labour productivity on construction sites

On many projects poor labour productivity is a major problem. It results in tasks costing more than was originally budgeted, causes schedule slippage, and means more personnel are required than allowed for, in turn increasing accommodation and transport costs, and even requiring additional supervisory staff.
  The obvious sign of poor labour productivity is personnel standing idle on site during work hours. This could be due to a number of reasons for example:

• workers not being supervised properly or the Supervisor being poorly organised
  
  
• excessive and lengthy staff meetings resulting in workers being unsupervised for lengthy periods and waiting for further instructions, or simply taking the opportunity to take an extended break
  
  
• a lack of access to the work area caused by:
  
  
  • other workers or contractors working in the area
    
    
  • scaffolding being unavailable
    
    
  • access routes being closed
    
    
• workers waiting for equipment like cranes
  
  
• waiting for material, like concrete deliveries
  
  
• too many workers on site
  
  
• too many workers of a particular trade and not enough of another trade
  
  
• one trade waiting for another to finish
  
  
• workers being poorly trained and unable to skilfully carry out the tasks or achieve the required quality
  
  
• workers feeling unhappy or unmotivated to work
  
  

It’s important to ascertain the reasons the workers are idle because the costs can be enormous.