--- title: "Material productivity control" subject: "Construction Management" chapter: 7 key: "semester_8/construction_management:material-productivity-control" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/construction_management/material-productivity-control site: BCT Engineering --- # Material productivity control Construction Management · Chapter 7: Controlling Project Integration and Work - Asked in: 2078 Chaitra, 3 marks; 2075 Bhadra, 3 marks; 2073 Bhadra, 4 marks; 2073 Magh; 2072 Asoj (asked 5 times) - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/construction_management/material-productivity-control - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_8/construction_management/chapter-7 ## Question Define material productivity. Why is material productivity control necessary in a construction project? Explain. ## Short answer Material productivity is the ratio of work completed to material consumed, including wastage. Control is necessary because materials cost 50–60% of a project; reducing waste, theft, and over-ordering protects the budget, prevents delays, and ensures quality and reliable cost data. ## Answer **Material productivity** is the efficiency with which construction materials are used; that is, the ratio of useful output (work completed) to the quantity of material consumed, including wastage. Higher material productivity means less waste, e.g. 1 m³ of masonry built with the standard number of bricks and mortar and not more. #### Why material productivity control is necessary - Materials are about **50–60% of the cost** of a building, so small wastage gives large cost savings. - It reduces wastage, theft, damage and over-ordering, so the budget is protected. - It prevents shortage or delay in the schedule because stock levels are controlled. - It keeps quality: correct mix, right grade and proper storage. - It reduces rework and disposal cost and has less environmental impact. - It gives a record against norms, which helps to compare actual with estimated consumption and to find the cause of overuse. - It gives the client and contractor reliable data for payment, cost reports and future estimates. #### Methods of control 1. Accurate quantity estimate and material schedules. 2. Purchase of the right quantity at the right time (EOQ, ABC analysis). 3. Correct storage and stacking, first-in first-out. 4. Issue by indent against requirement, with stock registers. 5. Comparison of actual use with standard consumption, and investigation of differences. 6. Reducing cutting wastes by standard sizes and prefabrication. 7. Security, supervision and training of workers. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Material productivity means: A. The price of the material B. How efficiently materials are used: useful output relative to material consumed including wastage C. The total stock in store D. The weight of a bag of cement Answer: B. Higher productivity means less waste for the same work. (Key point: Definition) 2. Why does a small wastage of materials matter so much? A. Materials are about 50-60% of the cost of a building B. Materials are only 5% of cost C. Wastage is always recycled D. It affects only quality Answer: A. Because materials form 50-60% of cost, small wastage gives large savings. (Key point: Why control) 3. Which is a method of material control? A. Issue by indent with stock registers and comparing actual use with standard consumption B. Unrestricted issue C. Buying as much as possible D. No records Answer: A. Indents, registers and comparison with norms expose overuse and theft. (Key point: Methods of control) 4. Which techniques help buy the right quantity at the right time? A. EOQ and ABC analysis B. CPM and PERT C. BOQ and MB D. VAT and TDS Answer: A. EOQ and ABC analysis are inventory/purchase control tools. (Key point: Purchasing technique) ## Related in Construction Management - [Labour productivity: causes, measures, control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Alabour-productivity-control) — Construction Management, chapter 7, asked 5× - [Equipment productivity control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aequipment-productivity-control) — Construction Management, chapter 7 - [Characteristics of a construction project](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aconstruction-project-characteristics) — Construction Management, chapter 1 - [Material provisioning (procurement) process](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Amaterial-provisioning-process) — Construction Management, chapter 3, asked 4× - [Material handling system and its usefulness](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Amaterial-handling-system) — Construction Management, chapter 6, asked 4× - [ABC classification and material management](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Aabc-importance-material-mgmt) — Construction Management, chapter 3, asked 2× ## Related in other subjects - [WBM: material, equipment, procedure, quality control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Awbm-materials-equipment-quality-control) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3 - [Asphalt concrete construction and quality control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Aasphalt-concrete-construction) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3, asked 5× - [Define reserve and estimate construction material](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_4%2Fengineering_geology_ii%3Adefine-reserve-estimation) — Engineering Geology II, chapter 7, asked 10× - [Internal risk of Nepalese construction project](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Arisk-internal-construction-nepalese-company) — Project Engineering, chapter 5