construction personel

Construction Personnel

ASSIGNMENT FOR Construction Personnel

You are a Project Manager on a site where work for 3 k.m. Long Tunnel has been undertaken. The site is remote and takes about 2 days travel to nearest town. Super isor, Technicians & skilled workers are engaged in dangerous / hazardous work. Absenteeism due to sickness, quarrels, drinking are adding to les output of work and chances of accident on site are increasing. Management has urged to do something so that time target can be achieved. Discuss how will you tackle the problem and increase the output of the work.

I. Main problems at site:

a. Drinking waterb. Foodc. First aidd. Conveyancee. Quarrelsf. Problems due to site conditions


g. Communication systemh. electricity

II. Reasons for various problems:

a. Drinking water : As it is a remote place which is too far from a small town obviously there is a problem of drinking water. There might be no supply of drinking water from town by government.

b. Food : As it is a remote place there is problem of availability of raw materials for food, availability of raw material for food also less . Problem of storage of food materials, and energy sources for cooking of food are also less available.

c. First aid : In remote places there is lot of problems relating to first aid and health care, because availability of doctors is very less, some times we may not found a doctor. If some accident happens at site or a person fell ill first aid is mandatory before taking the person to hospital at a far place.

d. Conveyance:

The transportation facility is very poor at remote places, lack of railway transportation and good road transportation.

e. Quarrels:

These are also one of major problems in many project sites, happens mainly due to drinking regional feeling and also the behavior of a person.

f. Problems based on site conditions:


1. If the drilling of the tunnel is dry drilling, lot of dust evolves causing lot of health problems.

2. Ventilation is very less at tunnel site. Fumes and gases evolved in tunneling

3. Circulation of air is also very less it is too difficult to work for the people facing respiratory problems, and creates lot of respiratory problems.

4. Blasting in tunneling also evolves lot of dust and fumes causing severe health problems.

5. Collapsing of tunnel entrance in case of loose weathered rock or rock strata.

6. Slipping and collapsing of tunnel sides in case of tunnel going parallel to the stratified rock strata.

7. Availability of oxygen reduces as the length of tunnel increases. 8. In some tunnels there is a problem of radiation and evolution of

toxic or flammable gases9. Drinking water problem at site.10. Electricity problem in remote places , difficult to provide

sufficient lighting in tunneling and other works based electricity, for example lot of machinery requires electricity, if we use all diesel or gasoline energized machineries , evolves lot of fumes (partially combusted and fully combusted fumes)

g. Communication system:

Now a day’s communication system is life for every project. Lack of communication system enormously increases the time of the project and cost of the project. Many accidents can be avoided and eradicated by communication system.

h. Electricity :


Electricity is very essential for mankind for various purposes like daily habitual at colony and project, and for running of machinery and lot of operations in tunneling. Lack of electricity increases the project cost abnormally and the other problems like fumes and smoke generated by the combustion of diesel or gasoline. The reason for non availability may be of local conditions and remote place.

III. Needs and full fullment on site:

a. Arrangement of drinking water on site at various locations, likely at nearer to the dense working locations, with cleaning at regular intervals.

b. Arrangement of nutritious food by maintaining menu.c. Arranging a vehicle weekly once to go to the town for purchasing and

fulfilling the health and other problems.d. Arranging a first aid centre at site with a proper doctor and medicines.e. Sufficient lighting should be provided at working site.f. Sufficient ventilation also maintained in tunnel.g. Arranging oxygen points at regular interval of every 15 meters.h. In case of dry drilling regular spraying should be done.i. In process of blasting the blasting material used should evolve fewer

fumes, so that ventilated easily.j. Portal cover incase of loose strata at the entrance should be done. Pour

poling is also done in that case.k. Heading benching system adopted in case of horse shoe type tunnel in

case of rock tunnel but the problem is shape of the tunnel is not obtained in single time. Heading is carried out around 100 meters and benching is started.

l. If tunnel is going parallel to a stratified strata rock bolting is done.IV. Suggested methods for hygiene factors and motivational

factors

Motivational factors:1. Giving Entertainment in Sports, Movies etc.2. Arranging Training Programmes. 3. Giving special allowances.4. Good transportation facility.5. Good accommodation with all amenities.


