Unintended consequences of management strategies for improving labor productivity in construction industry

Area of Science:

• Construction Management
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Human Resource Management

Background:

• Labor productivity and safety are critical in construction, yet research on their interrelationship is limited.
• Project managers need guidance on how management strategies affect both productivity and safety outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of human resource and construction management strategies on safety performance.
• To analyze the interaction effects between these management strategy groups on construction safety.

Main Methods:

• Data collected via surveys from 111 general construction projects.
• Statistical analysis to measure the impact of specific management strategies and their interactions.

Main Results:

• 'Communication' strategies negatively impacted safety performance.
• 'Labor Management,' 'Supervision and Leadership,' 'Planning,' and 'Management of Construction' strategies enhanced safety.
• Interactions between human resource and construction management strategies did not consistently benefit safety.

Conclusions:

• Management strategies have a complex relationship with construction safety performance.
• Project managers can leverage specific strategies to boost productivity without compromising safety.
• Understanding strategy interactions is key to optimizing both productivity and safety in construction projects.