Subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers play an increasingly important role in
the project delivery process. It is not uncommon for a very large percentage of
a project to be undertaken by subcontractors. In some cases, it may amount to
virtually 100 percent of the project.
So, rather than managing their workforce, construction managers or general
contractors have to oversee and influence the management processes employed by
their subcontractors to ensure that the project is delivered on time, within
budget, and at the prescribed level of quality established in the
specifications for the completed project, as well as at the level of quality
expected by the owner.
This requires the selection of "quality-minded" subcontractors.
These subcontractors must have a comprehensive quality management process and a
dedicated and knowledgeable field staff, as well as a robust organizational
oversight practice, so as to deliver results at the expected level. The
contractor must actively engage in a partnering relationship with their
subcontractors to ensure performance at the prescribed and expected level.
The partners must have a clear understanding of the expected project quality
standards, which will be used to control the work put in place by field
operations, and have an effective and cooperative management process to ensure
that the level of quality is achieved with minimal interruptions, conflict,
and/or rework.
The Quality Process
The quality process was first implemented in manufacturing. It later was
adopted by some organizations in the service industry, and then it started to
make inroads into the construction field. It is a proven fact that, to ensure
quality in their products, manufacturers have established a symbiotic
relationship with their vendors and suppliers. Contractors lag behind
manufacturing in effectively partnering with their subcontractors to ensure
that their work meets the necessary quality standards of the project. This
partnering relationship ensures that everyone in the supply chain produces
products that meet or exceed the established quality expectations.
It is of note that many contractors are engaging in some form of partnering
with owners but fail to utilize the same practices with their subcontractors.
The partnering practice not only ensures that quality standards are met but
improves the overall working relationship of all the organizations across the
supply chain.
Manufacturing usually is a repetitive process, where the manufacturer
produces a limited number of products in large quantities. Also, the work is
generally performed by the same people working in the same location under
somewhat controlled circumstances. Construction is much more challenging as
every project is unique in design, size, location, and eventual use, and more
importantly, the workforce tends to be generally far less stable. Construction
is also subject to the vagaries of weather, site conditions, and the ability of
organizations along the value stream to deliver on their promises, as well as
the competence of a large number of people involved, which results in greater
complexity, variability, and uncertainty.
The general contractor or construction manager must ensure that every
subcontractor has a quality control program as well as a robust process to
ensure that quality is effectively being delivered as work is being put in
place. Since projects tend to be more or less unique, the subcontractor's
quality program must be compatible with the project requirements as well as
needs. This may require an evaluation of each company's programs and
processes, and possibly the need to devise a project-specific quality
management program with a compatible management process.
Subcontracting
Typically, in construction, a large part of the project is built by
subcontractors under contract to the general contractor (GC) or construction
manager (CM). By virtue of the contract, the subcontractor has sole control of
its means and methods. Therefore, to ensure that the quality of the work
installed is in line with the project quality expectations, the subcontractor
must have an effective quality management program and robust process to ensure
this.
The subcontractor must also have competent people who are experienced and
knowledgeable in the quality management process to ensure that the work
performed is in full compliance. The subcontractor must also have some form of
documentation process with which it can show that its field operations are
putting work in place that is in full compliance with the project's quality
expectations.
Since, in many cases, subcontractors account for as much as 90 percent or
more of the total value of a construction project, they must perform the work
according to the GC's or CM's expectations, which must be aligned with
the project specifications as well as owner expectations. All this attention to
processes, practices, and procedures will not only improve the quality of the
work going in place but will more than likely ensure work is proceeding on
schedule as well. This will ensure smooth handoffs from one subcontractor to
another, reduce wasteful none-value-creating activities, and reduce the
GC's need for close oversight of the work-through inspections. This will
free up the GC's staff to pursue other avenues that are necessary to ensure
the reduction of wasteful activities and enhance project value creation.
Because of the nature of facilities, virtually every project is more or less
unique due to the fact that their design, function, use, size, location, and
the jurisdiction they are built in vary. This fundamentally creates variation.
The construction industry, with its extensive supply chain, creates complexity.
