A Constructive System to Assess the Performance-based Grading of Construction Labour through Work-Based Training Components and Applications
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Various industry sectors of many developing countries have been facing various challenges associated with low performance of labour due to poor work-based training practices. This study aims to assess the performance of labour in construction by applying systematic work-based training components. A comprehensive study methodology was adopted through literature reviews and experts’ interviews/discussions, with problem-focused and action-oriented communication approaches to develop effective tools, systems and practices related to labour training elements and performance assessments within a framework. Through a new construction supervisory training programme, the developed practices were applied to 200-300 labourers working on 23 construction projects in Sri Lanka. The results show the detailed patterns of the significant changes in labour performance with the quantified values. Overall quantitative values indicate a nearly 60% increase in the performance of labour within six months of the training period compared to the starting point. A considerable level of performance improvement was reported in the soft skills (90%) and material handling abilities (70%) of labourers. A moderate level of performance improvement was identified in other competency elements related to the application of basic science/technology-related practices (55%), simple engineering/technology-related practices (44%), construction methods and technology (56%), green practices (36%) and fundamental management aspects (34%). The overall performance values of labourers employed in road/bridge projects were found that noticeably lower compared to the labourers who worked on other types of projects. The results further describe the well-improved theoretical knowledge and operational skills of the trained labourers, which has uplifted their job standards from working under close supervision to working under general supervision with some autonomy. Moreover, the study findings contribute to controlling the excessive inclination of local firms toward foreign labour by unlocking the potential barriers to expanding the local labour supply with lifelong learning and career benefits/opportunities for labourers. The findings will have a significant impact on how other developing nations and industries must manage their labour to obtain higher work efficiency in the foreseeable future.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share and adapt the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Open Access Citation Advantage Service). Where authors include such a work in an institutional repository or on their website (ie. a copy of a work which has been published in a UTS ePRESS journal, or a pre-print or post-print version of that work), we request that they include a statement that acknowledges the UTS ePRESS publication including the name of the journal, the volume number and a web-link to the journal item.
d) Authors should be aware that the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License permits readers to share (copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the work) for any purpose, even commercially, provided they also give appropriate credit to the work, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. They may do these things in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests you or your publisher endorses their use.
References
Dinh, T.H. and Nguyen, V.T. 2019. Analysis of affected factors on construction productivity in Vietnam. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 10(2), pp.854–864.
Fernando, P.G.D., Fernando, N.G. and Gunarathna, M.A.C.L., 2016. Skills developments of labourers to achieve the successful project delivery in the Sri Lankan construction industry. Civil and Environmental Research, 8(5), pp.86–99.
Gao, Y., Gonzalez, V.A. and Yiu, T.W., 2019. The effectiveness of traditional tools and computer-aided technologies for health and safety training in the construction sector: a systematic review. Computers and Education, 138, pp.101–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.05.003
Ghate, P.R. and Minde, P.R., 2016. Labour productivity in construction. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307138481_labour_productivity_in_construction/download. [accessed 14 October 2020]
Manoharan, K., Dissanayake, P., Pathirana, C., Deegahawature, D. and Silva, R., 2020. Assessment of critical factors influencing the performance of labour in Sri Lankan construction industry. International Journal of Construction Management, pp.1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2020.1854042
Manoharan, K., Dissanayake, P., Pathirana, C., Deegahawature, D. and Silva, R., 2021a. A competency-based training guide model for labourers in construction. International Journal of Construction Management, pp.1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2021.1969622
Manoharan, K., Dissanayake, P., Pathirana, C., Deegahawature, D. and Silva, R., 2021b. A curriculum guide model to the next normal in developing construction supervisory training programmes. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, pp.1–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-02-2021-0038
Manoharan, K., Dissanayake, P., Pathirana, C., Deegahawature, D. and Silva, R., 2022. A labour performance score and grading system to the next normal practices in construction. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, pp.1–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-10-2021-0125
Mistri, A., Patel, C.G. and Pitroda, J.R., 2019. Analysis of causes, effects and impacts of skills shortage for sustainable construction through analytic hierarchy process. International Journal of Technical Innovation in Modern Engineering & Science, 5(5), pp.168–176.
Murari, S.S. and Joshi, A.M., 2019. Factors affecting labour productivity in precast construction industry. Proceedings of Fourth National Conference on Road and Infrastructure, RASTA - Center for Road Technology, Bangalore, India, 4-5 April 2019. pp.163–169.
Ojha, A., Seagers, J., Shayesteh, S., Habibnezhad, M. and Jebelli, H., 2020. Construction safety training methods and their evaluation approaches: a systematic literature review. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management, Hong Kong, 7-8 December 2020. pp.188–197.
Onyekachi, V.N., 2018. Impact of low labour characteristics on construction sites productivity in EBONYI state. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 5(10), pp.7072–7087.
Pham, H.C., Dao, N.N., Pedro, A., Le, Q.T., Hussain, R., Cho, S. and Park, C.S., 2018. Virtual field trip for mobile construction safety education using 360-degree panoramic virtual reality. International Journal of Engineering Education, 34(4), pp.1174–1191.
Sangole, A. and Ranit, A., 2015. Identifying factors affecting construction labour productivity in Amravati. International Journal of Science and Research, 4(5), pp.1585–1588.
Shahab, S. and Audrius, B., 2018. Application of fuzzy fault tree analysis to identify factors influencing construction labor productivity: a high-rise building case study. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 25(1), pp.41–52. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2019.7785
Silva, G.A.S.K., Warnakulasuriya, B.N.F. and Arachchige, B.J.H., 2018. A review of the skill shortage challenge in construction industry in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research, 2(1), pp.75–89.
Siregar, S., 2017. A study of work-based learning for construction building workers. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 970, pp.1–6. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/970/1/012024
TVEC (Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission of Sri Lanka), 2009. National Vocational Qualification Framework of Sri Lanka Operations Manual. Sri Lanka.
TVEC (Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission of Sri Lanka), 2017. Construction Industry Sector Training Plan 2018 – 2020. Sri Lanka.