This document provides an overview of construction labor planning. It discusses the need for labor planning to reduce costs, ensure quality work, and meet schedules. The key steps in labor planning are collecting inputs, assessing manpower requirements, sorting work by category, plotting man-days on a timeline, leveling requirements, and creating a mobilization plan. Productivity is measured by work output per man-day. An Excel template can help calculate labor needs. Attrition rates should also be considered to account for worker turnover. Costs include wages as well as expenses like housing, food, and transportation.

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Civilverse Admin 10 July 2021
All About Construction Labour Planning- Excel
Template
civilverse.org/construction-labour-planning
Table of Contents for Construction Labour Planning- Excel
1. Introduction
2. Need of Construction Labour Planning
3. Steps for Construction Labour Planning
4. Measurement of Construction Labour Productivity
5. Download Construction Labour Planning Excel
6. Attrition Rate Consideration
7. Cost Consideration
8. Conclusion
Labour Calculator Excel Template- Download the excel file below on this page
1. Introduction
The construction activities are getting lean day by day. The construction manpower needs
to be planned for each type of activity to ensure maximum utilization. This will save time
and cost. The quality is also controlled by deploying skilled manpower to the job.
The construction sector is one of the biggest employers in the world. As per a 2014 report,
the construction sector employs 8.6% of the total employees across the world. Another
report indicates, India had 40 million construction sector jobs in 2013 & expected to grow

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to 67 Million by 2022. With the increasing construction activities, the need for skilled
manpower will be more than ever.
In this article, I will guide you through the construction labour planning process. Starting
with the need for labour planning, moving ahead with steps for construction manpower
planning, measurement of productivity, the construction manpower planning template,
attrition rate and the cost consideration. The article will be concluded with the final
remarks on the various points explained.
2. Need of Construction Labour Planning
The construction projects operate under scope, time and cost constraints. Labour
productivity is one of the key factors governing time & cost. The time taken by an activity
is inversely proportional to the productivity of labour with a lower limit on minimum
time. The labour cost is 30-50% of the total project cost (for my current project it comes
around 35%).
The construction manpower planning has helped me ensuring the following aspects for
my projects-
a. Reduction in labour cost hence the overall project cost.
b. Better quality of work.
c. Timely completion of job, thus lesser delays, EOTs and delay claims etc.
d. Better supervision of labour.
e. Development of phase wise labour mobilization/demobilization plan.
f. Labour accommodation facility development.

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g. Cash flow requirement generation for wages, incentives, food, etc.
The advantages of construction manpower planning are project-specific and depend upon
the contract type. However, the multiple benefits can’t be ignored. The advantages also
depend upon the efficiency of planning and its’ implementation.
3. Steps of Construction Labour Planning
The construction labour planning is done in conjugation with the project schedule
development. The duration for an activity is estimated based on either of these methods.
Considering the work to be done, the complexity of the job and the labour productivity the
duration can also be estimated.
The below-stated points summarize the complete process of construction labour planning.
Collection of Inputs- The input for construction manpower planning are the
types of activities, work quantities, required skills and experience of labours,
productivity standards, tentative project timeline, deadlines for the project and
organizational template, if any.
Assessment of Manpower Requirement- The manpower requirement is
assessed from the historical data of previous projects of similar nature. If such data
is unavailable, the calculations are to be made. The formula for the per day
manpower calculation is-
Sorting & Grouping- The manpower required for each of the activity is sorted as
per their category i.e., carpenter, mason, fitter, welder, helper etc. Each category
man-days are summed up.
Plotting of Man-days on Project Timeline- Category wise man-days are
plotted against the project timeline. The daily category wise requirement of
manpower is be ascertained in this step.
Manpower Levelling- The requirement of manpower for some days can be higher
than other days. Hence, it is not possible to mobilize/demobilize the manpower so
quickly. Thus, problem is tackled by preponing or postponing the non-critical
activities as such that the daily demand becomes more or less same.
Preparation of Mobilization Plan- The mobilization plan is prepared for the
week / month. The levelled manpower is arranged to be mobilized to the site in
batches as per the calculated requirement.
5. Measurement of Construction Labour Productivity
The construction labour productivity measurement is essential to monitor and control the
progress. The productivity measurement ensures if the desired output is being achieved.
If not, the corrective actions need to be implemented.

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The productivity measurement is a ratio of output to input.
The output is the work done per day and the input is the number of man-days consumed
to complete the work.
The unit of productivity is the work unit per day. The work units for different types of
works are different. The concrete poured is measured in cubic-meter, shuttering in
square-meter, excavation in cubic-meter, reinforcement bars tying in kg or MT, 9” thick
brickwork in cubic-meter, 4.5” thick brickwork in square-meter etc.
6. Construction Labour Planning Excel
The construction labour planning Excel sheet attached herewith helps calculate the labour
required for the day. The various types of works like shuttering, concrete pouring,
reinforcement cutting-bending & tying, blockwork, plaster and tiling are covered. Each
type of work has been detailed into various forms like foundation, columns, beams,
soffits, slabs etc.
The input required for the construction labour calculation by the sheet is work quantity
for the day and the working hours per day. The sheet calculates the labours and divides
them into the category.
Download Labour Calculator Excel
7. Attrition Rate Consideration
The attrition rate is the turnover rate. Out of all the labourers mobilized at the site, some
do not stay back and work. There might be several reasons for them returning. Thus, the
turnover can lead to a shortfall of manpower at work and hence delay in work as they
cannot be replaced immediately (especially skilled labour).
A suitable attrition rate should be considered while mobilizing the manpower. The
labours should be mobilized in excess as per the attrition rate. For example, if 100 Nos.
manpower is required for the work and the attrition rate is 10%, the mobilization plan
should be for 110 Nos. (100 + 100 x 10%) manpower.
The formula to calculate the attrition rate is as follows-

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The attrition rate depends upon various factors. For my current project, the attrition rate
is as high as 10% for the week and 25% for the month. This means 10% of the mobilized
labour return within a week and 25% labourers return within a month. The high attrition
is due to extreme weather, remote location, the higher price of commodities in the local
market, connectivity, etc.
8. Cost Consideration
The cost involved in the labour aspect depends upon the contractual terms. For unit rate
contract & lump sum contract, the client doesn’t have to worry about the labour wage, he
only has to pay for as per the work executed. The contractor pays the wage or he can
further sub-contract the work. For time & material contract, cost-plus contract and target
cost contract, the client pays for the labour as per the usage.
The additional costs that are incurred other than the wages are the labour
accommodation, transportation charges, insurances, workers’ license, food, incentives,
additional allowances, bonus etc. The scope for these costs is also mentioned in the
contract.
9. Conclusion
Construction labour planning has proved to be an essential and critical step in project
planning. The over-estimates lead to additional cost and the lower estimates cause delay
to the project. It is a key challenge for the estimator to maintain a perfect balance for
manpower estimation.
The attrition rate for the manpower should be suitably adopted. Historical data for the
similar nature of projects in the nearby locations of the project can be referred to for
better estimates. Too high or too low assumptions shows the inability of the team to find
the balance.
The direct and indirect costs for manpower are to be considered in the contract. For
lump-sum and unit price contracts, the indirect costs should be covered in prices.
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Happy Engineering!