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Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Title
Jobsite Characteristics that Influence Improvised Decision-making on Construction Sites
Creator
Kleps, Stephen M., Menches, Cindy
Date
2013-10-07, 2013-10-07
Description
This article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are...
Show moreThis article examines the relationship between specific construction project characteristics and the degree and speed that the foremen are able to improvise in response to disruptive events on the jobsite. Specifically, characteristics such as the number of crew members working under the supervision of a foreman, the occupancy status of the project (i.e., occupied or unoccupied) during construction, the stage of completion of the project, and the levels of turbulence, time pressure, cooperation, collaboration, and organization, were examined. Using a multilevel regression modeling approach, an analysis of 244 disruptions reported by 50 foremen was conducted to determine whether the construction project characteristics could predict more or less improvisation and faster or slower improvisation by the foreman. The findings indicate that on construction projects that are rated by the foremen as more organized, the foremen can make more modest improvised decisions to resolve a disruption, but that on construction projects that were rated by the foremen as more collaborative (i.e., involved joint decision-making), a greater degree of improvisation was deployed. In addition, it was found that on sites that were rated by the foremen as more cooperative (i.e., involved greater willingness to help each other), the foremen required more time to improvise their decisions.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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A diary study of the disruption experiences of crew members on a jobsite (Working Paper)
Title
A diary study of the disruption experiences of crew members on a jobsite (Working Paper)
Creator
Menches, Cindy L., Chen, Juan
Date
2012-06-01, 2012-06-01
Description
This article demonstrates the use of a diary technique in a construction setting. The advantage of a diary study over other methods for...
Show moreThis article demonstrates the use of a diary technique in a construction setting. The advantage of a diary study over other methods for capturing subjective experience is its ability to capture the thoughts, decisions, actions, and emotions of individuals in situ – while they are working in their natural setting – at multiple points in time during an individual’s workweek. Hence, the diary method is uniquely designed to answer questions about group-level trends as well as individual behavior. The specific goal of the study reported in this article was to derive an understanding of the types of fast decisions and actions that are made following a workflow disruption and how the disruption impacts the worker’s state of mind. The analyses revealed that there was a group-level positive correlation between experiencing a disruption and initiating a fast improvised decision and action. However, some workers tended to improvise frequently when disrupted while others did not. The analyses also revealed that the workers’ emotions fluctuated throughout the week, and two emotions – determined and interested – tended to decline following a disruption. But, some of the workers also experienced increases in their negative emotions while others did not, suggesting that not all workers react in the same way to disruptions. Consequently, the diary technique provides a novel way to identify the impact of disruptive events on worker decision-making and performance.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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