Best Practices
The Power of One: The Effective Owner-Architect Contractor Team

by Grant A. Simpson, FAIA, and James B. Atkins, FAIA

Summary:

Each of us holds the key
It’s inside of you and me
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one
Donna Summer

Ah, remember the project that went so well? You know, the one where the contractor didn’t send so many RFIs, and the owner was quick about making decisions. It was one of those projects where everyone could almost relax. No surprise attacks. No hidden agendas. What a project! You have to wonder what made things go so well.

It appeared to be just another project like the rest of them. Oh, yeah, we had problems, but they were all solved quickly; and there were no claims afterwards. The contractor laid out their work in spite of our original conflicting dimensions. As soon as everyone found a problem, the designers and contractor jumped in and revised their work without any delays or additional charges, and the contractor even gave us their corrected layout dimensions to check against our drawings. And we certainly didn’t mind helping the contractor when they installed that pier in the wrong location. It didn’t take much time for our structural engineer to come up with a solution that would transfer the loads. Anyway, by then we would have done about anything to help those guys. After all, they had done so much to help us.

It was as if a higher power eschewed strife and wanted us to succeed. Why was this project so different from the rest? Absent was the overt criticism normally present among the parties. Gone was the anticipated weekly berating in the owner/architect/contractor meetings when architects normally are publicly castigated for alleged late submittals or RFI responses. The atmosphere was one of cooperation and teamwork; owner, architect, and contractor working with a common purpose toward a common goal.

This article will explore those project experiences that have few problems even among many challenges. We will examine the project team and the correlation of how beneficial interaction affects the ultimate outcome. We will examine how the team working together produces a special power, the power of one initiative by multiple players to achieve success.

The game

In war, you win or lose, live or die—and the difference is just an eyelash.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Modern design and construction is by its own makeup a game of competition and confrontation. Just like football or baseball, each team strives to outdo the other, while preserving its own interests. Unfortunately, these gaming strategies usually yield some amount of conflict, and conflict stifles productive construction team interaction. In sports there must be two teams in order to compete, but on the job site it is more effective if there is only one.

When was the last time that you worked with a contractor who was genuinely interested in your success on the project? Moreover, when was the last time that you were genuinely interested in the contractor’s success on the project? Projects these days often have players with opposing agendas, reflecting a polarity spawned by decades of legal jousting and advantage seeking. Yet in the midst of such wrangling, now and then a project goes smoothly with few disputes or claims, and it is viewed as rewarding to those who participated.

Projects that go really well seem to be fewer these days. When one does come along, maybe it is because a contractor wants to impress you to get future work. Maybe you want to impress the owner or contractor with your teamwork skills. Maybe it is an owner who just wants to enjoy the design and construction experience. And just maybe, it could be because the architect successfully demonstrated to the contractor that he or she is there to play their part in delivering the project and assisting those in need.

Unfortunately the game doesn’t go smoothly all of the time. Many owners want the architect to be a terminator who breaks the contractor’s back if things are not exactly right. Some contractors are convinced that the architect is trying to put them out of business, or that all architects want to make contractors responsible for design mistakes. The adversarial nature of many architect-contractor relationships does not promote teamwork or peace and love. Many projects are positioned so that the architect’s priority is looking for work that is wrong rather than assisting the team in producing work that is right.

We have a tendency to assume that the other players are out to take advantage and everything they do is in their own best interest. It is no different than knights jousting on the field. If someone is to win, then someone must be defeated. If you’ve been to a youth soccer game or attended a professional sporting event recently, you have seen firsthand that modern society tends to give lip service, but no real credence, to the idea that everyone can be a winner.

Analyze this
Let’s take a closer look at projects that went well. Perhaps we can learn something about improving our chances of success by asking some questions.

Did you have a good relationship with the contractor and/or the subcontractors? Had you both done a successful project together before this one? This is frequently the case. When we have a good experience with a builder, we are more likely to feel optimistic on subsequent projects with them and try harder to make things work out. When architects have a long-term relationship with a builder, we often help them market new work, even when we aren’t the architect. When we have a long-term relationship that is built on trust, we tend to be as concerned with their success almost as much as with our own.

