Critical Review of Labor Productivity Research in Construction Journals

TLDR

Construction labor productivity research has produced many theories and practices, yet the field remains highly diversified and lacks systematic analysis. This paper critically reviews CLP research at industry, project, and activity levels to assess current state and trends. The authors conducted a systematic review of papers from prominent construction management journals, identifying key research areas such as influencing factors, modeling, improvement methods, trends, and benchmarking. The review highlights research gaps, proposes future directions, and offers a platform for researchers and practitioners to understand recent developments and trends.

Abstract

A significant body of literature has been dedicated to research studies on construction labor productivity (CLP) and related issues, and many underlying theories and industrial practices on CLP application have been reported. However, research topics about CLP are highly diversified and there is a lack of systematic analysis in CLP-related issues. Through a systematic review of selected papers from well-known academic journals in construction management, major research areas are identified, such as factors affecting CLP, modeling and evaluation of CLP, methods and technology for CLP improvement, trends and comparisons of CLP, effects of change/variation on CLP, and baseline/benchmarking CLP. Critical reviews on these areas are presented by focusing on industry, project, and activity levels to investigate the state of the art and trends in CLP research. Gaps in research and practices are discussed and future research directions are proposed. The outcome of this paper may provide a platform for both researchers and industrial practitioners to appreciate the latest developments and trends in productivity research.