An investigation on productivity of public housing construction in Hong Kong

The public housing programme of Hong Kong was launched as a result of the fire at Shek Kip Mei squatter area on Christmas Day in 1953 with some 53,000 people made homeless. Till now, more than 40% of the total population (2.4 million) is accommodated in public housing. Public housing in Hong Kong has encountered rapid changes in the recent years, of which the facilities and living conditions have been remarkably improved. Lately a series of standard designs have been formalised to facilitate the high level of mechanisation and improve site productivity. First, this study presents an overview of the evolution of public block patterns, and then focuses on the analysis of productivity on construction sites. The investigations include installation of prefabrication components such as facade walls and semiprecast slabs, erection of steel wall-forms, rates of concrete placing and utilisation levels of tower crane. The results have shown that the high level of standardised designs can improve productivity and shorten duration.