Texas still the hotest spot for capital projects?

Today I had lunch with an engineer friend of mine who does a lot of higher education work. I asked him how his business was going. He said 2007 was his best year, 2008 was slower, and 2009 slower than 2008. What he sees is that the current workload is moving into construction, which means that his engineering work, of course, is reduced.

The University of Texas (UT) is still the largest higher education Owner pushing out construction, and MB Galveston has the lion's share of work. Most of this work is being contracted to Houston-area firms, which makes sense. Still, if you kook at the current UT System Capital Improvement Program (CIP) you will see that many of the project schedules have been pushed WAY down the road, like from 2010 to 2014.

As the current UT projects are completed , what is the prospect for new work in 2011 or 2012? With a renewed interest in community colleges, this may be where future construction dollars are headed...

2nd Annual LinCP Forum Announces Stellar Keynote Speakers

Austin, TX, Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP – pronounced “link-up”) Forum announces two nationally renowned keynote speakers for their February 2010 event, to be held in Austin, Texas.

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010: Barbara White Bryson, The Owner’s Dilemma

Barbara White Bryson, FAIA MBA is Associate Vice President of Facilities Engineering and Planning at Rice University. She has stewarded the master-planning and growth of the Rice campus for nearly a decade, completing more than $1 billion and nearly two million SF in construction. Barbara has led the facilities, engineering and central plant operations since 2004.

In 2008, Barbara was recognized by the AIA and elevated to the institute’s College of Fellows for her integrated planning work at the University of Miami and Rice University as well as for her role in leading design and construction efforts on the Rice campus. Barbara attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, received a B.S. from the University of Texas–Arlington and her M.B.A. at the University of Miami.

She is a former board member of AIA Houston and the Rice Design Alliance and currently serves on the board for the Rice Building Institute and the Design Future’s Council for Design Intelligence.

Barbara is authoring a book, titled, “The Owner’s Dilemma,” to be published in spring, 2010.

Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010: Jack Lowe Jr., Building Organizational Leadership.

Jack Lowe Jr. joined TDIndustries in 1964, became the CEO and Board Chair in 1980, and in December 2004, retired as CEO. TDIndustries is a national mechanical and plumbing construction and facility service company, headquartered in Dallas. TDIndustries projects have included Dallas Cowboy Stadium, American Airlines Center, Phoenix’s Cardinal Stadium, Texas Instruments semiconductor plants, Embassy Suites and San Marcos Conference Center in San Marcos, Palisades West in Austin, Lakewood Church, 1000 Main, Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute and Methodist Hospital Outpatient Care Center in Houston.

Founded in 1946, TDIndustries has developed into one of America’s premier specialty contracting companies. For eleven consecutive years the company has appeared in the FORTUNE magazine’s list of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Jack Lowe attributes the trust which underpins their success to the employee-owned company’s “servant leader” philosophy, in which all 1700 employees are Partners. 2008 revenue was about $320 million.

Jack is a regular speaker at business groups and colleges on building organizational leadership, servant leadership and quality. He’s also been featured in a number of articles and books.

Currently, Jack serves as Zale Corporation, Chairman of the Board, Drew Industries, Board of Directors and KDC, Board of Directors.

Civic and community service include: Dallas Independent School District, Board of Trustees, Board President; Texas Business and Education Coalition, Board of Directors; Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Board of Directors and Dallas Citizens Council Member.

Recent awards received include: Recipient of National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Principle-Centered Leadership‚ 2000; Recipient of J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award from the SMU Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, 2002; Named Master Entrepreneur of the Year‚ Ernst & Young Regional Entrepreneur of the Year Awards‚ 2000; Recognized as Board Chair of the Year - 2002 by the National Associated General Contractors of America; Recipient of Leadership Dallas Alumni Association’s 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award for demonstrating outstanding professional and community achievements; Recipient of Crystal Achievement Award from the National Association of Women In Construction at their annual convention in Washington, DC, for his role in the advancement of women and minorities in the construction industry; September, 1996; Honorary Doctorate of Letters and Laws from Sterling College, Sterling, Kansas, 2003 and Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 2001

Jack graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rice University with a BA and BSEE degrees, and served in the U. S. Navy.

For more information visit the LinCP Forum website: http://www.LinCP.com

Can IPD Solve Our Problems?