Did you have a good experience with the owner? Was the owner responsive in their required decisions, and did they understand the importance of contingencies and allowances? Did you stay in close contact with them and try to answer their questions as they arose? Did the owner understand your human imperfections, or did they constantly remind you that they “bought a complete set of plans”? Those “complete set of plans” guys tend to make the project more difficult and erode chances for success, and they tend to ask you to pay money or forfeit fees at the end of the project. Have you had opportunities to work for owners who show loyalty to your firm in response to your commitment and hard work?

These factors just may be a contributor to the success of your “exceptional” projects. The key to success just may be inside you and me; the key to the power of one.

A meaningful case study is a large sports facility that was aggressively fast tracked under a very restrictive budget. Although the project was very successful, it did not run particularly smoothly. Sports facilities are notorious for conflicts and claims. Meetings on this project were intense and often confrontational. Yet almost everyone involved considered each other a friend. Project difficulties, though often dealt with under very tense conditions, were resolved not with accusation and domination, but based on what was possible within each person’s constraints. Success was judged based on a strong sense of accomplishment and fulfillment, not on whether one person won and another lost. When the last piece of framework was hoisted into place, the signature of everyone who had worked on the project was written in gold ink on the steel beam. When the last piece of granite was set in the main concourse, more than a thousand names of a very successful project team were engraved on its face. No one got sued. Everyone got tickets to circuses, rodeos, and games.

What made this project successful? How and why did it survive these arduous challenges? How did it escape the fate that often befalls public sports facilities? We took a look and here’s what we found:

• The architect and contractor had worked together before and had developed a long, successful relationship
• Everyone on the design and construction team was interested in maintaining a good relationship with the owners
• The subcontractors recognized the contractor and the architect as a source of future work
• The project team was made up of seasoned professionals who had experienced tough projects in the past
• The project was the centerpiece of the community, and everyone was grateful to be a part of the project team
• The owners had a vision of success in their minds and looked hard for the things their architect and builders did to help fulfill their vision
• Everyone upheld the success of the project as a priority, they respected each other, and they worked toward that end.

Many of these ingredients have existed on projects that were unsuccessful. We believe that a significant reason for success is the last one listed. Without a mutual desire for success, all of the other factors will not work. The power of one is dependent upon all participants seeking a common unity. Our goal is and always has been the same; provide quality services, make money and deliver projects that meet their intended purpose. It is the recognition that we share this common goal and a respect for each other’s pursuit that makes success possible.

The real world

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Albert Einstein

This brings us to the basic realities that affect how people do business. When these are acknowledged in our actions and behavior as we interact on a project, our working relationships often benefit. We should pause to consider these factors and how they can be applied to the way we work. They include the following.

The object of doing work is to make a profit. Unprofitable projects seldom run smoothly, but when everyone is meeting their budget goals, relationships and interaction are improved. Financial impact should be considered in all activities. Owners who don’t want to pay the contractor a fair fee are not acting in their own best interest as unprofitable projects are prone for trouble. Negotiating all of the profit out of consultant and contractor pricing merely increases the chance of confrontation and strife. Alternatively, relationships benefit from parties who look for fair returns and not windfalls. Bouncing from client to client in search of the highest profits is not an activity that will support long-term relationships.

People want their projects to succeed. Although you may be involved in natural conflict with other team players, their primary objective is the same as yours. They want the project to be successful and the client to be satisfied. With these common goals, it should not be difficult to find common ground. Alternatively, the contractor that wages an intensive RFI attack, just in case they need added protection from the owner or architect, is not seeking oneness.

Delivering a successful project will get you good references and help bring future work. We all depend on references to help us gain new clients, and we strive to maintain an acceptable list of satisfied customers. We cannot deliver a project solo; we must rely on others to help us do it. Sometimes helping others helps us.

