Certificate II in Construction
Pathways CPC20211
Conduct Workplace Communication
CPCCCM1014A
What is workplace communication?
Workplace communication is all about how you gather,
receive and pass on information in a construction workplace
environment. So, you might gather information by writing it
down, or making notes, or listening to what's been said to you
and remembering it. You might receive information verbally.
That is, another worker might speak to you and ask you to do
something, or pass on a message. And you might be asked to
write something down, or go speak with another worker, to
convey information.
So, this unit is all about how well you communicate to carry
out tasks or to work effectively in the construction industry.
What is communication
The term communication can be applied in
three ways
1. The act of communication
2. The message that is being communicated
3. The means of communicating
The act of communicating
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Talking
Singing
Writing
Gesturing
Signalling
Hugging
Punching
The message that is being
communicated
• Maybe about emotions, feelings, wants,
warnings, information
What are we trying to do when we
communicate with others?
To persuade
To provide information
To seek information
To express our emotions
There are at least two parties in the
communication process; what do we call them?
• The receiver: the person receiving
• The sender: the person imparting the message
Who has the responsibility for successful
communication?
• The sender
• The receiver
The parties in the communication process can
experience barriers. List these barriers stating
examples.
• Physical barriers
Loud machinery, distance, interference on
radios, deafness
• Emotional barriers
Anger, resentment, dislike, frustration
• Psychological barriers
Aggressive, confrontational
• Intellectual barriers
Lack of knowledge, language, understanding of
signs
How does good communication benefit everyone on a
building site?
Poor communication results in injuries, faulty
work and wasting time
What do we call the procedure for checking whether
communication has been successful?
Good communicators give and seek feedback
List the procedures for checking whether
communication has been successful.
The sender checks by:
• Asking the message to be repeated
• Asking questions
• Asking for the message to be restated
The receiver checks by:
• Repeating the message
• Asking questions
• Restating the question
Worksheet 2:
List the different forms of communicating information on a building
site
Forms of communication
Examples
Spoken language
Face-to face
Telephone
Two-way
radio
Written language
Letters
SWMS
Specifications
Body language
Hand signals
Gestures
Diagrams
Safety signs
Plans
Sounds
Whistles
Sirens
Lights
Touch/sensations
Rotating
beacons
Other
workers
Odours
Chemicals
Faulty
equipment
Facial
expressions
Dangerous
goods
Reversing
machinery
Overhead
cranes
Unstable
scaffolding
Gases
Fires
Traffic lights
When being spoken to in face-to-face communication, what
should you do to make sure you get the message?
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Look at the person talking to you
Attentive posture (don’t slouch)
Show interest (nodding)
Encourage the speaker
Ask questions
Summarise to check your understanding
When you answer a business phone, what should you do?
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Give a polite greeting
Give your company name
Give your name
Offer assistance
If you cannot help the caller, what must you do?
Write down the following information on the caller:
• Name, where they are from,number
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Write down the message
Repeat the message to the caller
Write down the day, time and date
Give a polite farewell
Write down your name
Deliver the message
What is the procedure for using a two-way radio?
• Use an individual call sign to identify yourself
• Say ’Over’ to indicate you have finished speaking
so the other person can reply
• Turn your microphone off after saying ‘Over’ or
you cannot hear the other person
• Spell out important words using the international
alphabet, e.g. (a) alpha, (b) bravo, (c) Charlie, (d)
delta
• Speak clearly at a moderate pace. Remember that
radio frequencies are public, so be careful what
you say
List the procedure to follow when reading a document to
ensure you get the essential information:
When you are seeking information from a
document, you can:
• Predict the content from the title or pictures
• Skim quickly through the document to get a broad
idea of the contents
• Scan the document to find a specific piece of
information
• Read for the main ideas
• Read in detail for deep understanding
Give four examples of when specific hand signals may be used
Specific hand signals are used to guide:
• Crane operators
• Surveyors
• Truck drivers
• Excavators
Safety signs must be manufactured according to what
specific Australian Standard?
