Labor Management in Masonry Construction: A Sustainable Approach

Work in masonry is divided in different tasks and performed by sub-contractors. Sub-contractors specialize in a given skill to accomplish a specific construction task and usually work with crews. Due to this specialization, multiple crews with different skills are present on the jobsite at any one time and the sub-contractor is responsible of configuring crews to produce good quality work by means of capitalizing skills. Even though crews work independently within the range of their own skills, they need to properly sequence and coordinate their work to complete tasks and eliminate disruptions. One of the problems masonry contractors face is the need to design crews, that is, determine the number of crews and the composition of each crew to be effectively used in the construction process to maximize workflow. This study proposes the framework for a decision support system to assist contractors in the allocation of crews in masonry projects. The proposed system can be a valuable tool to assist masonry contractors in the process of predicting the number of workers and allocating workers.