6. Providing good working atmosphere.7. Providing good office facilities.

The concept of construction productivity began in the early 20th century with a series of time and motion studies to improve bricklaying operations. However, it still remains an interesting and a dominant issue in the construction industry, promising cost-savings, timely delivery and efficient usage of resources. Productivity is directly linked to motivation, and motivation is, in turn dependent on productivity. Suitable motivation is, therefore, a contributor to maximising workers’ productivity. The low motivation of construction workers has contributed significantly to the declining productivity that cannot be determined in the construction industry. The study seeks to unravel the factors that affect construction workers’ motivation and the corresponding effect of the identified motivational factors on workers’ performance and overall productivity. Forty factors which usually affect motivation and productivity were obtained from preliminary survey and review of literature. Purposive sampling was employed to select the class of contractors due to the engagement of large number of workers as well as the volume of works undertaken. A survey was, therefore carried out on 32 D1 construction companies obtained from the implementation of Snowball sampling. This was, as a result of the difficulties encountered in accessing the population sample. A total of 183 questionnaires were administered to managers and workers by the adoption of accidental sampling and a response rate 73.22% was obtained. The survey revealed that, among the top ten critical factors (i.e. teamwork, late payment of interim certificate, work based on contract, supervision based on leadership by example and provision of equipment) had great effect on motivation as well as impact on productivity. More so communication, love and belongingness, opportunity to undertake challenging task, identification with goal and overtime were among the critical factors. The following motivational recommendations were made to enhance productivity of workers: i. Double targets should always be set on projects of which the higher target made known to workers and monitor progress with the threshold target. Subordinates should be given praise by supervisors whenever efforts are made to attain the set. ii. Management and immediate supervisors should ensure that good teamwork is established through collaborations, both on and off site by assigning task to groups of workforces with qualified and competent supervisors. iii. There should be timely payment of interim certificates to improve cash flow to facilitate smooth running of projects. iv. There should be a clear line of communication between management and workers. Also


regular interactions should be organised to recognised workers to motivate others to work harder to be recognised one day. v. Workers should be given the opportunity to undertake challenging task under close supervision, not compromising quality, precision and timely delivery and be made to the consequence when these requirements are not met.

Two-factor theory fundamentals: Nicole Crampton at 18724 Aurora Colorado Attitudes and their connection with industrial mental health are related to Maslow's theory of motivation. His findings have had a considerable theoretical, as well as a practical, influence on attitudes toward administration.[2] According to Herzberg, individuals are not content with the satisfaction of lower-order needs at work, for example, those associated with minimum salary levels or safe and pleasant working conditions. Rather, individuals look for the gratification of higher-level psychological needs having to do with achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, and the nature of the work itself. So far, this appears to parallel Maslow's theory of a need hierarchy. However, Herzberg added a new dimension to this theory by proposing a two-factor model of motivation, based on the notion that the presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives lead to worker satisfaction at work, while another and separate set of job characteristics lead to dissatisfaction at work. Thus, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on a continuum with one increasing as the other diminishes, but are independent phenomena. This theory suggests that to improve job attitudes and productivity, administrators must recognize and attend to both sets of characteristics and not assume that an increase in satisfaction leads to decrease in unpleasurable dissatisfaction.

