“Partnering turned a project that was headed for failure into one of the biggest successes in the Airport’s Capital Program history. The critical project elements were delivered in a timeframe the airport needed, and the project was completed approximately $1 million under the established contract amount. The project’s successful outcome has made MDOT MAA a true believer in partnering.”
– Paul Shank, Chief Engineer, Maryland Aviation Authorit
Partnering Results
- Achieved common team goals for safety, schedule, quality, operations, budget and teamwork.
- Developed solutions to various project complexities.
- Enhanced open and honest communication among the project team without fear of retribution.
- Aligned the design and construction team, as well as various third-party project stakeholders.
- Minimized impact to the public and airport operations.
- Met schedule deadlines to open for the fall holiday season.
Project Description
Aimed at increasing the operational performance of the airport facility and enhancing the passenger experience, the D/E Connector Improvement Project provides additional international airline capacity and new passenger services, including a new eight-lane security check point to serve domestic and international passengers. The project team’s primary goal was to construct additional international arrival gates needed to accommodate the airport’s new international airline service. A secondary goal was to construct an enlarged passenger security screening checkpoint before the peak fall holiday season.
The Maryland Department of Transportation Aviation Administration (MDOT MAA) had not historically employed construction partnering, but decided to do so after experiencing major constructability challenges and project team conflicts shortly after construction began. Once partnering was implemented, issues that previously had festered for long periods of time were addressed faster and more easily using the newly established issue resolution ladder. The development of common team goals and other partnering best practices aligned the team and set the project on track for a successful completion. Based on the results delivered through the project’s partnering program, MDOT MAA has adopted an internal goal of implementing formal partnering on every construction project with a cost of more than $10 million and select smaller high-risk projects
Project Team
Owner:
Maryland Department of Transportation | Maryland Aviation Authority
Construction Manager/General Contractor:
Whiting -Turner
Designer:
AECOM