Share:


Application of fuzzy fault tree analysis to identify factors influencing construction labor productivity: a high-rise building case study

    Shahab Shoar   Affiliation
    ; Audrius Banaitis   Affiliation

Abstract

The aim of this research is to develop a systematic approach to identify and prioritize the most influencing factors on labor productivity in a construction project, with respect to their interrelations, and also investigate different scenarios which can affect it. In the first step, factors influencing construction labor productivity were identified through reviewing previous researches. Applying a group of experts, the most important factors were then determined using their relative importance index in the second step. In the third step, the interrelations among factors were determined through several sessions and interviewing those experts. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed methodology is proved by implementing in a real high rise building construction project. In this step, the selected factors from previous steps were used subsequently for analyzing their impact on labor productivity through fuzzy fault tree analysis. The probability of occurrence of events was determined according to the opinions of four members of the project management team who involved in that project. The most critical causes were also identified using importance analysis. It is believed that using the proposed methodology, appropriate response strategies could be adopted against the identified critical events to enhance the overall productivity of a construction project.

Keyword : construction management, quantitative risk analysis, labor productivity, influential factors, fault tree analysis, fuzzy set theory

How to Cite
Shoar, S., & Banaitis, A. (2019). Application of fuzzy fault tree analysis to identify factors influencing construction labor productivity: a high-rise building case study. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 25(1), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2019.7785
Published in Issue
Jan 25, 2019
Abstract Views
2031
PDF Downloads
1278
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abbasbandy, S., & Hajjari, T. (2010). Weighted trapezoidal approximation-preserving cores of a fuzzy number. Computers & Mathematics with Applications, 59(9), 3066-3077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.camwa.2010.02.026

Abdelgawad, M., & Fayek, A. R. (2011). Fuzzy reliability analyzer: Quantitative assessment of risk events in the construction industry using fuzzy fault-tree analysis. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 137(4), 294-302. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000285

Alaghbari, W., Al-Sakkaf, A. A., & Sultan, B. (2019). Factors affecting construction labour productivity in Yemen. International Journal of Construction Management, 19(1), 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2017.1382091

Alinaitwe, H. M., Mwakali, J. A., & Hansson, B. (2007). Factors affecting the productivity of building craftsmen – Studies of Uganda. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 13(3), 169-176. https://doi.org/10.3846/13923730.2007.9636434

Alkay, E., Watkins, C., & Keskin, B. (2018). Explaining spatial variation in housing construction activity in Turkey. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 22(2), 119-130. https://doi.org/10.3846/ijspm.2018.443

Borcherding, J. D., & Liou, F. S. (1986). Work sampling can predict unit rate productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 112(1), 90-103. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1986)112:1(90)

Chigara, B., & Moyo, T. (2014). Factors affecting labor productivity on building projects in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, 3(1), 57-65. https://doi.org/10.7492/IJAEC.2014.005

Chin, K. S., Wang, Y. M., Poon, G. K. K., & Yang, J. B. (2009). Failure mode and effects analysis using a group-based evidential reasoning approach. Computers & Operations Research, 36(6), 1768-1779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2008.05.002

Dai, J., Goodrum, P. M., & Maloney, W. F. (2009). Construction craft workers’ perceptions of the factors affecting their productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135(3), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2009)135:3(217)

Dai, J., Goodrum, P. M., Maloney, W. F., & Srinivasan, C. (2009). Latent structures of the factors affecting construction labor productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135(5), 397-406. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2009)135:5(397)

Durdyev, S., & Ismail, S. (2017). The build-operate-transfer model as an infrastructure privatisation strategy for Turkmenistan. Utilities Policy, 48, 195-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2016.12.002

Durdyev, S., & Mbachu, J. (2018). Key constraints to labour productivity in residential building projects: Evidence from Cambodia. International Journal of Construction Management, 18(5), 385-393. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2017.1326301

Durdyev, S., Ismail, S., & Kandymov, N. (2018). Structural equation model of the factors affecting construction labor productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(4), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001452

Durdyev, S., Zavadskas, K. E., Thurnell, D., Banaitis, A., & Ihtiyar, A. (2018). Sustainable construction industry in Cambodia: Awareness, drivers and barriers. Sustainability, 10(2), 392. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020392

El-Gohary, K., & Aziz, R. (2014). Factors influencing construction labor productivity in Egypt. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000168

Enshassi, A., Mohamed, S., Abu Mustafa, Z., & Mayer, P. E. (2007). Factors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Strip. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 13(4), 245-254.

Enshassi, A., Mohamed, S., Mayer, P., & Abed, K. (2007). Benchmarking masonry labor productivity. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 56(4), 358-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400710745342

Fagbenle, O. I., Ogunde, A. O., & Owolabi, J. D. (2011). Factors affecting the performance of labour in Nigerian construction sites. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 251-257.

Fayek, A. R. (2011). Fuzzy hybrid modeling for strategic construction analysis and delivery. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair proposal, Department of Civil and Environmental. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.

Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Thousand Oaks, California, CA.: Sage publications.

