The director of university housing, Chad Cromwell, grinned as he approached Buxton Hall and looked up at its tower. At Pacifica State University, Buxton Hall was constructed in 1927 as a dormitory facility for more than 350 students. Buxton was the highest building on campus at the time, and its tower offered a bird's-eye view of the playing fields and coastline range. Buxton rose to prominence at Pacifica State very fast. During the yearly spring water war, students atop the tower controlled the campus with their enormous slingshots and catapults.

At Buxton, the first intranet on the Pacific coast was developed, connecting student computers and enabling printer sharing. Some college students started painting their room doors in the late 1970s. These vibrant doors, which featured artistic motifs like the Rolling Stones emblem or Bugs Bunny on a skateboard, attracted the attention of both staff and students.

For many years, Buxton Hall housed university students, but the grand structure eventually fell victim to the passage of time. The internal plaster was ruined by leaks. The structure was declared unsafe because of the old and dangerous wiring and plumbing. At the conclusion of the spring quarter in 1996, Buxton Hall's doors were shut to students and its windows were boarded up. Buxton remained motionless for ten years, eventually coming to represent the general deterioration of Pacifica State. Buxton Hall was poised to reopen after a $20 million restoration owing to state bonds and kind donations.

AFTER 18 MONTHS

The second day of a two-day session on cooperation was spent by Chad and important officials from university institutions. Managers from Crawford Construction, the primary contractor for the Buxton rehabilitation project, many significant subcontractors, and architects from the Legacy West firm were also present. A consultant led them through a number of team-building and communication exercises on the first day to emphasise the value of open communication, win-win thinking, and principle bargaining.

The "project from hell" exercise, in which each group described the worst project they had ever worked on, started the second day. Chad was quite aback by how much the individuals described by Crawford and Legacy West resembled him. Each group discussed how annoying it was, for instance, when changes were made without adequate consultation or costs were kept a secret until it was too late to take action. The best project they had ever worked on was discussed after that.

The consultant then inquired as to which of the two the groups preferred for the Buxton project. Everyone actively engaged in defining in detail how they intended to collaborate as a genuine feeling of shared purpose began to emerge. Following the signing of a partnering charter by all attendees, there was a picnic and a lively softball game.

ONE YEAR AGO

In order to see Dat Nguyen, the Crawford Project Manager, on the third floor of Buxton Tower, Chad was travelling there with Nick Bolas. Dat had gotten in touch with him to talk about a tile issue in one of the public restrooms. The job had been finished by Dat's crew, but Nick, the Pacifica facilities manager, refused to approve it because he said it did not meet specifications. After a 24-hour standstill, the Crawford foreman used the partnering agreement's escalation clause to raise the problem to management, where it was rectified. Chad and Dat examined the work. Although they both felt that the position could have been more attractive, Chad advised Nick to give his approval because it complied with the requirements.

Later on in the day, at the Buxton status report meeting, Chad ran into Dat again. An overview of the week's work was given before the meeting officially began.

The destruction of elm trees was the topic of discussion. The city inspector, who had a reputation for being a stickler for details, was approached using different tactics. The building was to be ready for students to move in during the 2008 autumn semester, so the project's two-week delay was a significant problem. Additionally, the project's budget was extremely constrained, necessitating careful administration of the management reserve. Building renovations were always a bit of a gamble since you never knew what you would discover until you started knocking down walls. Fortunately, very little asbestos was discovered, but the decay was considerably worse than expected.

A partnered evaluation was presented at the meeting. All of the principals completed a Web survey, and the findings were distributed. The findings showed a decline in the ratings for prompt collaboration and efficient problem-solving between Crawford foremen and university authorities. One of Chad's associates claimed that Crawford's foremen's tardiness in returning calls and emails was the main cause of his annoyance.

Dat stated he would speak to each of his people after requesting their names. The Crawford foremen criticised the university administrators for their excessive attention to detail. A foreman responded, "We don't have the time or resources to perform A+ work on everything.

Chad promised Dat and his group that he would speak with the facility staff and ask them to concentrate on the most crucial matters.

A YEAR AGO

On schedule, a project status report meeting was held. It now appeared like Crawford would be able to make up lost time and the building would open on schedule. Chad was pleased to note that during the previous month, the partnering assessment had been favourable and consistent. The major problem was that the management reserve had been completely depleted, leaving only $50,000. Everyone realised that this would not cover all the change orders required to get the building ready with six months to go. After all, there were pending change orders totaling $24,000.

Chad glanced across the table but only saw glum expressions. One of the Crawford foremen then suggested delaying the treatment of all outside walls. "Let's only clean and preserve the front entry and the North and South walls that the general public can see, rather than cleaning and maintaining the complete brick edifice. The West side and interior court walls only need to be renovated. This would be sufficient for at least eight years, during which time there should be enough money to finish the project.

Chad first opposed this notion, but he eventually came to understand that it was the only way they could get the building ready for the students. Over which external segments required the full makeover and which ones didn't, friendly debates broke out. The entire team ultimately made a tour of the building's exterior to determine the type of work that needed to be done. In the end, just 70% of the outside brick walls were renovated in accordance with the original plan, saving the company more than $250,000. Everyone thought that they now had a fighting chance to finish the project on time, even if this increase to the reserve would still make things tight.

TODAY

No one mentioned the walls that still required renovation as Chad socialised with a glass of champagne; today was a time to celebrate. The university was giving a five-course lunch at the top of the tower, and all the important players and their spouses were there. During the toasts, legends about the ghosts in the west wing and the discovery of a dead skunk in the south basement were shared along with jokes.

Everyone expressed their pride in bringing the magnificent antique structure back to life. More than one individual remarked that this was far more rewarding than demolishing an outdated structure and erecting a new one. After concluding the festivities, the university president thanked everyone for their efforts and predicted that Buxton would become an iconic figure for Pacifica State.

Questions

1. What best practices do you think were evident in the case?
2. How do you think the best practices contributed to project objectives?
3. In your opinion, would you say the project was successful?