Direct Observation of Road Construction Worker Behavior

Abstract

Many construction workers are paid with public dollars and typically earn large salaries within the manual labor workforce. The present study used a momentary time sampling procedure to directly observe the proportion of road construction workers engaged in work-related behavior and compared the observation to repeated observations of one worksite. Both observations suggested that a small number of highway workers may be performing work tasks at any time, suggesting a need for behavior analysts to devise more effective work-related contingencies to ensure taxpayers receive more return on their investment.

KEYWORDS:

• construction
• momentary time sampling
• behavioral observation
• engagement