The author's Habilitationsschrift--Universität Regensburg, 1984, presented under the title: Vorindustrielle Bauwirtschaft vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert in der Reichsstadt Nürnberg und ihrem Umland. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 280-295) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1959. / Typescript. Abstracted in Dissertation abstracts, v. 20 (1959) no. 7, p. 2611-2612. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 510-522).

Thesis (MTech (Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2005 / Workers in the construction industry are often exposed to ergonomic challenges. Some of the most unfavourable ergonomic practices include bending and twisting of the body, lifting and handling of heavy materials and equipment. Working above shoulder and head and below the knee levels. Despite provisions made in various legislations about compliance with the health and safety of the construction workforce, many employers still do not comply and are not changing the way construction activities are carried out. It was argued that some of the unfavourable ergonomic challenges such as repetitive and awkward work routines might lead to strains, sprains, musculo-skeletal disorders and carpal tunnel syndrome and that these problems could contribute to absenteeism and reduced site productivity. This study sought to establish the pervasiveness of ergonomic challenges and the extent to which the construction workforce are exposed to these challenges. Empirical studies using the philosophically positivistic paradigm and epistemologically objectivist method of on-site observation of construction workforce activity were conducted on purposively chosen samples of bricklayers, plasterers, painters and their helpers. The purpose remained to count and record body movements of the said workers over 30 minute intervals. Alongside the observations, interviews were conducted to establish what views and perceptions the workmen had with regard to the effect their daily work had on their bodies. The results revealed that the extent and effect of unfavourable ergonomic exposures vary from trade to trade. For instance, bricklayers bent their bodies more than any other worker while plasterers did more work below the knee than their counterparts. In the same vein painters stretched their bodies and worked above their shoulders and heads more than their counterparts. Further extrapolation of the data over the working life of the tradesmen and their helpers exposed the magnitude of the ergonomic exposures and the likely effects that these exposures would have on their bodies and health. For instance, the bricklayer and plasterer would have to bend and twist their bodies a record 5 million times in their 20 year working lives. The painter would be exposed to 3 million and 4 million times respectively of bending and twisting his/her body within the same 20-year period. The main conclusion was that currently construction activity exposes the workforce to unprecedented unfavourable ergonomic practices. The recommendations were that management should take the health and safety of their workforce seriously and that the worker cohort should have direct intervention into the design and implementation of favourable ergonomic work practices at their workface.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Construction Management in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / The study investigates the predominant factors that adversely affect the efficiency of construction labour in the South African construction industry. There is a significant number of studies on construction labour efficiency and productivity. Nonetheless, construction labour efficiency in developed and developing nations is widely reported to be inadequate, and thus adversely impacts the delivery of construction projects. Adequate utilisation of basic construction resources (construction materials and machinery) is significantly dependent on the efficiency of human assets in the construction industry. Hence, the utilisation of construction resources to achieve project objectives in the construction sector cannot be disconnected from the efficiency of construction employees. As a result, the study identified five objectives directed towards improving the efficiency of employees in the construction industry. The first objective identified construction-related factors affecting construction workers’ efficiency; the second objective highlighted design-related factors reducing the efficiency of construction labour; the third identified the impact of construction resources on construction labour efficiency; and the fourth ascertained the external factors affecting the efficiency of human assets in the construction industry. Finally, the last objective is directed towards developing a framework for improving the efficiency of the South African construction workforce. The research adopted a mixed methodological approach, utilising a quantitative questionnaire completed by construction professionals (architects, quantity surveyors, site engineers, project managers, contract managers and site manager). Due to the high level of awareness of site supervisors on labour performance in construction, the quantitative data obtained from construction professionals was subsequently validated using semi-structured interviews with site supervisors. The research questionnaire was designed to elicit the perceptions of construction professionals on various identified factors affecting construction workers’ efficiency on Gauteng and Western Cape construction sites in South Africa. With the aid of 35 unstructured questionnaire surveys, an exploratory study was undertaken within construction firms in Cape Town to ensure the validity of research instruments, where the inputs and comments of respondents were duly considered in formulating the questionnaire for the main study. In the main study, two hundred and sixty-five (265) questionnaires were administered via hand-delivered and electronic mail to construction professionals in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, South Africa. Sixty-two (62) questionnaires (23.39%) were duly completed, returned and analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Cronbach's alpha coefficient reliability test was subsequently conducted on scaled research questions to ensure reliability of the research questionnaire. The findings revealed that the major factors contributing to the shortfall of construction workers’ performance include; missing details in architectural working drawings, the communication ability of site managers, site managers’ coordinating skills, the effect of strikes on construction operations, the planning ability of site managers, slow response of architects to drawing questions, slow response of structural engineers to drawing questions, construction skills of site supervisors and, finally, shortages of construction materials. Improved construction productivity is a product of construction labour efficiency and enables the achievement of construction project objectives. Therefore, an adequate implementation of the framework presented in this study will not only enhance construction labour efficiency and heighten construction productivity during building production process, but will also increase the satisfaction of construction stakeholder on Gauteng and Western Cape construction projects.

