A taxonomy and analysis of the relationship between changes in material technology and construction productivity

The construction industry stands out as the most significant contributor to the U.S. economy. It contributes over $700 billion to the U.S. economy making it the largest manufacturing industry in the U.S. The importance of productivity to the construction industry can never be underestimated; the construction industry plays a major role in the U.S. economy and the success of this industry is crucial for the whole U.S. economy. In the last 30 years, research has been directed to better understand the trends of productivity in the construction industry and more importantly the factors affecting it. A better understating of productivity will help the industry in maintaining its leading role in the U.S. economy. There has been numerous research directed at understanding the different factors affecting the productivity; this research effort is directed to a better understanding of the effects technology in general, and material has on specifically technology, construction productivity.