partnering magazine may/june 2014

partnering pioneersLearn what makes Caltrans Partnering Program Successful

page 8No Project

is an Island

INSIDE:page 16The ROI of

Partnering

Issue 2May/June 2014

2 Partnering Magazine May/June 2014 www.partneringinstitute.org

World-Class Innovators. Landmark Bui ldings. Inspir ing Per formance.

EVERY SUCCESSFUL PROJECT BEGINS WITH A STRONG

PARTNERSHIP.

At Hensel Phelps, our high performance teams understand the importance of integrating our client’s vision with the design and construction of their project.

It requires a synthesis of effectively managed professionals that understand working in a team environment with one overriding goal: to provide the best value, on time and on budget.

For more information scan this code.

hens

elph

elps

.com

www.partneringinstitute.org May/June 2014 Partnering Magazine 3 3

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERING INSTITUTEIPI is a non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable

organization that is funded by our

members and supporters who wish

to change the culture of construction

from combative to collaborative.

Phone: (925) 447-9100

BOARD OF ADVISORSJohn Martin, San Francisco International Airport

Larry Anderson, Salisbury University Center

for Conflict Resolution

Roddy Bogus, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Pierre Bigras, PG&E

Larry Eisenberg, Ovus Partners 360

Michael Ghilotti, Ghilotti Bros, Inc.

Richard Grabinski, Flatiron West, Inc.

Dan Himick, C.C. Myers, Inc.

Randy Iwasaki, Contra Costa Trans. Authority

Mark Leja, Caltrans

Pete Matheson, Granite Construction

Geoff Neumayr, San Francisco International

Airport

Jim Pappas, Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Zigmund Rubel, Aditazz

Ivar Satero, San Francisco International Airport

Stuart Seiden, County of Fresno

Todd Sutton, Skanska Civil, USA

David Thorman, CA Div. of the State

Architect, Ret.

John Thorsson, NCC Construction Sverige AB

Len Vetrone, Webcor Builders

Curt Weltz, Walsh Group

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORRob Reaugh, MDR

CEOSue Dyer, MBA, MIPI, MDRF

EDITORIAL OFFICE: SUBSCRIPTIONS/INFORMATIONInternational Partnering Institute

291 McLeod Street

Livermore, CA 94559

Phone: (925) 447-9100

Email: [email protected]

www.partneringinstitute.org

DESIGN/CREATIVEMichelle Vejby

Email: [email protected]

COPYRIGHTPartnering Magazine is published by the

International Partnering Institute, 291 McLeod

Street, Livermore, CA 94550. Six bi-monthly

issues are published annually. Contents

copyright 2014 International Partnering

Institute, all rights reserved. Subscription

rates for non-members, $75 for six electronic

issues. Hard copy issues are available

only to IPI members. Additional member

subscriptions are $75 each for six issues.

Postmaster please send address changes to

IPI, 291 McLeod Street, Livermore, CA 94550.

IN THIS ISSUE

4Executive Director’s ReportBe A Pioneer: New Ideas Begin With You

6Committee SpotlightThe IPI Horizontal Construction Committee and the Owner Mentor Program

14Facilitator’s CornerMany construction projects (too many) are problem projcts. Here are 11 tips for immediate, positive and sustained results.

18Partnering In The TrenchesWould a Partnering Summit be a great tool for your program kick-off?

CONTENTS

FeaturesMay/June 2014 Partnering Pioneers

No Project is an IslandPart One:

External Strategic

Partnering

8

The ROI of Partnering Your ProjectWhat can your team hope

to achieve with Partnering?

Increased ROI for certain!

16

Partnering PioneersCaltrans Construction Division

Chief, Mark Leja, a true Partnering

Pioneer, focuses on the key elements

that have made Caltrans partnering

so successful.

10

World-Class Innovators. Landmark Bui ldings. Inspir ing Per formance.

EVERY SUCCESSFUL PROJECT BEGINS WITH A STRONG

PARTNERSHIP.

At Hensel Phelps, our high performance teams understand the importance of integrating our client’s vision with the design and construction of their project.

It requires a synthesis of effectively managed professionals that understand working in a team environment with one overriding goal: to provide the best value, on time and on budget.

