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NPHQ > Awards & Success
Stories > 2006 Make a Difference Award Winners > Utah
Highway Teams Win National Quality Award
Utah’s Partnering Process on Highway Projects Reduces Costs
New Orleans, LA/November 14, 2006 – The National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) has awarded one of its National 2006 “Making a Difference” awards to Utah highway teams whose quality innovations promote roads that are completed more quickly, ride better, last longer, reduce congestion, and improve safety. Entries are judged by a panel of transportation industry leaders who serve on the NPHQ Steering Committee.
State Quality Partnership
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) won the State Quality Partnership Gold Award for its extraordinary partnerships that saved Utah taxpayers millions of dollars.
A formal partnership process between the Associated General Contractors and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) resulted in a paradigm shift for how UDOT employees now approach highway construction projects. The results are a significant costs savings to the taxpayer.
The improved partnering process evolved out of a 12-person task force whose six members included Chief Executive Officers or owners of major construction firms and six executives and senior leaders with UDOT.
The plan developed by the task force allows for greater partnering on, not only large and complex projects, but also smaller ones. One of the critical outgrowths of the plan was the development of a field guide to ensure consistency in how highway projects are approached and to make sure everyone is playing by the same set of rules. The guide outlines the expectations of Partnering within UDOT.
Another key element of the plan was the training of more than 700 individuals in the partnering process; including UDOT personnel, contractors and subcontractors, major suppliers, consulting engineering firms and some city and county personnel.
“This was a widespread effort to bring everyone to the table in a fashion that would allow all of our projects to work in a much more efficient manner,” said UDOT Executive Director John Njord.
How is the Partnering process working?
Comparing 10 projects using the new partnering process to the same number of similar projects not using partnering, there was a significant reduction in change orders - an average of almost five percent with partnering compared to a little over 15 percent without partnering.
“Utah’s transportation industry is to be commended for its results-oriented partnering process,” said NPHQ's Executive Director Bob Templeton. “The numbers tell the story. Partnering is a win-win situation, not only for the transportation industry, but for the taxpayers who want to see their roads built in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.”
About NPHQ
The Making a Difference Award program is sponsored by the National Partnership for Highway Quality, which combines public and private highway expertise to deliver quality highways for the safety and mobility of the traveling public. NPHQ members include:
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