Factors affecting the productivity of construction operations in the United Arab Emirates

Productivity of the construction operations is reflected in the performance of the projects in the form of delays and cost overruns and is considered as the main value adding function within the construction sector.;The UAE construction industry has striven hard to provide a world class platform for a non-oil revenue earning mechanism and still seeks to keep working efficiently in a similar fashion in the times to come. This dissertation critically examines the factors which can affect the productivity of construction operations in the UAE. This dissertation describes a comprehensive plan with objectives to understand as to how the labour productivity gets affected and how the improvement can be achieved in them. This dissertation also focuses on the role of site management in achieving the required performance of the operations in the construction projects.;This dissertation also presents the results of a survey instrument as applied with in the domain of the UAE construction industry as regards the drivers and factors influencing the productivity of the construction operations.;Results show that the induction of new players in the industry has tended to introduce waste and has had lower productivity levels attached to the product delivered. The material waste management in the UAE has not received the required importance and the small scale contractors are the major contributors to the waste generated. Lack of predictability in the industry has been cause of increase in the hiring cost as well as the material prices thereby reducing the efficiency of the construction operations. The results have shown that the site management practices in the UAE are in tune with the productivity optimization requirements. Training of the labour which has been neglected a factor not only in the UAE but also worldwide has to have better place in the policies of the decision makers.