The Influence of Labour Competencies on the Efficiency of Road Construction Operations in Sri Lanka
Kesavan Manoharan, Pujitha Dissanayake, Chintha Pathirana, Dharsana Deegahawature and Renuka Silva
Abstract
Background: The successful completion of a construction project is largely dependent on the efficiency of labour. But, low efficiency of labour operations is the biggest problem faced by the construction sector in emerging nations like Sri Lanka. Many previous studies highlight that competencies of labour have a significant impact on how well construction operations are executed. However, studies that focus on efficiency improvement in road construction project operations are lacking in the Sri Lankan construction industry, even though both the public and private sectors invest more in road construction as a part of the development process of the nation's infrastructure. Accordingly, this study intended to pinpoint the crucial competencies of labourers that have a significant impact on how well road construction projects in Sri Lanka operate.
Methods: The significant knowledge and skill elements were qualitatively identified through literature surveys and interviews. A total of 40 scholarly articles were included in the literature survey. The collected data was analysed using the qualitative thematic analysis. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 39 road construction contractors who were identified using the snowball sampling method. The relative importance index (RII) method was used to determine the influence level of those elements on the efficiency of road construction projects.
Results: A total of 27 causes were found to be critical, where the top five ranking labour-related criteria were found to be the lack of thinking abilities, lack of knowledge in construction works, communication issues, lack of labour morale/commitment and labour discipline. Through statistical testing, the validity and reliability of the study findings were confirmed.
Conclusions: It is strongly advised to take the crucial labour competencies found in this study into consideration, to improve and enhance the construction labour force in the industry. The study findings are anticipated to be extremely helpful in similar circumstances for the Sri Lankan construction sector as well as other growing construction industries.
Keywords: Construction Industry, Labour Skills, Road Projects, Sri Lanka