Partnering in Statsbygg

To address the adversarial culture of the construction industry, partnering is used as a mean to create a collaborative and flexible building process where each partner achieves their business objectives. This paper identifies which partnering elements understood as contractual elements included in order to create win-win situations for the contracting parties a large Norwegian public client – Statsbygg has used in their partnering projects. Based on findings the article recommends which elements that should be used in future Statsbygg as well as other partnering projects. The recommendations include elements such as; early involvement of designbuilder, key subcontractors and consultants, value based procurement, an intentional agreement, target cost with bonus/malus incentives, open book economy, partnering charter, continuous workshops, partnering measurements, co-localisation, partnering champions, external facilitators, a predetermined method of dispute resolution, and a contractual right to remove unsuitable people. The methodological approach chosen for our investigation was based on 1) a literature study, 2) the distribution and analysis of a questionnaire, and 3) interviews with professionals having experience with partnering. The interviewees maintained partnering as an important step in the direction of changing the culture characterizing the Norwegian construction industry to an adversarial to a cooperative value based culture. Partnering is Statsbygg’s way of facilitating a lean construction process where less time is wasted on disputes, and more value is added to the project.