Communication Challenges in Private Finance Initiative Projects at Facilities Management Stage

Abstract

Facilities management is one of the scopes of work under the Private Finance Initiative Projects. The success of the facilities management work depends on various factors. Communication is among the factor. This paper will highlight what are the challenges faced during the communication between the client and facilities management managers in UiTM projects and also ways to overcome the challenges. The research is carried out by using the qualitative method. The interviews were done with the engineers and facilities managers. From the interviews, the challenges are the breakdown of communication, human error, lack of understanding, time-consuming, and misunderstanding. deal with lack of understanding, it is best to deal with it through meeting or discussion, inspecting the real problem, and issuing a letter or reminder. To sum up, these strategies are being used because to clarify the root cause of the lack of understandings and to get rid of disputes that happen between both parties. To ensure smooth communication when conveying information during the operational and maintenance, the following item suggested being done by the respondents; verification from the end-user, conducting a technical meeting, following the procedure in executing works, and having a good relationship between both parties. To improve communication, the suggestion is the use of the mobile application, integrated system, roles of the concessionaire in understanding the Concession Agreement, minimize human error and improvement of CFMS as well as preferably direct communication using instant messages.