Site practice: The role of design drawings within social communities

Delays and interruptions of construction projects are phenomena that have long been discussed and many have attempted to identify the causes and their solutions. Factors like insufficient and inadequate project drawings entail delay and temporary interruption of the construction process. Deficiencies in the project documents have long been brought into focus but no study has been conducted which focused on how the contractors interpret the project drawings. The purpose of this study is (1) to elucidate how contractors interpret project drawings that they receive from consultants, and (2) to shed light on the impact of contractors' interpretation of the project drawings on their workflow. The research is based on an ethnographic study of a case in Odense, Denmark. The empirical data are collected through direct observations and semi-structured interviews with site managers, foremen and craftsmen. The results indicate that the contractors expect the project drawings to be final, and commence the work in accordance with these drawings. In order to carry out the work and avoid interruptions, the contractors draw on the experience that may be embedded in their work practice, when they find the drawings incomplete and insufficient. Furthermore the study reveals that insufficient project drawings entail that consultants continually forward new revisions of the drawings to the contractors. Thus the contractors are compelled to rectify in accordance with the new drawings, leading to delays and interruptions. This leads to the conclusion that the contractors' interpretations of the drawings might have adverse effects on their workflow and productivity