A New Metric for Labor Productivity: Case Study of a Multi-Family Residential Project

The aim of this study is to present a labor productivity metric analysis with a case study. The objectives of this analysis include (1) to help project managers compare the project progress with labor productivity and take managerial actions quickly regarding the project performance; and (2) to fill the gap in the literature on case study-based labor productivity examinations of repeated construction units. In the first step of this research, a literature review was conducted on the productivity measurement of labor in the construction sector. After the literature review, the labor productivity metric was developed as a gap analysis that uses labor productivity to revise the schedule in project management and make quick decisions. A case study of a multi-family residential project involving multiple repetitiveprocesses was performed to identify challenges and lessons learned. According to the results of the case study, a delayed project was rescheduled using efficiency data. During the case study, interviews with experts involved in theproject were conducted, and relevant site reports were examined for data collection. The consensus of the experts is that the metric is useful and applicable. However, in order to increase the practicality of the metric, it is necessary to try it in more numbers, on a larger scale and in some specific projects, and to create a broad knowledge base.