Partnering the Design-Build Project
Fast Track Project?

"Design-build" projects create both challenges and opportunities for true team development and project excellence.

What are the unique opportunities that present themselves with a design-build project?

The design-build delivery process facilitates project teamwork and collaboration. The Ventura Consulting Group's partnering process enables workshop participants to realize extraordinary project results as a team in terms of project schedule, cost, quality, safety, and construction impact.

How can partnering help realize these opportunities?

The design-build delivery process while it facilitates teamwork, does not, by itself, ensure teamwork or project excellence. This, in our experience, requires common goals and an action plan backed up by specific, personal commitments. More precisely, VCG's partnering workshops can help the project owner, construction manager, design-build team, and third parties define common partnership goals and an action plan as a team.

How does VCG's process bring forth extraordinary project results?

We make a very fundamental assumption which is that the vast majority of project participants want to be part of an extraordinarily successful project with one caveat or qualification. That being, as long as doing so does not require them to work longer, harder or more expensively. Our workshop process enables them to achieve breakthrough results by working as a true high performance team.

What are the challenges of design-build and how can partnering help?

With the relative newness of design-build, we often see individuals and organizations who are uncertain about their roles and responsibilities on a design-build project. Partnering can help them define their roles in a constructive, collaborative way with the other members of the project team for overall project success.

Additionally, there are a couple of what we call 'rub' points in design-build that partnering can help clarify. One of these is the design review and quality assurance process. How does the owner ensure that they are getting a design and quality that meets, or even exceeds, their expectations? Partnering enables a project team to work collaboratively to accomplish this.

Another rub point is that of managing scope changes. Ventura Consulting Group's partnering process can enable the project team to expedite scope changes while minimizing budget impact.

How is your design-build partnering process different from design, bid, build partnering?

On design-build projects we often initiate the partnering process with a workshop designed to establish overall project goals and an action plan for the design phase. As the design phase nears completion, an additional workshop is held to involve construction phase players and to develop an action plan for the construction phase.

How is VCG's unique 'project specific' partnering process different from other approaches?

We assume that most partnering participants have been through partnering or team building before. Consequently, we do not employ games, psychological stuff or lectures. Our approach is project specific and facilitative and brings forth the creativity and resourcefulness of workshop participants.

How do you monitor and sustain team performance?

Review workshops are typically held on a quarterly frequency to initiate new players; review performance to goals; and, distill lessons learned. Additionally, we offer on-line surveying and feedback to monitor the partnering process.

What about fast track scheduling?

About 65% of the design-build projects we facilitate define and commit to a partnership goal that significantly expedites project schedule. In our experience, the biggest opportunity for expediting a project schedule comes from having the entire project team genuinely committed to a common goal and with an explicit action plan to achieve that goal by working collaboratively.

How do you manage conflict on a design-build project?

Design-build is not and never will be a panacea. Even in your best design-build projects there will be disputes and conflicts. It's important for the partnership to have an explicit and clearly understood conflict resolution process to elevate, isolate and expedite project disputes.

Can you give me a specific example?

The BART-San Francisco Airport Extension was, for several years, the largest design-build project in the country. VCG was involved for over five years from project inception to acceptance in facilitating over 40 partnering workshops on various facets of the project. This included specific workshops on schedule; safety; railroad interface; systems implementation and project close out.

Another land mark VCG design-build project has been the Pentagon renovation program. The Ventura Consulting Group has facilitated partnering on two projects on this 1.5bn program.

"The Ventura Consulting Group has been a valuable resource for our project team from its inception, and has played a significant role in enabling our partnership to achieve successful project results. Our goals are better understood by all stakeholders and our communication is clearer because of Ventura's efforts".

– Jim Van Epps, Executive Director West Side Extension, Bay Area Rapid Transit District

"The Ventura Consulting Group has consistently assisted us to develop high performance teams on our design-build projects. These have produced true, win-win benefits for both our organization and our client's."

– Wayne Lindholm, Vice President, Hensel Phelps Construction