Task 1
Building and construction activities are described as one of the most robust and rigorous engineering undertaking processes involving professional experts, engineers from various fields, and other stakeholders. Therefore, to effectively coordinate, organize and plan for these activities, there has to be a well-documented and planned communication system that outline the roles and responsibilities of every stakeholder and involved party in the construction of a structure, from design engineer to architecture, client to sub-contractors and other professionals like plumbers, surveyors, quality engineers, project managers, and electrical engineers (Subramaniam et al. 2021). The construction industry often operates on the basis of contracting and sub-contraction of the construction activities to various professionals, thus creating a purpose-built alliance. The extensive widespread base of stakeholders in construction through various construction stages through from design, plan, budget, manage, build, upgrade, and replacement requires ultimate corporation and effective communication for it to complete in time and attain high-quality structures.
Therefore, the role of communication in any building and construction project cannot be overlooked or underestimated whatsoever. There is a big difference between construction projects where effective communication strategies are applied and projects that do not have structured communication strategies. Communication plays an important role in construction projects as it is the primary route or means of outlining roles and responsibilities among stakeholders, thus smooth coordination of work at sites. Communication provides an avenue for consultation and reasoning out on sites, thus preventing disputes that otherwise would cause tension and hostility on sites (Hosseini et al., 2017). It has also been established that most conflicts on sites are due to a lack of proper communication strategy. Therefore, stakeholders often engage in antagonizing activities that eventually result in conflicts. Where conflict or wrangles is, there is no coordination, which might negatively affect the quality of the project and cause a delay in the project delivery. Therefore, communication strategies in building and construction should be based on understanding the principle that humans co-operate in the joint undertaking through consultation and negotiations, learning theory, and principles of social dynamics.
Communication is also vital in outlining roles and responsibilities for parties involved in the construction to avoid delays, conflict of interest, collusion during construction works. As lead construction engineer and site manager, there is a need to have a work breakdown structure that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder for checks and balances on how activities are executed. The following are the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in the construction industry (Talebian et al. 2020)
Like any other stakeholder in construction, clients have a significant role to play in the management and progress of activities. Basically, clients are the ones who set the tone for the construction project by deciding the type and nature of the structure they want and making vital and crucial decisions that influence the development of the project. The clients have the overall duty to ensure that the project is successful and properly managed ether through proxy or appointed project managers to enable timely completion of the desired project quality. Other responsibilities include;
Importance of Effective Communication in Construction Projects
Clients are responsible for suitable management and ensure that proper on-site arrangements are made.
Ensures that a competent and qualified principal designer is selected for the project
Notify and inform relevant agencies and enforcing authorities of the project undertakings
Approves the designs and architectural plans for the construction project
Appoints lead engineers contractors for the project
Provides the pre-construction information to designers and architects to enable them to get helpful information to develop architectural plans and structural designs.
Ensures coordination and corporation between employees and contractors on site
Approves budgets and variation claims made by the contractor and ensures that safety and health standards are maintained on-site.
A project designer can either be an individual or an organization whose operations involve creating or modifying designs to construct a building or arranging the sequence of activities in a construction project. The designs used in construction projects include structural details, drawings, bill of quantity, design calculation, and specifications. The designer is a collective term that includes architects, surveyors, interior designers, or any professional who specifies or alters designs as part of their duties (Gholizadeh et al., 2018). For instance, interior designers are responsible for the design of the internal space, including internal modifications, furnishing, colour and lighting schemes, fixtures, and fittings. Generally, designers are tasked with the duty to ensure that there is an efficient and effective use of the available space in the development of desirable structures, systems, and components. They provide design information that is interpreted by other engineers to put up construction or building.
The main contractor can be described as the person in charge of all construction activities on site and are the link between clients and other stakeholders in a construction project. The primary role of main contractors is to manage and oversee the construction project to the client’s expectation. They also select and appoint sub-contractors depending on the nature and type of the contract between them and the clients. Contractors have the duty to plan the work and inform the stakeholders of the scope of the work, safety and health standards, and necessary safety systems for the project. They are responsible for planning important project development activities and overseas their implementation, estimating the values of various projects such as equipment and materials.
Sub-contractors are the representatives of the main contractor on site and often execute duties that closely resemble those done by the contractor. However, a subcontractor’s detailed duties and responsibilities depend on the type of contract signed with the main contractor. Some of the on-site duties include; ensuring that employees or workforce has the right skills for the defined tasks, engineers are available on-site at the right time, ensures that suitable materials, tools, and equipment are available on-site for construction works. They are also responsible for risk assessment on-site to ensure safety for all stakeholders.
