Partnering

Our Commitment to 'Partnering'
This has led us our belief in, 'Partnering'. Here, we expand on some of the reasons why we have arrived at this commitment, and outline how we are beginning to put this into practice.

The £3.5bn Costs of Securing Work?
Across the UK, the staggering cumulative annual spend on bidding and winning construction work is £3.5bn. Yet research suggests this could be halved to save nearly £2bn, says Phillip Collard, MD of construction marketing specialists, MarketingWorks (Contract Journal, 15 Oct 03).

On average, it costs consultancies (architects, QS's, engineers, etc) 7% to 8% of their income to win work. Contractors spend 3% to 4% of their turnover. On average, a construction consultancy typically spends 40 hours on each bid, running up costs of £4,000. For contractors, this amounts to 100 hours and £10,000 for a standard bid, with Design and Build submissions racking up over £25,000 each.

With typical success ratios being between 1:5 and 1:10, this means it can cost a consultant between £20k and £40k to get a job. For a contractor this is £50k to £100k. With Design and Build the figures can escalate to between £125k and £250k - just to get one job!

Or is it Placing Work?
In this crazy, contracting world, firms nominally pay out these sums as an almost incidental cost of remaining in business. But the fact is that these costs have to be passed on to the end customer - the owners and occupiers of the buildings commissioned - via higher overhead and other allocations.

To these they will add the costs of marketing, advertising and generally promoting their businesses. Between 2% and 4% of turnover is possibly a conservative estimate of these.

And this takes no account of the employer's direct costs engaging project managers, producing tender documents, securing bids, assessing the suitability of contractors, and entering into a legally binding contract. This is notwithstanding that the prudent contractor will have had the documents examined in micro-detail to establish where the real money is to be made via claims, design discrepancies, and the like.

So, before a contract is placed, the employer can expect to be paying out a huge extra sum for the privilege of following the conventional tendering processes prevalent in the construction industry. Only when contract value moves into the tens of millions can this be said to be in any way manageable. For the bulk of building contracts this is just money down the drain.

Value -v- Price
And, strange to relate, according to Collard, "Clients don't make decisions on lowest price, but rather on value. It is only when the client has said 'we want you', that it turns to the issue of price.

In fact a survey carried out by the University of Leeds concluded that enthusiasm is the most important issue for picking a contractor.

There is a Better Way
Project 'Partnering' is an all-encompassing term derived from Sir John Egan's work on Rethinking Construction. The UK Government, the Construction Industries Training Board (CITB), Constructing Excellence, and Construction Best Practice Clubs throughout the UK, are now actively promoting this concept.

While it does not involve the legal relationships and cross liabilities incurred by a formal Partnership, or Joint Venture type arrangement, it does invoke a spirit of mutual co-operation to deliver best value for the building owner and end user client.

Partnering Fundamentals
The fundamentals of 'Partnering' are:-

• Formalised mutual objectives
• Agreed problem resolution methods
• Active search for continuous measurable improvements

Benfield ATT takes a structured management approach to facilitate working together with clients, consultants, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers as a team.

We are concerned to ensure that, as well as aiming for high standards and values, all stakeholders receive the benefits they anticipate in all the projects to which, jointly, we apply our efforts. This includes fearlessly, but impartially, addressing all of the financial implications involved in the drive to achieve these objectives.

Creating the Right Environment
A key element in our approach to 'Partnering', is our ability to create the right environment for collaboration between all members of the 'partnering' team.

Our emphasis is on collaborating with industry colleagues to achieve mutual goals, as well as developing relationships that can withstand divergent views - and even disagreements!

Increasingly, as our 'partner' teams learn how to do this, it improves our joint ability to deliver the highest quality and standards of products and services.

This is in stark contrast to the 'old', confrontational way of working, in which separate factions fight to protect their own narrow interests, often losing sight of the real aim of satisfying the building needs of our joint end user clients.

How do we do this?
Conventionally, most of the people in the diverse 'supply chain' of professionals, contractors, sub-contractors, material suppliers, etc. needed to complete a construction project, have little, if any, interest in the needs and difficulties experienced by 'opposing' firms.

