Design of construction flows with variable working staff

Introduction . Modern construction process is carried out mainly by the production line method. Time is money. This means that the speed of creating the final product plays a major role. However, the use of the production line method requires continuous functioning of the entire organizational and technological system. Any element that falls out of it can lead to a breakdown of all processes and, ultimately, to an increase in the construction period. Labor resources in construction is a parameter that is sometimes more difficult to be taken into account compared to materials that vary in price. This is due to the fact that such resources are living resources, which means that the uncertainty factor should be of much greater importance compared to calculating other resources. The purpose of this study is to develop a scientific and methodological approach to designing construction flows in conditions of qualified labor shortage aimed at reducing the number of downtimes and, as a result, increasing labor productivity. As a research model, a situation was used in which, on the one hand, due to technological features, different numbers of workers are needed at different sites, and, on the other hand, there is uncertainty with labor availability. Materials and methods . In the study mathematical statistics has been used. The database was formed based on the information from open sources, as well as information from construction contractors the author worked for as a post-graduate student of the Don State Technical University. The reliability of this data was confirmed during long-term cooperation of these enterprises with the university and a fairly large sample of statistical data. Regular monitoring production standards compliance at the enterprises under the study, analysis of time parameters of the flow, monitoring resource consumption, analysis of work quality were used. Methods for solving current problems related to labor force were recorded. The experience of construction organizations has shown that combining occupations is very productive, when a worker from one professional field can temporarily (from one day to several weeks) work in another profession. Results . The study allowed to: identify the reasons for the shortage and turnover of workers (lack of qualified personnel in the required profession on the labor market, low salary level, small benefits, high morbidity rate, seasonal nature of some jobs, etc.); suggest measures for minimizing the personnel turnover in construction; calculate the construction flow with unstable teams of workers; propose measures to neutralize the uncertainty in providing workforce for construction flows (to optimize personnel issues in flow construction); develop proposals for combining blue-collar jobs; analyze the results of implementing the proposed measures. Discussion and conclusions . The practical value of the study is related to the possibility for construction organizations to solve the problem of labor shortage without using economic methods and without spending significant funds. The results of our study have been practically implemented. In the future, it would be desirable to conduct a study in the field of psychology on the rapid adaptation of temporary workers. Psychological aspects are very important in cases of frequent replacement of workers. This is especially important in situations with temporary works organization, since it is impossible to provide a long gradual adaptation of workers.