Section 690–Partnering

690.1Description---The purpose of this specification is to outline a structured process designed to develop a collaborative environment for the project so that communication, coordination, and cooperation are the norm. This Collaborative Partnering approach will aid issue resolution and will lessen impacts on project budget, schedule and quality.

The Department works in a collaborative and cooperative manner with all project stakeholders including the Contractor or Design/Builder (Contractor), all subcontractors, project designers; material suppliers, specialty consultants, vendors, utility owners, representatives of other agencies, and the community at large. Partnering is the Department’s way of doing business. In executing the contract containing this specification, each stakeholder agrees to actively and enthusiasticallyparticipate in the Collaborative Partnering process defined here. The Contractoragrees to encourage that all sub-contractors, material suppliers and other entities within its contractual control will participate in the Partnering process as required or necessary. The Contractorwill make this a specific contractual condition for all sub-contractors, material suppliers, and other entities working on this project. The designer for this project and any other consultants engaged in this project have agreed to participate in the Partnering process as defined here.

Formal Collaborative Partnering kick-off workshop for the project will startwithin thirty days of the Notice to Proceed and should not be held any later than 10 days after work has started on the project.

The kick-off workshop will include these elements:

  1. A mutually agreed, Professional Partnering Facilitator or Consultant
  2. A “Partnering Charter”, which includes the joint development of goals
  3. A periodic, joint evaluation process (Scorecard)
  4. Executive Level, Core Team, and Stakeholder Partnering

5. A Partnering Follow-up Plan to resolve potential problems at the lowest possible level

6.A Partnering Training Plan, when applicable

Participation in the formal Partnering process defined here will not void any contract part. All rights and remedies defined by the final contract will be preserved.

Definitions are as follows:

  • Project Team. The group of people and organizations who are executing a construction project and who have influence on the outcome. The Project Team is comprised of the Department, the Department’s Consultants, the Contractor, the Designer, the sub-contractor(s), utility ownersother stakeholders including Government agencies, tenants, materials suppliers, concessionaires, and third parties affected by the construction project.
  • Partnering. An effort by the Project Team to develop joint goals and to establish a cooperative atmosphere regarding execution of the construction project, regardless of delivery method.
  • Project Team Leaders. Project Managers from both the Department and Contractor who are accountable for the day-to-day operations of the project and are responsible for leading the Partnering effort. They will also oversee coordinating Partnering meeting times, selecting meeting locations, and other logistics.

690.2 MATERIAL– When required, provide a Professional Partnering Facilitatoror Consultant and partnering workshop location. Also, furnish adequate material for presentations, evaluations, and workshops.

690.3 CONSTRUCTION–

(a)Kick-off Partnering Workshop.The Project Team Leaders will meet to discuss and prepare for the partnering workshop. The criteria and deadlines for holding this meeting are listed above in Section 690.1. The meeting will involve selecting potential dates and locations for the workshop and a facilitator if desired. Once these are selected, a list of attendees will be developed, making sure that the session date(s) work for the key participants. The Project Team Leaders will also discuss their objectives for the partnering the project – what does each hope to accomplish? What issues were identified on the pre-construction questionnaire? This information should be used for designing the session to meet the objectives. The project team leaders will also prepare presentations. At a minimum, they will present an overview of the project, decide which portions of the workshop they would like to facilitate, have a list of potential/actual project issues, and develop a mission statement for the project.

(b)Initial Partnering Meeting.Select a facilitation type for the initial partnering meeting. Use CS-9, Project Facilitation Type Scorecard, to determine what recommended facilitation type is best for the project. The recommended facilitation type may be moved up or down one facilitation level if agreed upon by both the Department and the Contractor. At a minimum, the Partnering Workshop agenda should be developed using the following points of interest:

  • Discuss and define the six partnering values for the team
  • Establish project specific goals and potential action items to accomplish the goals
  • Exchange of organizational charts representing the project personnel
  • Develop a project specific organizational/communication plan
  • Discuss roles and responsibilities as necessary
  • Discuss the team’s commitment to resolve claims at the lowest possible level
  • Develop the Escalation Plan for escalating unresolved issues for resolution (CS-8)
  • Identify regular scheduled meetings to promote communications
  • Discuss the traffic maintenance process for the project
  • Identify potential Value Engineering Proposals
  • Potential Risk and Mitigation Strategies (“Rocks in the Road”)

The three facilitation types are as follows:

1. Internal Facilitation(5-13 Risk Score Range)–Shall be co-facilitated by the Department Manager and the Contractor’s Project manager. At the pre-construction meeting, these individuals shall address the partnering practices and values that apply to all projects and are integral to the success of the project.

