Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritise the safety and health practices, which are suitable to improve labour productivity in building construction projects, and to investigate the association between company profiles, project characteristics and the safety practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a mixed-method research design which involves two phases. In Phase I, qualitative data were collected and analysed to identify safety and health practices. In total, 19 experts who have experience in building construction projects were involved in the interviews. During Phase II, quantitative data were collected from contractors that are involved in the delivery of building projects using questionnaires which were administered via face-to-face interviews. After analysing the quantitative data, the safety and health practices were prioritised and the relationships between the practices and company profiles were investigated.
Findings
Safety and health policy, safety and health plan and hazard analysis are found to be the three most important practices that can improve productivity in building construction projects. The results of Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the level of implementation of the safety and health practices increases with project costs. Company experience and company size are positively associated with safety and health practices. Project delay is negatively correlated with safety and health practices.
Originality/value
The study provides useful information for international developers and contractors who want to do the construction business in Australia. Furthermore, contractors involved in the construction of building projects in Australia can implement the identified safety and health practices to improve labour productivity.
PurposeThe main objective of this research is to identify the most important human resource management (HRM) practices, which have the potential to enhance labour productivity using fuzzy synthetic evaluation approach.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a mixed-methods research design in which qualitative data were collected and analysed during Phase I and quantitative data were analysed during Phase II. Nineteen experts who have experience in building construction projects were involved in interviews conducted in Phase I. During Phase II, quantitative data were collected from contractors that were involved in the delivery of building projects using questionnaires and the data were analysed using FSE technique.FindingsClear delegation of responsibility, stability of organisational structure and crew composition are found to be the three most important HRM practices that can enhance productivity in building construction projects. The findings of the study showed that the overall importance index computed using the FSE model is 3.65 (≈ 4) with an equivalent linguistic term of “very important”. The study also suggested that the top three HRM practices should be implemented conjointly as there is no significant difference among their weights.Originality/valueThe output of this research can provide important information regarding the HRM practices in the Australian construction industry. Thus, international developers or contractors who want to do construction business in Australia can implement the essential HRM practices so that the productivity of their construction projects will not be affected negatively.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize management practices that have the potential to improve labor productivity in multi-storey building construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted two-phase mixed-methods research design and 58 project managers, contract administrators and project coordinators were involved in the survey. During Phase I, qualitative data were collected from 19 experts using interviews and the management practices that could enhance labor productivity in multi-storey building construction projects were identified. In Phase II, quantitative data were collected from 39 contractors involved in the delivery of multi-storey building projects by using questionnaires. The data were analyzed to prioritize the practices identified in Phase I.
Findings
Well-defined scope of work, safety and health policy, safety and health plan, hazard analysis, long-lead materials identification, safe work method statement, and toolbox safety meetings are the top seven practices that have the potential to improve labor productivity in multi-storey building projects.
Originality/value
The research identifies the management practices that can be implemented to enhance labor productivity in multi-storey building construction projects in the context of Australia. Being the first study in the Australian context, the findings can be used as benchmark for international comparison.
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