Tom Warne has been involved in the implementation and facilitation of partnering for over a decade. As the chief of construction for the Arizona Department of Transportation he was charged to implement partnering in that agency. To this day, Arizona stands as one of the premier partnering organizations in the country. In addition, he was asked by then director, Chuck Cowan, to assist other states in launching their partnering programs. All told, in those first years of partnering Tom helped another 20 to 25 states get their programs up and running.

In the midst of all this partnering implementation, Tom was invited to author a book entitled, Partnering For Success, published by the ASCE Press. It continues to be an informative and useful primer for practitioners of the partnering process.

As the Executive Director of UDOT, Tom implemented the partnering process in Utah in 1995. The $1.59 billion I-15 Reconstruction Project utilized partnering and was completed 3 ½ months ahead of schedule, $32 million under budget and without claims or litigation.

Since starting his company, Tom Warne and Associates, LLC, Tom has continued to be involved in partnering. A few examples of Tom’s recent efforts to advance partnering include providing facilitation services for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (3 projects), facilitation for the Louisiana DOTD’s TIMED Management project, Louisa Scrubber & Baghouse Project, FPP Units #1 and #2 Scrubber Project, Tri-Rail in Ft. Lauderdale, I-515/I-215 project in Las Vegas, the 215/60/91 project in Riverside, California, Utah’s Legacy project, the I-494 project in Minnesota, Minnesota’s TH 212 project, the Everett HOV project for the Washington DOT, the Elevated Stations project with SEPTA in Philadelphia, the 183A toll road project in Austin, US 90 Bay St. Louis Project, I-64 Reconstruction Project in St. Louis, SR 125 in San Diego, US 20 PME in Oregon, and Rt. 3 in Massachusetts. In addition, three years ago Tom assisted the South Carolina Department of Transportation in establishing their statewide partnering program including training in the concepts of partnering throughout the state as well as training their cadre of partnering facilitators.

On many occasions Tom is called in to “jump-start” the partnering process where either it didn’t exist or has experience challenges. Most recently his work on the Fenner Overhead project in southern California, the SR 125 toll road project in San Diego and the US 20 PME project in Oregon are examples of these types of efforts.

Tom was recognized as a Golden Beaver on January 17, 2003 by the Beavers (similar to the Moles) for his efforts on the I-15 Reconstruction Project and work to promote partnering across the country.

Tom Warne’s Partnering Approach

Partnering is a process used by owners and contractors to ensure success on projects large and small. It relies on the collaborative work of the “partnering team” which is composed of the owner, contractor, designers, subcontractors and sometimes third parties including governmental entities and suppliers. Fundamental to partnering is the recognition that the project goals and objectives of the individual parties are in fact one and the same. For example, everyone wants a safe project. Owners and contractors both want to finish on time. Quality is important to both to the owner and the contractor as well as making sure there is no rework. In the end, partnering is a recognition that if both parties share these goals in common then there is no reason to not work together towards their achievement.

The partnering process is more than just having a “feel good” meeting at the beginning of the job. It’s about establishing tools to ensure that the project moves along and that any issues are resolved in a timely manner. The basic elements of the process are as follows:

Initial Partnering Session - Held at the beginning of the project, this session is where the team develops their list of common goals for the project, writes their team charter, establishes their issue escalation process and develops their team evaluation tool. It is an important first step to effective partnering. This session usually lasts for about six hours and involves key project personnel from all interested parties.

Common Goals - Teams discuss and agree on the goals that will define success for the project. They may relate to safety, quality, schedule, budget, public relations, environmental concerns or any number of other elements. It is important that they be unique to the project and that all recognize them as the defining measures of success for all involved on the project.

Project Charter - Once the team goals are established the team charter is written around those goals. It is not a contract document but rather a description of how each member of the team will treat the other and captures the common goals of the group. At the end of the Initial Partnering Session the charter is signed by all who attended as a demonstration of their personal commitment to each member of the team.

Issue Escalation Process - Timely decision-making is key to success on any project. In order to facilitate this important element for success the partnering process establishes a method whereby issues move up the chain of command quickly and in such a way that they don’t impact the flow of the project. This is a very disciplined process and one of the important aspects of partnering resulting in more timely resolution of the day to day project issues.

Team Evaluation Tool - How is the team doing? If you don’t ask you don’t know. In partnering you develop an evaluation tool that captures how people are feeling about the common goals for the project. Usually completed on a monthly basis this tool allows contractors and owners to express themselves and face up to the reality of how the team is functioning and deal with issues that may have arisen. This evaluation process is done through the exclusive WarneReporting system using the Internet as the means for gathering frank and valuable feedback from the team members.

Follow Up Partnering Sessions - after the project starts it is important that the team get together and assess the issues and whether or not they are being resolved, look at the evaluations and see where the team can improve and deal with new issues that may be on the horizon. A mistake that many teams make is not having enough Follow Up Partnering Sessions. Regular sessions, usually quarterly, serve to keep the partnering relationship alive and the process working. These sessions last about four hours.

Jump-Start Partnering - there are times when partnering was not utilized early in a project or when things have not gone well for the team. In these cases it is sometimes necessary to call in an experienced facilitator like Tom Warne to restart the partnering process, get the team back on track and create an atmosphere for success. It is a critical activity but one that pays many dividends no matter how troubled the project. This jump-starting process often takes the form of initial interviews, a team survey, team meetings and follow up sessions to ensure a positive direction for the team.

Partnering has many benefits. There is clear evidence that projects have improved schedules and better quality. There are no claims on most projects and few on the others. Owners and contractors are more pleased with their budget outcomes. In the end, projects that use the partnering process are just more successful on the whole than those that don’t.