The influence of high temperatures on the productivity of construction workers

This research examines the effect of hot climatic conditions on the productivity of construction workers. The objective is to identify the existence of a robust relationship between variations in temperature and workers' productivity. Although climate is known to influence human activities in many pervasive ways, there is a lack of quantitative and qualitative information on the influence of climatic conditions. The main cause of the lack of reliable information about the effects of hot climate on productivity may be that it is difficult to know whether the effects are due to the climate or simply due to other environmental or organizational factors. In this research, particular consideration was given to isolating the influence of several environmental and organizational factors, by constructing a closed system of data collection. Information related to the work output was collected, on a daily basis, by direct observation methods, from live projects. At the same time, data on climatic variability was based on daily information from meteorological stations in the United Arab Emirates, where the live projects are located. This location was determined by the availability of three identical construction projects executed in hot climatic conditions. The choice made the three live projects a reliable source of data collection. The collected data was analysed statistically by the use of regression analysis. The results of the analysis confirm that workers' productivity is affected by hot climatic conditions. However, the results show that there is no consistent relationship between workers' productivity and temperature. Different construction activities have different levels of sensitivity to hot climate. This sensitivity may well be related to the nature of construction operations and the degree of complication associated with them.