Benchmarking masonry labor productivity

Abstract

Purpose – Labor productivity is one of the most important factors that affect the physical progress of any construction project. In order to improve labor productivity, site production should be measured on a regular basis, and then compared to acceptable standard benchmarks. The objective of this paper is to measure masonry labor productivity in Gaza Strip, Palestine, using a consistent benchmarking approach. Design/methodology/approach – Production data were collected from nine different construction projects located in Gaza. For each project, values for baseline productivity, disruption index, performance index and project management index were calculated. Findings – Based on the nine targeted projects, the baseline productivity of masonry works in Gaza seems to range from 0.29 to 0.80 work-hours per square meter. Calculated values were utilized to develop a correlation between two project benchmarks (i …