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L 3, 2 '
W
'( ■ ■ ■ M k
WOUSTRY
90
labor and material
requirements K’
for sewer works roci
construction
Digitized for
ForFRASER
sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402 - Price 30 cents
P re fa ce
T h is study o f total la bor and m a teria l requirem ents fo r the con
struction o f sew er fa cilitie s is one in a s e rie s o f Bureau o f L a b or S tatistics
studies o f variou s types of con stru ction that m ight be a ffected b y future gov
ernm ental action. P re v io u s ly published studies exam ined the follow in g types
of con stru ction: S ch ools, highways, F ed era l o ffice buildings, h osp ita ls, civ il
w orks a ctivities o f the A rm y C orps of E ngineers, public housing, private o n e fa m ily dwelling units, and co lle g e student housing.
The studies are being m ade by the B ureau 's D ivision o f P rod u ctivity
M easurem ent, L loyd A . P rochnow , Chief, under the general d irection o f
Leon G reen b erg, A ssistan t C om m ission er fo r P rod u ctivity and T ech n olog ica l
D evelopm ents. T his bulletin was p rep a red tinder the su p ervision of Jam es F .
W alker, by Roland V . M urray, who also was resp on sib le fo r com p ilin g the
data for o n -site la b or requ irem en ts. C laiborne M . B all p rep a red the data on
m a teria ls and o ff-s it e la bor requ irem en ts.
The Bureau gratefully acknow ledges the coop era tion of o ffic ia ls o f
the W ater Supply and P ollu tion C ontrol D ivision of the P ublic Health S erv ice,
and o f the Com m unity F a c ilitie s A dm inistration of the Housing and Hom e
Finance A gen cy in supplying p r o je c t p a yrolls on which m ost o f the o n -site
requirem ents data w ere based. M r. P e te r P . Rowan, who was a sso cia te d
with the P ublic Health S e rv ice , was p a rticu la rly helpful in this and related
a re a s.
iii
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ................................... .................................. .......................................
Nature o f survey ...............................................................................................
G en eral survey f i n d i n g s ......... .............................................................................
P r o je c t c h a r a c t e r is t ic s ........................
O n -site m an-hour r e q u ir e m e n t s ..............................
The co s t of d irect w a g e s ..................................... ................. ........................
R equirem ents by occupation ................................. ..................... ...................
A ppren tice m an -h ou rs ....................................................................... ...............
O vertim e m an -h ou rs .................................... ....................................................
C onstruction t im e ......................
O ff-s ite e m p lo y m e n t ........... ............................................. ............................
C ost of m a teria ls u sed
........................................ ..
P rev iou s studies ................................................... ................. ..............................
Scope and m ethod o f s u r v e y ............................. ..................................................
S a m p l e .................... .......................... ..................... .......................................
M an-hour estim ates ..........................................
O n -site m a n -h o u r s .......................................
O ff-s it e m an -h ou rs ..................................................................
1
2
3
7
10
12
13
15
17
18
19
22
26
28
28
28
28
30
T a b le s :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A -l.
O n -site la bor requ irem en ts fo r sew er w orks con stru ction ,
by se le cte d c h a r a c te r is tic s , 1 9 6 2 -6 3 ..............................................
O n -site la bor requirem ents fo r sew er w orks con stru ction ,
by occupation and region , 1962-63 ...................................................
P ercen tage distribution of o n -site m an -h ou rs fo r sew er line
and plant con stru ction , by occupation and region , 1962-63 . . .
M an-hour requirem ents per $ 1 ,0 0 0 of sew er con stru ction
con tra ct, by producing se cto r and stage of m anufacture,
1962-63 ......................................................................................................
C ost o f m a teria ls per $ 1 ,0 0 0 of sew er w orks con stru ction
con tra ct, by type o f m a teria ls, region , and type o f p ro je ct,
1962-63 ......................................................................................................
Number o f sam ple con tracts in selected ca teg ories . . . . . . . . . . .
11
14
16
20
24
29
C harts:
1.
2.
D istribution of m an -h ou rs fo r each $ 1 ,0 0 0 o f sew er w orks
con stru ction con tra ct. ..............................................................
W here the sew er w orks con stru ction con tra ct d ollar g o e s .........
v
6
Introduction
New con stru ction is a m a jo r com ponent o f the N ation 's output of
goods and s e r v ic e s and an im portant s o u rce o f em ploym ent. Job s a re c r e
ated not only at con stru ction sites but also in many m anufacturing, trade,
s e rv ic e , and transportation in dustries w hich m ake, s e ll, and d eliver m a te
r ia ls and equipment req u ired in con stru ction p r o c e s s e s . B ecau se o f its fa r reaching em ploym ent im pact, a vigorou s con stru ction industry is a significant
aid in lim itin g unem ploym ent.
T o provide factual data on the m o re d ire ct em ploym ent-gen erating
effe cts o f con stru ction expenditures, the Bureau o f L abor Statistics (BLS)
has a continuing p rogra m o f studies to m easu re labor and m a teria l r e q u ire
m ents fo r variou s segm ents of the con stru ction industry. Construction o f
sew er fa cilitie s w as s e le cte d as p a rticu la rly appropriate fo r study becau se
o f the continuing F e d e ra l in terest and participation in w ater pollution con trol
and the frequent prom in en ce of this type o f w ork in F ed eral em ploym ent
generating p ro g ra m s.
At the tim e to w hich this industry r e fe r s , 1962-1963, F ed era l a s s is t
ance to lo c a l governm ents fo r sew er w ork s con stru ction took three fo r m s ,
im plem enting three different p u rp oses. One of these was the W ater P ollution
C ontrol p rogram , dating fro m the m iddle 1950's, adm inistered b y the P ublic
Health S ervice of the U .S . Departm ent of Health, Education, and W elfa re.
This program p rov id es grants to lo ca l agen cies fo r partial financing o f co n
struction o f sewage treatm ent fa cilitie s , including intercepting and outfall
sew ers. The p rin cip al purpose is to provide an incentive to lo c a l com m unities
to d e crea se the amount o f untreated w astes disch a rg ed to w ater s o u r c e s . The
secon d continuing p rogram was the P ublic F a cilitie s Loan P ro g ra m under the
Com m unity F a c ilitie s A dm inistration o f the Housing and Home Finance A gency.
T his is a loan p rogram designed to a s s is t sm all com m un ities without estab
lish ed c re d it rating to acqu ire needed public fa c ilitie s . Although loans w ere
available fo r m any types o f fa c ilitie s , they w ere u sed p rim a rily fo r sew er and
w ater w ork s. M o reov er, the sew er con stru ction tended to be fo r c o lle ctio n
lines rather than treatm ent fa c ilitie s , thus com plem enting the pollution con trol
p rogra m . The third p rogram was the A c ce le r a te d P ublic W orks P ro g ra m
which w as aim ed at helping people livin g in e co n o m ica lly d istre s se d a rea s by
providing im m ediate em ploym ent on public con stru ction . The p rogra m as a
whole w as under the d irection of the A re a R edevelopm ent A dm inistration o f
the U .S . Departm ent of C om m erce, but grants w e re m ade through agen cies
already in the relevant fie ld s, such as the two m entioned p rev iou sly . Many
different c la s s e s o f public w orks w ere approved tinder this p rogra m , but
sew er fa c ilitie s , w hich accounted fo r ov er a quarter o f the total d ollar volum e
o f ap provals, m ade up the la rg e st single group.
Another rea son fo r the study is the cu rren t and p ro sp e ctiv e im p o r
tance o f this w ork . Expenditures fo r sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction have r is e n
steadily to a r e c o r d $1, 375 m illion in 1964. Although som e d e cre a s e
o c c u r r e d in 1965 after the A c ce le r a te d P ublic W orks P r o g r a m 's initial im pact
2
of 1963 and 1964, expenditures are expected to continue to r is e . The needs
to be m et a ris e not only from population growth and m obility, but also from
d e ficien cies in existing waste d isp osal system s which are the subject of m uch
cu rren t con cern . T hese d eficien cies are ch ie fly inadequate treatm ent of
liquid w astes b efore their return to w aterw ays, and the existence of com bined
storm and sanitary system s in m any urban areas which dump untreated w astes
into w aterw ays during storm s. R em edy of the latter situation alone, by se p
aration of storm and sanitary sew ers, would co st m any b illion s of d o lla rs .
Nature o f Survey
The study was designed p rim a rily to m easu re the total m an -h ou rs
of labor requ ired for each $ 1, 000 of sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction con tra ct.
T hese m an -h ou rs include both o n -site and o ff-s it e em ploym ent in the c o n
struction industry, and the o ff-s it e em ploym ent in industries which produce
and distribute the m a teria ls, supplies, and equipment used in the co n s tr u c
tion. Data for o n -site labor include m an -h ou rs f o r su p ervisory, en g in eer
ing, c le r ic a l, and custodial em ployees at the con stru ction sites, as w ell as
those fo r w ork ers in the con stru ction tra d es. Data fo r o ff-s it e em ploym ent
co v e r not only the final stage of m a teria ls m anufacture and transport to the
site, but all other stages of production including the extraction of raw
m a te ria ls.
T hese labor requirem ents are thus the total of those generated by
the con stru ction con tra ct. H ow ever, additional em ploym ent is generated by
a con stru ction p r o je c t other than by the con stru ction con tract itse lf. This
additional w ork includes preparation o f plans and sp ecifica tion s, in spection
by governm ent a gen cies, installations by public utility em p loyees, and other
appurtenant w ork . T hese other sou rces o f em ploym ent are not r e fle c te d in
the estim a tes, w hich m ight differ slightly if total p r o je c t m an -h ou rs w ere
related to total p r o je c t c o s ts . Em ploym ent crea ted by the respending and
investing o f the w ages and p rofits a risin g from the co n stru ctio n --th e m u lti
p lie r e f f e c t - - i s excluded.
This study is based on data cov erin g con stru ction , ch ie fly in 1962
and 1963, on 138 sew er w orks con tra cts. Only new sanitary sew er fa c i li
tie s are cov ered ; rep a ir w ork and w ork on storm drainage system s are
excluded, although six con tra cts co v e r w ork on featu res o f com bined storm
and sanitary system s.
A ll of the p r o je c ts w ere under one or m o re o f the F ed eral assistan ce
p rogra m s just d escrib ed : 85 w ere ad m inistered by the P ublic Health S erv ice
and 53 by the Com m unity F a cilitie s A dm inistration. Thus, the study did not
include any p ro je cts financed without F ed eral funds. Of the 138 con tra cts,
86 w ere p rim a rily fo r sew er line constru ction, and 52 p rim a rily fo r plant
con stru ction . Data fo r these two groups are shown separately, w here c o n
sid ered helpful, throughout the rep ort.
