LEADERS IN PARTNERING

For over 80 years the Mississippi Valley Branch has been the construction partner for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Mississippi Valley.  For most of those years the relationship was an informal one and very few contracts were formally partnered.  On February 13, 1995 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Associated General Contractors of America executed a national partnering agreement outlining a commitment to work together to provide efficient, high quality, responsive construction services to the Nation.  At the February 1999 Branch Annual Meeting a serious dialogue was initiated on how to energize partnering between AGC and the Corps of Engineers in the Mississippi Valley; an Issue Resolution Committee was formed to address the matter.  One important outcome of this effort was a facilitated partnering meeting held between Mississippi Valley AGC and the Mississippi Valley Division, Corps of Engineers in Olive Branch, MS on January 20–21, 2000.  An MVD/MVAGC formal partnering agreement was executed by the leadership of the two organizations on January 21, 2000.  With olive branches extended, the two organizations agreed to utilize the core values of trust, responsibility and understanding to foster development of a safe work environment; clear, mutual goals; open communication; expedient problem solving; strong, effective relationships; and teamwork in order to provide efficient, best quality and responsive construction services in support of the Valley and the Nation.  This event laid a firm foundation for extensive use of partnering in the Mississippi Valley.  The Partnering Issue Resolution Committee became a standing committee at the February 2000 Branch Annual Meeting to continually monitor and maintain the partnership.

On October 11–12, 2007 a subsequent partnering meeting was held at Olive Branch, MS to secure commitments from the new leaders of the two organizations.  As leaders of the two organizations change over time, it was agreed that a periodic renewal of the previous commitments among the new leaders was necessary in order to maintain an effective partnership.  The facilitated meeting focused on a review of the partnering history and the partnering agreement while reconfirming the commitment to an effective partnership.  The attendees developed an action plan that included follow-up actions.  One action item that was adopted immediately was to add the following language to the partnering agreement: “We are dedicated to safety education, accident prevention, and ensuring a safe working environment.”  Subsequent to the meeting, the facilitators provided a Partnering Report to capture the discussions, action plan, and follow-up actions.

PARTNERING BEST PRACTICES

17th Street and London Avenue Temporary Pumping Capacity Project. This project is the recipient of the 2009 Dan W. Renfro Partnering Award and involved a time critical design build project for construction of the temporary pumping stations at 17th Street and London Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana.  At the conclusion of the project an after action report was conducted to capture important lessons learned.  Two critical events in the partnering process were aligning the Team and conducting the Partnering Session.  This very successful partnership demonstrated how to achieve expedited decision-making without sacrificing safety and quality.

DAN W. RENFRO PARTNERING AWARD

One important feature of the MVD-MVAGC Partnering Agreement is to recognize Partnering successes.  In view of this aspect of the Partnering Agreement, the MVD-AGC Partnering Award was established in Fiscal Year 1999 to recognize the Federal contractor and MVD district engaged in a formally partnered contract the execution of which best exemplified the principles of partnering.  Nomination guidelines, nomination form, and evaluation criteria were formulated and the first MVD-AGC Partnering Award was presented at the 2000 Branch Annual Meeting.

At the 2004 Branch Annual Meeting the name of the award was changed to the Dan W. Renfro Partnering Award in memory of Dan W. Renfro, retired Chief of Construction-Operations for the Mississippi Valley Division and Executive Vice President of Mississippi Valley Branch at the time of his unexpected death in August 2003.  Dan was a champion of partnering during his career with the Corps of Engineers as well as his tenure with the Mississippi Valley Branch and played an instrumental role in formalizing the MVD-AGC partnership and the MVD-AGC Partnership Agreement.

Recipients of the Dan W. Renfro Partnering Award are as follows:

2000    Goodwin Brothers Construction Co., St. Louis, MO & St. Louis District

2001    Civil Constructors, Inc., Franklin, TN & Rock Island District

2002    J. F. Brennan Co., Inc., LaCrosse, WI & Rock Island District

2003    Merrick Construction Company, Cottonport, LA & Vicksburg District

2004    Midwest Foundation Corporation, Tremont, IL & St. Louis District

            & Massman Construction Company, Kansas City, MO

2005    Industrial Contract Services, Inc., Grand Forks, ND & St. Paul District

2006    Industrial Contract Services, Inc., Grand Forks, ND & St. Paul District

2007    J. F. Brennan Co., Inc., LaCrosse, WI & Rock Island District

2008    Industrial Builders, Inc., Fargo, ND & St. Paul District

2009    Weston Solutions, Inc. & Hurricane Protection Office

2010    L.W. Matteson, Inc. & Eastern Area Office, St. Paul District

2010 Dan W. Renfro Partnering Award Presentation

(L-R) Melissa Gulan, Area Engineer, Eastern Area Office, St. Paul District; Col. Jon Christensen, Commander, St.Paul District;
Jon Nieman, L.W. Matteson, Inc.; James Peak, Chief, Construction Branch, St. Paul District;
and BG Michael J. Walsh, Commander, Mississippi Valley Division.