Yesterday I had a great conversation with an attorney in the construction industry, who said (and I am paraphrasing) that Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a contractual way to MAKE people collaborate. He continued to say that if team members really focused on the good of the project there would be little need for IPD.

As I do my work the most important driver I see around a project having a positive outcome for everyone is first, TRUST, and second, effective COMMUNICATION. Good and effective communication and information sharing follows trust.

I think any tool that can increase these is good. The Partnering process assists this, as can software project management systems such as eBuilder, MySmartPlans, etc.

What IPD, (or any contractual process), BIM, etc. do NOT do, is MAKE people behave in certain ways. They can assist, but not force. If there is one key decision maker that is the bottle neck, that one person can hinder the project.

My point here is that the "next, newest thing" cannot take the place of effective communication, trust-building (and keeping), and personal and group accountability.

Founder of Leadership in Capital Projects Heads Workshop at 23rd Anniversary of Executive Women in Texas Government Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carol Warkoczewski
Office: 512-263-5521
Cell: 512-914-1201

Lost Pines, TX, Carol Warkoczewski, founder of Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP) Forum, will speak on The Speed of Trust: Using This One Factor to Improve Communications and Accountability, at the 23rd annual Executive Women in Texas Government Professional Development Conference.

Warkoczewski’s workshop subject is fueled by her mission of the LinCP Forum. The forum brings together major capital project constituents for collaborative dialog around timely and compelling design and construction industry issues and interests.

Collaboration and cooperation between key parties saves money and precious time by avoiding project delays. LinCP Forum attendees improve their projects through learning the types of trust necessary for effective work and accountability.

“How well you communicate and share information can directly contribute to how well you trust another,” Warkoczewski elaborated. “Trust can make or break a team, office or organization.”

The EWTG Conference will be held November 23, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines near Bastrop, Texas. The conference provides opportunities for leadership development skills for multiple career levels.

The next LinCP Forum is October 15-16, 2009 in Irving, Texas. The Forum focus is on project delivery methods. Corporate sponsorships at various levels are still available. For more information on the LinCP Forums, contact Carol Warkoczewski at 512-263-5521 or visit the LinCP Forum website: www.lincp.com.

Carol Warkoczewski, RA, MSOLE, is a registered architect and owner of Synergy Builders, which was founded in 2001 to help her clients produce effective, successful projects and to enhance leadership, team, project, and organizational success. She focuses her work building more effective, synergistic leaders and teams, which improves the effectiveness of their projects and organizations.

Integrated Project Delivery - Total Team Collaboration

What is Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and how does it contribute to total team collaboration? Think what it would be like if key stakeholders on capital projects got together to proactively plan issues in advance, equally sharing risks and rewards for success. Having all the parties involved from project conception can be the difference between project delays that cause a budget nightmare or a smooth, timely venture that stays on task and can even save money.

Why Integrated Project Delivery?

This process uses the insights and talents of the capital project team to process design and construction issues in a collaborative way. The three key project stakeholders, usually the owner, contractor and architect/engineer, are legally connected through a joint contract, becoming joined-at-the-hip, for better or for worse. In this way, each party has a truly vested interest in the performance of the other parties. This new business practice is leading a new wave of sustainable project delivery by avoiding missed communications and misunderstandings that have long marked the industry.

How Does IPD Work?

Using the IPD project delivery method, all parties involved on a project are assembled as early as possible, before anything is designed, to provide their collective expertise to the development of a project. To incentivize the different entities, contracts are established upfront with shared risks and shared rewards, with the understanding that all parties are working together for the good of the project.

This type of integrated project uses innovative business models to support collaboration and efficiency. All project team members must agree to basic principles of collaboration in order to succeed. Most importantly, there must be a high level of mutual trust, with respect, open communication, understood mutual benefits and project-focused goals. To strengthen these elements, the key stakeholders need to have straightforward conversations about project issues and share their experience and knowledge to proactively steer desired, positive outcomes. These discussions bring clarity of management decisions, purpose and team cooperation to build trust from the inception of the project.

Transparent information sharing is extremely important for seamless collaboration to occur. One tool that is frequently used is Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a built project. It serves as a resource of shared knowledge and forms the shared basis for decisions during its lifecycle, from project inception through operation. In addition, programs and tools that help to transparently distribute, mark-up and manage project drawings and documents can be extremely useful to share the same information at the same time.

