity which mainly associated with the labor performance. Labor in construction industry could be defined as all workforces involve in the process that had to carry out to accomplish and to achieve goal. The labor productivity insufficiency will affect the performance of the overall project. The objective of this research is to identify and rank the relative importance of factors perceived to affect labor productivity on Egyptian construction projects. To achieve this objective, a statistically representative sample of contractors was invited to participate in a structured questionnaire survey, comprising 27 productivity factors, classified under the following four primary groups: (a) Technological; (b) Management; (c) Human/Labor; and (d) External. Among the factors explored, the subsequent ten are discerned to be the most significant in their effects on labor productivity: (1) Payment delay; (2) Skill of labor; (3) A shortage of experienced labor; (4) Lack of labor supervision; (5) Motivation of labor; (6) Working overtime, (7) Construction managers lack of leadership, (8) High humidity, (9) Clarity of technical specification, (10) High/low temperature. The results obtained fill a gap in knowledge of factors affecting labor productivity in Egypt, which can be used by industry practitioners to develop a wider and deeper perspective of the factors influencing the efficiency of operatives, and provide guidance to construction managers for efficient utilization of the labor force, hence assist in achieving a reasonable level of competitiveness and cost effective operation.

Published in	American Journal of Civil Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14
Page(s)	35-40
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Construction, Labor Productivity, Factors, Management; Relative Importance Index (RII), Rank, Improvement, Egypt

References

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[12]	Makulsawatudom A., Emsley M., and Sinthawanarong K. (2004)"Critical Factors Influencing Construction Productivity in Thailand" The Journal of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 14 (3), 1-6.
[13]	Abdul Kadir M., Lee W., Jaafar M., Sapuan S., and Ali A. (2005) “Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity for Malaysian Residential Projects”. Structural Survey, 23 (1), 42–54.
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[16]	El-Gohary K. and Aziz R. (2014) “Factors Influencing Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt” Journal of Management in Engineering, ASCE, 30 (1), 1-9.
[17]	Mistry S. and Bhatt R. (2013) "Critical Factors Affecting Labor Productivity in Construction Projects: Case Study Of South Gujarat Region Of India". (IJEAT) ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-2, Issue-4, April 2013 583.
[18]	Enshassi A., Mohamed, S., Abu Mustafa Z. and Mayer E. (2007) “Factors Affecting Labor Productivity in Building Projects in the Gaza Strip” Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 13 (4), 245-254.
[19]	Durdyev S., Ismail S. and Abu Bakar N. (2012) “Factors Constraining Labor Productivity: Case Study of Turkmenistan” Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, University Technology Malaysia, International Campus, Jalan Semarak, 54100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2012. V55. 1.
[20]	Soekiman A., Pribad K., Soemard B., and Wirahadikusumah R. (2011) “Factors Relating to Labor Productivity Affecting The project Schedule Performance In Indonesia”. The Twelfth East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction, Procedia Engineering 14, 865–873.
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APA Style

Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, Enas S. Morgan, Madeha M. Abdullah, Eman K. Ahmed. (2014). Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 2(2), 35-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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ACS Style

Sherif M. Hafez; Remon F. Aziz; Enas S. Morgan; Madeha M. Abdullah; Eman K. Ahmed. Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. Am. J. Civ. Eng. 2014, 2(2), 35-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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AMA Style

Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, Enas S. Morgan, Madeha M. Abdullah, Eman K. Ahmed. Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. Am J Civ Eng. 2014;2(2):35-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14,
  author = {Sherif M. Hafez and Remon F. Aziz and Enas S. Morgan and Madeha M. Abdullah and Eman K. Ahmed},
  title = {Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt},
  journal = {American Journal of Civil Engineering},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-40},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajce.20140202.14},
  abstract = {The construction industry plays an important role in any developing country. This sector will promote the infrastructure required in socioeconomic development which also a major contributor to the overall economic growth. One of the main factors that had influence in the construction industry growth is productivity which mainly associated with the labor performance. Labor in construction industry could be defined as all workforces involve in the process that had to carry out to accomplish and to achieve goal. The labor productivity insufficiency will affect the performance of the overall project. The objective of this research is to identify and rank the relative importance of factors perceived to affect labor productivity on Egyptian construction projects. To achieve this objective, a statistically representative sample of contractors was invited to participate in a structured questionnaire survey, comprising 27 productivity factors, classified under the following four primary groups: (a) Technological; (b) Management; (c) Human/Labor; and (d) External. Among the factors explored, the subsequent ten are discerned to be the most significant in their effects on labor productivity: (1) Payment delay; (2) Skill of labor; (3) A shortage of experienced labor; (4) Lack of labor supervision; (5) Motivation of labor; (6) Working overtime, (7) Construction managers lack of leadership, (8) High humidity, (9) Clarity of technical specification, (10) High/low temperature. The results obtained fill a gap in knowledge of factors affecting labor productivity in Egypt, which can be used by industry practitioners to develop a wider and deeper perspective of the factors influencing the efficiency of operatives, and provide guidance to construction managers for efficient utilization of the labor force, hence assist in achieving a reasonable level of competitiveness and cost effective operation.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt
AU - Sherif M. Hafez
AU - Remon F. Aziz
AU - Enas S. Morgan
AU - Madeha M. Abdullah
AU - Eman K. Ahmed
Y1 - 2014/03/30
PY - 2014
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14
DO - 10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14
T2 - American Journal of Civil Engineering
JF - American Journal of Civil Engineering
JO - American Journal of Civil Engineering
SP - 35
EP - 40
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-8737
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14
AB - The construction industry plays an important role in any developing country. This sector will promote the infrastructure required in socioeconomic development which also a major contributor to the overall economic growth. One of the main factors that had influence in the construction industry growth is productivity which mainly associated with the labor performance. Labor in construction industry could be defined as all workforces involve in the process that had to carry out to accomplish and to achieve goal. The labor productivity insufficiency will affect the performance of the overall project. The objective of this research is to identify and rank the relative importance of factors perceived to affect labor productivity on Egyptian construction projects. To achieve this objective, a statistically representative sample of contractors was invited to participate in a structured questionnaire survey, comprising 27 productivity factors, classified under the following four primary groups: (a) Technological; (b) Management; (c) Human/Labor; and (d) External. Among the factors explored, the subsequent ten are discerned to be the most significant in their effects on labor productivity: (1) Payment delay; (2) Skill of labor; (3) A shortage of experienced labor; (4) Lack of labor supervision; (5) Motivation of labor; (6) Working overtime, (7) Construction managers lack of leadership, (8) High humidity, (9) Clarity of technical specification, (10) High/low temperature. The results obtained fill a gap in knowledge of factors affecting labor productivity in Egypt, which can be used by industry practitioners to develop a wider and deeper perspective of the factors influencing the efficiency of operatives, and provide guidance to construction managers for efficient utilization of the labor force, hence assist in achieving a reasonable level of competitiveness and cost effective operation.
VL - 2
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Sherif M. Hafez

Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt
Remon F. Aziz

Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt
Enas S. Morgan

Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt
Madeha M. Abdullah

Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt
Eman K. Ahmed

Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt

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APA Style

Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, Enas S. Morgan, Madeha M. Abdullah, Eman K. Ahmed. (2014). Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 2(2), 35-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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ACS Style

Sherif M. Hafez; Remon F. Aziz; Enas S. Morgan; Madeha M. Abdullah; Eman K. Ahmed. Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. Am. J. Civ. Eng. 2014, 2(2), 35-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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AMA Style

Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, Enas S. Morgan, Madeha M. Abdullah, Eman K. Ahmed. Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt. Am J Civ Eng. 2014;2(2):35-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14,
  author = {Sherif M. Hafez and Remon F. Aziz and Enas S. Morgan and Madeha M. Abdullah and Eman K. Ahmed},
  title = {Critical Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity in Egypt},
  journal = {American Journal of Civil Engineering},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-40},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajce.20140202.14},
  abstract = {The construction industry plays an important role in any developing country. This sector will promote the infrastructure required in socioeconomic development which also a major contributor to the overall economic growth. One of the main factors that had influence in the construction industry growth is productivity which mainly associated with the labor performance. Labor in construction industry could be defined as all workforces involve in the process that had to carry out to accomplish and to achieve goal. The labor productivity insufficiency will affect the performance of the overall project. The objective of this research is to identify and rank the relative importance of factors perceived to affect labor productivity on Egyptian construction projects. To achieve this objective, a statistically representative sample of contractors was invited to participate in a structured questionnaire survey, comprising 27 productivity factors, classified under the following four primary groups: (a) Technological; (b) Management; (c) Human/Labor; and (d) External. Among the factors explored, the subsequent ten are discerned to be the most significant in their effects on labor productivity: (1) Payment delay; (2) Skill of labor; (3) A shortage of experienced labor; (4) Lack of labor supervision; (5) Motivation of labor; (6) Working overtime, (7) Construction managers lack of leadership, (8) High humidity, (9) Clarity of technical specification, (10) High/low temperature. The results obtained fill a gap in knowledge of factors affecting labor productivity in Egypt, which can be used by industry practitioners to develop a wider and deeper perspective of the factors influencing the efficiency of operatives, and provide guidance to construction managers for efficient utilization of the labor force, hence assist in achieving a reasonable level of competitiveness and cost effective operation.},
 year = {2014}
}

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