Partnering

An Introduction to Partnering

Prior to the late 1980s, the U.S. construction industry had become so adversarial it was threatening competitiveness. Stakeholder organizations were losing time and money, as they jockeyed against one another in the management of large engineering projects. Defensive posturing, case-building, claims development, litigating: The culture had become very challenging.

Then, in 1987, an industry association-the Construction Industry Institute (CII)-established a task force to begin structuring a culture based on mutual trust, shared goals, open communication, and working with fellow companies to open doors to opportunity-in other words, partnering. The task force’s findings were summarized in a booklet, In Search of Partnering Excellence, which is still available from the CII. It set down the basic precepts and methods of partnering.

Since then, partnering has improved the very culture of the construction industry itself. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering Command adopted partnering for military construction projects; the benefits were so dramatic, the organizations established partnering as their preferred way of conducting business, and the Society of Military Engineers became a leading proponent of the principle.

Contractors benefited, and industry associations such as the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) became partnering advocates. Designers of heavy engineering projects benefited, too, and their industry associations-the American Institute of Architects, American Consulting Engineers Council, and National Society of Professional Engineers-provided buy-in, championed partnering, and produced training materials for their members.

Perhaps the best evidence of partnering’s bottom-line success in the construction segment is the Design Professional Insurance Companies’ standing offer to pay for partnering facilitation services on projects for which they are insuring the design team.

Construction Industry Institute^TM

http://construction-institute.org/

What is Construction Partnering?

The Construction Industry Institute defines partnering as “a concept that focuses on making the goals of the owner, contractor, designer and supplier better understood and easier to manage. Partnering outlines mutually attainable goals, satisfies long-term needs and assigns risk among all the parties involved.”

Partnering is:

Designed to obtain creative cooperation and commitment by the team members (stakeholders) to avoid adversarial confrontation during the life of the project
A process structured to provide all the participants with a “win-win“ approach to problem resolution
Voluntary, and not a replacement for contractual agreements; rather, it enables agreements to be executed successfully, since they exist in a climate of trust, respect, and open communication, with mutually agreed-on systems in place

Why is it important?

Effective partnering reduces delays, avoids misunderstandings, creates positive relationships, and encourages people to achieve common goals
It removes system bottlenecks that can derail a project, and it reduces risk of litigation, since people rarely sue parties they like and respect

How does it work?

Partnering begins before construction starts.

The first session is a workshop to set common goals, agreement about standards, communication strategies, dispute resolution practices, and problem-solving mechanisms. During this session, team members sign a partnering agreement, or charter, that describes how they will work together.
Throughout the life of the contract, partnering meetings occur at regular intervals to ensure that the original agreement continues to guide behavior.
Other forms of communication and forums for problem-solving, designed at the initial session, are implemented during the contract period.
Wrap-up and celebration occur when the job is completed on time and the parties involved can walk away amiably having worked together towards successful completion of a common goal!

Demonstrated Partnering Success

Increasingly, the government is restructuring its operations and focusing on core expertise. It seeks an experienced partner that takes responsibility for successfully controlling the construction process. At Nova, we work extremely hard to meet the government’s expectations by ensuring that our projects function flawlessly and are completed ahead of schedule. We have found that partnering facilitates this effort.

To create collaborative, mutually beneficial working relationships with customers, Nova incorporates a rigorous partnering process into all projects. Initially, the project team (including the owner), the design team, and Nova establish open communication, candor, and collaboration by developing a list of achievable project goals. Once these partnering principles are implemented, the team regularly evaluates them to ensure that good-faith commitments made during the workshop become consistent realities as the contract is completed.

We have found partnering to be indispensable on our projects and have realized a return in cost and time savings many times over what we have invested in the partnering process.

In 1994 and again in 2007, Nova received the Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) for the Oakland Wharf and Drydock 6 Bremerton projects. The award identifies excellence in partnering, celebrating the success of stakeholders in teambuilding, improving communication and delivering superior project quality.