3
G eneral S urvey Findings
C onstruction o f sew er w orks in 1962-63 req u ired an average o f 222
m an -h ou rs o f la b or fo r each $ 1, 000 o f con stru ction con tra ct amount.
R equirem ents for other types o f con stru ction studied in this s e r ie s ranged
fro m 204 to 236 m a n -h ou rs.
E m ploym ent at the site o f w ork on sew er fa cilitie s req u ired 85 m an
h ou rs, and o ff-s it e em ploym ent, p r im a r ily to produ ce the m a te ria ls used,
req u ired 137 m a n -h ou rs. The total m an -h ou rs w e re distributed by industry
groups as follow s:
M an -hours per $ 1, 000 o f
con stru ction con tra ct, 1962-63
T o t a l.........................
O n -site con stru ction
O ff-s ite , t o t a l............
C onstruction . . . . .
M anufacturing . . . .
T r a d e .......................
T ransportation . . .
S e r v ic e s ..................
Other .......................
Number
P ercen t
222
85
137
7
73
23
11
7
16
100
38
62
3
33
11
5
3
7
M an-hour requirem ents in the two m a jo r types o f sew er w orks v a r
ied only slightly.
M an-hours per $ 1, 000 o f
con stru ction con tra ct, 1962-63
T o t a l .................... .. .
O n -site con stru ction
O ff-s ite , t o t a l . . . . . .
L ines
Plants
223
86
137
221
83
138
T h ere w e re , h ow ever, som e d iffe re n ce s in the distribution o f these
h ou rs, p a rticu la rly in the pattern o f o n -s ite con stru ction occu p ation s. T h ere
w ere wide d iffe re n ce s in total o n -s ite m an -h ou r requ irem en ts am ong individ
ual p r o je c ts , and a substantial d ifferen ce betw een p r o je c ts in the South and in
the r e s t of the Nation.
The study developed, as byproduct, a rough breakdown o f c o n
t r a c t o r s ' c o s ts as betw een w ages paid to con stru ction w o r k e r s , m a te ria ls
purchased, and overhead and p ro fit. The p ercen tages w e r e , r e sp e ctiv e ly ,
C h art 1.
D istrib u tio n o f Man-Hours for E ach $ 1 0 0 0 of Sewer W orks C on stru ction C o n tract, 1 9 6 2 -6 3
Total Man-Hours:
Total Man-Hours:
223
221
\
PRIMARY
► MAN-HOURS
(168)
m
PRIMARY
Off-site
Construction
MAN-HOURS
(159)
Transportation,
Transportation,
Trade, and Services
Trade, and Services
t
t
Last Manufacturing Stage
Last Manufacturing Stage
(or other processing)
(or other processing)
SECONDARY
SECONDARY
MAN-HOURS
-►
◄
—
MAN-HOURS
►
(55)
(62)
Other
Manufacturing
Transportation,
Trade, and Services
Industries
SEWER LINES
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
SEWER PLANTS
All
Other
Industries
5
25, 56, and 19 fo r all p r o je c ts c o v e re d . The w ages p ercen ta ges tended to
be m o re un iform than the m an -h ou rs w orked, by p r o je c t and region , becau se
high m an -h ou r requ irem en ts frequently w e re a sso cia te d with low w age ra tes
and low m an -h ou r requ irem en ts with high wage ra te s. H ow ever, the p e r
centage fo r plants w as somewhat higher than fo r lin e s — 27 and 24, r e s p e c
tiv e ly , The m a teria ls ra tio s va ried little in total between the two types, 56
in lin es and 57 in plants. T here w e re , h ow ever, great d iffe re n ce s in the
types o f m a teria ls used.
The d ifferen ce between total con tra ct amounts and the com bined sum
o f the w ages paid and m a teria ls purchased am ounted to 19 percen t o f the c o n
tra ct am ounts. T h is residu al rep resen ts the total o f overhead and p ro fit.
In this rep ort, overhead expenses a re those w hich cannot be d ire ctly attrib
uted to s p e c ific p r o je c ts , as fo r exam ple, expenses fo r the cen tra l o ffic e and
yard, in surance, and ta xes.
In the y e a rs 1962-63, the average expenditures p er year fo r all types
o f lo c a l public sew er fa cilitie s w ere $1 , 131 m illio n . T his study indicated
that at this rate o f expenditure sew er con stru ction p rovid ed about 125, 000 fu ll
tim e jo b s , 48, 000 o n -s ite and 77, 000 o f f - s i t e .1 Since fu ll-tim e w ork is the
exception, e s p e c ia lly in heavy con stru ction , the actual num ber o f p erson s
em ployed o n -s ite w as undoubtedly con sid e ra b ly g re a te r.
1
The fu ll-tim e w ork yea r fo r o n -s ite w ork is taken as 50 tim e s th
average w orkw eek o f 3 9 .9 hours in 1962 and 40. 6 in 1963 a s re p o rte d in the
B u reau 's em ploym ent and earnings s e r ie s . F o r other types o f em ploym ent
2, 000 hours w ere co n sid e re d a full y e a r 1s em ploym ent.
C h art 2 .
W here the Sewer W ork s C onstruction C o n tract D ollar Goes
1 9 6 2 -6 3
Stone, clay, glass products
Supervisory,
technical, clerical
Skilled trades
Semiskilled, unskilled
3.8
7.8
12.7
33.7
Metal products
Sewer plant equipment
Electrical products
6.2
Supervisory,
1.7
0.3
All other materials & supplies
2.6
technical, clerical
3.4
Skilled trades
15.0
Semiskilled, unskilled 8.2
44.5
SEWER LINES
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
SEWER PLANTS
Stone, clay, glass products
10.9
Metal products
Sewer plant equipment
15.9
13.4
Electrical products
4.8
All other materials & supplies
4.2
7
P r o je c t C h a ra cteristics
T o d a y 's urban s o cie ty uses a wide variety o f fa cilitie s fo r the c o l
lection , treatm ent, and d isp osal o f human and industrial w astes. T hese
fa cilitie s range from the sm all pipes co lle ctin g household w astes to the
la rge trunk lin es and in tercep tors; fro m the sim ple sewage lagoon to the
in tricate p r o c e s s in g com p lex o f the m etropolitan treatm ent plant; and fro m
the "pack a ged" lift station to the m u ltim illio n -d o lla r pumping station. The
curren t study included a ll of these fa cilitie s in sofar as they related to new
sanitary sew er system s. R epair jo b s w ere excluded and also w ork on storm
sew er sy stem s. S everal r e lie f sew er jo b s , featu res o f com bined storm and
sanitary system s, w ere included.
The 138 con tra cts 2 included in the study w ere distributed among
types o f fa cilitie s as shown in the follow ing tabulation. (See appendix fo r
additional details on sam ple selection and w eigh tin g.) C ontracts are divided
into two b road c la s s e s , a ccord in g to whether they ch ie fly in volved pipeline
o r plant con stru ction .
A ctual (unweighted) con
tra ct am ounts, 1962-63
Number o f
con tracts
Thousands
o f d olla rs
P e rce n t
A ll c o n t r a c t s .......................
138
$ 4 5 ,4 6 5
100
P rin cip a lly p ip e lin e s ................
L in es e x c lu s iv e ly ..................
L in es and other (ch ie fly
lift s ta tio n s )...........................
P rin cip a lly p la n ts ......................
Sewage treatm ent plants . . .
Pum ping station s....................
W aste stabilization ponds . .
M i x e d ........................................
rr
86
24,717
15,932
3F
25
52
29
9
9
5
8, 785
20.748
14,493
3, 578
910
1, 767
19
46
32
8
2
4
54
2
B ecau se o f the d isp e rse d nature o f the w ork , " p r o je c t " and "c o
tra ct" do not always have identical m eanings in sew er con stru ction . How
ev er, in this rep ort, either w ord m ay be used to designate a single prim e
general con tra ct (o r , ra re ly , a general and one or m o re sp ecia lty prim es)
fo r con stru ction o f a sp ecified feature or group o f featu res o f a sew er
system .
8
The 86 sew er line con tra cts w ere ch ie fly c o lle c tio n and trunk (or
interceptor) lin es in about equal num bers; in addition, there w ere a r e la
tiv ely sm all num ber o f outfall and r e lie f se w e rs. (Outfall sew ers conduct
the effluent fro m the treatm ent plant to a r iv e r o r other disposal area; r e lie f
sew ers in com bined storm and sanitary system s divert e x c e s s storm w aters
d ire ctly into a r iv e r to prevent overload in g o f the treatm ent p la n t.)
The pipelines p rim a rily w ere co n cre te , v itr ifie d -c la y , o r cast iron .
Sm aller amounts o f steel, a sb e sto s-ce m e n t, and corru ga ted m etal pipe w ere
used. In addition, one jo b used c a s t-in -p la c e r e in fo rc e d co n cre te pipe, and
another used b r ic k m a son ry fo r lining a sew er con stru cted by tunneling.
The "o th e r " elem ent in "lin es and oth er" in the previou s tabulation
is alm ost en tirely lift stations. T hese are the pumping fa c ilitie s , usually
sm all, req u ired in lin es w here the terra in is such that gravity alone w ill not
insure adequate flow . In addition, o f co u rs e , all sew er lin es requ ire such
structures as m a n -h oles and junction ch a m b ers, to facilitate the operation
and m aintenance o f the lin es.
T ren ch ing alm ost u n iversally was used fo r placing pipe below ground.
H ow ever, in one entire jo b and in portions o f two oth ers, tunneling was used.
T hese exam ples do not include the m any c a s e s w here re la tiv e ly short s e c
tions o f the line had to be b o re d under such ob sta cle s as highways and
ra ilro a d s.
Of the 52 plants c o v e r e d in the survey, about half included som e
external pipeline w ork, usually fo r in tercep tors or outfalls, in addition to
the n e c e s s a r y w ithin-plant piping con n ection s. In each c a s e , h ow ever, the
plant con stru ction predom inated.
Seven of the treatm ent plants, represen tin g half o f the con tract
amount in this ca teg ory , w ere to provide p rim a ry treatm ent o n ly --th e se p a r
ation o f liquids and so lid s, with digestion o f the solid s, and disposal of
liquids without further treatm ent. The other 22 plants p rovid ed s o -c a lle d
secon da ry tr e a tm e n t--c o n v e rs io n o f the liquid w astes through b io lo g ica l
p r o c e s s e s to com p aratively in offen sive effluents b e fo re their d isp osa l. E leven
o f th ese, represen tin g a third of treatm ent plant con tra ct amount, u sed the
activated sludge p r o c e s s , and 11, represen tin g a sixth o f con tra ct amount,
used the other prin cip al p ro ce ss in g m ethod, the trick lin g filte r system .
