An Introduction to Partnering

The construction industry became so adversarial that the U.S. competitiveness was threatened. Time and money were being lost by the stakeholder organizations pulling against one another in the management of large engineering projects - wasted in defensive posturing, case building, developing claims and litigating. The culture had become adversarial.

In 1987, an industry association, the Construction Industry Institute (CII), took the lead by establishing a task force to search out and structure a culture based on mutual trust, shared goals, open communications, and building on one another to open the door to opportunities - Partnering. The Task Force's findings were summarized in booklet form, In Search of Partnering Excellence, which is available from the Construction Industry Institute. This work set down the basic precepts and methods of partnering.

Partnering has improved the very culture of the construction industry. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command tried partnering for their military construction projects. The successes of those projects were so dramatic that they established partnering as their preferred way of conducting business with one result being that the Society of Military Engineers became a leading partnering proponent.

Contractors benefited and their industry associations, e.g., the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), became advocates. Likewise, the designers of heavy engineering projects benefited and their industry associations, the American Institute of Architects, American Consulting Engineers Council, and National Society of Professional Engineers, have "bought in," become advocates, and provided training materials for their members.

Effective partnering reduces delays, avoids misunderstandings and creates positive relationships and encourages people to achieve common goals.

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

Construction Industry InstituteTM
http://construction-institute.org

What is Construction Partnering?

According to the Construction Industry Institute, the definition of partnering is "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 does not replace contractual agreements. Rather, it enables these agreements to be executed successfully because the trust, respect, open communications and appropriate systems are in place and agreed to by all.

Why is it important?

  • Effective partnering reduces delays, avoids misunderstandings and creates positive relationships and encourages people to achieve common goals.
  • It removes system bottlenecks that can derail a project. And it removes the inclination to sue. People rarely sue people they like and respect.

How does it work?

Partnering begins before construction starts.
  1. The first session is a workshop to set common goals, agree to standards, communications strategies, dispute resolution practices and problem-solving mechanisms. During this session, team members sign a partnering agreement or charter that reflects how they will work together.
  2. Throughout the life of the contract, there are partnering meetings at regular intervals to ensure that the agreement continues to guide behavior.
  3. Other forms of communication and forums for problem solving, designed at the initial session, are implemented during the contract period.
  4. Wrap-up and celebration occurs when the job is completed on time and successfully.

Demonstrated Partnering Success

To date, Nova has formally partnered with the DoD on more than 30 federal government projects for over $500 million in construction work.

Increasingly, the government is restructuring their operations and focusing on core expertise. They seek an experienced partner that takes major responsibility in successfully controlling the construction process. Nova ensures that our projects function flawlessly and are completed ahead of schedule.

To create collaborative, mutually beneficial working relationships with our customers, Nova has developed a rigorous partnering process that is incorporated into all of our projects. Initially, the project team including the owner, design team and Nova establishes open communication, candor, and collaboration by developing a list of achievable goals for the project.

Once these Partnering principles are implemented, they are regularly evaluated by the team to ensure that the good faith commitments made become a consistent reality as the contract is completed.