The main factors that promote successful innovation with productivity within the construction industry in Australia: the project manager's perception - an analysis

The main factors that promote successful innovation with productivity within the construction industry in Australia: the project manager's perception - an analysis

The problem of poor productivity in the construction industry is a worldwide phenomenon. The issue is complex as productivity is inconsistent between countries, projects, and even separate sections of the same project. This study has reviewed construction productivity in Australia by surveying Australian project managers using the proven relative importance index approach, to obtain their views on the importance of factors affecting construction productivity. This study also triangulates through validating the main factors from this research using a group of construction industry experts in a Delphi survey. In addition, this research has also sought, from this expert group, information on their views of the likely frequency of occurrence of these factors, plus useful qualitative information with respect to construction productivity. The methodology employed is a significant contribution to construction productivity knowledge in Australia and is different from the previously used economics-based factor analysis approach.

The purpose of the study was to assess and promote productivity in the Australian construction industry. Improving productivity in the construction industry will improve the national income and reduce unemployment.

The specific objectives of the study were:

• To classify the factors that currently influence productivity in the construction industry in Australia and to ascertain the most significant factors contributing to poor productivity.
• To determine the significant key performance indicators of construction productivity in Australia.
• To classify the critical success factors which are most authoritative in achieving productivity success.
• To verify (using an expert group) the essential aspects detracting from success in productivity in the Australian construction industry and to evaluate the degree of agreement/disagreement among the project managers.
• To review the theory through validating the relationships with the ratings of experts, who included people from academia, consultancy, public works, and contracting.

The group of project managers engaged in the construction industry in Australia identified in the questionnaire survey that issues relating to shortage of building materials, inadequate drawings, shortage of tools and machinery, rework, changes in orders, equipment disruption causing delays to the work schedule, and inefficient supervisors were the major causes of production inefficiency.

The research has confirmed the existence of construction productivity problems. The shortage of management support and the use of inexperienced staff have been found to be the most significant obstructions to improvements in productivity. In the project management area, early preparation and arrangements for projects have been found the most likely to boost productivity regardless of company size. In the case of issues associated with work sites, improved administration, avoidance of rework, improvement of communication and provision of suitable equipment are likely to be the most promising factors to improve productivity.