Most important, however, is the need for reliable and proactive leadership from all key parties that looks for win-win solutions and seeks to understand underlying interests, needs, and positions.

How Does IPD Manage Risk?

For IPD to work, risks should be equitably allocated between the collective parties and balanced with rewards. IPD turns the standard contracting language around through a blending of “transactional” and “relational” contracting.

A “transactional” contract is simply where exchanges are made for goods and services. The structure of a typical transactional design or construction contract can have hidden “costs” by inhibiting coordination, stifling cooperation and innovation, and rewarding individuals for reserving good ideas and optimizing their performance at the expense of others. In contrast, “relational” contracting aligns project objectives with the interests of the key project parties.

By blending both transactional and relational contracts, the parties externally enter a classic transactional contract with the client, some suppliers, and internally, members are bound by a relational contract that is described in a “pact.” By binding the parties together in a partnership for the duration of the project the pact minimizes the hidden costs of transactional contracts.

What Do the Results Look Like?

By collaboratively aligning the team, the project excels through minimizing waste, loss of time and poorly utilized resources. The effectiveness of all the design and construction phases is markedly improved. The integrated team process produces lean logistics, shorter time schedules and better management. Projects are improved from the beginning and green design ideas are better understood within the whole team. The projected results of integrated project delivery are a higher quality project for a lower cost.

Keys to Success

The key to a successful project that uses the Integrated Project Delivery method is to assemble a team that is committed to building trust and using collaborative processes to work together effectively. Thus, the essential skills of leadership and communication are essential. While these skills can be taught, because of the very nature of this process, these skills must be carefully evaluated and selected at the outset. Project stakeholders must be particularly fastidious to consider not just a company’s or individual’s resume, but also call references to get the “real scoop.” With IPD, one bad apple may not just destroy a project, but the entire project team!

North Texas Regional LinCP Opens October Forum Registration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carol Warkoczewski

Office: 512-263-5521

Cell: 512-914-1201

Irving, TX, Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP – pronounced “link-up”) Forum has opened early-bird registration for its October 15-16, 2009 event in Irving, Texas with the focus on project delivery methods.

The mission of the LinCP Forum is to bring together major capital project constituents for collaborative dialog around timely and compelling design and construction industry issues and interests.

Collaboration and cooperation between key parties saves money and precious time by avoiding project delays. LinCP Forum attendees improve their projects as well as the design and construction industry in Texas by sharing best practices and coming up with new ideas and solutions to address industry-focused capital project concerns.

The complete program agenda for the October Forum is in review. Anyone who is interested in becoming a speaker or presenter at this or future events is welcome to contact the LinCP Forum.

Corporate sponsorships at various levels are still available.

The October forum will be held at the beautiful Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, in Irving, Texas. For more information on the LinCP Forums, contact Carol Warkoczewski at 512-263-5521 or visit the LinCP Forum website: www.lincp.com.

An informal lunch will begin the first day of the Forum, ending with a social in the evening. The second day starts with an informal breakfast and concludes with an optional lunch and on-going table discussions.

The Second Annual LinCP Forum is slated for February 24-26, 2010, in Austin, Texas.

ANNOUNCING OCTOBER 15 - 16 IRVING, TEXAS LINCP FORUM

Irving, TX, Continuing industry-based rather than project-based capital project solutions, the Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP) Forum announces the North Texas Regional LinCP Forum for October 15 – 16 2009 in Irving, Texas. This event will be entirely focused on project delivery methods.

Owners/users, contractors/suppliers and A/E’s/consultants plan to address today’s most pressing challenges around integrated project delivery, competitive sealed proposals, construction-manager at risk and design-build, all within a collaborative setting. The Irving event will consist of key presenters and panel discussions, with facilitated discussions to exchange ideas and best practices and look for new tools and techniques to improve project outcomes.

Conceived in 2008 by Carol Warkoczewski, owner of Synergy Builders, the LinCP (pronounced “link-up”) Forums were a natural outcome of her work as a project manager, consultant and project process facilitator on more than 100 wide-ranging capital projects. Quickly recognizing that having collaborative “conversations” between the three key project stakeholders in capital projects can avoid project delays and save time and money in the process, Warkoczewski created the Forums.

“I thought,” Warkoczewski explained, “what would it look like if the three key stakeholder groups involved in capital projects got together to talk about contemporary design and construction industry issues in a collaborative way? The results have been astounding!”

