The Productivity And Efficiency In The Construction Industry

The Productivity And Efficiency In The Construction Industry

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Introduction
The construction industry is one of the largest employment sectors in the world. This industry consists of various activities relating to construction, repair and alterations. There are various forms of construction activities like bridge erection residential construction, roadway paving, demolitions, excavations and the jobs relating to painting works in a large scale. The construction industry is risky exposing the workers to many hazards in their day to day activities and operations. The instances like unguarded machinery, falling from the buildings, electrocutions, and asbestos and silica dust are a few of the hazards where the workers in the construction industry are exposed to leading to injuries as well as loss of their lives at their course of duty and employment. These hazards and high risks in the construction industry calls for the need to improve and boost the efficiency as well as the productivity of the construction industry such that the economic, social, and environmental aspects are fully taken into consideration.
Productivity and efficiency in the construction industry in the world is necessary in order to ensure that the quality of construction projects is highly improved while at the same time improving the economic performance of the companies in this industry in relation to profitability (Wang, 2013; p.56). The aspects relating to the welfare of the employees in the construction industry needs attention in order to ensure that they are insured and protected against various hazards and risks in their operations and construction activities. The productivity and efficiency of the companies in the construction industry entail the aspects relating to the construction of safe structures that ensure safety of the users both in the short term and the long term. The construction industry should aim at improving quality and safety of its activities in order to boost its general productivity and efficiency.
Cases of Most Success Construction Companies
SLR Contracting and Service Company
SLR is one of the most successful construction companies that were established in the year 1996 by Sundra L. Ryce. Sundra became the president and the chief executive officer during its inception. SLR Company is based in New York City and boast of one of the best certified companies in New York. The company specializes in the entire commercial general construction, design-build services, and construction management. The company has been having tremendous growth over the past and has posted successful results and this can be attributed to the exemplary customers servicers it offers to its customers.
The company has a well-structured mission that has enabled it to compete in the industry. Its mission it provides premier general construction, construction management, and design-build services. The mission acts as a guide to the company and has enabled the company to sufficiently provide outstanding leadership and constructions answers to their clients. Other than the mission, the company also has its core values that can be summarized as; integrity, quality service, safety, customer service, diversity, and teamwork. The company motto is known as the Experience the Difference that emphasizes on their experience in the industry.

As a company grows strategically and steadily, it remains steadfast to its core values and mission and this is the secret behind its success. Since its inception, the company has gradually and consistently increased its customer base by offering quality services and performance appraisal to its customers. To enhance the success within the company, there is always staff evaluation and appraisal activities carried out to motivate the staff to perform their duties effectively and with due diligence. The company uses energy wisely to prevent environmental degradation and awareness. The environmental awareness campaign managed through adoption of new technologies, for example, the adoption of leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) to solve the e environmental issues globally.

SLR has more than thirty full time employees and over five hundred casual employees. The company boasts of having the most dedicated and experienced team of staff that has enabled it to achieve its goals and objective over that short period. The team of employees has enabled the company to grow internally and externally as it maintains its relevance position in the industry. The financial statements of the company for the recent period have been impressive and give a strong financial position of the firm.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Jacobs Engineering Group is among the largest, oldest and most diverse companies in the world in line with the provision of professional technical services. In the year 2012, the company net revenues amounted to $11 billion posting a positive result. Its core business is to offer full-spectrum support to its clients. The services offered are; scientific and specialty in consulting, operation and maintenance, and engineering aspects. The fundamental strategy is to build long-term customer relationship in the industry. It attracts and retains customers through provision of superior customer values and the strategy has yields; cost advantages, business growth, profits, and attracted and retained investors. The company has more than two hundred officers in more than twenty five countries with the headquarter base in Pasadena, California.
The company has three core values that are; growth is imperative, relationship based company, and people are our greatest assets. The first value is based on the clients as the key drivers to the business growth in the industry. The second value emphasizes client’s relations as the most important contributor to the business success while third relies on the staff talents in promoting business goals. The company core values acts as a catalyst that drive, runs, and controls the success and growth of the company.

The yardstick for measuring the success of Jacobs Engineering Group is done using the business model and process. From the model, the company has been having a continuous growth since 1988 to date as illustrated by the growth curve bellow. The capacity of the business growth lies on the combination of merger or acquisition activities and also continuous improvement of market share. The company’s annual growth rate of 15% is realistic and attainable.

Business Process

The success of the SLR and Jacobs Engineering Group can be attributed to the unique approaches the two companies have taken. Their mission and core value are distinct and emphasizes on customer relationships and value-added advantage. The strategies enable the companies to work closely with their clients and thereby developing good cordial relationship that strengthen the customer loyalty. The company strategies and philosophies can facilitates or deter its growth. Jacobs Engineering Groups for instance, distinct philosophies of multi-domestic approach and boundless approach. The philosophies enable the company to have other branches in other countries and also they can augment local expertise and foreign to get the best mix. It should be noted that the two company discussed above have diversified their operation and has helped them to spread their risks and also to penetrate the market.
Strategies of Improving the Productivity and Efficiency in the Construction Industry
The companies in the construction industries are using various business strategies and techniques in order to improve their levels of productivity and efficiency. The nature and types of processes used in the construction industry influence greatly the levels of business performance and productivity in relation to the scale of output. The equipment used by the construction companies also influence the amounts and scale of projects they can complete within a short period. The use of high levels of technology in the construction industry enables the companies to carry out various complex tasks and projects effectively and perfectly. This enables the construction companies to improve the quality of services by ensuring that the tasks are completed at the most appropriate time as well as ensuring fast service delivery to the clients (Rozina, 2006; pp.80-2). The adoption of advanced technology and expertise in the construction industry enables these .............