Assessing the Extent to which toolbox talks affect labour productivity on construction sites in Mbale city.

Abstract

Construction industries especially in developing countries face the problem of low productivity and this is partly because of poor communication and site safety while executing various tasks. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the extent to which toolbox talks influence and affect the productivity of; foremen, site engineers, clerks of works and operatives in the Uganda Construction industry.

By using a closed ended questionnaire survey on construction workers in Uganda, a total of 25 construction sites were randomly selected and the percentage of sites actively carrying out toolbox talks was determined as well as the frequency with which these toolbox talks occur. With this the output of the labour productivity of the workers was established based on how close every project was to its individual proposed project schedule and the results suggested that toolbox talks played a significant role in conveying important communication, tracking progress and ensuring that safety hazards were mitigated. On the other hand, some of the workers, especially subcontractors, argued that this was a waste of time due to various reasons.

Management and supervisory teams should develop schemes in order to effectively communicate and track progress of all trades on the construction site and they should ensure that they work. This will necessitate application of an overall proper managerial effort in planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling projects and the plan should include all categories of labour that contribute to the productivity of the project as a whole.