Causes and Effects of Ineffective Communication on Construction Projects

Abstract

: A lot of failures and poor project performances reported on construction projects have been blamed on communication related problems. The effects of ineffective communication are usually high and they result from factors emanating from the management systems of construction organisations. This study examined the causes and effects of ineffective communication on construction projects. A well-structured questionnaire and snowball sampling techniques were adopted in gathering data from construction professionals in both private and public construction organisation in Delta state, Nigeria. With a reliability index of over 0.80, the gathered data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and relative importance index (RII). A fishbone diagram was also used to show the key findings of this study. The study revealed that construction organisations are still lagging behind in the practice of effective communication and that the major factors responsible for ineffective communication are management and leadership abilities, lack of training and undertrained workers, lack of support for advanced communication technologies, malfunction and/or use of out-dated technology, and poor communication skills. The major effects of ineffective communication on construction projects are; cost overrun, time overrun, high accident rate, wrong execution of activities, and rework and redesign occurrence. Effective communication practices are a great project integration tool that guarantees successful delivery of construction projects. Thus, experienced project managers with sound leadership capabilities should be engaged for sustainable communication practices