M ost treatm ent plants w ere o f sm all o r m oderate siz e , including
s e v e ra l o f the sm all packaged equipment type, requiring hardly m o re o n -site
con stru ction than fo r a foundation and a sh ell. H ow ever, 8 con tra cts o f over
$ 5 00,000 each accounted fo r 70 p ercen t of the total con tra ct amount fo r
treatm ent plant con stru ction . T hese la rg e con tra cts w e re fo r p r o c e s s in g
com p lexes using a v a riety o f fa c ilitie s . M odern la r g e -s c a le sewage tre a t
m ent con sists o f a s e rie s o f ph ysical, b io lo g ica l, and ch em ica l p r o c e s s e s
and th erefore req u ires sev era l distinct types o f stru ctu res (tanks, lagoons,
buildings, m ech an ical in sta lla tion s), and o f co u r s e , appurtenant piping, and
e le c tr ic a l and other related w ork.
9
The pumping station ca teg ory was dom inated by a single v e ry large
con tract fo r a plant which included installations fo r primping storm w ater as
w ell as sanitary sew age. The other eight con tra cts w ere fo r rela tively sm all
lift stations.
W aste stabilization ponds are shallow ponds acting as natural sewage
treatm ent "plan ts" through the action of m ic r o -o r g a n is m s on the raw sew age.
They usually involve no m o re con stru ction w ork than excavation and diking,
and inlet and outlet stru ctu res. Such ponds usually serve sm all com m uni
t ie s --e a c h of the nine sam ple p r o je c ts was in a nonm etropolitan area.
The five p r o je c ts designated as "m ix ed " in the previou s tabulation
w ere con tracts with m ultiple fea tu res. The two la rg e st rep resen t com plete
system s, with sew er lin es, lift stations, and treatm ent fa cilitie s .
10
O n-Site M an-Hour R equirem ents
O n -site m an-hour requirem ents averaged 85 per $ 1, 000 3 of c o n
tra ct amount of sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction but va ried w idely by p r o je c t
c h a r a c te r is tic s . (See table 1.) Some o f the variations are consistent with
those noted in previou s studies in this s e r ie s . A ch ief exam ple o f this is the
con sisten tly higher em ploym ent generated by a dollar of con stru ction in the
South com p a red with the rem ainder of the country. T o a sm a ller and le s s
consistent extent, higher requirem ents also are evident fo r p r o je c ts outside
o f m etropolitan a rea s, and sm a ller p r o je c ts . It usually is assum ed that the
availability o f labor at com p aratively low hou rly rates in the South and in
sm a ller com m unities redu ces the incentive fo r m echanization, and that
sm a ller p ro je cts reduce the opportunity fo r it.
The range in requirem ents fo r individual p r o je c ts w as ex trem ely
w id e --fr o m 23 to 249 m an -h ou rs per $ 1,000 in sew er line p r o je c ts , and
fro m 31 to 159 in plant p r o je c ts . In som e in stan ces, these wide ranges
re fle cte d fin an cially v e ry p rofitab le, or virtu ally d isa strou s, jo b s as
explained in the wage portion o f this study. T his is typical of h ig h -r is k
operation s such as sew er fa cilitie s w ork. In other in stan ces, these wide
ranges r e fle c t individual p r o je c t c h a r a c te ris tic s .
H ow ever, the ranges ra d ica lly differ fo r the South and the r e s t of
the country. M ost o f the con tract value of the sam ple fo r the South was in
p r o je c ts with requirem ents over 100 m an -h ou rs per $ 1,000; fo r the rem ainder
o f the country, m ost o f the value was in p ro je cts with requ irem en ts under
100.
P e rce n t of con tra ct amount
L ines
South
Plants
Other U .S .
South
T o t a l ......................................
100
100
100
Under 5 0 ......................................
50 and under 1 0 0 ......................
100 and Tinder 1 5 0 ....................
150 and under 200 ....................
200 and under 250 ....................
33
64
3
0
0
5
35
58
2
0
4
95
1
0
0
M an-hours per $ 1,000
15
4
Other U. S
3
The "m a n -h ou rs per $ 1, 000" con cept cannot be used fo r p rod u c
ity com p a rison s becau se o f the different ph ysical quantities w hich the $ 1, 000
m ay rep resen t, owing to d ifferen ces in p r ic e s of con stru ction . P r ic e d iffe r
en ces r e fle c t not only d iffe re n ce s in productivity, but a lso d iffe re n ce s in
p ro fits, and c o sts o f m a te ria ls , la b or, etc.
Table 1.
On-Site Labor Requirements for Sewer Works Construction, by Selected Characteristics, 1962-63
M a n - h o u r s p e r $ 1 , 0 0 0 of c on tra ct
C h aracteristics
United
State s
N orth
east
N o rth
Central
South
Wages as p e r c e n t of c on tra c t amount
West
United
States
N orth
east
N o rt h
Central
A v e r a g e h o u r l y earn ings
South
W est
United
State s
N o rth
east
N o rt h
Central
South
We st
T o t a l , a l l c o n tra c ts . . . . . .
8 4.5
7 0 .8
66.6
1 0 9 .5
6 3.2
2 5 .3
25.5
2 4.6
26.3
2 3.8
$ 3 .00
$ 3 .60
$ 3 .70
$ 2 .41
$ 3.77
L in e s ................................ ................
P l a n t s ...............................................
85.9
8 2 .7
6 8 .6
7 2 .4
61.9
7 1 .9
117 .4
9 9.8
61.7
6 6 .1
2 4.3
2 6 .6
25.7
2 5 .3
23.8
25 .6
2 4 .5
2 3 .6
2 3 .5
2 4 .4
$ 2 .83
3 .2 2
$ 3 .75
3 .4 9
$ 3 .8 4
3. 56
$ 2 .09
2 .8 7
$ 3. b l
3. 70
A l l c o n tracts:
M e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a ..................
N o n m e t r o p o lit a n a r e a .......... '
7 8.2
9 3 .1
7 0 .5
7 1 .2
6 3 .0
70.6
99 .4
1 2 2 .4
5 9 .6
69 .8
2 5.9
24. 5
25.4
25 .6
2 4 .2
25.1
2 8 .4
23.8
2 3.5
2 4 .4
3 .32
2 .63
3 .60
3 .5 9
3.84
3 .5 6
2 .8 5
1.94
3 .95
3 .5 0
L in e s :
M e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a ..................
N o nm etropolitan a re a . . . . .
74.7
1 0 3 .8
6 0.6
75.5
57.0
68. 1
9 8 .5
1 4 5 .5
5 8 .2
7 4.5
2 3 .0
26 .4
2 3.2
2 7.9
2 2 .2
25. 7
2 3.2
26.5
23. 1
25.3
3.08
2.5 4
3 .8 3
3 .6 9
3 .9 0
3. 78
2.36
1 .8 2
3.96
3.39
P l a n ts :
M e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a .................
N o n m e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a ..........
83. 1
C2. 1
75. 1
64.4
70 . 7
73. 1
100. 7
9 8 .8
6 5.5
6 6 .4
30 .0
2 2 .6
26.4
2 1 .9
26. 7
24.5
35.8
2 1 .0
2 5.5
2 3.8
3 .6 1
2.75
3 .5 2
3 .4 0
3.7 8
3.36
3.56
2.13
3 .b 9
3.58
A l l con tra c ts :
U n d e r $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 .........................
$ 5 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 , 999 ..................
$ 100, 0 0 0 - $ 2 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 4 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 1 , 0 0 0 , 000 and o v e r ..........
9 2.0
94.8
95.8
8 4 .6
64. 7
84.9
7 7.6
52 .4
6 7.2
66. 1
65 .2
(l )
8 3.4
71.8
75. 1
65.4
0
64.2
10 6 .4
131. 1
1 3 2 .8
1 0 7 .3
(>)
99 .6
(l )
75. 7
67. 6
(*)
4 7.6
7 0 .0
2 5.7
26.1
25 .4
2 3 .2
21 .5
28 .4
2 7 .9
1 8 .4
2 5.2
2 1.9
2 5 .0
C)
2 6 .2
2 5 .6
2 8 .0
2 3.9
f1)
24 .4
2 4 .4
2 6 .6
24. 0
23. 2
t1)
30.8
0
28. 6
2 4 .3
l1)
18.6
26. 1
2. 79
2.76
2. 65
2. 74
3. 31
3.34
3.60
3.5 0
3. 75
3.31
3.8 4
3. 13
3 .56
3 .73
3 .6 6
(l )
3 .8 0
2.29
2.03
1.8 1
2. 17
f1)
3.09
C)
3.77
3 .5 9
C)
3 .90
3.73
L in e s :
U n d e r $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 .........................
$ 5 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 , 9 9 9 ..................
$ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 2 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 4 9 9 , 999 . . . . . .
$ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 1 , 0 0 0 , 000 and o v e r . . . . .
9 3.3
9 9.3
1 0 4 .1
88.4
5 5.4
8 1 .3
7 7.6
(')
66.5
64 .6
(!)
(*)
84. 3
74. 1
71.8
62.4
o
1 2 7 .0
1 4 7 .1
1 2 3 .9
27 .5
26. 7
26. 7
2 3 .6
2 0.2
24.1
2 7.9
(*>
25.8
2 2 .6
(l)
t1)
30 .0
27. 1
28 .4
23 .2
0
(*)
C)
2 5 .9
2 6 .2
2 4.6
C)
f1)
(•)
29.9
25.7
(*)
16.3
<‘ )
2.9 4
2.69
2.56
2.67
3.65
2.97
3.60
(*)
3. 77
3 .4 9
(!)
(l )
(*)
78.4
73.1
<*)
4 1.7
(*)
t1)
3 .5 6
3 .66
3 .9 5
3 .72
(')
t1)
0)
2 .04
1 .7 8
1 .9 8
t1)
(')
(l )
3 .8 1
3 .5 1
0)
3 .9 0
0
P l a n ts :
Under $ 5 0 ,0 0 0
$ 5 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 , 999 ..................
$ 100, 0 0 0 - $ 2 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 4 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 - $ 9 9 9 , 999 .............
$ 1 , 0 0 0 , 000 and over ..........
