21
Jun 2017
Ditch Email to Improve Communication
By Neal Flesner and Jim Eisenhart While many of us have mastered the art of emailing, texting, tweeting, Facebook Messenger and other electronic communication, verbal communication is still the best way to effectively communicate on a construction project. A form of digital communication we try to discourage when facilitating problem projects is email. Although email is trackable and can deliver a message to a team member quickly, it’s not appropriate
“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” —Nido Qubein, Author, Consultant By Jim Eisenhart The vast majority of general contractors, owners, designers and construction managers that I have surveyed attribute extraordinary project success and great teamwork to one or more of the following circumstances: We had good people and all got along. The plans and specs were clear and complete. Site
13
Sep 2016
Partnering’s Role in the Age of Collaboration
Partnering in construction has evolved since the early ’90s, playing an even more crucial role in today’s increasingly collaborative building environment. VCG President Jim Eisenhart (pictured) and leading A/E/C industry professionals were recently interviewed by Engineering News-Record regarding modern partnering practices and how their firms are employing partnering strategies to mitigate challenges, increase profits and ensure project success in the age of increased collaboration. Two VCG facilitated projects exemplifying partnering at its best are highlighted in
21
Jul 2016
The Vital Ingredients for Setting Project Goals
“Clear, common goals that the whole project team buys into are the centerpiece. They ensure we are all in alignment with common expectations. These need to be set early.” — Jim Bostic, St. Joseph Health Systems / Petra ICS By Jim Eisenhart, VCG President We have a project team ranking system at Ventura Consulting Group that is divided into three areas—Business as Usual, Good Teams and World Class Teams. In
17
Jun 2016
Partnering of Expo Line Reaches Above and Beyond
Plenty of excitement and news coverage surrounded the May 20th opening of the new Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority Expo Line Phase 2 project. The team involved with its design and construction was equally thrilled, not only with the project’s outcome, but with the partnering process that helped them overcome various obstacles to achieve success. Built to provide an efficient means of transportation from downtown Los Angeles to the beaches
The International Partnering Institute (IPI) celebrated its 7th Annual IPI Partnering Awards Ceremony on May 19, 2016. Paul Crotty, VCG Facilitator and Large Project Director, was among the project owners and other design and construction professionals in attendance at the annual event, which was held at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront this year. As reported by the IPI, the nominated project teams boasted the following project results for their
19
Apr 2016
The 2016 IPI Award Winners Are…
The International Partnering Institute (IPI) recently announce the winners of the 2016 Partnered Project of the Year awards, and three projects facilitated by Ventura Consulting Group were among the impressive list of recipients. The award-winning teams will be honored at the 7th Annual IPI Award Ceremony and Conference on Thursday, May 19 at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront. According to the IPI, the purpose of the awards is to
Congratulations to the project team on The County of San Diego Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee, California for receiving the highly-regarded 2016 Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Award! The award is a category in the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America 2016 Alliant Build America Awards and was recently announced during the association’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. Built by Balfour Beatty Construction, the new
The 2016 construction industry award season is here and your friends at Ventura Consulting Group can provide information, testimonials and award entry services to help your team get the recognition they deserve. Industry awards not only acknowledge the efforts of the project team, they also extend your group’s world class teamwork by forming stronger bonds with project owners, garnering online and print publicity and furthering industry best practices. We would be pleased
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE FOR $19.95 Just “good” project teamwork is no longer good enough. In today’s construction environment, project owners commonly use best value selection and pre-qualification to choose their project team. Furthermore, these projects are incorporating alternative project delivery methods and collaborative technological tools such as BIM. With all of these innovations and changes, your best project results in terms of schedule, cost and overall excellence for