EVALUATION OF THE TXDOT PARTNERING PLUS PROGRAM

This project's initial objective was to identify and attempt to quantify the benefits and impacts of partnering on the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). In January 1997, a major partnering policy directive was issued which requires partnering on all projects. Therefore, the thrust of this project was changed to evaluate the impact of past partnering efforts and develop a method to assist TxDOT field personnel to determine whether to formally or informally partner construction projects. Surveys of TxDOT personnel, construction contractors, and external facilitators have been completed. The partnering cost per project has been determined. A project performance database of 408 partnered and nonpartnered projects has been built. The data in this database have been reduced and statistical analysis has been completed. It was found that partnered projects that were $5 million or larger outperformed nonpartnered projects in all categories. Another survey of TxDOT and contractors with regard to informal partnering was to be completed and the results of the entire study synthesized into a partnering decision making model contained in the implementation plan. The report recommends that TxDOT drop the "formal" and "informal" designations for partnering, and replace them with a single designation of "partnered" to indicate any formal meeting whose purpose is to specifically focus on building relationships for project success. Those projects which are not "partnered" will include the three most valuable portions of the partnering process, issues, issue escalation ladder, and action plans, as a part of the pre-construction conference. The report also recommends that partnering be implemented on projects whose value is greater than $5 million or where business relationships are new. Additionally, it recommends partnering smaller projects if they are complex, located in an urban area, and take longer than one construction season.