90. 7
83 .2
8 1.0
78.4
7 5 .2
8 7. 7
O
(*)
64. 4
82.9
0
8 1 .1
0
0
(*)
(‘ )
(*>
62.8
(*)
C)
C)
2 4 .0
24.6
2 3 .0
22 .5
2 2.8
31 .6
(*)
(*)
2 3.9
(l )
(*)
0
2 3.5
C)
27 .4
(*)
(*)
2 5 .5
24.4
(>)
19.0
2 1 .6
(’ )
C)
(*)
h
2 3.0
(*)
(’ )
(*)
2.64
2 .9 6
2 .8 4
2. 88
3 .0 4
3.6 0
0)
(l )
3. 71
(l )
2 .83
O
3.37
t1)
2 .5 1
f1)
1.90
2.49
0)
C)
t1)
(l )
3.67
(l )
(')
6b. 2
9 7 .2
(')
1 0 0 .2
86. 5
(*)
(*)
1 Fewer than 3 contracts in category.
(\)
(l)
C)
(l )
C)
(l )
(l )
h
3. 74
(l)
t1)
12
The C ost o f D irect W ages
W ages paid to o n -s ite con stru ction w o rk e rs constituted about 25 p e r
cent of total con stru ction con tra ct amount, and this figure tended to be quite
constant by region and other ch a r a c te ristic s (table 1). T his r e fle c ts a tend
ency o b s e rv e d in p reviou s studies in this s e r ie s ; high m an-hour requirem ents
tend to be a ssocia ted with low average h ou rly earnings and v ice v e rs a . F or
exam ple, m an-hour requirem ents in the South are double those for the other
region s fo r lin es con stru cted in nonm etropolitan a re a s, but average h ou rly
earnings are alm ost on e-h a lf as m uch. The resu lt is a wage requirem ent
differin g only slightly from the national av era ge.
T his tendency o f variations in hours and rates to o ffse t one another
is illu stra ted further in the follow ing tabulation, which shows that half of all
the p r o je c ts (with som ewhat m o re than half o f the w eighted con tra ct amounts)
have wage p ercen tages within 5 percentage points o f the national average.
Plants
Lines
W ages as a
p ercen t o f
con tra ct amount
Number of
p r o je c ts
studied
T otal ................ ..
Under 1 0 ..................
10 and under 20 . . .
20 and under 30 . . .
30 and under 40 . . .
40 and under 50 . . .
86
2
23
40
16
5
P e rce n t o f
con tract
amount
100.0
2 .5
30. 8
47. 2
15.8
3 .7
Number o f
p r o je c ts
studied
52
1
13
29
8
1
P e rce n t o f
con tra ct
amount
100.0
1.1
8 .7
6 1 .5
2 8 .4
.3
In addition to reflectin g p o ssib le d iffe re n ce s in productivity, the
ex trem es in this table tend (sin ce con tract amounts a re fixed) to rep resen t
unusually profitable o r unprofitable jo b s . The ex trem es m ay also r e fle c t
la rg e d ifferen ces in percen tages o f m a te ria l c o sts in con tra ct am ounts, due
to jo b c h a r a c te r is tic s . Sewer fa cilitie s con stru ction tends to be one o f the
m o re speculative types o f con stru ction , ch ie fly becau se o f the b elow -g rou n d le v e l nature o f m uch o f the w ork . U nexpected encountering o f w ater m ay
in cre a se co sts greatly by requ irin g extensive pumping; r o ck m ay req u ire
d rillin g and blasting; unstable s o ils m ay req u ire heavy shoring. In the p r e s
ent study, fie ld rep resen ta tives heard num erous com plaints o f lo s s e s on c o n
tra cts in the cou rse o f data co lle ctio n , with unfavorable s o il conditions m ost
com m on ly being blam ed. (The speculative nature o f sew er w ork contributed
to one o f the ch ief p rob lem s encountered in data c o lle c tio n --th e difficulty o f
obtaining in form ation on w ork p e rfo rm e d by p rim e and su b con tractors sin ce
gone out o f b u sin ess. F our p r o je c ts in the sam ple studied w e re rep orted to
have bankrupted the prim e c o n tra cto r s .)
The portion o f table 1 showing average hou rly earnings illu stra tes
the d iffe re n ce s in earnings between the South and the r e st o f the country
13
(p articu larly the W est), and between m etropolitan and nonm etropolitan a re a s .
The extrem e range in this average in individual p r o je c ts was fro m $ 1.48 to
$ 4 .7 4 for sew er line con stru ction and from $ 1.61 to $ 4 .3 1 fo r plants. The
low er figure in each ca se rep resen ts a p ro je ct in a sm all southern com m unity;
the la rg er figu re, a p ro je ct in a m etropolitan a r e a --o n e in the N ortheast and
one in the W est.
The w ages d iscu ssed in this section , and the average h ou rly earn
ings based on them, rep resen t total g ro ss earnings, including overtim e p r e
m ium s, b efore any deductions for s o cia l secu rity, health in surance, etc.
The w ages do not rep resen t total la b or c o s ts , which would include tra v el and
vacation allow an ces, co n tra cto rs' lega lly req u ired or voluntary contributions
to health and w elfa re funds, and other frin ge ben efits.
R equirem ents by Occupation
The p rin cipal skilled trades requ ired in sew er fa cilitie s c o n s tru c
tion are operating engineers and carpen ters (table 2).
Operating engineers co v e r em ployees operating all types o f c o n
struction m ach in ery except pow ered handtools (ja ck h a m m ers, d r ills , saws,
and the lik e), the op e ra to rs of which are separately shown. F o r somewhat
over a half o f all m an -h ou rs rep orted for operating en gin eers, the type o f
equipment w as sp ecified . F ollow ing is a distribution o f these sp e cifie d m an
hour s :
P e rce n t
T o t a l ...................................................
B a ck h o e .....................................................
C r a n e -s h o v e l-d r a g lin e .........................
100
16
19
D o z e r ............................................
T ra cto r (attachm ents, if any, not
r e p o r t e d ).................................................
17
Pump and c o m p r e s s o r .........................
L o a d e r .......................................................
P ile d r i v e r ..............................................
S crap er .....................................................
T re n ch e r, d it c h e r .................................
13
12
8
3
3
A ll other ...................................................
4
5
P rim a rily , the equipment operated w as o f the type re q u ire d fo r
trenching and other excavation, and backfillin g. P ile driving and pumping
equipment w ere a ssocia ted with these o p e ra tio n s--th e fo r m e r w as exten sively
used for installing sheet piling, and the latter fo r excavation dewatering.
Table 2.
O n-Site L abor Requirem ents fo r Sewer W orks C onstruction, by O ccupation and Region, 1962-63
United States
O ccupation1
M an-hours
P er
per
cent
$ 1 ,0 0 0
T o t a l ....................................
8 4 .5
Superintendents and
gen eral fo re m e n
P ro fe s s io n a l and te c h n ic a l.
C l e r i c a l ........... .......................
Northeast
North Central
M an-hours
P er
per
cent
$ 1,000
M an-hours
P er
p er
cent
$ 1 ,0 0 0
South
West
M an-hours
P er
p er
cent
$ 1 ,0 0 0
M an-hours
P er
per
cent
$ 1 ,0 0 0
100.0
70.8
100.0
6 6 .6
100.0
109.5
100.0
6 .8
.7
.6
8.1
-8
.8
6.1
.4
.7
8. 7
.6
1. 0
5 .6
♦8
.2
8 .4
1 .2
.3
8 .3
1.0
1. 0
7 .6
.9
1.0
5 .7
.2
.2
9 .0
.3
.4
Operating e n g i n e e r s ............
14.7
17.4
11.2
15.9
12.5
18.7
17.9
16.4
13.5
2 1 .3
C a r p e n t e r s .............................
P lu m b ers
Iron w ork ers2
B rick la y e r s3
E lectricia n s .................... ..
Cem ent fin ish e rs . . . . . . . . .
P ain ters ..................................
Other (skilled) trades4 . . . .
6 .5
2.1
1 .6
1 .4
1.3
1.1
.6
1 .2
7.7
2 .4
1.9
1.6
1.5
1.3
.7
1 .4
6. 8
3 .6
1.6
1.0
1 .6
.9
.6
1.1
9 .6
5 .0
2 .2
1 .4
2 .3
1 .2
.8
1.5
5 .5
2 .7
2 .4
1 .3
1 .5
1 .2
.6
1.0
8 .3
4 .0
3 .6
2 .0
2 .3
1.8
1.0
1.5
7.1
1 .3
1 .6
1.9
1 .3
1 .3
.5
1 .6
6 .5
1.2
1 .4
1.7
1.2
1.1
.5
1.5
6.1
1.7
.8
.5
.6
1. 0
.6
.8
9 .7
2 .7
1 .3
.8
1. 0
1 .6
1.0
1 .2
T ru ck d riv ers .................. ..
O ile rs ..............
H elpers and t e n d e r s ............
P ow er tool o p e ra to rs •. • ••
2 .7
2 .4
1 .5
1 .2
3 .2
2 .9
1.8
1 .4
3.1
3 .2
.3
.8
4 .4
4 .5
.4
1.2
1 .6
1. 7
1.0
.8
2 .5
2 .5
1.5
1.1
3.1
1.8
2.1
1.6
2 .9
1.7
1.9
1.5
2 .6
3 .9
1.8
1.1
4.1
6 .2
2 .9
1.8
L abor fo re m e n
1 .4
1.7
1 .3
1.8
1 .4
2.1
1 .6
1.5
1.1
1.7
5.1
3 1 .3
.2
6.1
3 7.0
.3
4 .0
22.2
.3
5 .6
31.3
.5
2 .0
22 .2
.6
3 .0
3 3 .4
.8
7 .8
4 6 .5
.1
7.1
4 2 .4
.1
4 .0
16.8
(5)
6 .4
26 .6
(5)
P ip ela y e rs
L a b o re rs ...............................
F lagm en, w atchm en . . . . . .
1
2
3
4
6 3 .2
100.0
Skilled occu pation s include apprentices and working forem en .
P r im a r ily re in forcin g iron w ork ers; also includes structural and ornam ental iron w ork ers.
Includes m anhole b lock la y e r s .
C ov ers p r im a r ily m ech an ics (construction equipment repair and p r o c e s s equipment installation) and m inor building
tra d es.
5 L e ss than ♦05.
Note:
B ecause o f rounding, sums of individual item s m ay not equal totals.
15
C arpen ters w ere em ployed as exten sively in sew er plant co n s tr u c
tion as in som e types o f building con stru ction p rev iou sly studied. T hey w ere
em ployed p rim a rily for con crete form w ork on buildings and tanks. H ow ever,
carp en ters w ere also em ployed to a significant extent in sew er line co n stru c
tion for installing w ood shoring in tren ch es and building fo rm s fo r c a s t-in
place con crete pipe and appurtenant con crete sew er stru ctu res such as m an
h oles and outlet w ork s.
