Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Person-oriented Mobile
Information System
Enhancing Engineering
Communication in
Construction Processes
Danijel Rebolj and Ales Magdic
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 Engineering communication in construction process(es)
A construction process or phase of a construction project is a process during which
construction products are built. It is characterized by complex interactivity,
interdependence and communication between different project partners. Each
partner is a specialist in his/her technical domain and has his/her own point of view
on the building project and thus specific objectives, but has to communicate and
collaborate effectively in order to complete the project successfully. Mutual
communication and information exchange is a vital prerequisite for partner
collaboration in the construction process.
Historically, the first communication and information exchanges in the con-
struction sector were oral, since technical drawings were practically non-existent.
The entire construction process was conducted by a single individual - the master
builder - directly on construction site. With the invention of descriptive geometry
in the eighteenth century, precise construction drawings enabled information
sharing. Since that period, the number of professionals involved in the construction
process has been growing, just like the fragmentation of the construction business
and the technical features of structures (Turk, 1997). Communication continued
orally and through correspondence, in the early twentieth century with the
telegraph and telephone, then the facsimile and, more recently, through email
and mobile phone use. New technologies have, however, reduced the need for as
much physical presence and the role of the master builder has disappeared. He has
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