Development of Project Level Engineering Productivity Benchmarking Index

Since 2002, the Construction Industry Institute (CII) has been working to develop a standardized Engineering Productivity Metric System (EPMS) for benchmarking purpose. In this system, engineering productivity is defined as a ratio of direct engineering work hours to the engineering outputs as measured by Issued for Construction (IFC) quantities. The EPMS consists of six major engineering disciplines with a number of underlying metrics. Engineering productivity can be accordingly benchmarked at any of these levels; however, there is a lack of project-level engineering productivity. The challenge is that IFC quantities are measured with different units and thus are difficult to roll up to the project level. To overcome this barrier, this study examines three approaches for aggregating engineering productivity metrics to the project level based on 112 heavy industrial projects. The selected project level engineering productivity measurement best summarizes the underlying engineering productivity metrics and provides a macro view of engineering performance. It allows owners and engineering organizations to benchmark engineering productivity at the project level. It also lays the foundation for future engineering productivity analysis and research.