PURPOSE
The purpose of this procedure is to define the process and responsibilities for partnering. Partnering in construction management is intended to establish and promote an environment of cooperation between the Contractor and the Construction Management (CM) Team. Partnering in no way diminishes the responsibilities of the parties under the terms of the contract. It is Bureau of Engineering’s (BOE) policy to partner with its Contractors, Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA), and the Owner’s Representatives on each construction project. This policy is based on years of experience that strongly supports the idea that, when averaged over a statistically significant number of projects, partnering results in the lowest overall cost of project delivery.
REFERENCES
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Project Manager (PM): The PM is responsible for deciding the appropriate approach to partnering based on project size, complexity and other factors. If formal partnering sessions are to be used for the project, the PM should verify that a fixed cash allowance for “Opportunity to Partner” is included in the Schedule of Work and Prices. The PM is also responsible for completing, distributing and presenting the Issue Resolution Ladder during the pre-construction meeting. The PM will participate in partnering meetings along with BOE upper management.
Construction Manager (CM): The CM is responsible for administering the partnering process. Together with the Contractor and Partnering Facilitator, the CM is responsible for arranging all necessary meetings and follow-up sessions and reporting progress through the Bureau’s communication channels. The CM is responsible to assure that partnering occurs on a day-to-day basis on the construction site and to take remedial action should adversarial relationships start to develop.
Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA): BCA staff is responsible for participating in the partnering process. The Lead Inspector (LI) is responsible for assuring that partnering occurs on a day-to-day basis on the construction site and to take remedial action should adversarial relationships start to develop.
Owner/Client: The Owner/Client is responsible for participating in the partnering process. The Owner/Client Representative is responsible for assuring that partnering occurs on a day-to-day basis on the construction site and to take remedial action should adversarial relationships start to develop.
Contractor: The Contractor is responsible for participating in the process and assisting the CM in making necessary arrangements. The Contractor’s Project Manager/Superintendent is responsible for assuring that partnering occurs on a day-to- day basis on the construction site and to take remedial action should adversarial relationships start to develop. If a Partnering Facilitator is used, it is customary practice for both the CM and Contractor to approve the particular facilitator.
Partnering Facilitator: A Partnering Facilitator may be useful to the process, particularly on larger or more complex projects. A construction value greater than $10 million has been suggested as the threshold limit, beyond which, the services of a facilitator should be strongly considered. The Facilitator’s role is to plan the meeting sessions, assist the project team to develop project goals, help the project team monitor progress on achieving the goals and assist in problem and issue resolution. While a Facilitator may assist the project team in resolving a dispute, it is important to understand that the Facilitator is not an arbitrator or mediator of disputes between the City and Contractor. The Facilitator may be third party company that specializes in facilitating partnering or a mutually selected third party.
PROCEDURE
When adopting a partnering approach, all of the project delivery parties agree from the beginning of the process (either in the design or construction phase) to a formal structure to focus on creative cooperation and teamwork in order to avoid adversarial confrontation. Working relationships are carefully and deliberately built based on mutual respect, trust, and integrity. The partnering approach is based upon the idea that partnering can provide the basis for participants to re-orient themselves towards a "win-win" approach to problem solving and can foster synergistic teamwork.
Partnering does not replace or substitute the contract plans and specifications. Instead, partnering is a business plan developed by the project partners, including BOE, the Contractor, BCA, and the Owner/Client, that defines the cooperative approach to be used in administering the contract plans and specifications. Mutual goals are defined, and all partners agree to work cooperatively so that the project goals can be achieved.
Partnering establishes the attitude that if one partner has a problem, then the project has a problem. If the project has a problem, then all of the partners share that problem and must work to resolve it. No partner shares a problem alone.
All partners commit to treating each member of the project team in a professional, fair, and equitable manner. Fairness and equity must guide the decisions made by the project partners. Construction law can be very complicated in some situations. However, the basic principles of construction law rest on fairness and equity. If each partner agrees to act by those principals, claims will reduce substantially.
