Partnering initiative

Improving Wisconsin's transportation network

The Partnering initiative is a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association (WTBA), and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin (ACEC WI) to improve working relationships and the delivery of Wisconsin transportation projects.

  • The Partnering initiative is focused on the delivery of the transportation program to achieve common goals.
  • The expected outcome of the Initiative includes the ultimate goal of providing a “new way of doing business” in Wisconsin.
  • This initiative is a high priority within WisDOT.
  • We are committed to implementing as many of these proposals as possible and will track progress through this website.

Goals

  • Understand, share and minimize risk
  • Improve more timely decision making
  • Share current information, with uniformity, across all groups
  • Promote innovation and continuous improvement
  • Maintain common definitions of quality
  • Balance competing factors (cost, schedule, quality, etc.)

Steering Committee

  • Beth Cannestra, WisDOT
  • Matt Grove, WTBA
  • Brad Heimlich, ACEC
  • Jerry Mentzel, WisDOT
  • Scott Piefer, WTBA
  • Jill Treadway, ACEC

Current Partnering Priorities

The Partnering Priority Matrix includes many proposals developed at the Partnering Conference in January 2014. The Steering Committee prioritized all of the proposals and decided to move forward with the top six. Each has been assigned its own working group and an action plan:

1. Process and decision making on disputes, claims, and
    contract change orders
October 12, 2015
2. Design phase process/qualityOctober 12, 2015
3. Project schedule/timelineOctober 12, 2015
4. Tight contract scopingOctober 12, 2015
5. Delegation of authority October 12, 2015
6. Project closeout (Project complete)October 12, 2015

Next Approved Partnering Priorities

7.   Improve plan consistency, limit addenda, increase
October 12, 2015
8.   Develop rules of engagement December 12, 2014
10. Contract execution delivery and communicationOctober 12, 2015
11. Consultant contract amendments (will be combined
      ​with priority #4)
July 30, 2014
12. Improve plan bid abilityDecember 12, 2014