For more information scan this code.

hens

elph

elps

.com

Cover photo: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Project, image courtesy O.C. Jones & Sons, Inc.


highlights what is possible

when two agencies come

together to improve how

schools are built.

A pioneer can be an early

adopter, a tremendous

innovator, or someone who

believes in an idea, takes it

and improves it, and then

spreads it across the country

like Mark Leja of Caltrans.

We hope that you enjoy our

second issue of Partnering

Magazine and are able to use

the tools we share so you can

become a partnering pioneer

yourself. Remember, this

Magazine is for you! Write

us, call us, or contribute so

we can continue to share

our best tools and make the

construction industry more

collaborative.

New Ideas Begin With You

leader in the partnering

movement (p. 10).

In this issue we focus

on answering the needs of

the IPI Membership. For

many years, proponents

of partnering have sought

data that validates what we

experience on partnered

projects. In the “ROI of

Partnering,” IPI CEO Sue

Dyer compiled research

from 10 sources including

academic papers, research

journals and partnering

programs that have all

vetted how the collaborative

cultures that emerge on

partnered projects help

teams deliver projects early,

on or under budget, and

without claims (p. 16). If

you were going to show one

Apioneer is a person

who helps create or

develop new ideas

or methods, or someone

who is one of the first

people to move to and live

in a new area.

This issue’s feature focuses

on Partnering Pioneers. The

California Department of

Transportation (Caltrans)

is the subject of the feature

as they developed and

tested the IPI Model of

Collaborative Partnering.

The article is an interview

with Caltrans Chief of

Construction and IPI Board

of Advisor Member, Mark

Leja. Leja focuses on three

Collaborative Partnering

keys that have helped

Caltrans become a national

article to a colleague who is

skeptical about partnering —

this would be it! Also, to help

our members, you will learn

more about the IPI Owner

Mentor Program and the

IPI Horizontal Construction

Committee, that Mark Leja

Co-Chairs (p. 6)

Next, IPI Master Level

Certified Partnering

Facilitator Jim Eisenhart

(MIPI), shares 11 steps to

help problem projects (p.

14). We have all been faced

with tremendous challenges

and teams that weren’t

working together effectively,

and Jim shows us a proven

path to success! We also

have our first in a series of

articles focused on Strategic

Partnering (p. 8), which

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S

REPORT

Rob Reaugh, MDR

IPI Executive Director

usa.skanska.com

Collaboration. Innovation. Sustainability.Partnering to build a better future for our customers and communities.

James B. Hunt Library, North Carolina State University

George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Terminal B Redevelopment, Houston TX

2013 NAIOP Community Enhancement Day, Seattle, WA

Gold Line Bridge, Arcadia, CA


COMMITTEESPOTLIGHT

The IPI Horizontal Construction Committee

The IPI Horizontal Construction Committee

is a group of experts in the engineering

construction and transportation sectors

The IPI Owner Mentor Program

A new initiative, spearheaded by the Horizontal Committee in cooperation with the IPI Vertical Construction Committee, is the IPI Owner Mentor Program. Several of our Owner-Members, (including our Horizontal Committee Chairman, Mark Leja) have volunteered to become peer mentors for Agency colleagues who would like to learn more about implementing a partnering program. This is a low-pressure way that owners can speak to a colleague who has “been there before.” Owner Mentees have an opportunity to learn specific details about how to best implement a program and what pitfalls to avoid. The goal is that they can benefit from the lessons learned by other agency leaders.

Participants have benefited greatly from discussing

internal program policies that may be negatively impacting projects. It has also been beneficial to discuss what the best leaders do when partnering is breaking down on projects. In order to ensure you have a valuable experience, we do our best to match you up with a Mentor who has experience with a similar sized organization. We have found this to be a very effective way to jumpstart your program.

To obtain a current list of the IPI Owner Mentor Members for Horizontal and Vertical Construction, please contact IPI and we will gladly match you with a Mentor who is the best fit!

who are focused on making the culture of construction more

collaborative on horizontal projects. The primary objective

of the Committee is to develop Owner’s Tools that help make

the adoption of structured, Collaborative Partnering easier for

both public and private agencies. The secondary objective is to

identify and support agencies that would like to either adopt a

partnering program, or learn how to take partnering to the next

level on their projects.

