Tran, D Q; Nguyen, L D and Faught, A (2017) Examination of communication processes in design-build project delivery in building construction. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 24(6), pp. 1319-1336. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose Design-Build (D-B) is a project delivery method in which the owner procures both design and construction services in the same contract from a single legal entity. There is limited research on how communication among parties influences the success of D-B projects. The purpose of this paper is to examine D-B communication issues and provides effective practices on communication to improve D-B procurement processes in the USA. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology for this study includes a comprehensive review of literature, survey questionnaire, and structured interviews. A questionnaire was developed to collect data from professionals with an average of 23 years of experience related to D-B procurement. Eight structured interviews were conducted to verify and validate the survey questionnaire results. Findings The results showed that the communication issues vary along with each phase of the D-B process. The primary communication practices influencing the success of D-B projects are: establishing clear points of contact; providing clear and understandable information among stakeholders during the D-B process; and the timely sharing of information to all stakeholders. Research limitations/implications The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were mostly opinions from experts although several empirical data were collected for cross-validation. This research did not consider the relationship of relevant contract clauses and communication issues. Practical implications The findings from this paper will help professionals better understand the D-B procurement process. Originality/value This is one of the first attempts to discuss D-B communication issues in each different phase of a D-B project.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | project teams; USA; construction; communication; design-build |
| Index terms: | procurement process, interview, survey, building construction, validation, questionnaire, methodology, owner, design and construction, research methodology, project delivery, project team |
| Subjects: | project delivery, contractual arrangements, research design and methodology, data collection methods, building construction, sociology, professional development, research methods |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Procurement, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here