IQ Spring 2012: The Conference Issue - (Page 23)

Cells are placed during the construction of the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center. The reason: an energized approach to the concept of partnering. Traditionally, partnering has been defined as a formal, organized method of establishing trust and open communications among the stakeholders on a project to facilitate the teamwork and cooperation necessary to complete a project on budget and on time. The Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) had employed partnering consultants to establish these kinds of arrangements on projects in the past. Sometimes it worked well; sometimes it was challenging. Given the aggressive goals of the Coyote Ridge project, partnering had to be successful. “Partnering often doesn’t happen until communications start to break down on a project,” says Jack Olson, the DOC project director of capital programs at the time. “By then it is too late.” Frakes and Olson were determined to create processes upfront that would lead the project to success. The duo led the partnering effort at Coyote Ridge. estaBLIshINg a MINdset for teaMWork Olson didn’t wait for problems. In his first meeting with the architect and construction manager, Olson told them that partnering would be a critical part of the project, pointing out that it would be a mistake to wait for problems to emerge and then establish a working relationship. Partnering became an integral part of the selection process. “When I hired my staff for the project, my No. 1 priority was to find team players,” he says. Olson believes that teamwork grows through open communications, which allow people to get to know each other, eventually trusting that each has the best interests of the project in mind. When a member of the newly formed team ticked off several reasons that a certain task couldn’t be accomplished, Olson had him replaced. “The only acceptable response to any problem is ‘How can we fix it?’” he says. The architectural firm, Integrus Architecture (where I am president), and the Hunt/Lydig dbia.org photo courtesy of Integrus architecture spring//2012 23 http://www.dbia.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IQ Spring 2012: The Conference Issue

IQ Spring 2012: The Conference Issue