The Committee, Co-Chaired by Mark Leja, Caltrans

Department of Construction Chief and Dan Himick, Chairman

C.C. Myers, Inc. has already developed the 4-level IPI

Partnering Specifications Program, the IPI Matrix and assisted

with the “On Time, On Budget” publication, a 10-step guide

for developing a Collaborative Partnering Program. The

Committee developed the Horizontal Construction side of the

IPI Owner’s Toolbox and is currently finalizing an Owner’s

Guide for the IPI Collaborative Partnering Specifications.

The Committee has also helped Ohio DOT, Michigan DOT

and several other agencies add structure to their partnering

program by providing support and assisting with developing

Specifications.

Another function of the Horizontal Committee is acting as

a “Mastermind Group”, assisting each other by discussing

partnering issues that often arise on a program or projects.

Many of these discussions have become topics for the monthly

IPI CollaborNation newsletter. CollaborNation has a Q&A

format, where IPI Members get answers to their most pressing

Partnering questions. The Committee has discussed how

to maintain Partnering momentum throughout challenging

projects, how to “sell” owners on adopting a partnering

program, and how to effectively deal with subcontractor issues.

The Horizontal Committee meets by teleconference every two

months. Every IPI Member Organization who works in the

horizontal construction is welcome to join and participate in

the Committee.

www.partneringinstitute.org May/June 2014 Partnering Magazine 7

At an Owners’ Roundtable, IPI was asked several times

about getting the higher ups committed to Collaborative

Partnering. Here are some ideas to help. First, if the senior

leadership is not committed, you are not likely to get their

deputies, managers and team members to be committed. So

we have to start there, and first we have to be able to answer

the following two questions. These questions are about

RISK and ROI.

1. How do you know it will be worth your effort to fully

commit to Collaborative Partnering? The structured

Collaborative Partnering Program is designed to

establish a culture of collaboration on your projects (and

within your organization if fully implemented). Culture

change takes time, persistence and structure. It takes

effort, a good deal of effort. But, the rewards can be

great. We know that owners who have truly committed

to establishing a Collaborative Partnering Program have

few to no claims. They have lower bids/pricing (we’ve

seen 10-50%). They attract and keep the best-of-the-best

people and companies that will want to “partner” with

your organization. Projects become predictable and as

your culture establishes itself you will begin to be able

to do extraordinary things—like design, build, activate

and open a boarding area in 18 months. Just like San

Francisco International Airport has done (highlighted in

the March/April issue of Partnering Magazine).

2. What if it doesn’t work? This question is really about

commitment. If it does not work, then you have found

the barriers that you need to overcome. By focusing

on each barrier to collaboration, and working to

overcome it, you will build momentum toward culture

change. Basically, you can’t fail unless you give up. You

have to keep the pressure on to keep moving forward.

Many people will fight to keep the status quo. Many

people don’t like change. But, you will get there if you

just keep following the process, identifying barriers,

celebrating successes, promoting people who “get it,”

and measuring your progress.

IPI is here to support you in your journey toward culture

change. It is simple, but not easy. It takes commitment.

How can you get someone committed to Collaborative Partnering?

Q&AHOT TOPICS

8 Partnering Magazine May/June 2014 www.partneringinstitute.com

BEST PRACTICES

No Project is an IslandPart One: External Strategic Partnering

The Strategic Partnering process took place over a three year period

and included leaders from DSA’s local office and HQ along with the Project

management team and senior leadership from the District. It took effort to

understand each other’s needs and processes, but over time things began

to become aligned. The graph below shows that as the partnering sessions

occurred, alignment began to happen and the time frame for reviews shrank.

Ultimately, DSA reviews averaged 13 weeks and remained there for the

duration of the District’s program.

This effort was so successful that DSA struck strategic partnerships all

over the state with Districts that had Mega Programs.

For more information on the DSA and San Diego City Schools effort take

a look at the IPI white paper entitled “Mega Program Strategic Partnering;

A Process for Building Better Schools by Building Better Relationships”.

In the next issue we will look at Strategic Partnering with Internal

Stakeholders.

None of our construction projects today are

built in a vacuum. We have many others

with whom we must work in order to get

projects approved, designed, built and activated.

Strategic Partnering was developed with this in

mind. You may have internal stakeholders who

have control over some parts of your project,

or you may have external stakeholders with

whom you must get approval or keep happy.