Australian Standard AS1319-1994
Safety signs for the occupational environment
What specific categories of signs do the following types fall?
Sign
Categories
No smoking (symbolic)
Prohibition (don’t do)
Wear head protection
Mandatory (must do)
Caution – explosive powered
tool in use
Fire hose (symbolic)
Toxic material risk (symbolic)
Emergency exist
Wear hearing protection
First aid equipment
No naked flame (symbolic)
Fire extinguisher (water)
Hazard warning
Fire
Danger hazard
Emergency information
Mandatory
Emergency information
Mandatory
Fire
At no time should signs be located on doors or
windows, explain why?
At no time should signs be placed on anything
that moves or is likely to be moved. Signs
located on doors or windows are likely to be
concealed when they are either opened or
closed.
What is a quick and effective way to create a simple
barrier?
• In some situations, where there is a possibility
that signs may either go unnoticed or ignored,
a physical barrier may be necessary to draw
attention to the existence of a hazard or a
danger zone. A quick and effective way to
create a simple barrier is to
use barricade tape
Describe underground warning tapes, and why they
are used.
• Underground warning tapes are brightly
coloured plastic tapes that are usually buried
100-150mm below the surface of the ground
above and along the length of the
underground installation.
• To prevent damage to underground
installations during excavations
List the classes of dangerous goods.
Class
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
Class 5
Class 6
Class 7
Class 8
Class 9
Dangerous Material
Explosives
Gases
Flammable liquids
Flammable substances
Oxidising substances
Poisonous or infectious materials
Radioactive materials
Corrosive materials
Miscellaneous dangerous materials
Employers are required to provide employees with information
about dangerous goods. State the most effective way of ensuring
the information is made available
• Having material safety data sheets MSDS
available for use on-site.
Sketches and drawings are useful means of communicating
information. State six typical materials found on site that could
be used to sketch or draw on.
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A block of timber
An off-cut from a board
A piece of fibre-cement
A piece of plasterboard
A piece of paper torn from a cement bag
A piece of cardboard torn from a carton
Worksheet 3: The
Art of Clear Communication
Q1: When speaking to someone face-to-face, make sure your
message is clear:
• Use ‘I’ messages: talk about your thoughts, your feelings,
your needs; do not blame or label others; deal with then
issues
• Focus on an outcome, the situation, the problem, a
behaviour; do not focus on the person; be consistent; make
your body language match your words; do not send
conflicting messages; pick your time and place; make sure
the other person is not distracted by something else; and
seek and offer feedback to check understanding
• Always speak with a civil tone and treat people with
politeness and respect. If you need to instruct someone,
before you begin be certain about what you want the
person to do.
Q2: List the steps you would follow to instruct someone in a
practical task
• State the overall goal you require
• Describe the main steps in the task in a logical
order
• Explain the details of each step slowly
• Emphasise the critical points
• Seek and offer feedback to check the other’s
understanding
• Summarise the main steps in the task in a logical
order
Q3: How must you write a document to make sure you are
writing in plain English?
Write the document:
• In a logical order, e.g. from the least important
point to the most important point, or vice versa,
according to distance, or according to
construction sequence
• In the active voice, e.g. ‘I need more nails’, not in
the passive voice, ‘More nails are needed’
• And in short sentences, with one main idea to a
paragraph
Q4: List the types of language you must avoid using if you do not
want your meaning to be obscure
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Ambiguities
Clichés
Tautologies
Jargon
Slang
Technical terms
Q5: Explain the following hand signals
Signal Meaning
Stop
Stop
Description
Your hand is raised with your palm outwards
Towards me
Your hand and forearm rotate in a circular movement
towards your chest
Move away
A forward pushing movement with your hands, palms
outwards in front of your chest
Move to the right
Your right arm extended to the right with the hand and
forearm swinging in a horizontal arc
Cease what you
are doing
Crossing and recrossing your hands and forearms
horizontally in swinging movements in front of your chest
Q6: When using hand signals, how can you ensure the message will
not confuse others?