The two-factor, or motivation-hygiene theory, developed from data collected by Herzberg from interviews with a large number of engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area. From analyzing these interviews, he found that job characteristics related to what an individual does — that is, to the nature of the work he performs — apparently have the capacity to gratify such needs as achievement, competency, status, personal worth, and self-realization, thus making him happy and satisfied. However, the absence of such gratifying job characteristics does not appear to lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Instead, dissatisfaction results from unfavorable assessments of such job-related factors as company policies, supervision, technical problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions. Thus, if management wishes to increase satisfaction on the job, it should be concerned with the nature of the work itself — the opportunities it presents for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and for achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the job environment — policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. [1] If management is equally concerned with (as is usually the case), then managers must give attention to both sets of job factors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory#cite_note-multiple17-0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory#cite_note-multiple16-1


The theory was based around interviews with 203 American accountants and engineers in Pittsburgh, chosen because of their professions' growing importance in the business world. The subjects were asked to relate times when they felt exceptionally good or bad about their present job or any previous job, and to provide reasons, and a description of the sequence of events giving rise to that positive or negative feeling.

Here is the description of this interview analysis:

Briefly, we asked our respondents to describe periods in their lives when they were exceedingly happy and unhappy with their jobs. Each respondent gave as many "sequences of events" as he could that met certain criteria—including a marked change in feeling, a beginning and an end, and contained some substantive description other than feelings and interpretations…

The proposed hypothesis appears verified. The factors on the right that led to satisfaction (achievement, intrinsic interest in the work, responsibility, and advancement) are mostly unipolar; that is, they contribute very little to job dissatisfaction. Conversely, the dis-satisfiers (company policy and administrative practices, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, and salary) contribute very little to job satisfaction.

Two-factor theory distinguishes between:

Motivators (e.g., challenging work, recognition, responsibility) that give positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition, achievement, or personal growth.

Hygiene factors:

1. Good Mess facility.2. Heath checkup facilities.3. Cleanliness in both office and in accommodation.4. Purified Water should be provided

Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary, fringe benefits, work conditions) that do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fringe_benefits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_security

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_factors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountant


absence. These are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects such as company policies, supervisory practices, or wages/salary.

Essentially, hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied. Motivation factors are needed to motivate an employee to higher performance. Herzberg also further classified our actions and how and why we do them, for example, if you perform a work related action because you have to then that is classed as movement, but if you perform a work related action because you want to then that is classed as motivation.

Unlike Maslow, who offered little data to support his ideas, Herzberg and others have presented considerable empirical evidence to confirm the motivation-hygiene theory, although their work has been criticized on methodological grounds.

I. Recommendations to management

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be influenced by a variety of factors, e.g. the quality of one's relationship with their supervisor, the quality of the physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment in their work, etc.. Numerous research results show that there are many factors affecting the job satisfaction. There are particular demographic traits (age, education level, tenure, position, marital status, years in service, and hours worked per week) of employees that significantly affect their job satisfaction.Satisfying factors motivate workers while dissatisfying ones prevent. Motivating factors are achievement, recognition, the job conducted, responsibility, promotion and the factors related to the job itself for personal development. Motivating factors in the working environment result in the job satisfaction of the person while protective ones dissatisfy him/her. Maslow connects the creation of the existence of people's sense of satisfaction with the maintenance of the classified needs. These are: physiological needs (eating, drinking, resting, etc.), security needs (pension, health insurance, etc.), the need to love (good relations with the environment, friendship, fellowship, to love and to be loved), need to self-esteem (self-confidence, recognition, adoration, to be given importance, status, etc.) need of self-actualization (maximization of the latent[potential] power and capacity, development of abilities, etc.) . Insufficient education, inability to select qualified workers for the job, lack of communications, lack of job definitions, all affect job satisfaction negatively. It has been asserted that participating in the management, having the decision making power, independence on the job and the unit where the individual works, have positive impact upon the job satisfaction. The job itself (the work conducted), and achievement and recognition at work result in satisfaction while the management policy, relations with the managers and colleagues result in dissatisfaction. Factors related to the job itself such as using talents, creativity, responsibility, recognition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow


