Jobsite Labour Relations and Control – Con’t

• Accidents and unsafe conditions, working overtime, projects in existing MODULE 4

facilities or congested areas, labour agreement, supervision and control of
labour
T S G U N A L A N VA S U D E VA N
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
As labour is one of the basic elements in the construction of project, a right and
effective control approach should in planned and implemented;
 The impact of labour control will result in either failure or success of a project.

Many contractors prefer to have little or no site-based labour; tend to package

the projects into subcontract;
Some contractors like a combination of directly employed labour and self-
employed labour for general building operations such as concrete works,
carpentry, brickworks, etc.
Some contractors like to employ the entire workforce directly;
Labour:
 Directly employed labour;
 Subcontract labour.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Labour:
 Directly employed labour:
 Often practiced by specialist contractor who ‘comes in and go out’ fast for a job and therefore employs all the required trades
directly eg. renovation;
 Some large contractors adopt this approach if the business model consist of general construction, specialist contractors
(demolition, piling, mechanical and electrical);
 On large projects, contractor is more concerned with keeping the overall labour expenditure within the estimated allowance;
 Monitoring of labour expenditures involves recording actual amount of man-hours/weeks expended and matching this with the
forecasted values;
 Important to relate the analysis to the actual contract progress situation.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Labour:
 Self-employed labour:
 Individual employed on contract-by-contract basis on terms clearly indicated like the type of services, payment sum and
mode/assessment of claim;
 Subcontract labour:
 Provision of labour through subcontracting, usually under general labour and trademen/craftmen;
 Exclude materials, plant and equipment; some may also exclude or include small tools;
 Usually on project-to-project basis; evaluation of performance;
 Direct contractual link between main contractor and subcontractor;
 Clearly indicating the types and quantum of labour, financial arrangement, roles and responsibilities, expected productivity;
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Self-
fulfillment
Self-expression
To belong, recognition, respect
Safety, shelter, warmth, etc.
Physiological needs, food, clothing, etc.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND CONTROL
Factors affecting construction workers Factors affecting construction workers
motivation: motivation:
 Fair level of pay;  Recognised for doing a good job;
 Incentive corresponds to financial  Reasonable level of overtime demand;
reward;
 Competent supervisor;
 Pay received on time;
 Reliable job description/specification;
 Good facilities on site;
 Type of work;
 Safe and healthy working conditions;
 Challenging tasks;
 Favourable promotion prospects;
 Responsibility;
 Good working relationship with
supervisors;  Participation in decision making
process.
 Job security;
 Opportunity to select colleagues in the
crew;

Source: Harris, F, McCaffer, R & Edum-Fotwe, F 2006, Modern Construction Management, 6th edn, Blackwell, Oxford.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Job dissatisfaction factors:
 Poor treatment by supervisors;
 Lack of recognition of good effort;
 Productivity urged with indifference;
 Reducing work opportunities;
 Incompetent crew colleagues;
 Poor communication with management;
 Under-utilisation of skills;
 Lack of participation in decision-making
 Unsafe working conditions;
 Poor supervision; little production.

Source: Harris, F, McCaffer, R & Edum-Fotwe, F 2006, Modern Construction Management, 6th edn, Blackwell, Oxford.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Labour productivity;
 Rate at which a tasks/activity can be completed; output rate;

Common factors that affects labour productivity:

