An investigation into the influence of buildability factors on productivity of in situ reinforced concrete construction
type: CreativeWork
description: Construction productivity is one of the most frequently researched topics due to its importance to the viability of the industry. It is regarded as a true reflection of the efficiency and economic success of the operations.Despite the plethora of research into construction productivity reported over the years, a thorough examination of the literature revealed a dearth of research into the influence of buildability factors, i.e.design variables, on the labour productivity of one of the most important materials in the construction industry; in situ reinforced concrete.According to the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), buildability is defined as "the extent to which the design of a building facilitates ease of construction, subject to the overall requirements for the completed building". Apart from the Singaporean Buildable Design Appraisal System (BOAS), which suffers from major shortcomings, to date, no comprehensive study was conducted to investigate and quantify the effects and relative influence of architectural and structural buildability factors on the labour productivity of in situ reinforced concrete buildings. In this project, the major buildability factors hypothesised to influence the labour productivity of the main trades, i.e. formwork, reinforcing steel fixing, concreting and finishing, included grid patterns of footings and columns, type of structural framing system, geometry and dimensions of elements,height of floors, the degree of design rationalisation, standardisation and repetition of elements, reinforcing steel quantity and diameters, location and congestion of reinforcement, volume and workability of concrete as well as surface finish.In addition, and due to its importance to the productivity of the construction industry, the effect of the learning curve theory has been the subject of several previous studies. However, a comprehensive investigation of the impact of the learning phenomenon on the major trades ass…
abstract: Construction productivity is one of the most frequently researched topics due to its importance to the viability of the industry. It is regarded as a true reflection of the efficiency and economic success of the operations.Despite the plethora of research into construction productivity reported over the years, a thorough examination of the literature revealed a dearth of research into the influence of buildability factors, i.e.design variables, on the labour productivity of one of the most important materials in the construction industry; in situ reinforced concrete.According to the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), buildability is defined as "the extent to which the design of a building facilitates ease of construction, subject to the overall requirements for the completed building". Apart from the Singaporean Buildable Design Appraisal System (BOAS), which suffers from major shortcomings, to date, no comprehensive study was conducted to investigate and quantify the effects and relative influence of architectural and structural buildability factors on the labour productivity of in situ reinforced concrete buildings. In this project, the major buildability factors hypothesised to influence the labour productivity of the main trades, i.e. formwork, reinforcing steel fixing, concreting and finishing, included grid patterns of footings and columns, type of structural framing system, geometry and dimensions of elements,height of floors, the degree of design rationalisation, standardisation and repetition of elements, reinforcing steel quantity and diameters, location and congestion of reinforcement, volume and workability of concrete as well as surface finish.In addition, and due to its importance to the productivity of the construction industry, the effect of the learning curve theory has been the subject of several previous studies. However, a comprehensive investigation of the impact of the learning phenomenon on the major trades ass…
author: Jarkas, Abdulaziz Mohammad
language: eng
date published: 2005
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:07:25Z
provider: University of Dundee
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Dundee