R egion al d ifferen ces in the distribution o f m an -h ou rs by occupation
should be in terpreted with caution. T hey resu lt fro m a variety o f fa cto r s ,
among w hich are the different prop ortion s of lin es and plants in the re g io n 's
p r o je c ts , the chance o c cu rr e n c e of jo b s presenting unusual fea tu res, and
lo c a l d ifferen ces in jo b c la s s ifica tio n . P erhaps the m ost striking variation,
and one which has been ob serv ed in previou s studies in the s e r ie s , is the
high prop ortion of com m on la b o r e rs in the South.
T able 3, w hich shows the occupational distribution o f m an -h ou rs
separately fo r sew er lin es and plants, illu stra tes the relative com p lexity o f
the two types of con stru ction .
The pattern fo r lin es r e fle c ts the com p aratively sim ple operations
o f excavating, pipe handling, and backfillin g. Skilled con stru ction w o rk e rs
account fo r only a quarter o f total m an -h ou rs, and these skilled w o rk e rs are
ch ie fly operating en gin eers. On the other hand, com m on la b o r e rs alone
account for 43 p ercen t of total o n -site m a n -h ou rs. T his ratio is far higher
than the corresp on d in g ratios found in previou s studies in this s e r ie s . This
fact m ight be a con sideration when assigning p r io r ity to p r o je c ts in program s
fo r alleviating unem ploym ent.
The occupational pattern for sew er plants r e fle c ts the greater and
m o re va ried sk ills requ ired to constru ct the m any different types o f fa c ili
ties in and around treatm ent and pumping plants. The skilled con stru ction
trades account fo r n ea rly a half o f all o n -site m an -h ou rs, w h ereas com m on
la b o r e rs account for only 30 percen t. T hese ratios approach those o b se rv e d
in studies of building con stru ction .
A ppren tice M an-H ours
A p p ren tices in form a l, re g is te re d p rogra m s accounted for only 2
percen t o f the total m an -h ou rs w orked by the skilled production w o rk e rs on
all sew er fa cilitie s p r o je c ts . The percentage fo r line con stru ction was m uch
low er than that fo r plants, w here, as has been seen, there is a la rg e r p e r
centage o f w ork ers in trades with strong apprenticeship tradition s. (National
apprenticeship standards for heavy equipment op era tors and m ech a n ics w ere
not establish ed until 1963.)
T a b le 3,
P e r c e n t a g e D istrib u tio n o f O n -S ite M a n -H o u rs f o r S ew er L in e and P la n t C o n s tru ctio n ,
b y O ccu p a tion and R e g io n , 1 9 6 2 -6 3
L in e s
O c c u p a tio n 1
P la n ts
U nited
States
N o rth
east
N o rth
C e n tra l
South
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
8 .6
.6
.4
8 .6
:3
.6
7 .0
.8
1. 2
7 .0
0
1. 2
7. 6
.5
.6
6 .1
1. 3
1 .8
9 .9
. 2
( 2)
2 5 .6
16. 7
2 3 .8
14. 6
1 3 .0
1 2 .0
1 5 .8
1 6 .5
.9
.3
.8
.9
1 .3
.4
.2
1 .7
. 2
.3
. 1
8 .8
.6
.6
.5
.2
1 .3
( 2)
14. 3
5. 1
3 .9
2 .0
3. 3
2. 3
1 .5
1 5 .9
8 .6
3 .8
2. 1
3 .9
2 .0
1 .4
1 5 .5
7. 6
6 .4
3 .0
4 .4
2. 8
1 .9
1 3 .9
2. 3
3. 2
1 .8
2. 7
2. 3
1. 1
1 1 .4
6 .9
2 .5
1 .2
2 .4
2 .1
2 .8
.6
.5
1 .4
2. 3
1 .6
2. 3
2 .9
.9
5. 2
5 .0
.4
.7
3. 7
3 .4
1 .8
1 .9
3 .6
1 .5
1. 7
.9
5 .5
7 .7
3 .0
1 .9
2.1
2 .5
1 .8
1 .7
3 .8
4. 2
.5
1 .5
1 .3
1 .7
1. 1
.5
1 .9
2 .0
2. 3
2. 3
1 .5
3. 3
2 .8
1 .7
1 .5
1 .3
1 .9
1 .5
1 .0
2 .0
2. 1
2 .4
1 .5
3.1
9 .6
42. 7
.4
1 2 .9
3 7 .4
1 .2
5. 8
3 8 .8
1 .7
10. 7
49. 2
( 2)
7.1
2 7 .0
( 2)
.4
2 7 .0
( 2)
.3
28. 1
( 2)
1 .9
32. 5
.3
4 .9
2 5 .9
(2)
N orth
C e n tra l
U nited
State s
N o rth
ea st
T o ta l . .........................................
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
S u p erin te n d e n ts and g e n e r a l . .
f o r e m e n .......................................
P r o f e s s io n a l and t e c h n ic a l . . .
C l e r i c a l ...........................................
8 .9
.8
.4
1 1 .0
1 .5
.7
9. 3
1 .8
.1
O p e ra tin g e n g i n e e r s ....................
1 9 .6
1 9 .9
C a r p e n t e r s .............................
P l u m b e r s ..................................
I r o n w o r k e r s ....................................
B r ic k la y e r s ....................................
E l e c t r i c i a n s ....................................
C e m e n t f i n i s h e r s ................. ..
P a i n t e r s ...........................................
2 .4
.4
.4
1 .3
. 1
.5
(2)
.7
O th er (s k ille d ) t r a d e s .................
.7
1 .4
T r u c k d r i v e r s ................. ................
O i l e r s ................................................
H e lp e r s and t e n d e r s ....................
P o w e r t o o l o p e r a t o r s .................
4. 1
3. 2
1 .8
1. 2
L a b o r f o r e m e n .............................
P i p e l a y e r s ................. ..
L a b o r e r s ................. ................ ..
F la g m e n and w a t c h m e n ............
0
0
.6
0
0
.i
0
.7
0
South
W est
1 .6
2 9 .9
. 1
1 S k ille d o c c u p a t io n s in clu d e a p p re n tice s and w o rk in g fo r e m e n .
2 L e s s than . 0 5 .
N ote:
B e c a u s e o f rou n d in g , su m s o f in dividu al ite m s m a y n ot equ al 100 p e r c e n t.
W est
17
P ercen t of skilled trade man -h ou rs
w orked by apprentices
Total
L ines
Plants
2 .2
1.1
2 .9
Operating e n g in e e r s ............. ...................2
.4
0
1.5
8 .0
1.6
2.7
14.5
1.2
1.8
7. 1
All skilled t r a d e s ........... ____
____
-----____
____
2.0
8 .9
1.4
1.5
____
____
1.0
1.7
4 .6
18.9
0
0
8 .3
0
0
Other skilled t r a d e s ............. ____
5 .2
.4
C a r p e n t e r s ...................... .. . . .
P l u m b e r s .................................
Iron w o rk e rs . •. . ..................
B r i c k l a y e r s .............................
E l e c t r i c i a n s ......... ..
Cement fin is h e r s ........... * . . •
P a i n t e r s ........... ........................
In the aggregate or in percentage of total, apprentice m an -h ou rs
w ere significant ch iefly in the plum bing and e le c tr ic a l tra d es.
O vertim e M an-H ours
F o r 102 (o f the 138) p r o je c ts , w hich accounted fo r o v e r 80 percent
o f the total m an -h ou rs w orked in the sam ple p r o je c ts , data w ere available
fo r m easurin g the prop ortion o f these hours w hich w ere paid fo r at overtim e
ra te s. F or all p r o je c ts , this amounted to 7 .5 percen t. The ratio fo r sew er
line constru ction, h ow ever, was m uch higher than fo r plant con stru ction ,
10. 3 and 4. 2 re sp e ctiv e ly . On severa l sizable line p r o je c ts , this proportion
approached a quarter of all hours w orked.
The higher proportion of overtim e hours on line con stru ction p rob a
bly is due to the m ore exposed conditions under w hich this w ork is done and
to the loca tion of the w ork on public r ig h ts -o f-w a y . Both these conditions
requ ire intensive activity when w eather conditions are favorable (p a rticu
la r ly to make m axim um use of heavy con stru ction equipment) and when
tra ffic w ill be disrupted the lea st.
18
C onstruction T im e
On the average, the jo b s co v e re d in this survey requ ired a little
o v er 33 w eeks to com p lete. The sewage plants, h ow ever, req u ired a sub
stantially lon ger p eriod for con stru ction than the lin e s --4 1 weeks as c o m
pared with 28. The d ifferen ce was not due to variations in the distribution
o f the p r o je c ts , fo r exam ple by c o s t c la s s . The relation sh ip held fo r all
size s and loca tion s o f p r o je c ts ; on the average, sew er plant con stru ction
req u ires about 50 p ercen t lon ger than com p arable sew er line p r o je c ts . T hese
figu res c o v e r the total elapsed tim e fro m the start of site operation s to the
substantial com p letion of the con tra ct. T hey do not include the som etim es
extensive p eriod o f testing and rem ed ial w ork, but they do include p eriod s
during the co u rs e of con stru ction when, fo r variou s re a so n s, no w ork was
p e rfo rm ed .
T o m easu re the distribution o f em ploym ent o v er the p e rio d o f c o n
struction, the con stru ction tim e fo r each p r o je c t was divided into 10 equal
in tervals, and data w ere tabulated on the number o f m an -h ou rs w orked in
each in terval. T his p roced u re perm itted the com bination o f m an -h ou rs fo r
p ro je cts o f variou s s iz e s in o rd e r to obtain typical em ploym ent patterns.
The resu lts fo r the two m a jo r groups o f p r o je c ts re v e a le d little d ifferen ce in
the tim ing o f em ploym ent:
Tenths o f con stru ction p e riod
P e rce n t o f m an -h ou rs:
Sewer lin es ................
Sewer p la n t s ................
T otal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
100
100
5
5
10
10
13
13
15
14
14
13
13
13
11
11
8
10
7
7
4
4
19
O ff-S ite Em ploym ent
F o r each m an-hour o f w ork p e rfo rm e d at the con stru ction site of
sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction , an additional 1 .6 m an -h ou rs o f w ork w ere
req u ired elsew h ere to produ ce and distribute the m a te ria ls, supplies, and
equipment used at the site. The ratio was about the sam e fo r lin es and
plants. T hese are rather high ra tios com p a red with the sam e ratio in other
types o f con stru ction . T his resu lts in part fro m the fact that site w o rk e rs
are able to place rela tiv ely la rge values o f w ork p er hour on this kind o f
c o n s tr u ctio n --in the ca se o f lin es, by the use o f heavy con stru ction equip
m ent; in plants, by the installation o f p r o c e s s equipm ent.