As a result of the first LinCP Forum in February 2009, two initiatives are in development: “Capital Projects Scorecard,” and “21^st Century Partnering.”

Jason Choyce with DPR construction says, “What an amazing event Carol has created. This is quickly turning into something really special and I'm proud to be a part of it. I applaud Carol for taking the lead on this!”

The Second Annual LinCP Forum will be February 24-26, 2010 in Austin, Texas.

The October forum will be held on at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, in Irving. For more information on the LinCP Forums, contact Carol Warkoczewski at 512-263-5521 or visit the LinCP Forum website: www.lincp.com.

Event registration for the October 15-16 LinCP Forum will open by July 29, 2009, and corporate sponsorships are available.

What Is the LinCP Forum? - Benefits to Construction/Design Business

I conceived of the LinCP Forum in early 2008 as I contemplated the question, "What would it look like if the three key stakeholder constituents involved in capital projects got together to talk about contemporary issues in a collaborative way?"

You see, as an architect, project manager, and assistant director at various architectural firms and the University of Texas System, I was involved in the conception, planning, design, construction, and management of many major projects. As well, my work as a consultant, and Owner Project Requirements and Partnering process facilitator has brought me into the midst of the planning and delivery of over 75 capital projects for higher education and governmental/institutional Owners, of various types, sizes, and constituent make-up.

During the process of Partnering, the three key project stakeholders (Owner, Contractor and Architect/Engineer) discuss project goals, team values and behaviors, effective communications, expectations, and project issues, but always focused on a specific project.

So, I wondered if it would be of value to invite a "few" of my clients and project constituents to a "conversation" that was industry-focused, rather than project focused. As I bounced this idea off some of my clients, I received warm encouragement. Thus, the Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP) Forum was born.

The first event was held on February 27, 2009, just when many institutional Owners received the word that they needed to cut back on expenses and that some projects may be delayed. Rather than canceling or delaying the LinCP Forum, I decided that it was actually the BEST time for people to come together and express their concerns, as well as look for solutions. This first event was a fabulous success.

My intention was to see how this first event went, then probably do another "annual" event in 2010. Well, I am still planning on the Feb. 24-26, 2010 2nd Annual LinCP Forum in Austin. However, what I had not originally planned on was the request from the Feb. 2009 attendees to do these events more often and do them regionally!

Having thus heard from my own constituents, I girded my loins and decided to produce two more events this year: June 18-19 in San Antonio, and October 15-16 in Dallas. I hired Earson Marketing to assist me, and we were on our way...

It is my pleasure to be able to bring the design and construction community, with Owner representatives, together at these events. I look forward to collaborative dialog at the June 18-19 event as well as at future events.

Please share information about the LinCP Forum with everyone you know!

Registration deadline for the June 18-19 (1/2 days) LinCP Forum is June 10!

Detailed event info and links to fees and registration: www.LinCP.com

LEADERSHIP IN CAPITAL PROJECTS - FEB. 27, 2009

Hi, I'm Carol Warkoczewski, and it is my great pleasure to speak to you about the event that I am organizing, Leadership in Capital Projects (LinCP) Forum, which will be held on Friday, February 27, 2009, in Austin, Texas.

At the LinCP Forum, college and university owners, construction contractors, project designers, and topic experts will address current issues facing the delivery of higher education projects, as well as exploring solutions, thus leading to a more sustainable industry and improved project conclusions.

One of my key practices is to facilitate Partnering and Owner’s Project Requirements workshops, which are always project-specific. I decided to organize the LinCP Forum after considering how successful these workshops are, through the use of collaborative techniques that build trust, improve communications, and solve problems. I decided that this process could be applied on a broader aspect (rather than just project-focused) to my key industry focus, the design and construction industry, and specifically to higher education, which has its own unique culture and concerns.

Based on my recent survey, the issues of most concern to the LinCP Forum’s target audience are (in order of importance):

#1: Project budget and financing

#2: Communication

#3: Project scheduling or delays

#4: Leadership

The LinCP Forum will be focused on both understanding the issues and exploring solutions. I look forward to sharing lively discussion and exchange of creative ideas on this blog with you, prior to the event, and anticipate additional discussions afterwards.

I invite you to visit the LinCP Forum web site (www.LinCP.com) and participate in our survey, sign up as a participant or even a valued sponsor. Check out our press release for even more event details.