The communication in project management organisations during hospital construction projects : An investigative study of ongoing hospital construction projects in Gävle, Hudiksvall and Stockholm, that a technical engineering consultant company participates

Sammanfattning: The chosen research area is the communication in complex hospital construction projects. The purpose of this study is to investigate and map out the existing communication and cooperation between the project management organisation towards the steering committee and the hospital organisation. The research objective consists also of investigating how the project members manages the challenges and difficulties with communication and what improvements they think is needed for increasing the efficiency within the different organisations, within the project.   The results create an understanding and an awareness of the challenges, which will hopefully be beneficial for a more efficient project management. This was possible by investigating two actual projectorganisations in Sweden, one in Gävleborg (Gävle and Hudiksvall) and another one in Stockholm.  Extensive literature review and various scientific reports were investigated. An overview over the research area was achieved, with focus on existing problems and possible solutions. The communication in the project process was analysed by having semi- structured interviews. One of the objectives with the interviews is to expose the strengths and weaknesses in the project management, but also the external opportunities and threats towards the organisation. It can further be described as an analysis for representing how the project members use their competence and experience to handle the challenges and difficulties, how the optimal solutions could be according to the project members and also how the organizational structure should be conducted for a better communication in the project process. The findings from the interviews compared with the theoretical framework indicates some parameters for achieving an ideal information transfer and communication. There needs to be defined structures and techniques for information transfer. The effectiveness of information transfer increases, when the roles of different project members, groups and organisation structures are clearly defined, in a formal structured way. The culture in the organisation impacts and shapes the communication methods within the organisation. The work environment, values, language, routines, structure and experience in the organisation shapes and creates the foundation for the organisational culture, which leads to how the communication will take form. The attitudes and behaviours of the participants in the project are another impact on the communication structure. The organisation should secure in a personal level openness and commitments for the sake of fulfilling the common objectives and vision of the project.  The main challenges that were common in the projects in Gävle and Hudiksvall have been the lack of commitment from the steering committee, which is the county councils. The lack of participation and experience from both the steering committee and the hospital organisation made it challenging for the project management organisation to manage the projects. This means also that the hospital organisation has not been organized and there are not any representatives from the hospital in the projects. The project members are in these cases making qualified assumptions regarding the requirements that are needed in the hospital organisation. The main thought of effective communication is to be aware of all the changes in the project.  If the participating project members are updated with the latest information, then there are less risks for surprises. The project management organisation and the hospital organisation needs mutually to support each other with guidance through the needs and requirements that they have. This could be possible if they organisation could have continuously face-to-face meetings but also by keeping a good dialogue with each other. The representatives for the hospital organisation should also be prepared for the project from the initialisation phase.