Abstract. Human resource today has a strategic role for productivity increase of any organization, and this makes it superior in the industrial competition. With the effective and optimum usage of it, all the advantages supplied by the productivity growth can be obtained. This usage is just possible by establishing clear and understandable criteria for the factors affecting labour. Therefore, it is aimed in this study that the factors influencing construction labour productivity in Turkey are determined, defined, and examined in detail. A survey was applied to 82 firms to obtain required data. According to results, the most effective factors group is organizational factors.

Abstract. In both developing and industrialized countries, deviation from a planned time schedule is one of the most frequently encountered problems in construction investments. Various factors faced with during construction period prevent systematic flow of work, which causes time-based anomalies as a conclusion. Considering the vital importance of the construction industry on the macro-economic structure of a country, it is inevitable to be aware of considerable effect of the timely completion on the allocated project budget. In this study, causes of time extensions in the Turkish construction industry and levels of their importance were examined together. In total, 34 factors affecting project duration were taken into account. A questionnaire survey, including these factors, was then applied to 71 construction companies in Turkey, and the outcomes were evaluated by means of statistical analyses. According to the results, "design and material changes" was found to be the most predominant factor, followed by "delay of payments" and "cash flow problems". In terms of importance levels of factor groups, financial factors were found to be the first group, while environmental factors were the least effective group. It should be also noted that managerial causes of time extensions are encountered in developed and developing countries, whereas financial causes are experienced in developing countries only.

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Abstract. In this study, the ELECTRE III method, which is one of the most common techniques among multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches, was considered in a selection problem of concrete pumps. As a methodological framework, a two-step questionnaire survey was conducted by 70 firms that have and use concrete pumps. A solution of the problem was then found in the light of the real world data by means of ELECTRE III. The paper can be of value to researchers studying the anatomy of decision-making in equipment selection in general and investigating selection criteria of concrete pumps in particular. It also contributes to the academic environment as an application practice of ELECTRE III to correspond with the nature of equipment selection and as an effective means for the formalization of knowledge possessed by industrial practitioners. On the practical side, ELECTRE III offers an efficient and convenient tool that forces the users into orderly and methodical thinking, and guides them in making logical and robust decisions. In addition, the example illustrated in the present study can be helpful for decision-makers dealing with similar equipment selection issues.