The potential impact of internal and external

stakeholders on your projects are enormous.

Today we are going to explore one example of

External Strategic Partnering.

Under the leadership of Dave Thorman, the

CA State Architect at the time, the California

Division of the State Architect (DSA) developed a

strategic partnering program with those school

districts that had Mega Programs. The goal of the

strategic partnering was to find ways to ensure

that the plan check process would not delay the

construction of the District’s schools. In the past

the DSA review time was hard at best to predict.

By developing a Strategic Partnership both the

Districts and DSA understood what each side

needed to “speed up” or make the review times

“predictable” so that planning was possible.

The first DSA/District partnership was with San

Diego City Schools. They had a large construction

program and were very worried that they would

not have money to build all of the schools in their

program. They were finding that DSA review

times were unpredictable and went as long as

42 weeks. The District’s schedule allowed for 13

weeks in order to complete all of their projects. Date Approved by DSA

DSA Approval Process Time Study with Partnering Session Dates


WINNER OF THE 2014 CALTRANS EXCELLENCE IN PARTNERING AWARD“BEST IN CLASS” FOR PROJECTS GREATER THAN $50 MILLION

Highway 65 Lincoln Bypass ProjectCaltrans District 3, Placer County

B U I L D I N G C A L I F O R N I A F O R S E V E N T Y- F I V E Y E A R S11555 Dublin Boulevard, P.O. Box 2909, Dublin, California 94568-2909 925-829-9220

w w w . d e s i l v a g a t e s . c o m

Contractors License No. 704195A


In 2005, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) approached key members of the Construction

Industry in preparation for a large State Transportation bond program. The objective was to identify ways to ensure that industry could effectively ramp up to deliver unprecedented levels of construction work (From ~$8B to upwards of $12B under contract). Caltrans was hoping to encourage more bidders per job and ensure there would be sufficient labor and materials to accommodate demand. To achieve this, Caltrans approached Industry to solicit some recommendations. In 2006, Caltrans listened to the recommendations and re-established the Caltrans Construction Partnering Steering Committee (CCPSC) and began developing a more robust Partnering Program. The CCPSC is an assembly of managers from

Caltrans, the FHWA, trade associations, and executives from well-known transportation construction companies. The CCPSC helps guide the Partnering Program by identifying key barriers to Partnering and creating initiatives to overcome them.

Since then, Caltrans’ Partnering Program has become the basis for the IPI Working Model and has become a benchmark for many other Departments of Transportation and facility owners across the United States. Mark Leja, Caltrans Construction Division Chief, has not only pushed his own organization to improve its Partnering Program each year since he started working with the CCPSC in 2007, he and Caltrans have become true Partnering Pioneers. In 2011, Mark shared Caltrans Partnering results with the industry by serving as the keynote speaker for the IPI Mega

PARTNERINGPIONEERS

pi•o•neer

1: member of a military unit

usually of construction engineers

2: a person or group that

originates or helps open up a new

line of thought or activity or a

new method or technical

development

(Merriam-Webster.com)

3 KEY CALTRANS PARTNERING ELEMENTS:

1. FIELD GUIDE TO PARNERING ON CALTRANS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF PARTNERING TRAINING BY OWNER AND CONTRACTOR REPS (OVER 4,000 TRAINED)

3. RECOGNITION PROGRAM


that foster a culture of collaboration on projects. Furthermore, it demonstrates to field staff how to resolve issues and escalate them through the Dispute Resolution System if they get stuck. It also includes the Caltrans Partnering Standard Specifications, which require the use of Professional Facilitated Partnering for any job larger than $10M and longer than 100 working days. Mark often shares that “without a requirement by the owner to use partnering, teams do not always fully utilize the tools.”

TrainingSecond, he spoke about the Caltrans training program on the Field Guide. “Once the Field Guide was completed it became clear that we needed to train both Caltrans staff and Contractor field personnel on the expectations of the Partnering Program.” Since 2008, Caltrans and their Industry partners have co-trained more than 4,000 project team members from both Caltrans and our Contractor partners and this has had a profound effect on the program. One important success factor is that each training session is jointly taught by one representative from Industry and one from Caltrans. The trainers use real

Programs Roundtables. In 2012, he again highlighted Caltrans Partnering results at the AASHTO subcommittee on Construction, so that other Departments of Transportation could consider reinvigorating their Partnering efforts. In 2013, Mark addressed the national AGC Marvin M. Black awards ceremony to share Caltrans Partnering successes. Currently, he serves as co-Chair of the IPI Horizontal Construction Committee and spearheads IPI’s Owner Mentor Program, which is an opportunity for facility owners to be matched with peers who can help them take Partnering to the next level for their organization’s projects.

