WASHINGTON, DC — Associated Builders and Contractors has released Multiskilling in the US Construction Industry, a national dataset examining how multiskilled construction workers affect productivity, staffing requirements, schedule durations and jobsite performance. The research found that multiskilling increased the share of crew time spent directly advancing construction work by 39%.

Multiskilled craft professionals build verified capabilities in multiple crafts and apply those skills safely and competently on the jobsite. Researchers found that the typical worker used nearly three distinct skill classifications, while some workers used as many as six in a single day.

“As the nation prepares to celebrate the worker on Labor Day, this new field research is putting skilled construction pros at the center of one of the industry’s biggest challenges: how to build more with a workforce already stretched thin,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC President and CEO. “The most important findings show the inherent value of multiskilling for the worker: It creates the conditions for the worker to grow their skillsets, be more valuable, find more fulfillment, earn more and have more opportunities. It also shows that multiskilling can help these qualified workers spend more time building by more fully using the varied skills they bring to the jobsite."

Multiskilling Reduces Waiting and Increases Productive Crew Time

The research series, conducted by the Simplar Foundation with Arizona State University, the University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is the first of its kind to document multiskilling in real time across construction jobsites.

“The research team observed and documented enormous benefits for the workers during our time on site and talking with participating crews,” said Brian Lines, Ph.D., P.E., Principal Investigator and Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas. “These include more career paths, greater earning potential, more projects and hours as well as longer project assignments.

"However, the benefits were not the same everywhere. They were largest where the work created frequent opportunities to cover adjacent tasks, avoid handoffs and keep the crew moving. Lower opportunity often reflected the task mix and work sequence, not a lack of worker capability. Broader capability creates value for the employer.”

The first release of the three-part data series identified several measurable effects of multiskilling:

• 39% more direct construction work: Multiskilling increased the share of crew time spent directly advancing construction work by about 39%. Restricting workers to a single trade reduced direct construction time from nearly half of the workday to about one-third.
• 68% less idle and waiting time: Multiskilled crews spent substantially less of their active workday waiting or otherwise idle, with multiskilling reducing idle time by about 68%.
• 45%-72% fewer workers needed for the same work sequence: Limiting workers to a single trade would require approximately 45%-72% more workers to accomplish the same work sequence observed in the field.
• 36% of crew time spent on cross-trade work: Workers spent about 36% of observed crew time performing tasks outside their primary trade. A one-trade restriction would require roughly one-third of that work to be reassigned, delayed or covered by another worker.
• 128 unique trade combinations documented: Researchers identified 128 combinations in which workers paired their primary trade with one or more additional skills.
• More career flexibility: Multiskilling preserves craft depth while giving workers additional ways to earn, remain employed, advance, lead and shape their careers.

Field Data Shows Multiskilling Across Project Types and Trades

The researchers collected data from real-world construction operations nationwide. The study included 40 site visits on 36 projects in 24 states, covering 22 unique project types with project costs ranging from $0.5 million to more than $1 billion.

In total, 60 multiskilled crews comprising 644 workers from 30 contractors were observed. Researchers collected more than 11,400 productivity and work-sampling observations.

The data also showed a safety component. Across approximately 33.2 million work hours, participating contractors reported average Total Recordable Incident Rates of 0.74, which was 57% below the NAICS-weighted benchmark, with no reported fatalities.

Using fewer workers and crews in a confined work area can also reduce congestion and coordination pressure, potentially contributing to improved safety performance.

Multiskilling Can Help Contractors Manage Handoff-Heavy Work

The findings indicate that multiskilling is most valuable when crews encounter frequent opportunities to cover adjacent tasks and eliminate handoffs. Rather than replacing craft specialization, the research positions additional verified skills as a way to keep workers productive when the sequence of work changes.

“Improving productivity and worker job fulfillment through multiskilling is imperative to delivering the construction projects that Americans need, from highways and bridges to hospitals and energy infrastructure,” said Bellaman. “Multiskilling means workers are qualified to safely and competently perform tasks across trades. It complements specialization and delivers the most value on handoff-heavy scopes of work. It highlights measurable benefits in productivity, staffing, safety and worker opportunity, with evidence from real projects.

“These new findings suggest that multiskilling can deliver benefits for the entire construction industry, including greater opportunity for workers, greater flexibility for contractors and owners, and greater capacity to build the projects America needs,” said Bellaman.

To research the data series, visit simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling. To read the Q&A and learn more, visit abc.org/multiskilling.