Communication Skills
Communication Skills on the AIC Associate Constructor exam tests how project information is created, transmitted, confirmed, and stored. Questions focus on RFIs, submittals, transmittals, meeting minutes, daily reports, contract notices, and conflict resolution. The best answer usually preserves a written record and follows the contractual chain of command.
Core rules
- Put cost- or time-affecting instructions in writing. A verbal direction from an owner representative should be confirmed by field directive, RFI, or email, then processed as a change if it changes scope.
- Route communications through the contractual representative. A subcontractor normally sends RFIs through the general contractor rather than directly to the design team.
- Log every transmittal: date, sender, recipient, subject, action required, and due date.
- Meeting minutes should capture decisions, action items, responsible parties, and deadlines; distribute promptly and request corrections.
- Use active listening and restate the sender's meaning before responding, especially in conflict or coordination meetings.
Worked example. An owner's representative tells the superintendent to relocate a duct two feet. The superintendent should not treat the oral instruction as a final change. He confirms it in writing, asks whether it is a design clarification or a scope change, documents the potential cost and schedule effect, and proceeds only under written authorization unless there is an immediate safety issue. The RFI and response then support any change order.
Traps
- Assuming an email satisfies a contract notice; the contract may require a specific form and deadline.
- Leaving RFIs open until they become claims instead of escalating them.
- Recording opinions in minutes instead of decisions and action items.
- Copying everyone but not identifying who must act.