ABSTRACT
The concern for low productivity in the construction sector is both instructive and timely but disturbing. It is instructive and timely because as the age of trade globalization draws imminently near, the construction industry, like many other sectors of the national economy, would need to export its services more aggressively overseas. The construction sector in Singapore has been perceived by the Taskforce as a low productivity sector primarily because of its visibly low-technology image and acute employment of a large number of foreign workers. Comparisons with Japan and Finland thus give an indication of Singapore’s comparatively low construction productivity level. The Construction Productivity Taskforce in its 1992 Report had outlined the lack of standardization due to underdevelopment of prefabrication and buildability know-how as one of the major contributory factors towards the currently low level of construction productivity in Singapore. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