T his o ff-s it e activity d irectly a ffects a substantial num ber o f indus
t r ie s ; in d irectly it a ffects virtu ally all industries as the im pact o f the initial
pu rchases spreads throughout the econ om y. T hese e ffe cts are shown in
table 4, w hich p resen ts by industry the total m an-hour requ irem en ts fo r
sew er w ork s con stru ction . P rim a ry m an -h ou rs a re defined as those w orked
at the con stru ction site and in activities c lo s e ly related to the site: o ff-s it e
em ploym ent in the con stru ction industry, em ploym ent in the la st stage o f
m a teria ls m anufacture, and em ploym ent in the in dustries distributing the
final product to the site. S econdary m an-hours are those req u ired p r io r to
final m anufacture in all a ctivities in volved in producing and distributing m ate
ria ls and equipment, including the b a sic extraction and p r o c e ss in g o f raw
m a te ria ls . The distin ction between the two a rea s m ay be useful in gaging
the im m ed ia cy of the im pact o f a con stru ction p ro p o sa l.
P rim a ry m an -h ou rs la rg e ly r e fle c t m a teria ls usage. Thus, the
substantial em ploym ent in the stone, cla y , and glass products industry w ill
be seen to r e fle c t in la rg e part the usage o f co n cre te and cla y sew er pipe.
Secondary m an-hour requ irem en ts, by their definition, cou ld be analyzed
only with r e fe r e n c e to the b a sic data on interindustry relation sh ips.
20
T able 4. M an-H our R equirem ents P e r $ 1,000 o f Sewer
C onstruction C ontract, by P rod u cin g S ector
and Stage of M anufacture, 1962-63
T otal
m an-hour s
P rim a ry
m an -h ou rs
Secondary
m an -h ou rs
A ll s e c t o r s ........... ...................
221.9
163.8
5 8 .2
On- site co n s tr u ctio n .........................
84 .5
8 4 .5
A g r ic u ltu r e ..........................................
M in in g ............................. ................... ..
Other c o n s t r u c t io n ...........................
M a n u fa c tu r in g ...........................
Lum ber and lum ber products . .
P aper and paper p r o d u c t s .........
P r in tin g ............................................
C h e m ic a ls ........................................
Stone, cla y, and glass products
P rim a ry m e t a ls .............................
F a b rica ted m etal products . . . .
M a c h in e ry ........................................
E le c tr ic a l p r o d u c t s ......................
T ra nsportation e q u ip m e n t.........
Other m an u factu rin g....................
T ra n sp orta tion ....................................
T r a d e .....................................................
S e rv ice s ...............................................
Other i n d u s t r i e s ...............................
2 .2
4 .8
7. 2
7 2 .6
1.6
1.5
1. 1
1.6
26. 2
11.7
6.6
14. 1
4 .0
1.0
3. 2
10.6
23. 3
7. 3
9 .3
.2
1.1
5 .5
4 6 .8
.7
S ector
Note:
totals.
—
.2
2 2 .8
5. 7
3. 9
10.5
2.1
.2
.7
4.7
16.5
1.6
2 .8
2. 0
3 .7
1.7
2 5 .8
1.0
1.5
1.1
1 .4
3 .4
6. 0
2.6
3.6
1 .9
.7
2 .5
5.8
6. 8
5 .8
6 .6
B ecause o f rounding, sum o f individual item s m ay not equal
21
T otal o ff-s it e m an-hour requirem ents p e r $ 1,000 fo r con stru ction
of the two prin cip al types o f sew er w o r k s — lin es and p la n ts--sh o w little
differen ce:
M an-hours p er $ 1,000 o f con tra ct
fo r sew er w orks constru ction
O ff- site
Type o f
fa cility
A ll
indus
trie s
O n- s it e :
co n
s tr u c
tion
T otal
Con
s tr u c
tion
Manu
fa c
turing
T ra n s p o rta t io n ,
tra d e,
and
s e r v ic e s
Other
T otal hours:
A ll sew er
f a c i lit ie s .. . . .
L ines . . . . . . . . .
Plants . . . . . . . .
222
223
221
85
86
83
137
137
138
7
7
7
73
74
72
41
40
43
16
16
16
P rim a ry hours:
A ll sew er
fa c ilit ie s .........
L in e s . . . . . . . . .
P la n t s ................
164
168
159
85
86
83
79
82
76
5
5
5
47
51
42
23
22
25
4
4
4
Secon dary
hours:
A ll sew er
f a cilitie s .........
L in e s ..................
P la n t s ................
58
55
62
- -
58
55
62
2
2
2
26
23
30
18
18
18
12
12
12
- -
In the p rim a ry o ff-s it e ca tegory , lin es requ ire m o re m an -h ou rs
than are req u ired by plants, because of the use o f m a te ria ls, such as pipe,
o f a rela tiv ely low o rd e r o f fabrication , requiring m o re hours in the final
stage. Plants use a greater value o f item s, such as p r o c e s s and con trol
equipment, requiring m o re p ro ce ss in g p r io r to the final m anufacturing
stage.
22
C ost of M aterials U sed
The co s t of m a teria ls used in con stru ction o f the sew er w orks under
study amounted to 56. 5 percen t of the con tract amount. F o r the lines it was
55. 7 percen t and for plants, 5 7 .4 . Included in these fig u re s are the value of
the m a teria ls in corp ora ted into the various stru ctu res; the value o f p r o c e s s
ing equipment and other types of in stalled equipment; the value o f supplies
consum ed; and co sts o f con stru ction equipment rental o r estim ates of d e p re
ciation allow an ces. T hey do not include co sts o f pu rchases o f overhead goods
and s e r v ic e s .
The prop ortion o f m aterials c o st to con tra ct amount va ried w id ely
depending on p ecu lia rities of individual jo b s o r their relative p rofitab ility.
Thus, high p roportion s often w ere a ssocia ted with unprofitable jo b s , or with
jo b s which by their nature req u ired little o n -s ite constru ction, as fo r exam
ple, the installation of a sm all treatm ent plaint using packaged equipm ent.
T h re e -q u a rte rs of the con tra cts, how ever, showed m a te ria ls p roportion s
within approxim ately 15 percentage points o f the average:
L ines
P ercen t m a te
ria ls co st o f
con tra ct amount
T o t a l..................
Under 40 ................
40 and under 50 . .
50 and under 60 . .
60 and under 70 . .
70 and under 80 . .
80 and o v e r ...........
Plants
Number of
p ro je cts
studied
P ercen t o f
con tra ct
amount
Number of
p r o je c ts
studied
P e rce n t o f
con tract
amount
86
10
25
28
13
7
3
100. 0
5 .7
2 1 .4
36.5
23 .8
10.8
1 .8
52
2
7
24
10
8
100.0
1
1.0
11.0
55. 1
29. 6
2 .4
.9
T able 5 p resen ts the c o sts to the co n tra cto rs o f m a jo r m a teria ls
and groups of m a teria ls used in each $ 1,000 o f sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction .
M inor item s are included in group totals but a re not liste d separately. Data
are shown fo r all p r o je c ts by region , and fo r lin es and plants separately.
The table shows quite different patterns of m a teria ls usage fo r lin es
and plants. F or lin es, n ea rly on e-h a lf o f total m a te ria ls co s t is accounted
fo r by con crete and cla y pipe and an additional on e -fifth by the estim ate fo r
con stru ction equipment usage. On the other hand, plant con stru ction uses a
wide variety of m a teria ls, m any o f a high degree of fa brication , as might be
expected from the va ried structures involved. In this r e sp e ct, the two
m a teria ls patterns p a ra llel the two con stru ction occupational patterns p r e
v iou sly d iscu ssed .
23
Some apparent anom alies in the table are explained by the design
and techniques o f sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction . F o r exam ple, the greater
relative use o f b r ic k and "oth er p reca st co n cre te p rod u cts" in lin es r e fle c ts
the produ ction o f sew er m anh oles. The high requirem ents o f sand and gravel
relative to cem ent, in r e v e r s e o f the usual pattern, suggest its use as a pipe
bedding m a teria l in lin es, and as a filte r m edium in plants.
Each o f the broad c a t e g o r ie s --lin e s and p la n ts --in clu d e s elem ents o f
the other. This explains expenditures fo r pumps and m o to rs on line co n stru c
tion. W here slop es are such that sewage cannot flow p ro p e rly by gravity
alone, lift stations are requ ired . F inally, in view o f the great d iffe re n ce s
between the line and plant m aterial patterns, the region al variations shown
are as m uch a r e fle c tio n o f d ifferen ce s in product m ix as in lo c a l u sage. The
breakdowns are thus applicable only to situations w here the m ix is assum ed
to be s im ila r.
24
T able 5.
C ost of M a teria ls p er $ 1,000 o f Sew er W orks C onstruction C ontract, by Type
o f M a teria ls, R egion, and T ype o f P r o je c t, 1962-63
Item
United
States
N orth
east
A ll p r o je c ts
North
South
Central
W est
United
States:
lin es
United
States:
plants
T otal, all m a teria ls •.. ............. $ 5 6 4 .7 0
$ 5 3 0 .4 0
$ 5 3 3 .0 0
$ 5 7 0 .5 0
$ 6 2 1 .3 0
$ 5 5 7 .2 0
$ 5 7 3 .9 0
Stone, cla y , and glass produ cts •. $ 2 3 4 .6 0
Cem ent, co n cre te , and gypsum
products
130.20
88.00
C on crete p i p e ..............................
29.80
R eady m ix ed co n cre te ..............
2.50
C oncrete b lock . . ................ ... ..
Other p re ca st con cre te
7 .8 0
p r o d u c t s ......... ♦ . . . ................. ..
1.60
C e m e n t......................... . ...............
$ 1 5 6 .1 0
$ 2 2 7 .9 0
$ 2 1 4 .7 0
$ 3 5 5 .4 0
$337. 30
$ 1 0 9 .3 0
7 9.80
33. 20
30.80
3.20
131.20
75. 20
38.30
2. 10
103.80
65.60
29.70
2. 10
231.50
201.40
18.60
3.30
179.90
147.40
16. 30
2.40
69.60
15.70
46.30
2.70
10.90
1.40
13.40
1.70
3.90
2.00
7 .00
1.00
11.50
2.00
3. 30
1.20
C lay p r o d u c ts ...................................
C lay sew er pipe .........................
B r ic k .........................................
77.40
67.8 0
8. 20
5 5.50
50 .7 0
2.70
67.00
57.30
8 .8 0
95. 20
80.40
13.00
6 9.90
67.80
1.70
124.30
113.40
10.80
20. 20
12. 20
5 .00
Other stone, clay, and glass
p r o d u c t s ...........................................
Sand and g r a v e l...........................
A sb estos cem ent p i p e ..............
M iscellan eou s a g g r e g a te .........
