SPR 27-697 Strengthening Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Throughout Project Development and Delivery

KYTC’s project development/design and construction activities tend to be siloed. During project design and development, construction personnel have few if any opportunities to provide input. And once construction begins, project managers and designers have little involvement. The lack of sustained engagement has multiple consequences. Contract plans prepared without construction input can be difficult to build in the field. Similarly, if designers and project managers proceed without early feedback from construction subject-matter experts and do not participate during the construction phase, they will not gain knowledge of how to minimize or mitigate constructability issues that contractors sometimes confront on project sites. They will also have little role in finalizing as-built plans, which are integral to guiding future maintenance and construction efforts. The absence of cross-disciplinary collaboration throughout project development and delivery also undercuts quality management and can leave key risks undetected (e.g., complex traffic control scenarios, construction spanning multiple seasons), and thus unaddressed and un-mitigated. Resolving these challenges requires putting into place integrated workflows that foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and reciprocity throughout the project life cycle.