A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LABOR INTENSIVE VERSUS CAPITAL INTENSIVE TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Abstract

The objective of this study is to find out, compare and contrast the contribution of labor intensive and capital intensive construction technologies to the construction industry, taking in to consideration the benefit they bring to the majority of the people and at the same time find out if the technologies are well applied so that they contribute to industry growth so that future development and global competitiveness is secured. The research problem is approached by conducting descriptive survey on key actors of the industry, in this case construction project managers working on building construction projects; and review of related literature is made to collect sufficient secondary data for the analysis. The key findings from the study shows that Labor intensive construction technology is better in terms of creating employment opportunity, stabilizing social and political environment in the country and most of all brining income equality among the beneficiaries of the industry, and on the other hand, Capital Intensive technology has got the better advantage in terms of product quality, reduction of production cost and time, global competitiveness and knowledge transfer. The study shows that each technology is not properly used as it should be, and tried to recommend that in depth study has to be done towards choosing the right construction technology, an appropriate technology, that combines both technologies which fit to the current development stage, that will absorb the abundant labor force and support future policy of the country, and most of all, which brings income equality among the construction industry performers.