M. Tech. / The objectives of the study were: • To measure the extent to which clients understand their role in health and safety on site and accept it as their responsibility from the inception phase through to the maintenance phase; • To establish to what extent clients actively influence construction health and safety performance on their project; • To determine whether clients address health and safety in all phases of their construction projects; • To establish whether clients pre-qualify their appointed contractors on the basis of construction health and safety performance; and • To evaluate whether there is a correlation between client involvement in health and safety and actual health and safety performance. The literature is largely silent on client influence on health and safety during the later phases of a project. Very little has been written about client influence on health and safety and this is further enforced in clients delegating health and safety responsibilities to the consultants and contractor and regarding this as completion of their duties. Further, client should have major influence on the initial phases of construction rather than the later stages as the literature has shown decreased influence on health and safety with project evolvement. Clients regard themselves as most influential in the later phases of a project. The literature found that 63% of fatalities were traceable to pre-construction activities. The reason for poor health and safety is that clients see themselves as being responsible for and addressing health and safety in the later phases of a project.

Workplace safety, if not managed appropriately, can result in human and economic tolls. The need to establish and maintain a safe working environment has probably never been more important. Despite a mounting emphasis on safe work practices, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a total of 5,702 fatalities in the United States in 2005. Among these fatalities, Latino workers, defined as both foreign-born and native-born (U.S.-born) workers of Latino ethnicity (BLS, 2006; Dong and Platner, 2004), accounted for 16% of those fatalities (BLS, 2006). Researchers are increasingly acknowledging that organizational factors are important in workplace safety (Hofmann, Jacobs, and Landy, 1995; Hurst, Bellamy, Geyer, and Ashley, 1991). However, there is a lack of cross-cultural comparison in this area. With the continuing increase in Latino construction workers and the level of injuries and fatalities, little attention has focused on the comparison of employment relationships between Latino and non-Latino construction workers and their supervisors and work environment. Therefore, this research endeavor used social exchange theory to examine the role of organizational factors in small construction firms to help explain why Latino workers have a disproportionate number of construction casualties compared to their non-Latino counterparts and to design a safety training program to help reduce the number of injuries, accidents, and fatalities in the workplace. The results of this is research endeavor demonstrated that both Latino and non-Latino and Latino groups had relatively equal perceptions of organizational support and distributive justice implying that Latinos and Latinos have identical support needs or that the construction firms' practices meet the support the workers need regardless of ethnicity. In addition, the study found ethnic group differences for safety climate, safety behavior, and cultural dimensions, which may contribute to the disproportionate number of fatalities for Latino workers. After uncovering group differences, this study tested the affect of training on perceived organizational support, distributive justice, safety climate, and safety behavior. This research demonstrated that providing training, of any type, as a source of perceived organizational support increases workers' perception of organizational support. Additionally, the study concluded that embedded sources of perceived organizational support in the training program increase workers' perceptions of distributive justice and safety climate. As a result, guidelines to improve workers' perception of organizational support and safety climate were created. Since high perceptions of safety climate are linked to less risky safety behaviors, embedding perceived organizational support into training programs can have an indirect affect on the workers' safety behavior. For that reason, improving the safety behavior of workers and the workers' perception of a safe work environment can lead to reduced accidents, injuries, and fatalities in the construction industry. / Ph. D.

