Assembling A Collaborative Team - Other - Page 30
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team
By determining who will do what, when and how, not only will a collaborative project
team have been formed but, in the event that any issues arise and a dispute
crystallises, there will be sufficient documentation to fall back on to ensure that
the resolution of any such issues can be undertaken quickly and efficiently.
Collaborative contracts can assist the collaborative project team and the benefits
of these are considered in Chapter 10.
More sophisticated collaborative teams can be formed by using ‘gain/pain’
mechanisms where all members of the project team share in the financial success,
or failure, of a project. The level of pain in the event of a ‘failure’ may be capped
and backed by an insurance policy. However, the essence is that with success
incentivised, silo mentalities and blame cultures are less likely to occur. As the
success of such projects is also based on soft skills or behaviours, they are not
considered in detail within this publication, but such forms of working are entirely
compatible with the tools presented in this book.
Finally, traditional and contractor-led project teams do not simply result in different
procurement approaches. They give rise to different contractual approaches and
fundamentally impact on the leadership of all aspects of a project, including design,
cost and other elements. In order to develop a collaborative project team, the project
leadership roles require careful consideration and the client must ensure that the
parties appointed to undertake these roles understand and are aligned with the
client’s Project Objectives. For example, there is no point in having a project lead
who is skilled in and focused on modular construction approaches if the client
wishes a strong and unique design solution and, conversely, there is no point
in considering a talented designer who does not value the contribution of the
contractor, if the client wishes to unlock innovation across the whole project team.
The evolution of the project team entities
Having considered the evolution of the traditional project team and the development
of contractor-led teams, it is important to consider how the three entities of the
project team – the client, the design team and the contractor – have evolved
before considering how to assemble a collaborative project team.
The more experienced and knowledgable client
Since the inception of the RIBA Plan of Work in 1963, the role and attitude of
clients has changed in many ways. Those undertaking larger projects are usually
more experienced and well versed in the processes involved in the design and
construction of a building. On smaller projects, the proliferation of magazines and
television programmes, particularly in relation to residential projects, has raised
client expectations and some are well informed, very opinionated and may have
their own ideas about what they want and how they might achieve their goals.
Many clients of both types will select a practice on the basis of their published
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