  1. Semi-Formal Facilitation(14-27 Risk Score Range) – The Department Manager and Contractor Project Manager shall meet to discuss and prepare for the partnering workshop. They will determine the dates, locations, required attendees, and a professional, 3rd partyfacilitator (optional) for the partnering workshop. For the workshop, they will also be responsible for preparing presentations, giving an overview of the project, decide which portions of the workshop they would like to facilitate, have a list of potential/actual project issues, and may develop a mission statement for the project. Shall have at a minimum a ½ day for a facilitated partnering workshop.
  1. Formal Facilitation(28-35 Risk Score Range)– The Department Manager and Contractor Project Manager shall meet to discuss and prepare for the partnering workshop. They will determine the dates, locations, required attendees, and a professional facilitator (required) for the partnering workshop. They will be responsible for preparing presentations, giving an overview of the project, decide which portions of the workshop they would like to facilitate, have a list of potential/actual project issues, and develop a mission statement. This information shall be reviewed with the 3rd party facilitator so that they can assist in developing an overall agenda for the workshop. Shall have at a minimum one full day for a professional facilitated partnering workshop.

(c)Partnering Charter/Agreement. At the end of the partnering workshop, the participants sign a partnering charter (agreement). This agreement includes all the principles and commitments made during the partnering session, the project goals and the identified values for the team, the partnering follow-up plan, and the partnering dispute resolution plan. The goals of the Partnering Charter/Agreement are:

  1. On Time
  2. On Budget
  3. Safely
  4. Quality

(d)Facilitator/Partnering Session Evaluation. At the end of the partnering workshop, the participants will fill out an evaluation form for the facilitator and partnering workshop. Evaluations will be submitted to the Engineer for Construction.

(e)Partnering Meetings.A follow-up partnering plan should be created at the initial partnering workshop. At a minimum, hold joint partnering meetings with the Project Team at all milestones, when there is a significant change of personnel on the project, lingering unresolved issues, the project enters a new phase of work, and at the beginning of each season for multi-year projects. For internally facilitated projects, joint partnering meetings can be held on an as needed basis. These meetings should discuss the schedule and how the team is going to accomplish it, unresolved or outstanding issues, new issues which need resolution, and any action items and deadlines.

(f)Partnering Evaluations.Department, Contractor, major subcontractors, and major stakeholders will participate in monthly partnering evaluation surveys to measure progress on mutual goals and short-term key issues as they arise. The partnering evaluations will be collected by the Facilitator and the results will be shared with the project team. The results will be presented in a graphical format so trends can be easily identified. Negative responses in any survey should be identified quickly by the Project Manager so that they can be investigated and corrective action can occur.

  1. Facilitator evaluations. Facilitator evaluations must be completed by the Department, Contractor, and major stakeholders at the initial partnering workshop and at the project close-out partnering workshop. The Department Representative will provide the evaluation forms to the project team and collect the results. The evaluation results will be made available upon request.

(g)Project Close-out Partnering Workshops. Conduct a project close-out workshop discuss the projects successes and challenges. Document the lessons learned as a condition of final project acceptance.

(h)Partnering Dispute Resolution Plan.Complete Form CS-8 (Issue Escalation Matrix) as required in Section 108.03(a). Use Form CS-8 to escalate and resolve issues at the appropriate hierarchy level. It is the Department’s expectation that issues not effectively settled at the field level will elevate in accordance with the Issue Escalation Matrix. The goal is to maintain project momentum while a decision is reached by the next tier of project management, who can rely on a broader project perspective.

690.4MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT---Lump Sum

(a)Facilitation Costs. The Department agrees to reimburse 100% of the invoice costs, up to $10,000for the following:

  • Facilitator workshop and session costs.
  • Monthly partnering evaluation survey service cost.
  • Cost for partnering skills development trainer and training site cost.
  • Payment amount will be based on invoice prices without any markup costs.