Assembling A Collaborative Team - Other - Page 44
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team
•methods of harnessing the design skills of the specialist subcontractors,
and potential value engineering items that may result from the early interface
between the design team and the contractor’s supply chain, have to be developed.
Of course, this highlights only one set of relationships. Many others exist: between
design team members, between the cost consultant and the design team, and
so on. Chapter 2 highlighted the differences between working collaboratively and
assembling a collaborative project team and it is true that a major contribution
to a collaborative project team is ensuring that each team member is a good
communicator, is open to the ideas of others and respects the inputs from,
and skills of, all members of the team.
This publication does not consider how individuals obtain these skills. However,
there is another fundamental way of considering the collaborative project team.
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team advocates that by stringently developing
and agreeing the WHY, WHO, WHAT, WHEN and HOW aspects of a project
during Stages 0 and 1, the resultant project team will:
• work together more effectively
• be able to commence the Concept Design stage with a robust brief in place
• encounter no ambiguities in relation to design responsibilities, and
• have documents in place for reference in the event of a dispute.
The WHY, WHO, WHAT, WHEN and HOW of a project
WHYWHY relates to the brief and the client aspects; for example, WHY do
we need a new building?
WHOWHO considers the roles required on a project at each project stage
and then allocates the roles to generic organisations before specific
companies are appointed. The WHO process is strategic in its nature.
WHATWHAT examines the tasks that each party needs to undertake at each
stage of the project, design responsibilities and the information that will
be exchanged at the end of each stage? The WHAT aspects are a core
contractual requirement for every party in the project team and represent
the practical detail of assembling the project team. By considering WHAT
in detail, the potential for ambiguities when the project team members
are working together is significantly reduced.
WHENWHEN advocates a strategic programme that sets out the key project
milestones to be added to the relevant contracts and incorporated into
more detailed design and Construction Programmes.
HOWHOW considers the means that the various parties will use to work
together, the technologies they will employ and the methods of
communication, including the exchange of information. In essence, HOW
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