Key Conditions That Permit Shift Work in the Construction Industry - Economic & Social Effects Related to Shift Work

Compared to other production industries, shift work has never been introduced on a large scale in the construction industry which is partly caused by the restriction of noise generating activities in urban areas, but also by the complex multi-company structure construction project consist of which obstructs and complicate the innovation process. With increasing production cost and significant impact on the society, environmentally and resource consuming, new and efficient production strategies are urgent. This thesis questions whether economic incentives can be identified by applying shift work in a construction project, where the preconditions are not considered well suited by the industry. This is done through conducting an economic evaluation and apply shift work on a standard Road and Sewer project and theoretically calculate the impact shift work would entail. Besides, a comprehensive empirical study though selective interviews were conducted to identify the view of shift work today, what challenges the industry faces and barriers for implementing shift work as a competitive strategy. The financial evaluation indicated that by applying shift, it is possible to increase revenues up to 26 percent. It also showed there are significant variations in profitability between the shift structures, and it is therefore of great importance to understand the preconditions and how they are affected by shift work in order to choose the most suitable shift structure. It was evident in the empirical finding that shift work requires a significantly higher level of planning, coordination, and cooperation from all involved parties of the project. Another outcome was that there is an underlying resistance toward innovation and finding new solutions, which is likely to prevent development. This attitude and mindset is probably the most substantial obstacle the construction industry faces to experience an improvement in efficiency. A company must be willing to go through a change to sustain their market position and survive in an increasingly fearsome competition, which puts higher demand on the contractor