Weather and labor productivity in construction: a literature review and taxonomy of studies

Abstract

Purpose

Climate change and global warming have increased concerns over the influence of weather on workers' health and productivity in construction projects. A significant number of studies can be found in the weather and productivity interplay area. The purpose of this paper is to review the recently published papers in this area to explore the trends of research and topics discussed and to determine knowledge gaps and directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Recent papers published between 2014 and 2019 were synthesized, reviewed and analyzed using bibliometric and text mining analysis.

Findings

The results revealed the trends of publications, the main authors contributed to this area and countries that attracted most of the research papers. Based on the review, this study presented a taxonomy of studies consisting of seven clusters, namely productivity management, seasons, weather factors, participants' conditions, uniform and clothing, work time and health and safety.

Originality/value

This review paper sheds a light into the topics discussed in this area, the interrelationship between the topics and the significant topics that should be continued in the future. Global warming concerns necessitate the need for more studies in tropical countries and countries that are expected to expose to high temperatures and heat stress, which greatly impact labor productivity. The paper highlighted the need to understand how weather influences workers' psychological conditions and subsequently their productivity.

Citation

Al Refaie, A.M., Alashwal, A.M., Abdul-Samad, Z. and Salleh, H. (2021), "Weather and labor productivity in construction: a literature review and taxonomy of studies", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 70 No. 4, pp. 941-957. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-12-2019-0577