Recently, Partnering Magazine spoke with Mark about the Partnering Program Mark kicked off the discussion by saying “Partnering is a journey, not a destination.” He described Caltrans’ Partnering effort as a commitment to an ongoing process where an agency is trying to improve the culture of project delivery. “We aren’t always perfect” he shared, “but our desire and our goal is to remain committed to Partnering and to always be improving.” As we spoke about the program he shared a few Key Partnering Program Elements that have stood out to him in his 7 years of guiding the program:

The Field GuideFirst, he talked about the development of the Field Guide to Partnering on Caltrans Construction Projects (Field Guide) by the CCPSC. The Field Guide was originally created in 1998 and later updated in 2008, and then again in 2013. The Field Guide, he explained, “defines what Partnering is on Caltrans’ projects and creates a common language for Caltrans staff and our contractor partners. It clearly establishes expectations.” The Field Guide also outlines the behaviors

“Partnering is

a journey, not a

destination.”— Mark Leja, Caltrans Construction Chief

2012 Awards Results24 Awards



Safety: 18 No Lost Time Incidents (LTIs)

Safety: 17 No LTIs Safety: 15 No LTIs

Schedule: 23 on time or early 1,161 days saved

Schedule: 21 on time or early 569 days saved

Schedule: 17 on time or early 248 days saved

Budget: 22 on or under Budget: 15 on or under Budget: 15 on or under

Allotment: $1.4 Billion Allotment: $840 Million Allotment: $713 Million

Savings: $56 Million Savings: $10 Million Savings: $34 Million

Source: Caltrans Partnering (www.dot.ca.gov/hq/construc/partnering.html)

stories from the field to drive home the partnering points. It also happens that many of these trainers have gone on to become some of Caltrans’ most successful Resident Engineers and Area Managers.

Excellence in Partnering Awards and Success in Motion AwardsThird, he spoke about Caltrans’ annual recognition program, the Caltrans Excellence in Partnering Awards. These Awards go to teams that have successfully implemented partnering tools on their projects. Each application is scored based on the team’s partnering processes and the issues they have overcome while delivering the project. The owner and the contractor jointly sign the application, which means they both agree the project was successfully partnered.


PARTNERINGPIONEERS

A unique feature of Caltrans’ recognition program is the Success in Motion Award. Success in Motion Awards are district-level awards for ongoing projects that are using partnering tools. Mark emphasized, “I mentioned how partnering needs to be an ongoing process. The Success in Motion Awards promote this ongoing commitment to partnering excellence. They also create internal competition between the districts, which helps reinforce and encourage partnering locally and at the project level.”

As the Awards program has matured, it has benefited Caltrans in two ways: First, it provides recognition to teams who rarely get acknowledged for outstanding teamwork, emphasizing how they built it as much as what they built. Second, Caltrans has begun taking metrics on the teams. Not surprisingly, the Award-winning projects have had outstanding results! Since 2012 the 64 Award-winning projects have saved more than $100M and 50 have been delivered with no lost time injuries. Additionally, 2,000 days have been saved on Partnered Projects and nearly all have been delivered without claims!

But Awards don’t tell the whole story...

Mark made sure to emphasize that Award-winning projects aren’t the entire story. Instead, they serve as program benchmarks. When the Partnering Program was reinvigorated, the economy was booming and Caltrans had just received a major influx of funds. Since then, the severe recession, according to Mark, “meant that our contractors were bidding extremely aggressively, to ensure that their teams could be working in the field. In our industry many would assume that aggressive bids would translate to increased claims—but our claims numbers have not fluctuated much in the last several years so Partnering must be helping.” It is important to note that Caltrans annual Arbitration totals have also trended downwards since the reinvigoration (see graph below). He went on to share that “thousands of projects have been delivered by our twelve districts on budget and on time

Source: Caltrans Partnering (www.dot.ca.gov/hq/construc/partnering.html)


The Caltrans Construction Partnering Steering Committee (CCPSC)

Who is on it?Caltrans HQ Leaders and SponsorsCaltrans Districts 1-12 Construction DeputiesIndustry Members (VP and above)

AGC: 6 companiesUnited Contractors: 6 companiesSCCA: 3 companies

FHWA

What does it do?Creates Partnering Improvement Proposals (PIP’s) that are signed by the CCPSC Committee Chairs. The Goal is to identify and overcome systemic barriers to parnering on projects and steer the Caltrans Partnering Program.