The vagrancies of weather, the mobile labor force, the pressures for
fast-tracking projects, and the potential for over-promising all have a
tendency to increase the risk of uncertainty. This highlights the need to have
a project-specific operational plan, especially when it comes to the management
of quality. So, for companies that have a defined quality management program
and process, there needs to be a requirement to ensure that the program is
modified to address each and every project's unique needs and
requirements.
Because of the interdependence of contractors and subcontractors in the
project delivery process, they need to have compatible means and corroborating
methodologies to ensure that the conformance to standards is achieved smoothly,
is sensitive to the needs of all concerned, enhances the flow of information,
expeditiously resolves issues, and results in win-win outcomes. This requires
some form of partnership between the contractor and the various subcontractors.
One also needs to recognize that all subcontractors have vendors and/or
suppliers. Some subcontractors even have sub-subcontractors. So, to address
this holistically, to garner the highest level of benefit, this partnership
process must be implemented across the whole supply chain or value stream.
Partnering
The partnering method is a means of improving relationships within the
project delivery process as well as improving the value-adding outcome of the
final product. This process has been used in construction for around 40 years
with varying levels of success. Construction is a very competitive business,
and many organizations (both owners as well as contractors) still try to get
the lowest price through "head to head" competitive bidding. This
leads to some level of adversarial relationships, leading to a potential lack
of trust, which results in non-value-adding activities, such as increased
inspections, more in-depth reviews of requests for changes or time and/or
money, and a greater potential for more discussions, conflicts, or litigation.
All of this leads to greater impediments to cooperation and tends to erode
relationships, which may result in an increased potential for client (owner)
dissatisfaction with the constituents of the project delivery process.
Those who engage in the partnering process may have different
interpretations or understanding of the basic premise of partnering. The
project participants must create a framework that fosters a more trusting
relationship, articulate a mutually shared vision, and foster a commitment to
shared respect, with clearly understood project goals and a robust grasp of
each other's needs as well as expectations. There needs to be a clear
understanding of what constitutes value. Partnering also implements processes
that foster this commitment by developing a comprehensive mission statement and
defining a clear process of dealing with conflict as well as an appreciation
for "win-win" negotiations should such a need arise.
In 1991, the Construction Industry Institute defined partnering as a
long-term commitment among two or more organizations for the purpose of
achieving specific business objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each
participant's resources. This definition requires changing traditional
relationships in the project delivery process to one that develops a shared
culture without regard to organizational boundaries. What this means is that
the project delivery process needs to stop creating confrontational
relationships and encourage cooperation, shared assumptions, compatible points
of view, improved communication, and rapid and effective dispute resolution, as
well as win-win thinking. This set out a basic framework for partnering, as
follows.
- Educate the organizations involved.
- Clarify partnering intentions.
- Ensure top management's commitment.
- Develop a partnering workshop to accomplish the following.
- Create a charter.
- Develop an issues resolution process.
- Develop a joint evaluation process.
- Clarify individual roles and concerns.
- Conduct periodic performance and progress evaluations.
- Address escalation of vexing issues.
- Conduct final evaluation and celebration.
This will invariably improve the efficiency of the process, increase the
effectiveness of the people, and reduce wasteful processes, practices, and
procedures—leading to value creation for all parties involved.
Influencing Operational Quality Results
Partnering to achieve the project's quality can be defined in two basic
ways. First, partnering can be defined by its attributes, which may include
trust, respect, a shared vision, strong working relationships, long-term
commitments, striving for excellence, a clear understanding of each other's
needs and expectations, etc. A second way is by the operational process where
partnering sets forth a charter that devises a mission statement, articulates a
winning strategy, sets out overarching goals, and increases opportunities for
innovation and problem resolution as well as a continual striving for
improvement of the quality of process and product.
To ensure that project quality is properly addressed, and the appropriate
level of quality is achieved at project completion, it has to be addressed
rigorously throughout the six key areas of the project life cycle. These are
the following.
- GC's (or CM's) prebid efforts
- Bid activities
- Contract award
- Preconstruction
- During construction
- Postconstruction
Each of these elements of the process has three significant subparts. These
are the following.