have influence on the job satisfaction. Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Studies conducted in five different countries prove that the elder workers are more satisfied . Kose has also found a meaningful relation between the age and job satisfaction . There is a strong connection between feeling secure and saying one is satisfied with a job. People who state their job is secure have a much larger probability of reporting themselves happy with their work.Similarly, by some researchers, sex is also found to have an influence on job satisfaction . Besides, Wahba has found out that male librarians give more importance to personal development and free decision making in their jobs than the female librarians, and the female librarians are more dissatisfied than the male librarians .Job satisfaction and devotion to the job, affected each other reciprocally, and they have great impact upon performance. The most significant of the factors affecting performance are economical, technical, socio-political, cultural and demographical ones . However, most efforts to improve performance seem to center on improving the conditions surrounding the work. These are worthwhile efforts, but they usually result only in short-term improvements in attitudes and productivity, and the situation often returns quickly to normal .There is no strong acceptance among researchers, consultants, etc., that increased job satisfaction produces improve job performance -- in fact, improved job satisfaction can sometimes decrease job performance. For example, you could let workers sometime sit around all day and do nothing. That may make them more satisfied with their "work" in the short run, but their performance certainly doesn't improve. The individual's willingness to get a result, his/her endeavour and expectation of maintaining the result will push him/her to show the highest performance. Job satisfaction varies a lot. (Researches suggests, the higher the prestige of the job, the greater the job satisfaction). But, many workers are satisfied in even the least prestigious jobs. They simply like what they do. Most workers like their work if they have little supervision. The least satisfied workers are those in service occupations and managers that work for others. Ethnic and religious orientation is associated to work attitudes, and job satisfaction is related to education. The difference between the results that the individual desire and those s/he maintained will affect his/her satisfaction . There is a consistent relationship between the professional status and the job satisfaction. High levels of job satisfaction are observed in those professions which are deemed of good standing in the society. The workers usually compare their working conditions with the conditions of the society, under the variable of social conditions. If the social conditions are worse than the individual's working conditions, then this will result in satisfaction of the individual, as the workers deem themselves relatively in good position.


No meaningful relationship between the job satisfaction and age, professional experience, education level, level of wage, sex and professional group was found. On the contrary, professional experience has been claimed to increase job satisfaction.

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Steps in Manpower planning

1. Predict manpower plans 2. Design job description and the job requirements 3. Find adequate sources of recruitment. 4. Give boost to youngsters by appointment to higher posts. 5. Best motivation for internal promotion. 6. Look after the expected losses due to retirement, transfer and other issues. 7. See for replacement due to accident, death, dismissals and promotion.

Factors which affect the efficiency of labor: 1. Inheritance: Persons from good collection are bound to work professionally. The quality and rate of physical as well as mental development, which is dissimilar in case of different individuals is the result of genetic differences. 2. Climate: Climatic location has a definite effect on the efficiency of the workers. 3. Health of worker: worker’s physical condition plays a very important part in performing the work. Good health means the sound mind, in the sound body. 4. General and technical education: education provides a definite impact n the working ability and efficiency of the worker. 5. Personal qualities: persons with dissimilar personal qualities bound to have definite differences in their behaviour and methods of working. The personal qualities influence the quality of work. 6. Wages: proper wages guarantees certain reasons in standard of living, such as cheerfulness, discipline etc. and keep workers satisfy. This provides incentive to work. 7. Hours of work: long and tiring hours of work exercise have bad effect on the competence of the workers.

Downsizing of manpower: Downsizing of manpower gives the correct picture about the number of people to be employed to complete given task in the predetermined period. It is used for achieving fundamental growth in the concern. It can work out the correct price by the resource building or capacity building. It aims at correct place, correct man on a correct job.

Thus manpower planning is must to make the optimum utilization of the greatest resource available i.e. manpower for the success of any organization.


J. Bibliography / Readings

Contract Management in Civil Works Projects - V.A. Prakash, NICMAR Publication.