Peter Eduard Mayer

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify factors affecting labour productivity within building projects, and rank these factors according to their relative importance from a contractor's viewpoint, based on a survey of 45 factors considered in a survey.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured masonry labor productivity in Gaza Strip, Palestine, using a consistent benchmarking approach, and found that the baseline productivity of masonry works in Gaza seems to range from 0.29 to 0.80 work hours per square meter.

TL;DR: The study concluded that reported accident rates will decrease among subcontractors and their workers if new workers are trained well in the work site and they are informed about dangerous places, and if a workable safety plan is well preplanned.

TL;DR: In this article, a relative importance index was developed and used to rank the different common characteristics and factors identified by local managers, which highlighted the most important industry characteristics that give rise to safety challenges, such as poor accident record keeping and reporting systems; extensive use of subcontr...

Abstract: The state of the environment is a matter of growing current concern. It is a concern based on the observation that degradation of the environment is already affecting the quality of life of people throughout the world. The objective of sustainable development is to try to anticipate unfavorable changes and to moderate the project parameters to try to avoid unwanted consequences. Construction has to deliver its products with less environmental impact, i.e. it has to become more sustainable. The necessity of fostering economic and social development while preserving the environment has led to the redefinition of the traditional objectives of development through the concept of sustainable development, as a guide to design environmentally compatible economic development strategies. There is a pressure on the construction industry to deliver buildings with ever increasing standards of performance, constantly diminishing environmental impacts and steadily reducing costs of construction and operation. The environmental related problems in Palestine are acute. Palestine has fragile environment being faced with high levels of land degradation, acute shortage of fresh water, and rapid urbanization with its associated problems of air pollution and pressure on existing infrastructure such as waste management systems. The aim of this paper is to examine the concepts of sustainable development in construction sector, and to highlight the potential barriers to their application in Palestine. Recommendations are proposed to improve the sustainability of construction sector. The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)