Fundamental Principles of Workforce Management

This paper was written to fill a void created by the absence of fundamental principles of site construction management. Efficient workforce utilization is essential to managing a productive and cost efficient site. For more than 25years, the senior author has been observing and writing about inefficient labor productivity practices resulting from poor site management practices. Using deductive reasoning, fundamental principles were developed to avoid poor practices. General and fundamental principles related to performance measures and daily work schedules are cited. Additional principles are cited in the categories of work assignments, crew structure, disruptions, multiskilling, preassemblies and modules, and symbiotic crew relationships. The principles have been intentionally left general so as to apply to a broad range of situations.