Impact of Skill Proficiencies on Frontline Supervision Practices in the Construction Industry

Abstract

Frontline supervisors play a crucial role in construction operations as they create a link between management and craft professionals, whereby they are expected to manage resources, plan and define work, communicate with workers, and create a safe working environment. Several studies indicate that adequate supervision is critical for field productivity and enhancing efficiency. While the importance and best practices of frontline supervision have been highlighted in existing work, no research has yet studied how different skills affect frontline supervision. The objective of this paper is to analyze and understand the impact of individual skill proficiencies on frontline supervision practices, specifically, investigating if skill proficiencies impact the time spent supervising craft professionals at the workface, and time spent on administrative and planning activities. To achieve the research objective, 1062 construction frontline supervisors were surveyed using an online questionnaire. The survey participants were asked to allocate what percent of time of their day they spend on the following tasks: "supervising craft professionals", "administrative work", "planning activities", and "training workers". The participants were additionally asked if they are proficient in specific "computer" skills, and "administrative" skills. The collected data was then analyzed. Key findings indicate that 5 of the 12 specific skill proficiencies had a statistically significant impact on time spent supervising workers. Additionally, 9 of the 12 specific skill proficiencies had a statistically significant impact on time spent on administrative work, and 4 of the 12 specific skill proficiencies had a statistically significant impact on time spent on planning activities. Only 1 of the 12 specific skill proficiencies had a statistically significant impact on time spent training workers.