F ill d irt...........................................
27.00
17.70
6 .00
1.80
.60
20.80
10. 20
6 .10
3.30
. 30
29.70
24. 20
-3.00
.90
15.70
10.80
2.50
1. 10
.60
54.00
31.60
21.00
.80
.30
33. 10
22.80
7. 20
2.90
. 20
19.50
11.50
4 .5 0
. 50
1.00
M etal produ cts (excep t plumbing
and heating)....................................
P rim a ry m etal p r o d u c t s ...........
Cast iron p ip e .........................
Steel pipe ................ ...................
Steel sheet p ilin g .......................
Cast iron m anholes, e tc. . . .
Aluminum sheet m e t a l ...........
C opper sheet and p i p e ...........
105.70
56.00
34. 10
8 .0 0
5 .6 0
5 .5 0
1.70
.7 0
112.90
64.60
33.20
11.40
7 .4 0
5 .3 0
5 .40
1.20
90. 30
32.60
17.90
6. 20
.4 0
3 .6 0
3. 20
.8 0
133.00
77. 60
53.80
7 .7 0
8 .50
6 .5 0
(M
.4 0
58. 20
30. 10
11.70
7 .7 0
3 .80
5 .60
. 10
.80
62. 30
47.80
28.50
9 .0 0
1. 30
8 .8 0
(M
n
158.60
66. 20
4 1 .0 0
6 .7 0
10.70
1.40
3.60
1.60
F a b rica ted m etal p r o d u c ts .. . . .
R ein forcin g rod s and b a rs;
j o i s t s ..............••••••.............
Structural steel .............. •••••
V alves and f i t t i n g s ..................
Steel plate p r o d u c t s ......... ..
F abricated sheet m etal
produ cts ................................ .
C orrugated m etal p i p e ............
Fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
M etal d oors and fra m e s . . . . .
M etal windows and fra m e s . .
P refa b rica ted buildings . . . . .
4 9 .7 0
4 8 .3 0
5 7.70
55.40
28. 10
14. 50
92.40
15.30
8 .8 0
8 .30
4. 20
13.70
8 .4 0
9 .3 0
3 .40
20.80
9 .8 0
10.90
6 .7 0
15.30
8 .9 0
9. 10
4 .6 0
1 0 .Q0
7 .8 0
2.50
1.10
4 .7 0
.7 0
2. 30
1.70
28. 20
18.70
15.70
7. 30
3 .40
3 .3 0
1.80
1.40
1.10
.6 0
.6 0
6 .2 0
2.30
1.20
.9 0
—
1.40
.3 0
2 .60
1.60
1.60
.4 0
6 .4 0
4 .9 0
1.70
1.30
.7 0
1.00
1.70
.80
.6 0
1.50
1.60
.20
.6 0
2.90
.5 0
.3 0
.5 0
—
6 .7 0
3 .70
3 .40
2. 80
1.80
1.20
Sewage plant e q u ip m e n t..................
Pum ps and m o t o r s ......... .............
M ech anical c o l l e c t o r s ................
D ig esters, c l a r i f i e r s ......... ..
D iffu sers and distribution
equipment • • • . . . ................
L a b ora tory equipm ent and
instrum ents
E le c tr ic a l generating units . . . .
C h lorin ators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E l e v a t o r s ................ ..
U n sp ecified equipment ................
69.90
27. 20
15.40
10.00
89.9 0
24.00
32.00
16.10
76.50
23.40
31.70
8 .5 0
71. 20
39.70
5 .5 0
4 .0 0
4 1 .4 0
7 .3 0
2.20
19.70
17.40
15.80
...
. 10
134.00
41. 20
34. 10
22. 10
5. 10
11.70
4 .7 0
4 .0 0
2.50
2.10
1.40
1.10
.9 0
6 .7 0
1.50
2.10
1.40
.3 0
1.00
2. 20
1.20
1.50
2.90
1. 10
.9 0
2.10
11.00
.70
1.90
.70
See footnote at end o f table
- -
3 .30
6 .3 0
11.40
.6 0
. 20
..
.
. 70
3.90
3.00
2.40
2. 10
14.00
25
T able 5.
C ost o f M a teria ls per $ 1, 000 o f Sewer W orks C onstruction C ontract, by Type
o f M a teria ls, R egion, and T ype o f P r o je c t, 1962-63—Continued
Item
United
States
N orth
east
E le c tr ic a l p r o d u c ts ...........................
Sw itchboards and panelboards •.
W ire and cable ................................
E le c tr ic a l m e te rs and
instrum ents ••••.•••................ ..
T r a n s fo r m e r s ..................................
Conduit ................ ............... ..
C u rren t-ca rry in g d e v i c e s .........
Lighting fix tu res ...........................
$ 23. 30
12.80
2.30
$ 25.60
17.40
1.70
2.00
1.90
1.60
1. 20
1.00
P etroleu m p r o d u c t s .........................
F uel and lu bricatin g o i l s ............
A sphalt p a v in g ........................... ....
A ll p r o je c ts
North
C entral
United
States:
lin es
United
States:
plants
South
W est
$ 20. 30
8 .50
2. 70
$ 26.60
14.00
2.30
$ 1 7 .9 0
11.60
2.10
$ 3 .30
1.40
.8 0
$ 4 7 .7 0
2 6.80
4 .1 0
2.50
.3 0
1.50
.7 0
1.10
2. 80
.9 0
2. 10
1. 20
1.50
1.70
4 .0 0
1.60
1.60
.8 0
1.50
. 10
1.30
. 30
.8 0
. 20
C1)
.4 0
. 20
. 20
4. 20
4 .3 0
3. 20
2.40
2. 10
14.00
8 .7 0
4 .8 0
14.60
8 .50
5 .8 0
13.60
10.40
2.70
12.80
9. 10
3 .00
16.60
5 .70
10.50
16.80
9. 20
7 .40
10.60
8 .0 0
1.60
Lum ber and lum ber products . . . .
D im ension lu m b e r ........... ..
6 .7 0
5 .40
7 .30
7. 10
5.50
3.70
7 .9 0
6. 10
5 .00
4 .5 0
4 .4 0
4 .2 0
9 .4 0
6 .9 0
Plum bing and heating m a teria ls
and eq u ip m e n t..................................
Plum bing m a teria ls ....................
Plum bing f i x t u r e s ....................
6. 20
1. 10
.50
8 .6 0
2.20
.70
8 .90
1. 10
.4 0
4. 10
.8 0
.6 0
5 .5 0
. 70
. 10
.4 0
. 20
—
13.40
2. 10
1. 10
Heating m a t e r i a l s .........................
B low ers and fans .................. ....
B o ile rs and ra d ia tors, w arm
air fu rn aces, unit h ea ters,
and v e n t ila t o r s .........................
A ir-con d ition in g equipment . .
5. 20
2.40
6 .50
4 .6 0
7.80
4. 80
3.40
.9 0
4 .7 0
1.00
. 20
. 20
11.20
5. 20
1. 70
.60
1.60
1.50
1.40
1.20
.80
3 .30
C hem ical products ...........................
Dynamite and caps .........................
Paint ................ .................
3 .6 0
1.80
1. 10
4 .6 0
2.70
1.70
2.90
1.40
1. 20
1.50
. 20
.7 0
A ll other m a t e r ia l.............................
N u rsery products ...........................
2.10
1.00
2.60
1.60
2.10
1.40
C onstruction equipment (rental
ch arg es and d ep reciation
a llo w a n c e s ).........................................
9 8.60
108.10
85.00
- -
(>)
3.80
1.40
8 .20
5. 20
1.50
2.00
1.30
. 10
5 .6 0
2.50
2.40
2 .1 0
.9 0
1.50
.6 0
.90
3.50
1.80
9 6.70
111.70
1 L e ss than $ 0 .0 5 .
Note: G roup totals include products not shown sep arately.
—
.4 0
112.50
81 .8 0
26
P rev iou s Studies
T h ree previou s studies of la bor and m a teria l requirem ents fo r
sew er con stru ction have been m ade in the BLS co v e rin g data relatin g roughly
to 1934, 1940, and 1949.4 D ifferen ce s in scop e, sam pling, cla s s ifica tio n ,
and data c o lle c tio n in these e a r lie r studies and the curren t one lim it the
usefu ln ess o f com p a rison s. H ow ever, som e con clu sion s appear reasonable:
O n -site con stru ction w ork er w ages as a percentage o f the total con tract
amount w ere as low in 1962-63 as they had been at any tim e over the previou s
30 y e a rs; the percentage o f com bined overhead and p ro fit, on the other hand,
was as high or higher them it had been in the sam e 30-y e a r p e rio d .
P e rce n t o f con stru ction
con tra ct amount
1962-63
T o t a l ...............................................
W ages to o n -site w o r k e r s ...........
M aterials and supplies ................
Other costs and p rofits ................
1949
1940
1934
100
32
44
24
100
30
50
20
100
26
51
23
Other co sts include con stru ction equipment dep reciation , w hich was
not shown separately in the e a r lie r studies, and em ploym ent c o s ts other than
w ages paid to o n -s ite w o r k e r s . Both o f these c la s s e s o f co sts are b e lie v e d
to have in cre a se d as a percentage o f total con tra ct c o s t ov er the y e a r s .
4
"R ela tive C ost o f M aterial and L abor in C onstruction o f W ater a
Sew erage S y s te m s ," M onthly L abor R eview , January 1935 (based on data
c o lle c te d at around 1934), pp. 146-146; " E xpenditures fo r L abor and M aterial
and M an-H ours o f L abor C reated per $ 1 m illio n o f C ontracts A w arded fo r
Sew ers and Sew erage S ystem s, " BLS m im eograph ed re le a s e , N ovem ber 1944
(based on data c o lle c te d at around 1940); "E xpenditures per M illion D olla rs
fo r C onstruction o f New W ater Supply and Sewage D isp osal System s, " BLS
m im eographed r e le a s e , M ay 1951 (based on data fo r 1948-50).
27
The o v e r a ll percentage o f m a teria ls co st in total c o st appears to
have d e cre a se d only slightly over the y e a rs, but there have been significant
shifts in the rela tiv e im portance o f som e m a te ria ls . The use o f lum ber
products has d ecrea sed , probably re fle ctin g the greater use o f steel shoring
and p refa b rica ted fo r m s . The total amount o f "co n c r e te p rod u cts"-h a s
in crea sed , and the amount o f cem ent and aggregates has d e cre a se d , as
re a d y -m ix e d con crete has rep la ced site -m ix e d . C on crete products also
appear to have gained at the expense of b rick , w here p re ca st co n cre te m an
h oles and m anhole section s have rep la ce d b rick m anh oles.
