ABSTRACT
Unlike most other industries, there is less opportunity for the majority of construction personnel to develop long-term working relationships with other employees. This is because by the very nature of the business, a project manager is selected for a project and whilst they may choose some of the personnel, many of the rest are provided for the project as required or when they can be freed up from another project. Add to this that most contracts will have a different client and design team members; it can seen be seen that team building and the dynamics of the group are important to ensure a successful conclusion to the project. Since construction projects are on average 12 to 24 month duration, rapid team building is essential. It would also be difficult to think of situations in the construction process where an individual could operate other than in a group scenario. The project manager relies heavily on the support and co-operation of those in the team and with the industry moving away from confrontational contracts and towards more partnership types, the team now embraces many more members. Some of these are based on site, where others are in the regional, head or design partner’s offices.