As one of North America’s largest transportation and infrastructure contractors, our commitment to building the best is demonstrated in the projects we build and the partnerships we develop. Our success is dependent upon our relationships with owners, partners, designers, subcontractors and community members. Flatiron works closely with our partners to develop innovative solutions that benefi t everyone, and we’re proud of what we’ve created together. The more than 20 partnering awards Flatiron has won in the past decade serve as recognition of these relationships and

the resulting successful projects.

To learn more about Flatiron’s innovation in partnering visit

www.fl atironcorp.com

Interstate 880/State Route 92 Interchange Reconstruction

Hayward, CA

2012 IPI Partnered Project of the Year, Diamond Level

in spite of incredible challenges. The vast majority of those jobs do not apply for awards, but Partnering helps our project teams enjoy the work more and successfully deliver some REALLY tough projects.”

A Commitment to Partnering is also about sharing the model with the industry!Mark and his colleagues at Caltrans have invested time spreading the Partnering model as pioneers because they want to share the good news. They have found IPI to be a place where they can share Lessons Learned with colleagues and get feedback from contractors, designers, facilitators, and others who can share best practices of Partnering from their programs.

As Mark says, “every construction program is different, so each owner will have to adapt the Partnering process to their own program to make it work.” He believes that the IPI Owner Mentor Program is an informal way that Owners can talk with each other in a no-pressure way to learn how to make Partnering work (see pg. 10 for more info). The Mentor program will match you up with an owner of similar size, so you can make an “apples-to-apples” comparison. We here at IPI agree with Mark and are really excited about the program. We think it will be a great service to new IPI Members. Remember, “Partnering is a journey, not a destination.” IPI is here to help you to take your Partnering to the next level and help your program succeed.

Thank you Caltrans, the CCPSC and Mark for your leadership and pioneering efforts on behalf of IPI and the Industry!

Construction photos: (page 10) courtesy of Ghilotti Construction Co.; (page 12) courtesy of Flatiron Corporation.


FACILITATOR’S CORNER

We have all been there. “There” meaning having been on a project

that despite good intentions has “gone south.” There are several

truisms about behaviors on these projects.

What are those behaviors? Excessive e-mails; a CYA mentality; everyone

focused exclusively on playing not-to-lose, or risk avoidance; game playing

and posturing; very reactive/crisis mode; complete distrust; unresolved

claims; job stalled or stopped; and, a high level of personal stress.

The other truism is that baring a change in key personnel, things rarely

get better and will continue to devolve. Oh, and one more thing. According

to our surveys, workshops and seminars, we found a minimum of 25% of

construction projects in the U.S. are problem projects.

What can you do apart from “carrying on” or turning it over to the

attorneys? Consider the following 11 ideas:

We found a minimum

of 25% of construction

projects in the U.S. are

problem projects.

Fixing Problem Projects11 Tips for Immediate, Positive and Sustained Results


1. Acknowledge the team, or better yet, have them address

the question themselves about why is it that good people can

start projects with good intentions and the project can still turn

out poorly? This takes defensiveness “off the table.”

2. Set aside all existing contractual disputes and potential claims. Put them in a lock box, as our client, Brian

Cahill, Regional VP of Balfour Beatty, calls it, and either leave it

alone or let senior management deal with it for the time being.

3. Request that the team consider a communication protocol going forward that calls for “no e-mails or letters

except to confirm or memorialize a verbal conversation.” If

you’re just communicating information/data, fine. But if the

communication involves any sort of judgment, assessment,

evaluation (let alone rejection), you will call your partner first.

4. No surprises. A corollary to the above is no surprises—

especially by e-mail. Also, no absolute No’s. Remind them that

there is always more than one way to interpret Specs, engineer

a solution, or evaluate contract compliance.

