Abstract
Communication within construction presented exceptional problems. This is particularly evident
within the construction sector, where interactions have the tendency to be characterised by
unacquainted classes of people coming together for brief periods before dispersing to work on
other ventures. Owing to its specific characteristics, the construction industry creates a complex
communication environment. This paper sought to improve communication in construction. In
order to define the problem in more detail and to achieve the purpose of the study, an exhaustive
literature review on communication in construction was conducted, a total of ten experts on the
practice of communication in construction in Gauteng (South Africa) were interviewed, through
semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Findings revealed that the majority of issues regarding
communication in construction were reported to be between demand and supply-side
stakeholders. The robust interaction in construction projects between stakeholders seems to make
construction projects very exposed to communication problems. Furthermore, a waste of time was
revealed as a result of poor communication, a discrepancy in stakeholders ‘power and about poor
consensus particularly in the public sector, and a lack of stakeholders’ ability to sympathise with
the other parties involved.