But, by bringing as many of them as possible together in pre-project meetings, we are able to help people understand that a "Not my problem" attitude is, in fact, very much everyone's problem.

Here we address the 'blame' culture that has regrettably grown up throughout the construction industry. In its place, we promote an alternative 'trust' culture in which, little by little, all of the partners in a project learn how to share responsibility for group performance.

This leads us to encourage the recognition and understanding that true co-operation, really working together, requires increasing transparency.

Then we take on board the axiom that "To be human is to be vulnerable", showing members how to tackle the barriers to effective and meaningful communication that exist in the world and how to improve the relationships between them.

Finally, we illustrate how sharing information on the issues and difficulties that affect the performance of any one member firm, impacts on all other members of the project team.

Who does this, when and where?
Led by Dr. Michael Benfield, our Managing Director, this 'training' draws on the experience of all participants to explore and consider ways of resolving 'Partnering' issues.

Dr Benfield has devised, developed and run courses on Communications and Leadership, both as an academic and in the commercial 'real world'.

Since different types of project require different levels and extents of 'partner' involvement, he experienced staff members and outside consultants assist him, as appropriate.

As mentioned, these 'partnering' events usually combine with 'pre-project' meetings. By bringing together lead representatives from the employer/client, design team, main contractors, essential sub-trades, and ourselves (as key component and service providers), this gives everyone the opportunity to both learn from the particular job and to draw out issues that may both help and hinder the contract.

Benfield ATT's Caldicot board-room is the venue for these sessions. Since they start at 09.00 in the morning and take all day, refreshments and a buffet lunch are provided.

If there is greater demand for similar training not related to a specific project, then these will be run as afternoon seminars for groups of 12 or more, at a nearby hotel or club.

A Unique Occasion
As you can see, by applying the lessons learned to your own unique project in prospect, you are able to begin unpacking the issues that are likely to arise as your project progresses, even before it has begun.

In fact, this facilitation exercise not only helps you learn-by-doing, it also lets you begin to experience the benefits of seeing the project through the eyes of your other prospective (chosen) team members.

From our perspective, we add extra value to the essential processes that you must pass through in any project. While essential elements of team building are involved, the occasion is used to bring to life the sometimes turgid, literary aspects of Partnering, thus providing far more than standard management development type course can offer.

And the Cost?
There are no charges for these events, although the full commercial value is estimated as between £250 and £400 per attendee.

This is because, in pursuit of this corporate mission, we regard running such events and seminars as part of our ' Investors In People' commitment, as an educational service to the construction industry, and build on our beliefs and values.

The Results
Believing that every human being and every organisation has the latent capacity to improve their own abilities and performance, we start from the basis that the results from partnering are progressive and ongoing. While real benefits will derive during the 'teams' first project, the greatest benefits will come as team members increasingly work together on future schemes, and as they learn to share their experiences with others on 'outside' projects.

Once our project partners have an understanding of the fundaments outlined above, each project becomes a practical, 'learning by doing' exercise. By honing their skills and sharing their experiences within this project team, all project partners gain an understanding that Together Each Achieves More (TEAM) is the real payoff.

This has an impact on other areas of their individual businesses, from strategic shifts and managing procurement; through improving the effectiveness of supply chains and project management, to clients - who rapidly learn the benefits that partnering can bring to the efficiency and profitability of their organisations.

In developing these skills they learn to understand what works and what does not, how to harness and apply appropriate tools in their own organisations, how to drive forward positive change in making partnering arrangements more effective and profitable, and how to make their own businesses smarter, more reliable and more valuable to their customers.

Perhaps most important for everyone is that, embracing the additional concepts of lean construction and Six Sigma, they have started on a journey of continuous improvement.

A 'no obligation' commitment
If you have a project that you think would benefit from a 'Partnering' approach, but are not yet ready to commit to this, please contact Dr Benfield to discuss - in complete confidence - our arranging an appropriate pre-contract seminar for you.

Adopting a similar structure to that outlined above, we will be happy to do this for you without cost or obligation.