Investigation of Plant and Equipment Operators in Building Construction Projects in Sri Lanka

Waidyasekara, Kgas; Ridmika, K.I.; Sandagomika, N.M.G.H.; Konara, A.N

doi:10.31705/faru.2021.21

Cited by 1 publication

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In every construction, P&E is built to perform a specific function. The selection of different types of P&E depends on the size of the work and the project's economy, making the construction process easier and faster (Waidyasekara, Ridmika, Sandagomika, & Konara, 2021). These plants come in various sizes and perform a variety of tasks.…”

Section: Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cranes, forklift trucks, beakers, compacters, concreting plants, earth-moving plants, and piling plants are some of the main plants and equipment utilised in the Sri Lankan construction industry (Basnayake & Premathilaka, 2015). According to the study conducted by Waidyasekara et al (2021), the P&E have been identified under major two categories of movable and immovable. Accordingly, the earth moving machine, piling machine, crane, lifting equipment, generator machine, compressor, compacting machine, and vehicles have been identified under movable P&E while the Asphalt plant, Batching plant, Crusher plant, and Sand feeding machines have been highlighted under the immovable plant and machinery operators.…”

Section: Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Immovable Plant and Machinery Operators (Asphalt plant, Batching plant, Crusher plant, Sand feeding, etc.) (Source: Waidyasekara et al, 2021) According to the occupational map developed by Waidyasekara et al (2021), the P&E operator categorisation has been highlighted majorly under movable and immovable P&E operators as extracted above. Since the abovementioned categorisation has considered as the basis of main P&E operator categories, earth-moving equipment operators, piling machine operators, crane operators, lifting equipment operators, generator operators, compressor operators, compacting equipment operators, vehicle-driver, and immovable plant and machinery operators have been considered in this manuscript.…”

Section: Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant or equipment operating skills, safe working skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills, teamwork skills, organising skills, and reading and interpretational skills are the sets of skills expected from P&E operators (Basnayake & Premathilaka, 2015).This study has adopted sixteen skills for P&E operators by considering the skills above identified by several researchers worldwide, as elaborated in Table 2. According to Waidyasekara et al (2021), several skills necessary for P&E operators have been highlightedsuch as technical skills, mechanical skills, maintenance skills, analytical skills, preventive maintenance skills, problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, IT skills, and health and safety skills. In addition to that, the authors have highlighted the importance of some other skills, namely organising skills, documentation skills, language literacy, punctuality, communication skills, proper ethical behaviour, planning skills, smartness of handling machines, and teamwork.…”

Section: Workplace Skills Of Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to that, the authors have highlighted the importance of some other skills, namely organising skills, documentation skills, language literacy, punctuality, communication skills, proper ethical behaviour, planning skills, smartness of handling machines, and teamwork. Accordingly, Table 2 has been developed by incorporating the findings of Waidyasekara et al(2021) as the basis for this paper.…”

Section: Workplace Skills Of Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Analysing the skill gaps of plant and equipment operators in building construction projects in Sri Lanka

Waidyasekara

Ridmika

Sandagomika

et al. 2022

FARU J.

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The construction industry is labour intensive, and hence, skill development of the industry would yield both economic and social returns to the national economy. Among other occupational categories, plant and equipment (P&E) operators in the construction industry have significant importance since the skills and competencies of P&E operators are necessary to be well equipped to serve the higher demand and technological trends. Nevertheless, the available research in the said area is limited. Hence, this study aims to analyse the skill gaps of P&E operators in the perspective of construction professionals in Sri Lankan building construction projects. The study analysed the level of importance and level of satisfaction of P&E operators in the perspective of construction professionals. The research was designed with a quantitative research approach with a questionnaire survey administered among construction professionals with a response rate of 73%. The quantitative analysis depicted that maintenance skills of P&E operators have the highest level of satisfaction by construction professionals with more than 3.77 of mean weighted rating (MWR) and importance with over 3.87 of MWR in the industry. The smartness of handling machines and teamwork were identified as the next two essential and satisfied skills of P&E operators in each category. Out of sixteen skills identified, analytical, mechanical, innovative, and interpersonal skills show a slight skills gap among different categories of P&E operators. Compared to other skills, IT received less importance under each P & E category. Furthermore, the study has concluded the skill gaps in the categories of P&E operators in the Sri Lankan building construction industry. Having identified the gaps, the paper provides the means of measurement to present, which are the most identifiable skills gap of P&E operators in the building construction projects. Propose strategies to enhance the skills of P&E operators to overcome existing issues in the Sri Lankan building construction industry and investigate the skill gap of P&E operators in infrastructure projects can be highlighted as further research areas.

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Section: Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plant and Equipment Operatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%