The Construction Industry Institute considers productivity to be such a complex challenge that the group allotted six years, rather than the usual two, for its research team to study the issue. Daniel D. Christian, a veteran of three other research projects, stepped up to chair the team. "So many people wanted to work on this subject that we had to decline some volunteers to keep the team a manageable size," Christian says.
During the study, the team documented statistically valid best practices that improve productivity and gathered them into CII's "Construction Productivity Handbook," along with a large body of other research already done on the subject. "There was no magic wand," Christian says. "The handbook provides an independent method of cost control that can help contractors improve productivity."