Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/N65110/01
Title:	A MODEL FOR CONSTRUCTION PLANT OPERATOR PRODUCTIVITY CLASSIFICATION & TRAINING DESIGN (CLASSIFIES)
Principal Investigator:	Edwards, Professor D
Other Investigators:	Holt, Dr G
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	ALF Kitching Ltd CA Blackwell (Contracts) Ltd Caterpillar Chartered Institute of Building Construction Ind Training Board (CITB) Construction Plant Hire Assoc Drayton Building Services Ltd Foras Aiseanna Saothair Harper Halsey & Laroche J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB) Jones Plant Hire & Excavations Liebherr-Gb Ltd Ministry of Defence (MOD) Moulding Contracts Ltd Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors V-Com Solutions Wates Construction
Department:	Sch of Engineering and the Built Env
Organisation:	University of Wolverhampton
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 October 2001	Ends:	31 December 2001	Value (£):	207,025
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Construction Ops & Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing Construction Transport Systems and Vehicles No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 05 Sep 2000 Civil Engineering Responsive Mode Deferred
Summary on Grant Application Form
Within construction, productivity and costs of production are inextricably linked by an inverse relationship, that is, costs fall as productivity increases. To capitalise upon this, the UK construction industry has increased its utilisation of 'more productive' construction plant and equipment, whilst simultaneously reducing its reliance upon 'less productive' labour resources. However, plant productivity is dependant upon the skill and competence of the operator. Research has shown that plant operators can influence machine productivity by as much as 50%. Despite this alarming finding there is currently no research to assist construction professionals in the selection or training of operators, nor in the control and monitoring of their productivity rates once employed.This research will fill that void providing quantitative guidance on the attributes which classify an operator's impact upon machine productivity. Key findings of the analysis will be disseminated to industry in the form of prescriptive guidelines for improving taught plant operative training courses, administered by the Construction Industry Training Board.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.wlv.ac.uk