One of the first steps in partnering is to identify appropriate contact personnel within each organization to form an “Issue Resolution Ladder” (Attachment 15.2-2 sample and Attachment 15.2-3 blank form). The highest level is the executive level. For the Contractor this is usually the President, Vice President, or Director of Regional Operations. For BOE this may be the Deputy City Engineer, Division Engineer, or senior CM manager depending on the organization and the size of the project. For BCA, it is a comparable level to that used by BOE. The Owner/Client may or may not have a similar level to that used by BOE and BCA. The next level down is termed the sponsor level. For the Contractor, this is usually the person reporting directly to the executive manager. For BOE and BCA, it is usually the organization level just below the executive level. The last level is called the project level, and it is at this level that most of the partnering must take place. It would include the Contractor’s project manager, BOE’s CM, BCA’s LI, and the Owner/Client Representative.
This process helps establish the chain of command in each organization. Each level of the organization is expected to work cooperatively to resolve issues. However, if issues cannot be resolved in a timely manner or are beyond the authority granted that level, then the issue must be elevated to the next level. The party elevating the issue must clearly state as such to his/her counterpart, this way there is no confusion as to who is handling the item.
BOE’s experiences with partnering have almost always been positive. However, there were past partnering attempts that were not successful in avoiding litigation. The partnering seemed to fail because it did not happen on a day-to-day basis at the project level. The partners failed to “walk the talk.” In other words, commitments may have been made at the executive level in formal partnering meetings, but the actions in the field did not follow through on the commitments. Additionally, there appeared to be little involvement at the sponsor and executive level after the initial partnering meeting. The lesson here is that each respective organization must commit to the process, must stay involved with the process, and there must be clear communication protocols if the partnering attitude begins to unravel at any point by any partner. Regular meetings at the executive and sponsor level are highly encouraged, particularly on large and/or complex projects.
A Partnering Facilitator can help formulate project goals, assist the team members in establishing a cooperative attitude, and monitor the partner’s success in achieving the goals. Use of a Partnering Facilitator should be considered on all large and/or complex projects and a construction value of $10 million has been suggested as a guideline. There is a common impression that partnering only occurs when a Partnering Facilitator is used on the project. This is incorrect. The BOE business plan is to partner on all construction projects, regardless of whether a Partnering Facilitator is used or not. The executive, sponsor, and project levels should be identified on every project, and they should meet to develop a working relationship based on fairness, equity, mutual trust and mutual respect.
A Partnering Facilitator, the Program Manager, the PM or the CM may lead a formal or informal session at the beginning of construction. For very large projects, the formal session may last 1 to 2 days and may be held at a local hotel or other conference facilities. This is designed to assure that all partners are fully committed to the session and not distracted by the normal rush of business. The initial session should involve all the key players, including the General Contractor, subcontractors and professional consultants meeting together as the starting point for the partnering process. During the partnering workshop, a Joint Mission Statement of project goals and objectives is developed to formalize the shared objectives, teamwork, and communication principles necessary to deliver a safe, quality project on time and within budget. Based on the Joint Mission Statement, a “Project Charter” (Attachment 15.2-4) is created which sets forth methods to achieve the mutually agreed project goals and objectives. Once the partnering session is completed, the project level staff is given the responsibility to keep the partnering on track and champion the process through to the successful completion of the project. Partnering conferences are held periodically throughout the progress of the project to evaluate the success of the project as established by the Joint Mission Statement, and to review and address potential problems and areas requiring improvement.
While partnering may not resolve all the problems encountered in the construction process, it does create a framework for conflict resolution, improved communications, reduced litigation and cost containment on potential overruns. Unlike construction documents and contracts found in the Project Delivery Manual, partnering agreements are not legally binding. Nothing in the partnering process should conflict with or replace the terms of the construction contract.
Partnering costs such as Partnering Facilitator fees and the cost of renting a facility to hold the partnering session(s), will be paid from the fixed cash allowance specifically allocated for partnering. Partnering costs can range from $5,000 to $10,000 for each formal session, depending on the caliber of the Partnering Facilitator and the location of the conference facilities. It is recommended that all projects with a construction value of $10 million or greater include General Requirements, Section 01353 “Opportunity to Partner”, and the associated fixed cash allowance in the Schedule of Work and Prices of the Bid Proposal to facilitate payment.
RELATED PROCEDURES
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