The use of computer mediated communication in construction project communication

Communication between different parties in a construction project has always been vital, and also problematic. This paper describes the use of multiple media, including Computer Mediated Communication between two parties to a construction project. The usage, as described, shows how the technical affordances of the computer and other facilities have been appropriated by the participants to overcome practical problems. Further, the description includes an evaluation of the efficacy of the communication processes in achieving the given purpose of the process, as well as unexpected or supplementary outcomes, such as social networking. The technical advances of various facets are involved: cameras, mobile telephones, land line telephones, computers and the internet are all included in this process. These advances cannot be seen as being driven by the demand for new means of communication, but rather the technology has been adopted to achieve the shared goals of the participants. That these participants are geographically separated and economically and contractually distinct is merely a contextual variable which the communication processes are able to surmount. The report was prepared using participant observation methodology, with the author embedded within the company for an extended period.