ABSTRACT
Communication in construction teams, or rather the effectiveness of communication in construction teams, is a significant factor in the successful completion of construction projects. Communication between the organisations and individuals temporarily brought together to realise a constructed work is undertaken constantly but remains an aspect of construction that has, to date, received very little attention from researchers. A number of government-led reports have consistently drawn attention to the difficulties caused by the organisational systems in which construction teams operate. The inadequacies reported seem to stem from poor interaction practices. The nature of interaction affects the strength of relationships between the actors and ultimately colours their ability to transfer knowledge and appropriate task-based information to complete projects successfully. Team building, the discussion and subsequent sharing of values, resolution of minor differences and conflicts, asking questions and the creation of trust between construction team members are just a few of the factors that are crucial to the smooth running of projects and which are reliant on the ability of the actors to communicate effectively and efficiently. It follows that the interaction of multidisciplinary parties within the construction team should be of real interest to researchers and managers alike. Despite this, there appears to be very little research into, or indeed knowledge about, what actually happens in practice. Much is spoken and written about the importance of project communication; unfortunately much of this is largely based on anecdotal evidence rather than on the findings of applied research in the workplace.