 Lack of supervision;
 Lack of coordination on works activities among subcontractors;
 Improper or insufficient material;
 Insufficient or improper tools;
 Poor jobsite layout;
 Congested areas;
 Poor housekeeping;
 Accidents and unsafe work conditions;
 Adverse weather condition;
 Poor lighting.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Common factors that affects labour productivity:
 Inadequate ventilation;
 Tardiness due to absenteeism;
 Uncontrolled break time; tea or lunch break;
 Shortage and improper welfare facilities;
 High employee turnover;
 Use of improper or inadequately trained craftsmen;
 Delay decisions making by supervisors;
 Poor attitude among employees;
 Poor use or management of overtime or shifts;
 Construction mistakes, errors in drawings or lack of communication;
 Impact of changes on work production.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Impact of Changes:
 Reduce productivity;
 Disruption of momentum or flow of work;
 Changes from errors in construction drawings, unforeseen site conditions/constraints;
 Distraction and neglect in working at other tasks or area;
 Dislike for changes; installation removal and doing the same task again reduces motivation;
 Minimise changes through proper examination of drawings and specification.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Poor weather:
 Rain stops external works e.g. earthworks;
 Protection of work areas;
 Maintenance of access;
 Covering up of newly completed works, eg. concrete, external paint work.
 Flooding/inundation immobilize affected work activities;
 Inaccessible to work areas;
 Time and labour spent on removal of flood water or damaged installations/works;
 Force to change schedules; may delay task and increased cost;
 Planning work activities to suit seasonal weather conditions; allow for flexibility, eg refrain from
starting earthworks during monsoon seasons.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Material Problems:
 Late deliveries;
 Stoppages and restart; loss of momentum.
 Wrong type or quality of materials;
 Removal and damage to materials;
 Need effective material procurement system;
 Correct amount, timely delivery and proper storage area/location.
 Careful attention to construction documents, site conditions/constraints, work assignment packages
and progress of works;
 Competency of material suppliers.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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High Labour Turnover:
 An indication of poor planning, unhappiness or dissatisfaction, lack or poor leadership;
 Wrong use/expectation of labour skill level;
 Use of labour who is unfamiliar with the installation method/task;
 Differences in cultural background especially from foreign worker;
 Maintaining same team of superintendents/construction managers, field engineers and foremen
improve consistency.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Accidents and Unsafe Conditions:
 Prevention or reduce incidents and/or accidents:
 Contractual requirements and mandatory compliance;
 Compliance with state and federal regulation; DOSH;
 Firm commitment and implementation of safety and health program.
 Work stoppages as a result of accidents; delay;
 Feeling of unsafe environment; resulting in reduce productivity;
 Cost of maintaining a healthy and safe jobsite is very much less than the cost of lost productivity,
accidents and stop work orders and compound fines/penalty from authorities;
 Corporate image/reputation tarnish; lost of opportunity;
 Poor housekeeping.
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JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Working Overtime:
 Expensive both in wages and lower productivity;
 Working longer days or additional days on prolong basis generally results in increased injuries
and health and safety problems;
 Slower productivity as a result of fatigue;
 Lower moral; create antagonism among workers;
 Increased cost with lower productivity;
 Avoid overtime:
 Careful and proper planning of work activities and tasks, analyzing work requirement, scheduling;
 Safe working environment;
 Effective leadership.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Project in Existing Facilities or Congested Areas:
 Usually requires more time to complete;
 Congestion can come from space constraints, work or finishes completed by owner’s employees,
existing facilities; refurbishment or remodeling works; activities from owner’s on-going existing
operation;
 Damage to works completed by others or in place; requires replacement or touch-ups;
 Congestion resulting from too many trades working at a constraint area reduce efficiency and
productivity;
 Thorough planning;
 Supplying just sufficient materials; having proper equipment and tolls; sufficient ventilation and lightings; noise and dust control;
isolation of workmen to avoid distraction and disruption by others; timely cleaning-up.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Labour Agreement:
 This is critically important especially if the country of work has an established and strong
presence of labour and construction trade union;
 Between contractor and unions of construction trades;
 Supply of trades’ craftsmen to carry out construction activities;
 Specific procedures for hiring, termination, payment, working conditions; may have establish standard forms;
 Non interference from non union members.
 Between contractor and domestic subcontractor (non union member);
 Supply of trades’ craftsmen to carry out construction activities;
 Agreement less complicated or restrictions/conditions when compared with member from union;
 Local practices/custom will dominate or preferred.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Supervision and Control of Labour:
 The superintendent/construction manager(engineer) is the contractor’s representative who will
control the cost, time and quality.
 This individual is a principal manager of works who supervise the general contractor’s own labour force, oversees all
subcontractors work;
 Correlate and monitor all contractor's construction staff;
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Supervision and Control of Labour:
 Characteristics of a superintendent/construction manager(engineer):
 Visualization and planning skills;
 Ability to organise and motivate people;
 Good understand or knowledge of the works involved; both technical and contractual;
 Ability to decides;
 Innovative, resourceful and ability to adapt;
 Leadership qualities;
 Strong work ethics;
 Good team leader as well as team member.
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Supervision and Control of Labour:
 The foreman/gang(crew) leader has a direct linkage to craftsmen/tradesmen;
 Has the ability to get work done; has the know how to effectively manage the equipment/plant, labour and material to
accomplish a job;
 Ability to evaluate the ability/capability of workmen and carry out effective assignment of works; right worker to the right
job;
 Need to have close working relationship with the superintendent/construction manager(engineer).
 JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
CONTROL
Supervision and Control of Labour:
 Overtime usage:
 Costly equipment compared to labour cost;
 Poor weather conditions impedes completion of job;
 Unavoidable critical activities;
 Manpower shortage;
 Works that only be carried out during certain weather conditions.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND CONTROL
Supervision and Control of Labour:
 Employee Relations:
 Hiring and firing; under perform; poor workmanship;
 Lack of work during near completion.
 Employee Training:
 Can be in-house or external;
 Provides opportunity for vocational training through partnership or special ad-hoc arrangement for specific project;
 Provide training to improve skill; safety awareness;
 Formal and informal training; classroom or on the job training; apprenticeship.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND CONTROL
Supervision and Control of Labour:
 Tools:
 Ensure availability of proper tools;
 Ensure all tools are in good working conditions; provide training for safe use of tools;
 Secured storage area; responsibility lies with the foreman.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Labour Records:
 Provide information for accounting and payment;
 As historical records for future reference; productivity and cost control;
 Weekly reporting on actual labour costs against estimated;
 To determine unit labour cost each activities; for comparison and future reference for
tendering/bidding;
 Direct employment by contractor; time card as verification or proof of time/duration used and
productivity calculation; unit labour cost; payroll.
JOBSITE LABOUR RELATIONS AND
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Labour Records:
 Trades subcontractors especially supply of labour; fortnightly or monthly payroll;
 Cost codes for easy referencing and retrieval;
 Comparison labour report with quantity report for amount of work done:
 For analysis of progress and final project cost and schedule for different work activities;
 As a check on theft and pilferation.