In 2009 the Northwest Wall & Ceiling Bureau published its Impacts to Labor Productivity in Steel Framing and the Installation and Finishing of Gypsum Wallboard study, which was co-sponsored by the Northwest Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association, the Northern California Drywall Contractors Association, the Western Wall & Ceiling Contractors Association, and the Associated Wall and Ceiling Contractors of Oregon and Southwest Washington. The study was an empirical examination of 226 framing, gypsum board installation, and the finishing of gypsum board projects, performed by association and bureau members from Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia.
The research tested thirty-eight variables derived by an “Expert Panel” made up of industry executives and Board Members of the NWCB. Thirty-five of the variables were considered “impact variables” and were scored on a zero (no impact) to four (severe impact) range, and three variables which related solely to project scheduling were simply scored yes (one) or no (zero). The results of the study proved statistically that the impact variables were negatively correlated with labor productivity and that nearly all of the impact variables were statistically significant at or above the 99% level. What this means in short is, the more severe the variable was felt on the project, the greater the impact to labor productivity, and that our confidence level of that relationship is extremely high.