How slow is labour-based technology compared with equipment-intensive technology?

Conclusions

The technical content and the rate of progress for a total of 34 donor-funded feeder road projects executed between 1993 and 1997 were analysed. The results show that:

• 1. Different multiple regression equations involving the technical content of the project defined in terms of the contents of site preparation, reshaping, gravelling, culverts and earthworks per unit length of road as independent variables, and the rate of progress as dependent variable, exist for equipment-intensive and for labour-based projects.

• 2. On projects of low culvert and low earthworks content involving full site preparation, full reshaping and full gravelling, whereas, labour-based contractors on the average could achieve 1,3km per month, equipment-intensive contractors were 2,3 times faster. On the other hand, when the gravelling content is very low, equipment-intensive contractors were only 1,3 times faster than the labour-based contractors who could then achieve 3,0km per month.

• 3. However, only about 50 per cent of the rate of progress on these projects can be accounted for by the technical content of the projects, other factors accounting for the remaining 50 per cent.

• (a) Equipment breakdown affected the rate of progress of both labour-based and equipment-intensive projects but the effect is more severe on the latter.

• (b) Excessive rainfall was an important factor for both methods.

• (c) For labour-based projects, labour availability and undertasking were important factors that affected the rate of progress.