Systematic Review of the Literature on Construction Productivity

Productivity, defined as output per input, is a key performance indicator. Construction is one of the least productive industries, and in this paper we explore how productivity measurement can be improved. The findings are based on a review of more than 100 studies. First, we summarize the indicators and data sources used to measure productivity at the macro (economic) and micro (more detailed) levels. Then we explore industry-level productivity trends. Contrary to popular belief, US construction productivity has not declined or stagnated over time. Also, the US has consistently outperformed the UK, Germany, and France. Next, we identify the most critical factors affecting construction productivity. These are related to labor, equipment and technology, construction site, schedule, supervisors, and materials. We also discuss new technologies that can help improve productivity: off-site construction, building information modeling, material tracking technologies, and automated productivity monitoring. Finally, we discuss challenges in this area: the unsuitability of labor productivity as an indicator, issues with activity-level productivity analysis, the disconnect between macro and micro levels, and the lack of micro-level productivity databases.