Make sure that your body language is clear and
concise.
It is very easy to confuse others with a sloppy
and inaccurate gesture.
Worksheet 4:
On-Site Meeting Processes
Q1: List five types of meetings that may be held on
a building site.
• General staff meetings
• Union meetings
• Occupational health and safety committee
meetings
• Special-purpose committee meetings
• Team meetings
• Social club meetings
• Special-interest group meetings
Q2: Meetings may be conducted formally or informally.
Briefly describe each form of meeting
Formal meetings
• Run by elected office bearers called chairperson,
secretary and treasurer
• The meeting will follow an agenda prepared by
the secretary
• The meeting will follow a set procedure for
making decisions using movers, seconders,
speakers for and against the motion and finally a
vote by the meeting for or against the motion
• Minutes of the meeting will be taken
Informal meetings
• Simple procedures without the election of
office bearers
• There may or may not be an agenda, but
everyone will have a general focus of the
meeting
• Someone will probably lead the meeting
• There is no set procedure for conducting
discussions and making decisions
• Members will probably take their own notes
Q3: List the types of meetings that are often conducted
‘formerly’
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Company meetings
Union meetings
Occupational health and safety meetings
Special purpose meetings
Q4: List the types of meetings that are often conducted ‘formerly’
• Team meetings
• Social club meetings
• Special-Interest group meetings
Q5: List the information which is included in an agenda for a meeting
An agenda is prepared by the secretary and sent to the people prior to
the actual meeting. It will include:
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The time, date and location of the meeting
The order I which items will be discussed at the meeting
Welcomes and apologies
Minutes from previous meetings
Business arriving from minutes from the previous meeting
General business for this meeting
Other business
Next meeting
Close
Q6: Describe the minutes of a meeting
• During the meeting the secretary will write the
minutes, which are summaries of the
discussions and decisions agreed upon
• The minutes then become a formal document
• These procedures are usually followed only
when the items to be discussed affect a lot of
people, have legal implications, are required
by law, or need to be accurately recorded for
the future reference
Q7: No matter whether a meeting is formal or informal, what
must attendees be prepared to do?
No matter whether a meeting is formal or informal, It is important to
participate. When you attend a meeting, make sure that you:
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Understand the purpose of the meeting
Contribute to relevant discussion
Are prepared to listen
Offer only constructive criticism
Deal with issues or problems, not with people or
personalities
• Are prepared to resolve problems
• Are prepared to accept and carry out the decisions
reached by the group, because the groups decision is
binding on everyone
Q8: List four important things to make sure of during a meeting.
• Everyone sits where they can see each other
• Everyone has a place to put there agenda and
take notes
• Everyone has an opportunity to make a
contribution
• No-one is allowed to dominate the meeting
and control the outcomes
Q9: List and describe the four most common ways of responding
in a conflict situation
The most common way to responding are:
• Withdraw from the situation, which allows others to win and,
because the conflict is not resolved, it may allow it to grow out of
control
• Suppress your feelings and refuse to acknowledge the problem,
which does not allow others to recognize your feelings and have the
opportunity to behave differently
• Compromise, which can lead to dishonesty, which degenerates
either into haggling or exaggerated ambit claims
• Confront the other, which can lead to a win / lose ego-fired battles
of will, which have nothing to do with the pros and cons of the
issues at hand
• All of these ways of responding to conflict lead to a win / lose
situation
Q10: Describe the kind of situation these ways of responding can
lead to, and the effect this situation can have
All of these ways of responding to conflict lead to a
win / lose situation.
• In time, successive win / lose situations can
produce a culture of tit-for-tat responses, where it
is most important to win and get even than to
solve the problem.
• This leads to a breakdown of harmonious and
cooperative work relationships and the creation
of an unhappy, unsatisfactory and unproductive
workplace
Q11: Name and describe the ideal response to a conflict
A win / win solution where the solution or
outcome benefits everyone and meets
everyone’s need (collaboration)