The 4 "Pillars of Partnership" in Construction

Imagine standing on the edge of a river alongside 9 unknown people. Together you must build a bridge that will carry you all safely across the river …

Any mediocre team builder with just medium self respect loves to pull people into nature and ask them to build something, so maybe you've even tried it?

You and your newfound friends set off to do it, and perhaps you even succeed with limited exposure to the water.

If your team has to build the same bridge again, you will do it a double speed, which does not surprise anyone ... BUT! If the same team instead are asked to dig a tunnel, you will still be 30% FASTER than a new group with the same task.

AND - If you spend 1 hour summarizing and reflecting on your Bridge, you will win another 10-20% on the Tunnel…

Keep the "Bridge and Tunnel" example at the back of your mind, the next 5 minutes, and let me tell you why something so banal is so crucial.

WE MUST CHANGE THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE AND COLLABORATE

We need to change the ways we collaborate and communicate in the building industry. Why? Because the way we do it now, simply is not sustainable. If you have read some of my previous posts, you know these numbers, but I will repeat and summarize anyway:

1. 7% -15% of the cost of new construction is wasted via re-work
2. Over 50% of this is due to bad / faulty communication
3. An average employee on site is effective 35% of the time ( wrench time)
4. Construction efficiency has declined by 0.3% per year in average ... 53 years in a row…

This means that just in the UK - if we set the re-work lvl at 10% - more than 7 BILLION PUNDS are wasted each year purely on bad communication on construction projects… That is around 10 new Millennium Dome’s, if you want to quantify it...

This numbers can drive even the bravest and most hardened managers to tears, and get that person to give up. But fortunately, I see an industry now beginning to shake off decades of being locked into the same value chain and start questioning the most basic “..this is how it has always been done…” on site.

And one of the most natural places to start is the way we collaborate and organize ourselves. Forget, for a moment, BIM lvl 1 or 2, Robots, Drones, 3D Printers, 5D and 6D models and everything else that makes all us Tech Geeks drool, and return to the "Bridge and Tunnel" example.

The benefits I described in this example are available for you, should you choose to tackle your suite of construction projects through for instance strategic ( which implies more longterm ) partnerships. You get to know each other, find out who knows what, you distribute the roles and you understand what your co-workers say and how they express themselves.

In short: If you are comfortable with those you work with, and you know and understand each other, your cooperation will be better.

Therefore: Long-term cooperative relations are economically the only thing that makes sense in the construction industry. This is old news to most industries, and yet we still believe that every project should be tendered, and every project organisation shaped from project to project…

Here is a “equation” I would like to test out on you - let me know, if you do not believe in it:

"No commitment = no relationship = no innovation = no gain".

The 3 prerequisites and the 4 rules

However, there are some prerequisites for strategic cooperation to make sense:

• There should be volume and/or repetition
• There must be a degree of complexity in the projects or in the portfolio
• All parties must be able to achieve an economic gain

If these 3 conditions are present, then you, as a Client, have no excuse. It doesn't matter whether you are a Public or Private Client, if you build our Schools or if you make your living as a Home Builder. It's about getting started now. Just remember these 4 basic rules:

Fire your Cowboys and hire Farmers instead

1: The relationship first - The project afterwards. It's the reverse world of today, but it works

2: Focus and Invest. You do not reap financial gain from Strategic Collaboration, on the first project.

3: Fire your Cowboys and hire Farmers. It's about not shooting from the hip, but about being able to see the long term and about the ability to build relationships.

4: Visible wins for all parties.

Or, as I heard it phrased the other day, at a management meeting at a mid-sized contractor, getting advice: “Focus less on the Wedding Night and more on the Whole Marriage”

Oh - and if you are looking for Construction related inspiration on the above, come to Copenhagen and visit the TRUST cooperation: A Client ( Largest municipality in Denmark ), a Contractor ( Top 10 in Denmark ), an Advisor and an Architect in a 4 year agreement to deliver more than 100 projects to the schools and day cares in Copenhagen. Employees from all parties have moved into a common office, and they are building a common “TRUST Culture”....

Sincerely,

Ulrik Branner, CEO & Partner - GenieBelt