Communications in construction design

Construction design has become an increasingly complex synthesis activity for which effective solutions depend upon co-operative participation by a number of people. Thus communication, including the integration of specialised knowledge and negotiation of differences between team members, is a vital process for collaborative design. A questionnaire survey was initially conducted to investigate communication issues and problems, which had been highlighted from a review of the literature, in current construction design. The results confirmed that communication among the different construction team members is often difficult although of paramount important to design outcomes. Based on these results, case studies have been carried out to gain further insights into communication issues and problems, and explore why and how they are caused. Through the application of multiple approaches, a model has been developed, which suggests strategies that may help participants communicate more effectively and ultimately improve the quality of construction design outcomes.