ABSTRACT
When it comes to defining what constitutes “productivity,” this chapter explores some of the historical trends that have led to it and then explain how that notion has been developed into the numerous definitions that have been accepted in general and in construction. Early labour productivity theories focused on the importance of labour. This chapter shows that productivity is an important term in the construction business and that there is a pressing need for definitions that are relevant to the industry. “Productivity” in the sense of performance measurement – that is, how well resources are utilized to achieve a goal – is widely acknowledged among construction industry stakeholders. Workers’ skill and the equipment and tool components used in the work were the focus of earlier theories of labour productivity, such as Smith, Marx, Tylor, Fayol, Ford, and Barnard; however, newer theories of labour productivity have shifted the focus from the workers to the machines and their components.
