Creating a holistic understanding of design and on-site construction labour productivity drivers: identifying phase universal and phase-specific drivers

Labour productivity in construction is typically examined separately within the design- and construction-phases, resulting in a fragmented understanding of productivity drivers. This study provides an integrated cross-phase analysis by identifying factors relevant to both phases and comparing their importance. With outset in design and on-site productivity studies, 22 cross-phase factors were identified. Using quota sampling, survey data were collected from 156 professionals, 80 design-focused and 76 on-site-focused. A Spearman correlation showed strong agreement on the relative ranking of factors ((Formula presented.) = 0.826), while Multiple-Correspondence-Analysis demonstrated extensive clustering across groups. A Mann–Whitney test did after Holm’s correction identified three significant differences: ‘Weather’ and ‘Supervision’ were more influential on-site, while ‘Labour fatigue’ was more important in design. The Friedman ranking identified five top universal drivers: ‘Coordination and collaboration’, ‘Planning and sequencing’, ‘Availability and quality of information’, ‘Competency of the project manager’, and ‘Incomplete or unclear specifications’. The findings demonstrate that productivity across phases is shaped by a shared core of primarily management-related drivers, supplemented by phase specific influences. These insights highlight the need for integrated management practices that strengthen coordination and information quality across phases, while tailoring supervisory and workload strategies to the specific phase.