Archer Contracting repaved 70 miles of three-lane roadway with a crew of six employees. This crew worked 8 days and used $7,000 worth of paving material. Nearby, Bronson Construction repaved 50 miles of four-lane roadway working 10 days with a crew of five people using $9,000 of paving material. Both Archer Contracting and Bronson Construction rented the same paving equipment to complete their respective assignments, costing each $1,500 a day.
a. Calculate the labor productivity of both Archer Contracting and Bronson Construction. Who is the most productive and what is the percent difference?
b. Assume that both Archer Contracting and Bronson Construction pay their employees $18 an hour and each employee works 8 hours per day. Calculate the multifactor productivity of each firm. Now who is the most productive and what is the percent difference?