Consultants are professional experts who offer guidance and professional advice on how a project should be undertaken to ensure high quality and timely delivery. Generally, consultants are responsible for developing and supporting the development of the designs, offering expert opinions on the project’s sustainability. Consultants only offer to advise service to the client and the contractor on how best the contraction works can be organized, coordinated and managed to ensure that it complies with the relevant standards and regulations and attains sustainability expectations.
Roles and Responsibilities of Various Stakeholders in Construction
Often referred to as economic operators, their role in the construction project is to ensure that all the required materials, tools, equipment, and machines are available on the site on time for the construction works. Suppliers provide an interface between supply chain and construction activities to minimize the cost and duration of site activities by enhancing reliability in goods and resources delivery.
Regulatory bodies play a significant role in ensuring that contractors and sub-contractors deliver quality and standard construction projects. Their main role is to check, assess, and verify if the construction project conforms and complies with the laid standards and regulations, especially on the project’s safety, health, and quality.
a. List of stakeholders in the RRSCIC building project
Client; The University of Canterbury
Designer: DJRD Jasmax, BECA
Main contractor; Fletcher Construction
Sub-contractors or suppliers: Integral Group and Christchurch-based Cosgroves
D&H Steel, Auckland; John Jones Steel
Consultant; Fletcher Construction
2. “Collegial Effort”
Collegial efforts are the spirit of teamwork and colaboration among stakeholders and partners in executing a defined task to attain specific goals and objectives. The RRSIC project is a perfect case that shows the essence of collaboration and working together in projects to achieve results. For instance, many seemed unrealistic and unachievable from structural designs and architectural plans of the RRSIC before the project began. But due to dedication, commitment and effective communication among stakeholders, to the supprise of many, the state-of-art RRSIC structure is standing right at the premises of Canterbury University. Here are the three instances where stakeholders and partners at RRSIC demonstrated ‘collegial efforts’
The first instance was developing architectural plans and structural and building designs. Basically, these are three distinct professions that three different experts or professionals complete, therefore to have unified and harmonized project designs (architectural and site plans, structural and building designs), the has to be effective coordination between experts. In this project, BECA, Fletcher Constructions and JASMAX embraced collegial efforts to ensure that they produce viable steel structural, architectural and building plans with desired seismic integrity.
The second instance was during the fabrication stage when a joint venture of D&H steels partnered with John Jones Steels to supply and install the structural steel for the RRSIC project. The partnership between these two stakeholders was structured such that D&H was responsible for the procurement of high-quality steel and its transportation from the Auckland base. At the same time, John Jones handled the ‘big &ugly’ elements on site. In addition, D&H was delineated the design and supply of the BRBs used in structural steel installation.
By nature, the RRSIC project is both a science and an architectural building; thus, it presents considerable complexity. Therefore, construction, the fabricator, builder, architect and engineer work together (collegial efforts) to ensure that the structure is up as per the plans. This was necessitated through bilateral communication, consultative meetings and dialogues where information was shared via BIM, a 3D building information modelling system. Fabricators worked from architects’ models, thus saving considerable effort for secondary steel designs and calculations.
References
Gholizadeh, P., Esmaeili, B., & Goodrum, P. (2018). Diffusion of building information modelling functions in the construction industry. Journal of Management in Engineering, 34(2), 04017060.
Hosseini, M. R., Banihashemi, S., Rameezdeen, R., Golizadeh, H., Arashpour, M., & Ma, L. (2017). Sustainability by Information and Communication Technology: A paradigm shift for construction projects in Iran. Journal of Cleaner Production, 168, 1-13.
Rajprasad, J., Prasad, M., & Pannirselvam, N. (2022). A consequence of Communication Problem for Higher Authority of Construction Industry in India. In Advances in Construction Management (pp. 435-442). Springer, Singapore.
Subramaniam, C., Ismail, S., & Rani, W. N. M. W. M. (2021). Project Communications Management in Malaysian Construction Industry. Project Management Practices: The Malaysian Insights and Trends, 34-47.
Talebian, S., Mohammadi, H. M., & Rezvanfar, A. (2020). Information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education: advantages, disadvantages, conveniences and limitations of applying e-learning to agricultural students in Iran. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152, 300-305.
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