An Internal Benchmarking and Metrics (BM&M) Model for Industrial Construction Enterprise to Understand the Impact of Practices Implementation Level on Construction Productivity

Abstract

Construction productivity improvement is a key concern for construction companies and the industry. Productivity in construction is a complex issue because: (1) it is influenced by multiple factors interactively; and (2) it is measured in different forms and at different levels of detail for different purposes. This objective of this research is to develop an internal Benchmarking and Metrics (BM&M) model for industrial construction enterprises to help them understand and implement mechanisms for continuously improving construction productivity. Processes are developed in the model for: 1. Measuring and reporting craft labour productivity performance in a consistent form for the purposes of internal benchmarking and comparison with a selected third-party benchmark, 2. Examining productivity influencing factors in two categories with respect to construction environment factors and construction practices implementation, 3. Establishing a productivity performance evaluation model to understand the mechanisms by which the environment factors and construction practices impact construction productivity, and 4. Conducting strategic gaps analysis of construction practices implementation within a company aimed at achieving “best in class” and continuous improvement. System functions in the model are validated through functional demonstration by applying statistical analysis on data collected by the designed benchmarking process and metrics from an industrial construction company. It is concluded that the model developed can be effectively used to understand the impact of practices implementation levels on construction productivity.