Causes and mitigation for declining productivity in the Australian mid-rise residential construction sector

PurposeThe construction industry is a significant driver of economic activity in many countries. However, there has been a lack of growth in productivity within the Australian construction sector over recent years. The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of the causes for decl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Built environment project and asset management 2018-07, Vol.8 (3), p.253-266
Main Authors: Böhme, Tillmann, Escribano, Alberto, Heffernan, Emma Elizabeth, Beazley, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annual reports
Case depth
Case studies
Construction contracts
Construction industry
Construction methods
Data analysis
Data collection
Design
Economic conditions
Feasibility studies
Gantt charts
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Identification
Literature reviews
Managers
Productivity
Project management
R&D
Research & development
Research design
Residential areas
Residential buildings
Residential development
Suppliers
Supply chains
Workforce
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:PurposeThe construction industry is a significant driver of economic activity in many countries. However, there has been a lack of growth in productivity within the Australian construction sector over recent years. The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of the causes for declining productivity within the Australian mid-rise residential construction network.Design/methodology/approachTwo in-depth case studies have been conducted with a builder and developer, both significant entities of the Australian mid-rise residential construction network. Case study data collection comprised a five-stage process including semi-structured interviews and archival information review.FindingsDrivers for declining construction productivity were identified under the categories of: industry-, firm- and project-level productivity. The drivers include: incomplete documentation, design changes, inefficient project management, supply chain fragmentation, among others.Originality/valueThe contribution of this study is the identification and categorisation of major issues impacting sector productivity along the mid-rise residential construction supply chain. The research identified that the substructure and superstructure are the construction phases during which most productivity losses occur. Mitigations are discussed in terms of systemic sector productivity increases at an industry, firm and project levels.
ISSN:2044-124X
2044-1258
DOI:10.1108/BEPAM-10-2017-0097