Up to 80% of work on construction sites is inefficient, and also safety is affected by constant interruptions

The result of a recent doctoral dissertation is astonishing: up to 80% of operations on construction sites do not actually contribute productive work. Christopher Görsch, doctoral researcher in civil engineering at Aalto University, observed workers’ daily operations on construction sites in real time with the aim of studying the experiences and perspectives of construction workers in their everyday work. 

’In my daily observation, I documented workers’ individual routines and how work was carried in real-time. The results revealed inefficiency that was primarily related to repeated interruptions. Workers often had to stop and adjust their actions due to insufficient space, missing materials and uncoordinated work areas. These issues resulted in a waste of time, reducing the amount of actual installation work getting done, as the workers had to either change place, wait or prepare their tasks,’ Görsch says.

According to Görsch, factors that interrupt the work on construction sites, such as uncoordinated working conditions and workflow interruptions, also have a significant impact on the safety and well-being of individual workers.

Görsch’s research gives an overview of a perspective that is often forgotten in the construction sector, where observing the everyday work and the workers’ individual activities at a construction site can produce solutions that benefit the entire construction sector.

Several suggestions for more sustainable operating models

The study offers several useful insights that can contribute to a more sustainable and efficient future in the construction sector. For example, by observing workers in real-time, Görsch was able to identify key areas where, with some effort, more sustainable operating models could be achieved. 

‘First of all, staying on top of different situations and using digital information management would produce more tailored and efficient methods for planning and controlling construction projects’, he says.

One example Görsch mentions is challenges related to moving people and materials around worksites, which could be solved by tracking such movement with different sensors, point clouds and mobile robot imaging.

‘The results show that up to 80% of work on construction sites is unproductive. Recurring bottlenecks that interrupt work can be easily prevented with tracking data. When challenges are identified, it increases employees’ self-well-being, leads to smarter project management, and brings more opportunities for workers to influence the work directly’, Görsch says.

Görsch’s ideas are supported by his thesis Supervisor Professor Olli Seppänen, who leads the Building 2030 consortium. 

‘In the future, research in the construction sector will definitely have to make more use of the opportunities offered by automated data collection to make work more efficient and to find more sustainable operating models.’

Further information: 

Christopher Görsch 
Senior Scientist, VTT
[email protected]
tel. +358 50 4118 924

Olli Seppänen 
Professor, Aalto University
[email protected] 
tel. +358 50 3680 412

Did you know that Building 2030 is a consortium of Aalto University and 21 companies that envisages, studies and promotes a better future of construction.

Read more: https://www.aalto.fi/en/building-2030