Technical Officers Training Propgramme

LABOUR MANGMENT
Success an organization mainly depends on how far its labour management is effective.
Tools are available to implement the theories behind an effective labour management. But, very often
attempt to produce effective labour management fails as it is involved with human factor and hots a
mechanized factor.

Tools for effective management

A) TIME MANAGEMENT
Maintain accurate up to the minute records on hours worked overtime status and scheduling
Automate time and attendance tracking via a variety of collector methods including badge
cards biometric time clocks and telephone
Enable employees to punch in and out fill in time sheets and more wherever they are with
mobile time management solutions.
Reduce HR inquires with employee self-service options for checking hours worked. work
schedules manual input and identifying overage or other problems early.
Help ensure that the right payroll tax amounts are withheld and deposited for every employee
Empower administrators managers and workers alike with mobile payroll solutions.
Comply with overtime rules through more accurate time entry calculations and tracking
Lower the risk incidence and impacts of fines penalties lawsuits and judgments.
B) JOB MANAGEMENT
Directing employees and other resources to achieve objectives is essential to the smooth
operation
The job of a manager is to create an environment in which people can use resources to reach
the stated goals of the organization
Managing effectively requires planning organizing, leading and controlling labour
management
C) INCENTIVE PLANS
Incentive plans should be designed to enhance or improve productivity.
It can be even designed for problem areas too.
Payments may be received weekly or in some annually if employees know that if the job is done
correctly they will be getting incentive
Incentives should be above and beyond a good salary not a substitute for wages. They should
range from 5% to 100% of base salary.
The bonus should be large enough to make it worthwhile for the employee to want to participate
Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP

Technical Officers Training Propgramme

The plan should be based on performance that is in the employee and attainable in a definite
time period.
Means for determining the bonus should be simple and understand by both the employee and
employer
One-time bonus plans such as year-end bonuses usually dont work employees may change jobs
after the bonus payment.
Performance should be measured by objective criteria.
The plan should be stated in writing to avoid any misunderstanding. It should include the
purpose of the plan a description of the employees responsibility methods used to calculate the
bonus how and when payments are to be made duration of the agreement and provisions for
arbitration.
Incentive plans can include either supervisors or workers or both.
D) PERSONALITIES
It is very important to keep good employee. The obvious reasons are
1. Reduced problems and a smoother- running operation
2. Reduction in the amount of time and money spent training new employees
3. A more profitable operation
E) RESPECT
As an employer one must develop and maintain a mutual respect with employees simply follow the
Golden Rule most employee start on a job with respect for their employer
Mutual respect for one anothers roles is key employee trust and value good managers and
managers trust and value good employee
You can maintain the respect of employee by being honest and fair with them good employees will
work hard to develop a team sprint among employees.
Some employers have indicated that group meetings to discuss plans goals and objectives with
employees are big part of keeping good employees. Business meetings are good for making
employees feel like part of the team Social activities such as a Holiday picnic also are helpful in
making employees feel good about their work, once again be careful to respect the culture of
your employees by having food that your employees like rather than your favorite food.
F) JOB TRAINING
It would be rare to find a person who does not want to do a good job its usually not a lack of
employee motivation to do good work that causes problems on operations but improper or
deficient training. Some job training programs may only need to be four to six weeks long, while
others may require a full year. The extra time spent with a new employee at the beginning of a
relationship usually will pay off in the long run. A periodic update or training program also can
be of tremendous value.
G) EMPLOYEE SUGGESTIONS
You as a manager should encourage suggestions from your employee. Who is better able to
evaluate problems and see a solution than the one who works with it closely every day? While
not every suggestion will be valid many of them will be if a suggestion is made that is not a true
solution or would decrease the profitability of the operation a proper explanation should be
given to the employee. Also if a good suggestion is made give proper credit to the employee.
H) COMPLIMENT YOUR EMPLOYEE
This Can be a short road to success and failure A hard fast rule for dealing with employees is
Praise in public and Criticize in Private Everyone likes to be told that they are doing a good
Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP

