5 ms·
I'd like to note that the foundation had already been laid. Considering the foundation work is largely the longest process in the building anyway, I don't see a
by electromagnetic 16y ago
I'd like to note that the foundation had already been laid. Considering the foundation work is largely the longest process in the building anyway, I don't see a 6-day building time as an improvement when you've still got to wait a month or more for the foundation to be laid and cured, then you really haven't advanced much.
Considering that they used 6 cranes and crews working throughout the night, this was still a 18-day regular construction for 8-hour work days. Assuming the 6 cranes were performing equally and to their max this would have been 108-days of construction using a regular Western crew with 1 crane. Roughly a total 30-week construction - sounds about typical to me for non-prefabricated construction, if not rather slow in man-hour comparison and we're talking opposed to unionized labor which is possibly the slowest construction workforce in existence.
- jeffreyg 16y ago> unionized labor which is possibly the slowest construction workforce in existence. Any references for this statement? I have quite a few union friends who bust their asses 6 days a week doing construction, and would be kicked off their projects if they didn't..
- ghshephard 16y agoOne reference indicating greater speed for union labor (typically higher skilled, but more expensive per hour): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-232X.1988.tb01003.x/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-232X.1988.... Reference: "This study examines the impact of unions on efficiency in retail construction in the late seventies. Square footage put in place per hour is 51 per cent greater for union than nonunion contractors. The study finds no difference in mean cost per square foot and offers mixed econometric evidence on Tran slog cost functions. There is also no difference in profit rates or prices between union and nonunion contractors."
- presidentender 16y agoWhat if we correct for union membership and just look at skill level?
- michaelchisari 16y agoI don't know if they can be decoupled. One of the biggest improvements unions made is the apprenticeship requirement, which prevents businesses from hiring unskilled labor for skilled work at well below market rates.
- eru 16y agoIsn't the market rate defined as whatever you can get away with on the market? (Or do you mean, they hire unskilled labour below the market rate of skilled labour?)
- ghshephard 16y agoI'm honestly curious, and not being critical here - How do you get 30 week construction from 108 days? Is a construction week 4 days? Also, you do have to admit, that there are some inefficiencies involved in running shifts back-back, and using multiple cranes. And the Project Plan and Management on this development must have been 10x what you would have seen in a typical six-nine month building project.
- electromagnetic 16y agoGround prep, foundation laying and curing take around 2 months usually. Sorry, I meant to add that, but I guess it passed my mind. If you don't let the concrete foundation cure before building on it, it will literally crumble. My point was that in total, I don't think you gained any man-hours at all, but would incur an insane cost. Running 6 cranes wouldn't necessarily demand inefficiencies (although in reality I'd expect a lot). If you assigned an area to each crane and movement zones, you could probably get away with minimal time losses, however for tying the structure together you could never get more than a level ahead of the other cranes.
- elai 16y agoMany of the parts were prefabricated.
- electromagnetic 16y agoThat was part of my point. Prefab parts, but they weren't ridiculously faster than a western crew using regular methods.