Changing Project Delivery Strategy: An Implementation Framework

Abstract

For organizations such as departments of transportation, other public agencies, or private companies, adopting a new approach to procure services for delivery of construction projects requires significant organizational changes; modifications to both their work processes and existing organizational structures may be needed. These adjustments, encompassing many different aspects of the organization’s interests, must occur for the change initiative to be successfully put into practice. Research at the Center for Construction Industry Studies is investigating the adoption of integrated project delivery methods within the transportation project sector to better understand the dynamics of this change. This paper will present findings from a study of Public Owner organizations that have implemented the design-build method for delivering highway projects. Using as a case study the new $1.3 billion SH 130 tolled expressway project in Central Texas, we have analyzed project documentation, held a workshop and conducted 39 interviews with individuals affiliated with owner, legal, engineering consultants, and contractors. Findings suggest that project representatives institutionalize practices and routines connected to the new approach by adapting to new challenges, rather than “overwriting” previously existing practices. Consequently, the institutionalization of innovative approaches to project delivery happens concurrently with a deinstitutionalization of the previous approaches. This concurrency produces different effects on the project environment, depending on the mediating action of some emerging practices and the perspective of the involved parties. Building upon these findings, we have developed a conceptual framework for helping Owner organizations implement a change in their project delivery strategy. In the context of this paper, an Owner’s project delivery strategy is defined as the set of project delivery methods that are adopted for delivering capital projects. We further refined this framework by making a comparative study of four transportation projects in the United States. In addition, 35 experts in the implementation of the design-build method for transportation projects participated in a Delphi study in order to validate the developed framework. Findings from these studies, including application to the construction industry and to other industries will be presented in this paper.