5. Have the team “reset” their relationships and intentions. But first, give them four choices:

A. Continue to argue about who’s right or wrong and about

why the job is screwed up.

B. Do nothing and let the status quo prevail. (If you ever want

a project team to agree on something, ask them what the

consequences are of continuing to disagree).

C. Fix (or attempt to fix) today’s problems and issues. You

might reference Peter Drucker’s quote, “Results are

obtained by exploiting opportunities, not solving problems.”

D. Reset and create a common set of compelling Project Goals

from this day forward that will equate to an extraordinary

success and would require nothing less than what we

term “World Class” teamwork. In other words, shifting

the ‘game’ from playing not to lose to playing to win, as

a team. We have yet to see a problem project team not

embrace this Choice D.

6. Engage the team in establishing those measurable team goals. A common goal (given the current

circumstances) might be completing the job two months late.

Here’s a useful tip: Have the team focus on what the client/

end user thinks is really, really important today. On the Salinas

Valley Memorial Hospital Rehab Project in Monterey, the

team agreed to get the Operating Rooms up and running three

months early with the understanding that the rest of the job

would be four months late.

7. Quickly get the team in action toward the Project

Goals with collaborative processes backed up by personal

commitments to action. That’s right—names, dates and specific

deliverables. Stop any reference to what happened in the past.

8. Having done the above, ask the team (in small groups) how they will deal with individuals who do not work toward the team goals, are complainers, or

do not follow through on the commitments they’ve just made.

Guess what? They are tough on one another! As one team

member said, we will not let one of our partners fail. This

creates a culture of what I term active mutual support. And,

yes, it may result in a partner being asked to leave the team.

9. Create a conflict resolution ladder that expedites

issue resolution. Emphasize to them that even with the ‘reset’

there will still be conflicts, issues and differences of opinion.

10. Mandate a review activity within 30 to (a maximum of) 60 days. In our experience, a team will know

in less than 2-3 weeks if the ‘reset’ is working. Consider an

interim survey.

11. Make it very clear to senior management that this

process will need to be one of their top 2-3 priorities for the

next 30 days and, without their commitment, the team and

project is ‘dead in the water.’

Does the above work? The worse the project at the outset,

the easier it is to reset. Why? As one contractor told me A

‘business-as-usual’ job is painful but tolerable but a truly

‘combative’ job is utter misery for everyone.

If executed well by the facilitator, and with senior management

commitment, active workshop presence and scheduled review

sessions, we experience a 90%+ success rate.

Jim Eisenhart, MIPI President, Ventura Consulting Group

Jim Eisenhart is President of the Ventura

Consulting Group in Ventura, CA and Houston,

TX. He and his firm specialize in large, complex

projects and programs and fixing problem

projects. He is the author of the book “Raising

the Bar on Construction Project Teamwork: From Good to World

Class,” Force10 Press 2011.


Partnering. The evidence

below shows that partnered

projects have fewer claims

than non-partnered projects

and when there is a claim,

the amount of the claim

is significantly lower. It

used to be unheard of

that Mega Projects could

come in with zero claims,

yet the evidence below

shows that this is being

achieved on projects where

Collaborative Partnering has

been implemented. Safety

is improved when people

communicate well, work

together and look out for

one another. This is another

hallmark of Collaborative

Partnering as the evidence

below shows.

There is more to learn

and more to study,

but it does seem that

Collaborative Partnering

provides a great ROI!

The ROI of Partnering

Your Project

“SFO is able to realize a significant

reduced cost per square foot in

the range of 20-30% as compared to other aviation projects around

the country. This is the result of

our Partnering!” — Geoff Neumayr, SFO Deputy

Director

We often hear

that project

teams want to

know what’s possible with

Collaborative Partnering.

What can your teams hope

to achieve if they really

focus on making partnering

work on their projects?

Over the years evidence

has grown on the benefits

of Collaborative Partnering.

The 1996 CII Benchmarking

Study (identified in red

below) identified the

following areas where

partnering provides

significant improvements.

Over the years several

other studies and programs

have continued to validate

what the 1999 Construction

Industry Institute’s (CII)

The Partnering Process –

Its Benefits, Implementation

and Measurement (CII

Benchmarking) study

found. We hope that this

information will help you

inspire your project teams to

learn how to achieve similar

or even better results.

