Job Assignments to Construction Workers: Accounting for the Brain Resource Requirements of Activities

摘要

Assignment of jobs to a construction crew is not a trivial task. The optimal job allocation should consider the characteristics of workers as well as brain resource requirements of the job. Failure in proper allocation of jobs to workers can lead to an inconsistent workload distribution among workers which can then results in a decrease in the overall productivity. The inconsistency in the workload of workers can cause imbalanced fatigue rates and skill level stagnation particularly for workers who are less involved. This paper proposes a framework for regulating job allocation to workers by accounting for workloads and characteristics of worker. Workloads are attributed to visual, auditory, cognitive, and psychomotor brain resource requirements of different tasks. To achieve a realistic assignment of jobs, the framework incorporates workers' capabilities in terms of skill type and skill level. Workforce management strategies established by a contractor, including safety improvement, skill enhancement, and multiskilling, determine approaches toward minimizing workers' workload variance within a crew. Application of the proposed framework is demonstrated using a real case concreting project with a simple trial modification in task assignment process under "safety improvement" strategy.