If you commit random acts of kindness to others, sometimes they will reciprocate in kind. There was a project where the owner was also the contractor. The owner had gained a reputation for beating up on architects. This owner always considered the architect to be a low priority and suffered allegations of uncoordinated drawings, errors and omissions, and the like on the architect so that a portion of fees paid the architect could be recovered at project completion. On one project this owner/contractor mislocated 17 drilled piers. The architecture firm, which also provided the structural engineering, designed pier cap modifications to correct the problem, and did not charge the owner/contractor. From that time forward, the project ran without conflict. The architect also made some mistakes, but the contractor made the necessary corrections, and there were no lingering disputes. The owner/contractor did not make claims for a return of a portion of the architect’s fees and applauded the extra effort to salvage the mislocated foundations. Although this will not happen on every project, demonstrations of assistance and support in daily activities can instill similar behavior on the other side. But, lest you be over confident of fallible memories, please see our article, “To Document or Not to Document.”

If you demonstrate combative behavior to others, they will usually reciprocate in kind. How many times has the thought, “I’ll show that son-of-a-gun!” crossed your mind? If it did, it was likely your reaction to someone treating you in a less-than-desirable manner. The human reaction to mistreatment is to mistreat in return, given the opportunity. Likewise, if you mistreat, you will likely experience similar behavior. Life itself is a great mirror. Always endeavor to treat others the way you want to be treated. If they don’t treat you well in return, that is a reflection of their values, not of yours.

Life is short

Rather would I have the love songs of romantic ages, rather Don Juan and Madame Venus, rather an elopement by ladder and rope on a moonlight night, followed by the father’s curse, mother’s moans, and the moral comments of neighbors, than correctness and propriety measured by yardsticks.
Emma Goldman

Given these facts of life, how do we achieve this level of harmony, mutual respect, and productivity within the team? Is it possible in today’s risk-averse yet risk-filled industry to assemble dependable teams that can be anything other than confrontational and filled with conflict? In most design and construction projects today, risk is apportioned much like a pyramid. The owner takes the greatest financial risk because they own the completed project and they reap the greatest rewards. The contractors take the next greatest risk with responsibility for the cost of construction, and their rewards are proportionate. The designers take the least risk with the least rewards, taking primary responsibility for the cost of design, although responsibility for some construction cost is possible.

The owner provides the construction documents to the contractor, and in so doing, may impliedly warrant under the Spearin Doctrine that the plans and specifications are reasonably free from defects. On the premise of Spearin, some contractors launch an assault on the architect’s documents and design services from the very onset of the project in an effort to build a defense against potential owner claims, or to build an offense in support of claims for additional costs of construction. Many contractors have come to consider this preemptive action necessary to protect them in today’s claims-prone environment. Since there is no perfect set of plans, the opportunities contractors have in claiming negligence by the designer are legendary. Thus, a search for errors and omissions will inevitably succeed. If this sounds fatalistic, well . . . it is, because it is true.

This is where prior experience, an established relationship, a hard-earned reputation, mutual trust and respect, and significant knowledge about realistic outcomes are important. Unfortunately, life isn’t perfect enough for all of these circumstances to exist on every project. However, if just a few of them exist, that may be enough. It depends on your willingness to communicate effectively and to be trusting.

Conclusion
When that really good job comes along, we always are in awe of why it happened in the first place. We think about what was different, and we wish that we could bottle it up and save it for the next project. Compared to all the troubled projects, we see it as a shining star that makes our work as an architect worthwhile. Projects such as this one prove that the process can work.

So how are you going to achieve this the next time around? How are you going to have that “special” project that seems to have no problems that can’t be solved? It takes preparation from the onset, and it may not happen if others on the project team do not share your goals of accomplishment, fulfillment, and yes, profit. But it will not likely occur if you do not attempt to make it happen.

Remember the facts of life and guide yourself by them. We addressed the merits of the cool and collected approach in our October 2005 article in AIArchitect entitled, “Zen, and the Art of Construction Contract Administration.” Remember that the friendly and helpful approach will be received more gracefully than by ringing the doorbell with a hammer. On the other hand, if it isn’t meant to happen, then so be it, you don’t have to stand idly and be punched in the nose.

Yet success and fulfillment are important ambitions . . . stay after them. Don’t give up trying to foster a team that acts as one. This is a human desire that exists in almost everyone. Every professional wants to work on a project that flows smoothly and is gratifying. Almost everyone has the same aspirations and goals.

So as you prepare your preconstruction conference agenda and think about how you will attempt to be the catalyst for bringing occasionally adversarial players together as a cohesive and effective team, don’t forget to be careful out there.