Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Road construction in Ethiopia is booming and radiating from Addis Ababa towards North-East and East-West directions to fulfill its long-term development program. Transportation is a prime mover to all sectors in the country to uplift the economic activities of the populace in the locality. In most countries, experience and related literature have revealed that road construction labor costs accounted for 30-60% of the total cost of a project, depending on the terrain and source of materials, labor, and equipment to be utilized. Therefore, construction labor productivity plays a vital role in the performance and profitability of road construction projects. Road sector construction projects in Ethiopia are means through which development strategies are achieved. This research study gives insight on the assessment of the factors affecting labor productivity in road construction projects through a structured questionnaire survey of 83 respondents working on construction road projects in Oromia Region, Bale Zone. Respondents were required to rate how the 61 factors affecting labor productivity with respect to the importance and frequency of occurrence. Understanding these factors is helpful for the construction professionals who work on the initial phase of construction planning in order to efficiently deliver the project plan and to solve poor labor productivity. The results of this survey were then analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII) and ranked. The reliability of these 61 factors for assessing the effect on labor productivity was tested by Chronbach’s alpha measurement, and the results indicated that the 30 factors tested are reliable (α= 0.973), and checked by SPSS. The result of this analysis showed that there are 11 groups that have significant impacts on the labor productivity ranked as Material and Equipment Factor with RII=0.819, Manpower and WorkForce Factor with RII=0.764, Management Factor with RII=0.737, Quality Factors with RII=0.720, Supervision Factor with RII=0.699, Safety Factor with RII=0.691, Motivation Factor with RII=0.682, Schedule Factor with RII=0.647, Political Factor with RII=0.620, Natural and environmental Factor with RII=0.566 and Cultural and Religious Factor with RII=0.541. Based on the results of this research study, the top factors that affect labor productivity includes Lack of experience of labor, Material construction shortage, Lack of labor skills, Accident, Tools and Equipment shortage, Labor’s bad habit, Poor site management, Lack of Labor surveillance, Payment delay and Ignore safety precautions. Therefore, this research study suggests that the contractors should assign project managers and construction supervisors with sufficient managerial skills in road construction projects so that when there are any problems which may arise, it would be acted and solved immediately at the project site. On the other hand, the role of the Ethiopian government in project implementation is very significant, which requires proper attention to the productivity issue to enforce hard and fast laws and regulation which help to obtain productive workforce in the road construction industry.

Abstract

Road construction in Ethiopia is in high demand to meet its short and long-term goals in infrastructure development programs. The road network is constructed radiating outwards North-South and East-West direction of the Capital City. Some projects are experiencing weather malady due to changing weather conditions in project locations. The study area of this research was focused on some selected projects in Addis Ababa and Oromia. The research had been addressed the effects of changes in weather in the three project planning phases, namely conception planning, design planning, and construction planning. A quantitative research design was used in this study. A literature review was undertaken and the result of which showed that the effects of weather changes are not extensively researched in the construction industry and there are limited references on the effects of weather change within the road construction industry. Sample data were obtained from sixty-three (63) construction practitioners through questionnaires, which were mailed to prospective respondents to assess their opinions. Questions were subdivided into three relevant areas covering demographics, experience with weather change factors, and the effects of weather change on road construction project planning. The study found that the effects of weather change on road construction project planning are similar to those found in other construction industries. The effects of weather change factors on road project planning vary with planning phases. These weather change factors as well as their effects were listed and ranked based on their frequency of occurrence and mean score. An independent sample t-test was used to compare respondents’ opinions on weather change effects between the two sample groups taken in Addis Ababa and part of Oromia. A partial correlation was also employed to identify the relationship between weather change factors and their effect on road construction project planning using SPSS-20. Delay of site preparation activities as a result of weather change on road project conception planning phase has a mean score of 4.30 Addis Ababa and 4.00 in for Oromia, while the influence of weather change on the selection and specification of construction materials for road project design planning phase has the highest mean score of 4.23 for Addis Ababa and 4.03 for Oromia. The effect of weather change on road workers' physiological comfort and quality of work for the road project construction planning phase has the highest mean score of 4.80 and 4.58 in Addis Ababa and Oromia, respectively. The study concludes with recommendations for potential research and with useful information and considerations on the effects of weather change on road construction project planning for construction professionals and project managers.