Abstract
Globally, the construction industry is a key contributor to national economies including Singapore’s. However, the industry is a serial productivity underperformer. The literature argues that mechanization, automation and use of advanced technologies help improve construction productivity, but real-world case studies are limited in number. This paper presents a case study of the introduction of mechanization to improve the level of construction productivity in Singapore. The case study under investigation was the production/fabrication of steel gratings, the conventional process of which depends heavily on labor with few workers present on site. The majority of these workers are migrant workers, which contributes to a significant social concern in Singapore. The case study organization introduced a more advanced laser cutting machine to the process. The project team observed the process of using the laser cutting machine, and quantitative and qualitative data were obtained. The researchers observed the processes, both conventional and updated, and recorded the data on both methods. The quantitative data were comparatively analyzed to investigate the relative quality, efficiency and productivity of the two methods. The data revealed that the mechanization process achieved a productivity improvement (or savings) in man-days of at least 78%. Material wastage was reduced, and moreover, less reliance was placed on migrant workers, which helped to mitigate the social concerns created by the influx of foreign workers to Singapore. The findings also shed some light on the positive influence of government incentives to improve the industry’s productivity.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Building and Construction Authority (BCA): Productivity Innovation Project (PIP), available online https://www.bca.gov.sg/PIP/pip.html (2015a). Accessed 10 Apr 2016
Building and Construction Authority (BCA): Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF), available online https://www.bca.gov.sg/cpcf/cpcf.html (2015b). Accessed 10 Apr 2016
Chia, Y.M.: Push to Raise Skills, Productivity in Construction Sector, The Straits Times, 31 October, available online http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/push-to-raise-skills-productivity-in-construction-sector (2014). Accessed 20 Apr 2016
Edirisinghe, R., Lingard, H.: Exploring the potential for using video to communicate safety information to construction workers: case studies of organizational use. Constr. Manage. Econ. 34(6), 366–376 (2016). (Taylor and Francis)
Edirisinghe R., London, K.: Comparative analysis of international and national level BIM standardization efforts and BIM adoption. In: The 32nd International Conference of CIB W78, pp. 800–809. Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 27–29 Oct 2015
Gu, N., London, K.: Understanding and facilitating BIM adoption in the AEC industry. Autom. Constr. 19(8), 988–999 (2010)
Home: The Exploitation of Migrant Chinese Construction Workers in Singapore, available online http://www.home.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PRC_MCW_Report_final_2011.pdf (2011). Accessed on Apr 2016
Husna, R.: Singapore GDP Annual Growth Rate, Trading Economics, April, available online: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/singapore/gdp-growth-annual, (2016). Accessed on Apr 2016
Idoro, G.I.: Sustainability of mechanisation in the Nigerian construction industry. J. Civ. Eng. Manage. 18(1), 91–105 (2012)
Investopedia: Productivity, available online http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/productivity.asp (2016). Accessed 1 Apr 2016
Liew, K.H.: Productivity and Efficiency, Lecture notes distributed in the unit, BUIL 1265, RMIT-SIM University (2016a). Accessed 18 Feb 2016
Liew, K.H.: Industries and Authorities on Building and Construction, Lecture notes distributed in the unit, BUIL 1265, RMIT-SIM University (2016b). Accessed 18 Feb 2016
Mahbub, R.: Readiness of a developing nation in implementing automation and robotics technologies in construction: a case study of Malaysia. J. Civ. Eng. Archit. 6(7), 858 (2012)
Manley, K., Mcfallan, S.: Exploring the drivers of firm-level innovation in the construction industry. Constr. Manage. Econ. 24(9), 911–920 (2006)
Tam, V.W., Hao, J.J.: Prefabrication as a mean of minimizing construction waste on site. Int. J. Constr. Manage. 14(2), 113–121 (2014)
Tan, A.: 1.32 m foreign workers in Singapore; the bulk in construction and marine sectors, The Straits Times, 6 August 2016, available online http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/132m-foreign-workers-in-singapore-the-bulk-in-construction-and-marine-sectors (2014). Accessed 1 Apr 2016
Waris, M., Liew, M.S., Khamidi, M.F., Idrus, A.: Investigating the awareness of onsite mechanization in Malaysian construction industry. Procedia Eng. 77, 205–212 (2014)
Yong, C: Squeeze to Get Tighter as Local Workforce Growth Shrinks, Asiaone, 10 March, available online www.news.asiaone.com/news/Singapore/squeeze-get-tighter-local-workforce-growth-shrinks (2015). Accessed 10 Apr 2016
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Zhiqiang, C., Balasubramaniam, G., Edirisinghe, R. (2019). Productivity Improvement in the Construction Industry: A Case Study of Mechanization in Singapore. In: Mutis, I., Hartmann, T. (eds) Advances in Informatics and Computing in Civil and Construction Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00220-6_59
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00220-6_59
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00219-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00220-6
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)