Productivity based certification

As I dig deeper into the skill development arena, I realize that the moment I solve one problem it opens up a few more! When we are approaching a complex problem its always good to get started and take baby steps and solve it step by step, one at a time. That's what we have done with skill development especially in the construction industry. During my journey of the past many years, I have the satisfaction of solving issues related to skill, attitude and productivity in the construction Industry.

For some time now I am overcome with the idea of creating a mechanism to certify tradesmen based on productivity as the key matrix.Those who are from the industry know the challenges around attempting something like this. I have taken a few steps which have given me encouraging results and now I am trying to go to the next logical step of fine tuning. The purpose of writing this piece of paper is to share what has been done and also to share what needs to be done and the roadblocks. I hope some of you who read may be able to use this or contribute to this.

So what has been done so far?

We have developed a mechanism to assess the workers based on a few parameters and productivity is one major parameter. The assessment framework looks like this

Assessment breakup

• Theoretical knowledge of the trade : 20%
• Behavior and soft skills : 10%
• Productivity : Test the tradesmen by giving them an actual 8 hour task and measure the productivity: 50%
• Quality of workmanship: 20%

The above has given a good base for us to take advantage of the productivity based assessment and certification. We have been able to use these workers effectively at our work sites and everyone has benefitted.

If we have done the above then what more am I asking for?

The above is a good model but it's not fully based on productivity of an individual for all the trades. I can use it to some degree of precision for finishing trades but face issues when I come to trades like Shuttering carpenters and steel fixers.

The tasks are almost always done in groups of four or more, they depend on the precision of helpers to achieve the desired productivity, there is also a heavy dependence on planning ( availability of work front, material, supervision etc.). When a tradesman is working on a raft or column or slab or beam, it's in a group and pointing out who has achieved what part of the quantity produced is not an exact science along with the other issues highlighted above.

So far, We have come up with an approach of standardizing the helpers, material and work availability and having adequate supervision. Using this we are now attempting to measure the skills in terms of productivity. Since we can't avoid the groups we are trying to create mechanisms to ensure each group of workers are more or less from the similar skill grade. We are also creating mechanisms to group people into similar skill brackets by taking them through a series of individual work assessments. Using these, we will now make a series of assessments on creating a certification based on the productivity and monitor these workers on site to see if the said productivity is achieved consistently. Will tweak the mechanism as required till we achieve the best possible framework.

Has anyone else attempted this in a scientific manner? What has been your experience? Kindly feel free to share at [email protected] or [email protected]