Congratulations to the Sound Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility East (OMF East) project team on completion of the new light rail base in Bellevue, Washington. Velo Group is pleased to have facilitated Partnering on this important public transportation project. The new 165,150-square-foot facility, which accommodates the service, maintenance, storage and deployment of 96 light rail vehicles, is a key component of upcoming Link extensions to Northgate, Lynnwood, Federal Way and Redmond. The OMF East boasts
Velo Group is providing Construction Partnering facilitation services for two of the three Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake $2.3 billion Earthquake Recovery Program projects. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the projects took place in March and April 2021. The events marked the milestones of active construction beginning on all military construction and restoration and modernization projects awarded in FY2020 for the repair and construction of research facilities at NAWS China Lake. These facilities were damaged
Construction is progressing on the new 295,000-square-foot Procter Hug High School in Sparks, Nev. Neal Flesner of VELO Group has been facilitating partnering on this project with the project team of Clark/Sullivan Construction, H+K Architects and the Washoe County School District since the project’s conceptual design phase in 2017. Built to replace the aging Procter Hug High School and relieve overcrowding at another nearby school, the three-level facility will be the first new high school
Collaborative Partnering facilitated by VELO Group was instrumental to the success of the Interstate 680 Expressway/Carpool Project. Spanning from Martinez to Walnut Creek, the final southbound 11-mile stretch of the almost 23-mile long lane opened one year ahead of schedule and on-budget. The new segment is part of the $110 million I-680 Southbound Express Lane project implemented by Contra Costa Transportation Authority. Now part of the longest continuous HOV express lane in the Bay Area,
Spoiler Alert: Using Partnering to improve communication is one of them Partnering is playing a significant role in aligning the many project team members involved in the $250 million Boynton Beach Town Square mixed-use project currently underway in Boynton Beach, Florida. The project is being developed using a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt P3 (public-private partnership) financing approach to build out the public portion of the 20-acre site, including a city hall/library, police station, fire station, and city
The San Francisco Collaborative Partnering (SFCP) consortium honored teams on two facilitated projects—Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Hybrid MRI/IR and Potrero Avenue Roadway Improvement—during its inaugural Partnering Awards Ceremony in September 2018. Both projects were facilitated by Neal Flesner. Founded by the San Francisco Collaborative Partnering Steering Committee, the SFCP Awards Program recognizes teams that implement best practices and foster collaborative relationships on City of San Francisco building and infrastructure construction projects. According to SFCP,
Three world class heavy/highway project teams were honored at the 2018 Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) Excellence in Partnering Awards ceremony in June. In its 18th year, the Caltrans Partnering Awards recognize Caltrans project teams for utilizing Partnering and its best practices to facilitate successful project implementation. Partnering LeadershipRE: Shaine Shahidi, Caltrans District 8PM: John Matich, SkanskaFacilitator: Neal FlesnerContractor: Skanska-Teichert, A Joint Venture Highway 101/Petaluma River Bridge Best in Class Award for Projects Greater than
By Neal Flesner When it comes to World Class™ construction partnering, it’s important to focus on strategic culture change versus tactical or process change. Changing Behaviors Versus Changing Culture There is a huge difference between just tweaking individual behaviors and truly changing a problem project team’s culture to one of a winning team that sustains success. For example, a project team might decide to improve their communication by implementing the practice of no e-mails or
Construction is nearing completion on the $30 million Tropicana Pedestrian Bridge and Escalator Replacement Project in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahead of schedule and on budget, the team has successfully implemented partnering under the guidance of Master-Level Partnering Facilitator Neal Flesner to function as a World Class™ team. Serving roughly 130,000 pedestrians a day on the busy Las Vegas Strip, this highly-visible transportation project includes the replacement of 16 existing escalators (four at each corner) with
By Neal Flesner Communication in general is a daunting undertaking on construction projects involving various companies and team members with different personalities. When problems arise and you are tasked with delivering bad news to a project owner, communicating this sensitive information becomes even more challenging. I was recently interviewed for a United Rentals’ blog post about 3 Ways General Contractors Can Improve Communication with Owners. During the interview, I expressed my thoughts on the importance
The International Partnering Institute (IPI) recognized the 2017 Partnered Project of the Year (PPY) Award winners this past May during IPI’s Collaboration 2017 Conference and Award Ceremony at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront in Burlingame, Calif. Partnering Facilitator Neal Flesner attended the annual event along with other design and construction professionals. As reported by the IPI, the awards ceremony recognized the most collaborative organizations and project teams of 2016, and the nominated project teams
Neal Flesner recently gave a talk to members of the AGC of California on the topic of “6 Tips for Increasing Effective Communication on Your Projects.” His presentation was part of the AGC of California Annual Convention which was held in Monterey, California this past October. More than 50 conference attendees participated in the educational session, which focused on the factors that contribute to poor or ineffective communication on construction projects. The session included examples
By Neal Flesner, MIPI Many construction professionals I work with say that people skills are equally important, if not more important, than technical ability is for achieving professional success. We all come across challenging individuals with difficult personalities from time to time, and that’s when our people skills really make a difference. The larger the project, the greater the likelihood that you will encounter an unruly personality who can adversely impact the schedule, cost and