Factors contributing to communication breakdown during the construction phase between consultants and contractors.

Effective communication is becoming increasingly important in project construction because of the growing demands of the projects. Fundamental to the successful delivery of projects in the construction industry is high-quality communications. The objective of this paper was to identify factors contributing to communication breakdown during the construction phase between consultants and contractors. The contributing factors focused on project characteristics. A quantitative method (questionnaire survey) with a close-ended questionnaire with experienced industry practitioners from a large population of 135 respondents comprising consultants and contractors was used for the data collection. It produced results that generalise, compare and summarise all collected data. The study identified personal attitude as the highest contributor to communication breakdown It would take a combined effort on the part of all construction parties from consultants, contractors and subcontractors to the project owner to minimise communication breakdown. The findings might help to achieve project success through the improvement of communication between consultants and contractors during the construction phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]