Partnering to Save Troubled Projects

Abstract

The success of engineering and construction projects is often compromised by adversarial relationships, conflict and distrust among members of the project (the stakeholders). Too often these problems become convoluted and result in case‐building and expensive litigation. Neither action benefits the project. A better solution, proposes the author, is “partnering realignment.” The idea is to use partnering as a corrective tool, as opposed to its traditional use as a preventive tool. Although the process derives from traditional project partnering, it is not the same. It is an attempt to regain and retain control of the project and plan ways to avoid future problems. Partnering realignment can help stakeholders resolve issues, agree on certain goals and how to achieve those goals, and maximize the remaining potential for project and stakeholder success. The author provides some examples of successful realignment efforts that he helped organize.