An empirical investigation of the learning effect in concrete operations

Purpose This paper focuses on productivity as it unfolds during the execution of a particular task, i.e., reinforced concrete operations. The main aim is understanding whether the learning effect explaining the improvement of productivity in subsequent cycles of a given repetitive construction process is mainly attributable to a pure worker learning (independent on the specific site) or to the experience developed by the crew on the site conditions. Design/methodology/approach We conduct a research that empirically investigates and compares the change in productivity data of a single worker during his/her working life and that of a crew involved in specific repetitive work, such as the concreting activities of a multi-storey building. Findings The findings suggest differentiating between productivity gain as a result of the learning effect of the individual worker throughout his/her working life (which is independent on the specific project and site) and that of a crew composed by more workers which repeat reinforced concrete operations in a given specific project. Research limitations/implications Despite the great attention reserved to learning in construction, few researchers discuss on the real applicability of the learning curve theory to construction industry. We contribute to this literature by empirically investigating the contributions that the learning effect of the individual worker and that of a crew repeating a given task (i.e, reinforced concrete operations) in a given project have on the productivity improvement for subsequent cycles of the repetitive construction process. Practical implications The findings of our study have important managerial implications. The shape of the learning curve of the individual worker implies that learning increases relatively slowly in his/her working life (particularly after the first 1-2 years), while the effects of the crew experience is immediately significant, in a time range of few weeks. This means that a single “one-off” multi-storey building project will show in the first storey the “historical”, individual productivity of the individual workers (that is not going to vary significantly in the next few weeks). The productivity improvement in the further storeys will only depend on the project specific (and collective, for the crew) “learning” due, for example, to better coordination or to other issues that are progressively solved moving from the first storey to the following ones. So the project-specific learning curve increases in a faster way than the individual one, and the overall productivity can be improved by accelerating the project-specific learning rate with more accurate project-specific design and management. Originality/value This paper enhances the understanding of the contributions that the learning effect of the individual worker and that of a crew repeating a given task (i.e, reinforced concrete operations) in a given project have on the productivity improvement for subsequent cycles of the repetitive construction process. This will contribute to improve the planning and control of site work activities, avoiding time and money wastefulness.