An evaluation of productivity factors in Tanzania

This paper is based on research aimed at evaluating construction labour productivity with the view to improving construction industry performance in Tanzania. Comparative analysis of macro-productivity with Kenya, and UK over a 25 year period indicated a downward trend. Analysis of site based productivity data indicated a wide variability and that its distribution was skewed to the left suggesting that productivity was low for most of the operatives. These characteristics were indicative of the productivity improvement potential in ~e building construction industry. This paper follows on from these findings by .discovering some of the possible factors contributing to the variability through an opinion survey involving key construction process owners. The paper reports on productivity factors as perceived by construction operatives. A total of 50 operatives were interviewed to provide their ratings on the influence of predetermined factors on their productivity. An evaluation of the results indicated a high degree of consistency. The ratings were then used as a basis of general ranking of the factors. An independent sample of 40 operatives' opinion was used to validate the results. The operatives' ratings were then compared with results of an opinion survey amongst contractors. A detailed description of the statistical tools and procedures used in the analysis is presented.