The construction industry is considered to be an extremely dangerous working environment, and therefore the health status of construction workers needs to be considered prior, during and on leaving the industry. Occupational hazards relative to the construction worker are well researched internationally; however few countries undertake routine medical surveillance to identify the health status of the construction worker relative to these hazards. Employers have a higher duty of care to identify workers who could be a risk at work from non-occupationally related conditions such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Work could exacerbate these conditions, leading to absenteeism, poor performance and eventually leaving the industry due to ill health. The dissertation explores, inter alia: the risks to which workers are exposed; the legal aspects; relevant literature regarding medical surveillance, and the use of a medical surveillance instrument used to determine the health status of 142 construction workers who consented to participate in the study. The methodological approach used in this study was a quantitative descriptive design, more specifically, using a randomised cross-sectional survey design. The instrument used to determine health status included a full medical, occupational and social history, as well as a physical examination undertaken by Occupational Health Nursing Practitioners (OHNs). Findings indicate that most construction workers believe they are healthy. However only a small percentage of construction workers did not require referral for further investigation and / or treatment.

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, it sought to identify constraints on program implementation by exploring the nature of contractual relations in the construction industry. The program of interest was the Laborers’ Membership Assistance Program. Second, it sought to operationalize behavioral norms identified by Macneil in his work on relational contract. The underlying intent was to assess the usefulness of relational contract theory in explaining observed behaviors among parties potentially affected by program implementation. The research strategy chosen for study of the Laborers’ Membership Assistance Program was the embedded case study. Multiple projects were embedded within the overall design, and analyses incorporated outcomes from these multiple projects. Results were then used collectively to propose a grounded theory framework for systematically evaluating relational contract. This was accomplished by comparing ideas growing out of Macneil’s work to empirical evidence. Data were collected from three distinct groups. Each group was potentially affected by the program being implemented -- union stewards and foremen, union business leaders, and signatory employers. Mechanisms for data collection were the semi-structured interview, focus group interview, and questionnaire. Data collection was accomplished through researcher visits to hiring hall premises, focus group interviews at selected hiring halls, and mail surveys. Multiple analytical techniques were used to analyze the data including conceptual correlation matrix analysis, frequencies, correlations, multidimensional scaling, and cluster score analysis. The study was exploratory and the results descriptive. Its theoretical significance lay in its use as a means for assessing the usefulness of Macneil’s work on relational contract as a viable approach to study of workplace relationships and to study of social contract. Its practical Significance lay in its applicability to decisions by unions as to what factors should be considered when designing implementation strategies. / Ph. D.

by Chan Kin-Chung and Pau Koon-To. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 73-74.

This research investigates the impacts of construction skills acquired by the beneficiaries who participated in the construction of housing in the three case studies used in this study; the housing policy also assumes such a connection. The study argues that the construction skills can assist training beneficiaries to acquire sustainable employment in the housing construction industry. The housing beneficiaries have however experienced the problem of being unable to make further housing completion due to various problems such as unemployment, low income, regulations and building standards. Therefore, the study also assumes that housing construction industry has a potentially pivotal role to play in providing sustainable employment to the training beneficiaries, which In turn allow them to generate income for housing improvements. The study uses two core-housing approaches (incremental and enabling), which emphasises the importance of construction skills to the training beneficiaries and are relevant to the South African Housing Policy. This study argues that the Housing Policy has a crucial role to play in construction skills acquisition during the construction of incremental housing projects. This study investigates the relationship among skills, employment and housing improvements of Hambanati, Mshayazafe and Waterloo areas in KwaZulu-Natal. A research In this study has been conducted for the purpose of highlighting realities regarding the impact of acquiring relevant construction skills through incremental housing projects. The research will enable the study to inform the government's current housing policy about the potential benefits of providing construction skills in the delivery of incremental housing. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 2003.