9th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Singapore, Singapore - 2001

Envelopment Methodology to Measure and Compare Subcontractor Productivity at the Firm Level

Mohammad El-Mashaleh1, William J. O'Brien2 & Kerry London3

1Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Civl & Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, [email protected]
2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civl & Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, 345 Weil Hall, PO Box 116580, Gainesville, Florida 32611-6580, USA, [email protected]
3Senior Lecturer, School of Construction, UNITEC, Carrington Rd, Private Bag 92025, Auckland, New Zealand, [email protected]

Abstract

This paper describes a conceptual approach to measure and compare productivity of resource utilization at the firm level, adapting a set of techniques known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Within this approach, the paper addresses the issues of multiple inputs and multiple outputs of a construction firm, level of detail for data collection, and the required transformations to correct for differences among projects. In particular, we focus on the resource management of subcontractors. Subcontractors manage multiple, concurrent projects and must allocate limited resources across these projects. Interaction between projects and resource allocation creates non-linear effects, and therefore the productivity of the firm is not simply the productivity of its projects. The proposed measurement methodology will allow assessment of the impact of different management policies (including many of those proposed by lean construction researchers) on firm performance. It is hoped that this novel approach to productivity measurement will help subcontractors identify efficient practices and superior management policies, and will promote adoption of these policies.

Keywords

Construction productivity, construction efficiency, subcontractor resource management, total factor productivity, data envelopment analysis, lean construction.

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Reference

El-Mashaleh, M. , O'Brien, W. J. & London, K. 2001. Envelopment Methodology to Measure and Compare Subcontractor Productivity at the Firm Level, 9th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , -. doi.org/

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