Labor productivity defaults that won't get you in trouble

Industry-standard productivities are a starting point, not a bid. Here's how to use them — and when to override.

Productivity is hours per unit. 0.05 manhours / SF on a slab on grade is one carpenter doing 20 SF an hour. Industry tables — RSMeans, Walker's, Concrete Construction Magazine references — give you a defensible starting point.

The mistake is treating them as a bid. They're a starting point. The bid is what your crew does on your jobs.

New scope you haven't bid before. Use the table. Standard work in known conditions. Your slab on grade in a warehouse with good access is going to land within 10% of the table. Sanity checking. If your bid is at 0.02 manhours / SF and the table is at 0.05, you have a problem. Either your crew is twice as fast as the industry (it isn't) or your bid is wrong.

Tight access. A downtown urban site with no laydown is not a 0.05 SF slab. Cold weather pours. Add 15–25%. High-rep formwork. Productivities improve with repetition. Tilt panel #20 is faster than tilt panel #2. Most tables don't account for this. Decorative or architectural finishes. The table for a broom finish is not the table for a polished concrete floor with dye.

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