- Participants
- Key elements
- Desired outcomes
The key points of each of these subparts establish who should be involved
and the reason for their involvement, what this group needs to address, and
what the desired outcomes of their effort will or should accomplish.
Six Key Areas of the Project Life Cycle
-
GC's (or CM's) Prebid Efforts
- Participants
- Procurement, operations, quality, legal, etc.
- Key elements
- Identify subcontractors who are compatible with project
quality requirements.
- Align internal processes for superior quality performance
(SQP).
- Perform flawless execution.
- Identify performance criteria and key success factors
(KSF).
- Desired outcomes
- Establish a qualified bidders list
- Define and align/integrate processes and systems.
- Set cooperative posture factors.
-
Bid Activities (Contract Elements Required for
Effective Management of the Process)
- Participants
-
- Contracting specialists, operations, procurement, quality,
legal, etc.
- Key elements
- Develop and specify the need for SQP.
- Craft terms to foster SQP.
- Create metrics to promote SQP.
- Desired outcomes
- Clearly communicate requests for proposals and bid documents.
- Specify project quality requirements.
- Enumerate owner quality expectations.
- Develop project-specific SQP requirements.
-
Contract Award
- Participants
-
- Project management, procurement, contract specialists,
quality, legal, etc.
- Key elements
-
- Review SQP criteria, metrics, assessments, and
evaluations.
- Assess operational expectations, planning, processes, and
procedures.
- Ensure appropriate participation at preaward meetings.
- Desired outcomes
-
- Achieve a precise understanding of SQP criteria.
- Develop a clear understanding of operational expectations,
processes, and procedures.
- Manage oversight of SQP.
- Assign people to be responsible for SQP.
-
Preconstruction (Deploy SQP Expectations by Reviewing
Them at the Preconstruction Meeting)
- Participants
-
- Project management, quality, contract administrator,
subcontractor management representative, project's
responsible person(s), etc.
- Key elements
-
- Discuss SQP program, process, responsibilities, and key
people.
- Provide to the field staff and workforce the information on
SQP and site-specific requirements, metrics, processes, and
procedures, as well as preoperational planning, and risk
management strategies.
- Desired outcomes
-
- Hire a workforce and field staff that understand, are
knowledgeable, are motivated, and are fully engaged to execute
the SQP policy, procedures, and expectations.
- Ensure project planning and risk management address SQP.
-
During Construction (Manage Operations by Following
Partnering Practices as Well as SQP Processes, Practices, and
Procedures)
- Participants
-
- Project manager, superintendent, quality manager,
subcontractor project manager, site foreman, etc.
- Key elements
-
- Develop effective preoperational SQP planning and risk
assessment.
- Fully integrate site-specific SQP into operations.
- Assessment of field execution versus owner expectations and
project criteria
- Desired outcomes
-
- Partner in goal achievement.
- Ensure positive behavior and commitment of supervisors and
workforce to SQP.
- Achieve low resulting incidents, minimal defective work
product, and a virtually zero punch list.
-
Postconstruction
- Participants
-
- Procurement, operations, contract administration, quality,
etc.
- Key components
-
- Process feedback on-field results with contractor and staff
input.
- Assess KSF and SQP outcomes.
- Ensure results are disseminated throughout the
organization.
- Desired outcomes
-
- Develop continuous improvement of the contractor pool with
strong SQP.
- Contract procurement improvement.
- Ensure the stellar future of SQP performance.
Conclusion
The American Institute of Architects, the Associated General Contractors of
America, and the American Consulting Engineers Council all endorse partnering.
Some federal, state, and city agencies include partnering as part of the
standard requirements in a bid package on large projects. Several state
legislatures are considering requiring partnering as a part of any new
projects. Clearly, then, many people think partnering is worthwhile.
The
challenge is for owners and architects to incorporate the requirement of
partnering for quality in their project documents. And, for construction
managers as well as general contractors, it's important to make partnering
a key element in their project delivery process and, more importantly, include
quality as a key element in their contracts and project management practices,
processes, and procedures.