Technical Officers Training Propgramme

job especially when their peers are present Equally important is to constructively criticize in
private by offering suggestions for improving performance Constructive criticism also should be
a part of the Annual Performance Evaluation Meeting.
I) ADVANCEMENT
For employees to remain happy there must be some opportunity for advancement. Advancement
in position may be difficult on small operations but there are other ways to allow for employee
growth. Plan to offer continuing education to all interested employees. Following higher
technical courses attending useful seminars and short term courses relevant to the field of work
offer employees the opportunity to grow and contribute to the success of the overall operation.
J) COMMUNICATIN
Work place relationships, like all relationships, depend on the ability and willingness of people
to communicate with one another. Good people managers faster communication with an open
door policy that will allow an employee to discuss problems and suggestions at any time. There
is more to good communication than having an open door policy however. Roadblocks to
effective communication are almost infinite. But some of the main ones to avoid include poor
timing, inadequate information, inappropriate channels infinite, but some of the main ones to
avoid include poor timing. Inadequate information inappropriate channels noise selective
perception premature evaluation mishandled emotions and false beliefs.
The largest communication problem on May large construction site is that most of the labor
force is Hispanic and the cultural and language difference become a barrier to implement any of
the management factors covered in this paper.
Labour Productivity
Productivity in construction is often broadly defined as output per labor hour. Since labor constitutes a
large part of the construction cost and the quantity of labor hours in performing a task in construction is
more susceptible to the influence of management than are materials or capital, this productivity measure
is often referred to as labor productivity. However, it is important to note that labor productivity is a
measure of the overall effectiveness of an operating system in utilizing labor, equipment and capital to
convert labor efforts into useful output, and is not a measure of the capabilities of labor alone. For
example, by investing in a piece of new equipment to perform certain tasks in construction, output may
be increased for the same number of labor hours, thus resulting in higher labor productivity.
Construction output may be expressed in terms of functional units or constant dollars. In the former
case, labor productivity is associated with units of product per labor hour, such as cubic yards of
concrete placed per hour or miles of highway paved per hour. In the latter case, labor productivity is
identified with value of construction (in constant dollars) per labor hour. The value of construction in
this regard is not measured by the benefit of constructed facilities, but by construction cost. Labor
productivity measured in this way requires considerable care in interpretation. For example, wage rates
in construction have been declining in the US during the period 1970 to 1990, and since wages are an
important component in construction costs, the value of construction put in place per hour of work will
decline as a result, suggesting lower productivity.
Productivity at the Job Site
Contractors and owners are often concerned with the labor activity at job sites. For this purpose, it is
convenient to express labor productivity as functional units per labor hour for each type of construction
task. However, even for such specific purposes, different levels of measure may be used. For example,
cubic yards of concrete placed per hour is a lower level of measure than miles of highway paved per
hour. Lower-level measures are more useful for monitoring individual activities, while higher-level
measures may be more convenient for developing industry-wide standards of performance.
Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP

Technical Officers Training Propgramme

While each contractor or owner is free to use its own system to measure labor productivity at a site, it is
a good practice to set up a system which can be used to track productivity trends over time and in varied
locations. Considerable efforts are required to collect information regionally or nationally over a
number of years to produce such results. The productivity indices compiled from statistical data should
include parameters such as the performance of major crafts, effects of project size, type and location,
and other major project influences.
In order to develop industry-wide standards of performance, there must be a general agreement on the
measures to be useful for compiling data. Then, the job site productivity data collected by various
contractors and owners can be correlated and analyzed to develop certain measures for each of the
major segment of the construction industry. Thus, a contractor or owner can compare its performance
with that of the industry average.

Job-site Productivity
Job-site productivity is influenced by many factors which can be characterized either as labor
characteristics, project work conditions or as non-productive activities. The labor characteristics
include:

age, skill and experience of workforce

leadership and motivation of workforce

The project work conditions include among other factors:

Job size and complexity.
Job site accessibility.

Labor availability.

Equipment utilization.

Contractual agreements.

Local climate.

Local cultural characteristics, particularly in foreign operations.

The non-productive activities associated with a project may or may not be paid by the owner, but they
nevertheless take up potential labor resources which can otherwise be directed to the project. The nonproductive activities include among other factors:

Indirect labor required to maintain the progress of the project

Rework for correcting unsatisfactory work

Temporary work stoppage due to inclement weather or material shortage

Time off for union activities

Absentee time, including late start and early quits

Non-working holidays

Strikes

Each category of factors affects the productive labor available to a project as well as the on-site labor
efficiency.
Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP

Technical Officers Training Propgramme

Labor Characteristics

Performance analysis is a common tool for assessing worker quality and contribution. Factors that
might be evaluated include:

Quality of Work - caliber of work produced or accomplished.

Quantity of Work - volume of acceptable work

Job Knowledge - demonstrated knowledge of requirements, methods, techniques and skills

involved in doing the job and in applying these to increase productivity.

Related Work Knowledge - knowledge of effects of work upon other areas and knowledge of
related areas which have influence on assigned work.

Judgment - soundness of conclusions, decisions and actions.

Initiative - ability to take effective action without being told.

Resource Utilization - ability to delineate project needs and locate, plan and effectively use all
resources available.

Dependability - reliability in assuming and carrying out commitments and obligations.

Analytical Ability - effectiveness in thinking through a problem and reaching sound conclusions.

Communicative Ability - effectiveness in using orgal and written communications and in

keeping subordinates, associates, superiors and others adequately informed.

Interpersonal Skills - effectiveness in relating in an appropriate and productive manner to others.

Ability to Work Under Pressure - ability to meet tight deadlines and adapt to changes.

Security Sensitivity - ability to handle confidential information appropriately and to exercise

care in safeguarding sensitive information.

Safety Consciousness - has knowledge of good safety practices and demonstrates awareness of
own personal safety and the safety of others.

Profit and Cost Sensitivity - ability to seek out, generate and implement profit-making ideas.

Planning Effectiveness - ability to anticipate needs, forecast conditions, set goals and standards,
plan and schedule work and measure results.

Leadership - ability to develop in others the willingenss and desire to work towards common
objectives.

Delegating - effectiveness in delegating work appropriately.

Development People - ability to select, train and appraise personnel, set standards of
performance, and provide motivation to grow in their capacity. < li>Diversity (Equal
Employment Opportunity) - ability to be senstive to the needs of minorities, females and other
protected groups and to demonstrate affirmative action in responding to these needs.

These different factors could each be assessed on a three point scale: (1) recognized strength, (2) meets
expectations, (3) area needing improvement.

Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP

Technical Officers Training Propgramme

Eng.N.Nantharupan

B.Sc. Eng, P.G. Dip (CPM), C.Eng, MIE (SL), GREEN SL AP