Impact of Crew Diversity on Worker Information Access and Performance

Bassam Ramadan, Hala Nassereddine, Timothy Taylor, Paul Goodrum

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Labor shortage has consistently been a challenge in the construction industry for decades. As a data-heavy industry, information access and technological innovations are critical for pique performance. Currently, the industry is witnessing a global trend of workforce diversity, as industry leaders are emphasizing its importance. Research shows that gender and ethnic diversity and inclusion strategies can mitigate the impact of the construction labor shortage. Despite the importance and potential benefits of crew diversity, no research has yet studied how crew diversity impacts the worker’s perceived difficulty of the process to access needed information, and their performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze and understand the impact of crew diversity on 1) the difficulty of the process to access information 2) the self-evaluated performance record and, of construction craft workers and construction frontline supervisors in the construction industry. To achieve the research objective, 2394 construction craft workers and frontline supervisors were surveyed using an online questionnaire. The survey participants were asked to self-evaluate 1) the difficulty of the process to receive or get access to information, and 2) their work personal performance record. The participants were asked to report the ethnic and gender composition of their work crew. The collected data was then analyzed. Key findings indicate that the gender and ethnic crew diversity showed a statistically significant positive impact on worker’s information access and performance.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 40th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2023
EditorsBorja Garcia de Soto, Vicente Gonzalez, Ioannis Brilakis
Pages309-316
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9780645832204
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event40th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2023 - Chennai, India
Duration: Jul 5 2023Jul 7 2023

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction
ISSN (Electronic)2413-5844

Conference

Conference40th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2023
Country/TerritoryIndia
CityChennai
Period7/5/237/7/23

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© ISARC 2023. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Crew Diversity
  • Information Access
  • Performance
  • Technology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Artificial Intelligence

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