Empirical Investigation of Construction Labour Productivity Determinants on Building Sites in South East Nigeria

Construction labour productivity is a critical determinant of project performance, yet its specific determinants in the South East Nigerian context have not been empirically investigated, creating a gap this study addresses with original field data. This study empirically investigated the determinants of construction labour productivity for masonry, carpentry, and plastering trades on 45 active residential and commercial building sites across Enugu, Anambra, and Imo States. Labour productivity was measured using the input-output method, recording daily output (m2 of masonry laid, m2 of formwork erected, or m2 of plastering completed) and labour hours input for each trade over a 3-month monitoring period. Determinants assessed included site conditions, supervision quality, material availability, tool adequacy, worker skill level, crew size, payment system, and weather conditions. Multiple regression analysis was conducted for each trade separately. Results showed that material availability on time was the strongest determinant of masonry productivity (standardised beta = 0.47, p < 0.001). Supervision quality was the strongest determinant of plastering productivity (beta = 0.44, p < 0.001). Incentive-based payment systems were associated with 28% higher mean productivity across all trades compared to daily rate payment. Mean productivity benchmarks established for each trade provided 23 to 35% lower outputs than UK RICS norms, reflecting systemic productivity gaps. The study recommends productivity benchmarking targets and incentive payment adoption as priority productivity improvement measures for South East Nigerian building contractors. Keywords: labour productivity, construction sites, South East Nigeria, determinants, masonry