Determining the Impact of Key Climatic Factors on Labor Productivity in the Mongolian Construction Industry

Abstract

Mongolia is exposed to an inclement-climate environment due to its specific geographical location and altitude. Such circumstances are challenging, and careful consideration is required in terms of the scheduling of construction works; in particular, a high possibility of productivity loss exists regarding outdoor work. This study presents the key climatic factors that significantly impact on the concreting operation, and the historical climatic data, project-specific questionnaire surveys, and the actual productivity data of previous concreting works are accordingly utilized. This study utilized a total of 343 project-specific productivity data collected from the contractors. The analysis results indicate that low temperatures, high winds and precipitation are the critical factors affecting productivity loss in terms of outdoor concrete work. In addition, the authors suggest the critical-factor threshold values for the prevention of this productivity loss, and for the preparation of an optimum project schedule under the inclement-climate condition.