Franke, U., Flores, W. R., & Johnson, P. (2009). Enterprise architecture dependency analysis using fault trees and Bayesian networks. In Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Simulation Symposium (ANSS 2009), (pp. 209-216). San Diego, CA: Society for Computer Simulation International

Fulford, R., & Standing, C. (2014). Construction industry productivity and the potential for collaborative practice. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 315-326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2013.05.007

Ghoddousi, P., & Hosseini, M. R. (2012). A survey of the factors affecting the productivity of construction projects in Iran. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 18(1), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2012.661203

Gündüz, U., & Kaya, T. (2017). Regional employment generation potential of the Turkish labor market: An inter-sectoral perspective. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 23(5), 726-741. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2015.1015110

Hafez, S. M., Aziz, R. F., Morgan, E. S., Abdullah, M. M., & Ahmed, E. K. (2014). Critical factors affecting construction labor productivity in Egypt. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 2(2), 35-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140202.14

Hanna, A. S., Taylor, C. S., & Sullivan, K. T. (2005). Impact of extended overtime on construction labor. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131(6), 734-739. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:6(734)

Heravi, G., & Eslamdoost, E. (2015). Applying artificial neural networks for measuring and predicting construction-labor productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 141(10), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:6(734)

Hickson, B. G., & Ellis, L. A. (2014). Factors affecting construction labour productivity in Trinidad and Tobago. The Journal of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago, 42(1), 4-11.

Hiyassat, M. A., Hiyari, M. A., & Sweis, G. J. (2016). Factors affecting construction labour productivity: A case study of Jordan. International Journal of Construction Management, 16(2), 138-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2016.1142266

Hoyland, A., & Rausand, M. (2004). System reliability theory models and statistical methods (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Hwang, B. G., Zhao, X., & Do, T. H. V. (2014). Influence of trade‐level coordination problems on project productivity. Project Management Journal, 45(5), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21445

Iverson, S., Kerkering, J., Coleman, P., & Spokane, W. (2001). Using fault tree analysis to focus mine safety research. In Proceedings of the 108th Annual meeting of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (pp. 1-10).

Jarkas, A. (2012). Buildability factors influencing concreting labour productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 138(1), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000404

Jarkas, A. M. (2015). Factors influencing labour productivity in Bahrain’s construction industry. International Journal of Construction Management, 15(1), 94-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2015.1012143

Jarkas, A. M., & Bitar, C. G. (2012). Factors affecting construction labour productivity in Kuwait. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 138(7), 811-820. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000501

Jarkas, A. M., Al Balushi, R. A., & Raveendranath, P. K. (2015). Determinants of construction labour productivity in Oman. International Journal of Construction Management, 15(4), 332-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2015.1094849

Kales, P. (2006). Reliability for technology, engineering and management. Taipei: Pearson Education Taiwan Ltd.

Kaming, P. F., Holt, G. D., Kometa, S. T., & Olomolaiye, P. O. (1998). Severity diagnosis of productivity problems – A reliability analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 16(2), 107-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(97)00036-7

Karimi, H., Taylor, T. R. B., & Goodrum, P. M. (2017). Analysis of the impact of craft labour availability on North American construction project productivity and schedule performance. Construction Management and Economics, 35(6), 368-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2017.1294257

Lavasani, S. M., Ramzali, N., Sabzalipour, F., & Akyuz, E. (2015). Utilisation of Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis (FFTA) for quantified risk analysis of leakage in abandoned oil and natural-gas wells. Ocean Engineering, 108, 729-737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2015.09.008

Lindhe, A., Rosen, L., Norberg, T., & Bergstedt, O. (2009). Fault tree analysis for integrated and probabilistic risk analysis of drinking water systems. Water Research, 43(6), 1641-1653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2008.12.034

Ma, L., Liu, C., & Reed, R. (2017). The impacts of residential construction and property prices on residential construction outputs: An inter-market equilibrium approach. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 21(3), 296-306. https://doi.org/10.3846/1648715X.2016.1255675

Nasirzadeh, F., & Nojedehi, P. (2013). Dynamic modeling of labor productivity in construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), 903-911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.11.003

O’Connor, P. D. T. (2002). Practical reliability engineering. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Oglesby, C., Parker, H., & Howell, G. (1989). Productivity improvement in construction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Parchami Jalal, M., & Shoar, S. (2017). A hybrid SD-DEMATEL approach to develop a delay model for construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 24(4), 629-651. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-02-2016-0056

Robles, G., Stifi, A., Ponz-Tienda, J. L., & Gentes, S. (2014). Labor productivity in the construction industry – Factors influencing the Spanish construction labor productivity. International Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 8(10), 1061-1070.

Shoar, S., & Nazari, A. (2018). An optimization framework for risk response actions selection using hybrid ACO and FTOPSIS. Scientia Iranica (in Press). https://doi.org/10.24200/sci.2018.20225

Shoar, S., Zarandi, H. R., Nasirzadeh, F., & Cheshmikhani, E. (2017). Fast fault tree analysis for hybrid uncertainties using stochastic logic implemented on field‐programmable gate arrays: An application in quantitative assessment and mitigation of welding defects risk. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 33, 1367-1385. https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.2110

Tanaka, H., Fan, T. L., Lai, F. S., & Toguchi, K. (1983). Fault-tree analysis by fuzzy probability. IEEE Transactions on Reliability, 32(5), 453-457. https://doi.org/10.1109/TR.1983.5221727

Yi, W., & Chan, A. P. C. (2014). Critical review of labor productivity research in construction journals. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(2), 214-225. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000194

Zadeh, L. (1965). Fuzzy sets. Information and Control, 8(3), 338-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-9958(65)90241-X

Zhang, L., Skibniewski, M. J., Wu, X., Chen, Y., & Deng, Q. (2014). A probabilistic approach for safety risk analysis in metro construction. Safety Science, 63, 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2013.10.016