As construction projects play an important role in a country’s economy, it is vital to improve their productivity. Labour productivity is considered one of the major measures of construction productivity. Therefore, improving labour productivity in construction industry is recognized as critical for the national economy of Sri Lanka. This research is conducted to identify the critical factors affecting labour productivity of large-scale building construction projects in Sri Lanka. Thirty-nine factors that affect the construction labour productivity were identified from reviewing the literature. These factors were modified and thirty-two factors were short listed to match the Sri Lankan context with the help of experts in the industry. In order to collect the data required for the study, a questionnaire was distributed among the selected sample of project management professionals in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The Relative Importance Index (RII) method was used to analyse the data and to identify the critical factors affecting labour productivity. The top five critical factors were identified as shortage of experienced labourers, insufficient skill level of labourers, shortage of materials, rework, and unavailability of suitable tools and equipment. The main recommendations of the study include enhancing training and development opportunities for workers, developing policies to improve the skill levels of the workforce, focusing on target-based wage system instead of a daily wage system, maintaining continuous information sharing among stakeholders, and providing the appropriate tools and equipment for construction work through effective equipment management plans. The recommendations of this study are expected to contribute to improving the labour productivity of future building construction projects in Sri Lanka.
Lakshan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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