Savings on the overall

project cost and schedule

are evident in the results

shown below. A cost savings

of 10% was the original CII

benchmark. Others have

achieved similar savings

and some have achieved

a significant amount

more. Geoff Neumayr,

Deputy Director of Design

and Construction at San

Francisco International

Airport said that: “SFO is

able to realize a significant

reduced cost per square foot

in the range of 20%-30% as

compared to other aviation

projects around the country.

This is possible because the

dollars are utilized on scope

rather than on expensive

claims mitigation measures.

In addition money is

saved because projects are

completed quickly realizing

significant savings in

overhead cost attributable

to reduced time. This is the

result of our Partnering!”

Fewer claims and

improved safety are also

benchmarks of Collaborative

PARTNERING IN THE

TRENCHES

Sue Dyer, MBA, MIPI, MDRF

Founder and CEO, International Partnering Institute


For career opportunities and/or more information, please visit

pbwor ld .com

Dream It!We’ve Got You Covered

The challenges facing

today’s airports are endless,

yet so are the opportunities.

Parsons Brinckerhoff

offers a full range of

services to partner with

airport owners to

envision the future …

and then create it.

According to the 2013 and 2014 IPI Project Award

Applicants, for each $1 spent on partnering, the project saved $96. So, If you spend

$30K on your partnering, your would save $2,880,000!

Continued on next page


The ROI of Partnering Your Project (cont.)

PARTNERING IN THE

TRENCHES

STUDIES/PROGRAM DATA used in this Article1. CII: Partnering – Its Benefits, Implementation and Measurement,

CII RR102-11, 1996 (CII Benchmarking/Partnering)2. Gransberg, D. et al., Quantitative Analysis of Partnered Project

Performance, JCEPM, 1999 (TxDOT Partnering Study)3. Anderson, L. and Polkinghorn, B. Efficacy of Partnering on the

Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, ASCE, 2011 (Woodrow Wilson Partnering Study)

4. SFO Results ($800M built – Total Program $5B), 2014 (SFO: Terminal Program)

5. Caltrans Excellence in Partnering Award Winners stats (2012 – 2014) and Caltrans Partnering Program http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/construc/partnering/ (Caltrans Partnered Projects)

6. International Partnering Institute: Partnered Projects of the Year, 2013-2014

7. Utah Transit Authority: 2015 Frontlines Program Results (UTA Frontlines 2015)

8. Maryland State Highway Administration: Partnering Program, 2000-2010

9. Grajeck, k. et. al., Partnered Project Performance in Texas DOT, Journal on Infrastructure Systems: 2000 (Grajek TxDOT study)

10. Ohio DOT Partnering Program Status Report, 2010 (Ohio DOT)

The Owners’ Partnering Summit

Owners committed to implementing a Collaborative Partnering Program, will want to have some kind of “kick-off” that shares their vision and commitment to working together collaboratively on their construction projects. That is exactly what the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) did very well in late February when Mayor Ed Lee (shown in photo), along with the six San Francisco Departments with large construction programs, invited both contractor leaders and their own project leaders to a Partnering Summit.

Mayor Ed Lee kicked off the Partnering Summit that brought together about 400 contractors, designers, CM’s and City personnel. Mayor Lee emphasized how partnering and innovative building techniques will help the City deliver $25 billion of capital investment over the next 10 years and set Collaborative Partnering as a requirement for all CCSF projects. In doing this, the CCSF became the first city in the United States to adopt a city-wide partnering program.

The half-day summit was packed with informative speakers and valuable discussions on Partnering. The keynote was delivered by IPI BOA Member Geoff Neumayr (SFO), who presented “A Better Way Through Partnering,” which focused on SFO’s cutting edge Partnering program and how Partnering is not only a method for resolving issues and delivering project Excellence, it is also a leadership program.

Congratulations City and County of San Francisco! Maybe a Partnering Summit would be a great tool for your partnering program kick-off.

Making SFO’sPartnering Program FlyFor almost two decades OrgMetrics has been providing Partnering Services for San Francisco International Airport’srenowned Partnering Program

Partnering Program Development/Facilitation • Project Partnering Facilitation • Strategic Partnering Facilitation • Facilitated Dispute Resolution • Project Scorecards

www.orgmet.com | (925) 449-8300

partnering magazine may/june 2014

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