F o r the e a rlie st two studies and the latest, o v e ra ll m an -h ou rs data
are available, suggesting the p o ssib ility o f m easurin g changes in output per
m an-hour ov er the 3 0 -y ea r p eriod . The available data, h ow ever, do not
relate produ ction m an -h ou rs to units o f physical output, such as linear feet
o f pipe laid, but only to d olla rs of con tra ct amount. T hese d olla rs m ay
rep resen t different ph ysical quantities at different tim es owing to co n s tr u c
tion p r ic e changes. T o m ea su re the change in m an-hour requirem ents fo r
equivalent amounts of con stru ction , it is n e c e s s a r y to adjust the d olla rs for
p r ic e changes so that they rep resen t approxim ately equal ph ysical quantities.
Making such an adjustm ent in the case o f sew er con stru ction resu lts in an
indicated in cre a se o f 40 to 50 p ercen t in output per m an-hour over the 30year p e rio d .
A part o f this in cre a s e resu lted fro m the tra n sfer o f certain o p e ra
tions fro m o n -s ite to o ff-s it e loca tion s, as fo r exam ple, the prefa b rica tion
o f fo r m s fo r co n cre te w ork, the p reca stin g of som e co n cre te produ cts, the
prem ixin g of c o n cre te , and even the m anufacture of jointing elem ents on
som e piping. H ow ever, a part of the in cre a se is due to im p roved m ethods,
p a rticu la rly in excavation.
28
S cope and M ethod o f Survey
Sample
T h is study is based on data co v e rin g 138 prim e con tra cts fo r the
con stru ction of sew er fa c ilitie s . Of th ese, 85 w e re con stru cted under the
W ater P ollution C ontrol P rog ra m o f the P ublic Health S erv ice, and 53 under
that part of the A c ce le r a te d P ublic W orks P ro g ra m w hich was adm inistered
by the Com m unity F a c ilitie s A dm inistration. The w ork under the fo rm e r
p rogram was done ch iefly in 1962 and 1963; w ork under the latter program
was accom p lish ed ch iefly in 1963. The sam ples each rep resen ted about 1 in
8 o f the total num ber o f p r o je c ts undertaken by these agen cies during the
re sp e ctiv e p e r io d s . Sample p r o je c ts w ere lo ca te d in 44 States and the D is
tr ic t o f Colum bia.
T o obtain a represen tative sam ple, p r o je c ts w ere se le cte d by type
o f p r o je c t, broad geographical region , amount o f con tra ct, and whether with
in o r outside a m etropolitan a rea . The distribution o f the sam ple p ro je cts
by these c a te g o rie s is shown in table A - l . In tabulating the data, how ever,
w eighting was applied to adjust fo r nonrespondents, and fo r som e d ifferen ces
in p r o je c t c h a r a c te ris tic s d is c lo s e d in the c o u rs e o f the su rvey. U nless
otherw ise stated, all m ea su res presen ted in the re p o rt a re based on weighted
data.
M an-hour E stim ates
E stim ates o f total m an-hour requ irem en ts fo r sew er con stru ction
a re derived by com bining estim a tes o f o n -s ite and o ff-s it e m a n -h ou rs.
O n -site m a n -h o u r s . With m in or exception s, con stru ction under both the F e d e ra l W ater P ollu tion C ontrol P rog ra m and the A c c e le r a te d P ublic W orks
P ro g ra m is subject to p revailin g wage law s. T o ch eck com p lia n ce with these
law s, regulations req u ire that each con tra ctor on such con stru ction file a
cop y o f h is w eek ly p r o je c t p a yroll with the spon sorin g agency. T h ese pay
r o lls are thus a p rim a ry sou rce o f data on con stru ction m an -h ou rs w orked
and w ages paid on a p r o je c t. In the cu rren t study, the p a yroll file s fo r the
sam ple p r o je c ts w ere m ade available fo r data tra n scrip tion through the
coop eration o f the P ublic Health S e r v ic e 's D ivision of W ater Supply and
P ollu tion C ontrol and the Com m unity F a c ilitie s A d m in istra tion 's Public F a c il
itie s D ivision .
Although these p a y rolls w ere the b a sic so u rce o f o n -s ite la bor data,
som e c la s s e s o f o n -site w ork ers are exem pt fro m the legal rep ortin g re q u ire
m en ts. T hese exem ptions include su p ervisory, tech n ical, and c le r ic a l p e r
sonnel, and se lf-e m p lo y e d su b con tractors (w orking p r o p r ie to r s ). M o re o v e r,
the p ro ce ss in g o f the p a y rolls ra is e d frequent questions regardin g data co m
pleten ess and m eaning. T hese m issin g data w ere obtained and questions con
cern in g data m eaning r e so lv e d by telephone o r co rre sp o n d e n ce , o r , m ost
com m only, through v is its by BLS fie ld rep resen ta tiv es, in the c o u rs e o f the
m a te ria ls data c o lle c tio n .
T a b le A - l . . N um ber o f S am ple C o n tr a c ts in S e le c te d C a te g o r ie s
Under
$ 5 0 ,0 0 0
$ 5 0 ,0 0 0 and
under $ 100, 000
T o ta l M e t r o N on m et M e tr o N o n m e t
p olita n rop olita n politan ro p o lita n
area
a re a
a re a
a re a
$ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 and
u nder $ 3 0 0 ,0 0 0
$ 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 and
under $ 500, 000
M e tr o N o n m e t
politan r o p o lita n
area
area
M e t r o N on m et
p olita n ro p o lita n
a rea
a re a
$ 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 and
under $ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
$ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
and o v e r
M e t r o N on m et
politan rop olita n
a re a
a re a
M e t r o N on m et
p olitan rop olitan
a re a
area
T o t a l ...............
138
11
12
10
15
18
27
8
15
7
4
9
2
L in e s , to ta l. . . .
N o rth e a st •, .
N orth C en tra l
South ...............
W e st ...............
P la n ts, t o t a l . . .
N o rth e a st . . .
N orth C en tra l
S o u t h ...............
W e st ...............
86
19
23
28
16
52
9
16
9
4
4
1
0
2
0
1
1
0
4
1
1
1
1
8
0
4
4
0
8
0
4
2
2
2
1
0
1
0
10
2
1
5
2
5
1
2
0
2
9
5
2
1
1
9
3
2
0
4
19
1
5
7
2
1
3
1
1
0
0
1
0
8
3
3
2
0
7
1
2
3
5
0
1
1
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
1
0
0
1
2
1
0
1
0
5
0
1
2
2
4
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
1
17
10
ro
3
8
0
2
5
1
1
30
O ff-s ite m a n -h o u rs . O ff-s ite m an-hour requ irem en ts in con stru ction r e p resen t ch iefly the hours requ ired to produce and distribute the m a te ria ls,
supplies, and equipment used. E stim ation o f these h ou rs th e re fo re began
with a listin g o f the value o f a ll such ite m s. F o r the p resen t study, this
listin g was obtained in one of two w ays. F o r jo b s under $500, 000, a m a il
questionnaire in itially was used. 5 F or la rg e r jo b s , and fo r nonrespondents
on the sm a ller jo b s , data w ere obtained in v isits by BLS fie ld rep resen ta tiv es.
F o r a re la tiv e ly sm all num ber o f su bcon tractors who w ere out of business
o r otherw ise in a c ce s s ib le , uncooperative, o r w hose con tra cts w ere e x c e e d
ingly sm all, estim ates o f both la bor and m a teria ls w ere prep a red on the
ba sis o f rep orts fo r sim ila r jo b s . In all, the study o f the 138 sam ple p r o je c ts
requ ired contact o f (o r estim ates for) 645 prim e and su b con tra ctors.
The m a teria ls listin gs thus obtained w ere c la s s ifie d into ca te g o rie s
(consistent with the 4 -d ig it Standard Industrial C lassification ) as found in
the Census o f M anufactures product groups. F o r each o f these groups, the
average amounts req u ired for $ 1 ,0 0 0 o f sew er fa cilitie s con stru ction w ere
calculated. Each o f these averages was redu ced by a ratio represen tin g the
differen ce between m an u factu rer's and c o n tr a c to r 's valuation. The amounts
thus redu ced w ere consistent with Census data published fo r these variou s
com ponents.
P rim a ry m an -h ou rs fo r m anufacturing sew erage m a teria ls (i. e . ,
the hours req u ired in the final m anufacturing stage) w ere developed by
m ultiplying these average amounts by a ratio o f m anufacturing m an -h ou rs to
$ 1, 000 o f produ ction . T hese ratios w ere com puted fro m the output and
em ploym ent data in the 1962 Survey of M anufactures.
P rim a ry m an -h ou rs for trade and transportation w ere derived in a
sim ila r m anner. H ere, h ow ever, em ploym ent ra tios w ere applied to the
differen ce between p r o d u ce r 's and p u rch a s e r's valuation, which was taken
as the total o f all distribution c o s ts between the sites o f final m anufacture
and con stru ction.
T o com pute secon da ry m an -h ou rs to produ ce the m a teria ls (i. e . ,
hours req u ired in all stages o f production other than final m anufacture and
transportation), the 1958 interindustry study by the O ffice o f B usiness
E con om ics o f the U .S . Departm ent o f C om m erce was used. T his study
5
The questionnaire requested detailed inform ation on type, quant
and cost o f m a teria ls and supplies; equipment d ep recia tion and rental c o s ts ;
and su bcon tractors (nam es, a d d resse s, nature o f w ork and subcontract
am ounts), the su b con tractors, in turn, a lso being sent a cop y of the
que stionnair e .
31
indicates the amount o f secon dary product or s e r v ic e re q u ire d o f each o f its
78 industry s e c to r s to produ ce the p rim a ry product. Summing these amounts
and applying the appropriate em ploym ent ratios produ ced the num ber o f s e c
ondary m an -h ou rs req u ired in each o f the s e c to r s .
Two other m in or com ponents w ere req u ired to com p lete the co m p i
lation o f total o ff-s it e hours as defined fo r this s e r ie s o f stu dies. One o f
these is the hours req u ired to produce the c o n tr a c to r s ’ pu rchases o f o v e r
head m a teria ls and s e r v ic e s . The quantities o f these item s w ere estim ated
and included in the m an-hour con v ersion s ju st d e scrib e d . The other is the
h ou rs w orked by the o ff-s it e em ployees o f the con stru ction industry. The
estim ate fo r these h ou rs is based on the d ifferen ce between the p roportion
o f all nonconstruction w o rk e rs in the con tract con stru ction industry as
re p o rted in the BLS em ploym ent trend s e r ie s , and the prop ortion o f o n -site
n on con struction m an -h ou rs as developed in this study.
* U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1966 O - 219-825
@FedFRASER