Evaluating Factors Effecting Building Construction Labor Productivity in Somaliland

Abstract

The construction industry has been referred to as having a multiplier effect on the performance of any economy. Poor productivity of workers is one of the most overwhelming problems faced by construction industries, especially those in developing countries, the poor productivity of labor can cause a project cost and time overrun. The pinpointing of the factors that affect labor productivity would enable the project team to effectively use the resources for their disposal to enhance productivity. Enhanced labor productivity increases the probability of projects to be completed as per budgeted cost and specified time. The main objective of this study was to investigate the significant factors that affect construction labor productivity at Somaliland construction sites through a survey. in order to achieve these a questionnaire was used to evaluate the site engineer’s perspective of the factors that can affect labor productivity. 44 factors considered for the study were categorized into ten different groups: manpower, motivation, leadership, tools/materials, time, supervision, quality, project, safety, and weather conditions. The factors were then ranked according to the rates given by the respondents. To achieve this, survey method and Likert-type attitude scale were used and analyzed using SPSS package. The following ten factors were found to have the highest effect on labor’s productivity in Somaliland are lack of experience, lack of financial motivation, payment delay, tools/equipment shortage, Khat, dispute with the superintendent, drawing and specification alternation during execution, labor disloyalty, rework, and working within a confined space.