Gray Construction

Pilgrimages are a global phenomenon. There is something satisfying in the act of seeking, to be constantly looking for answers or just experiencing new horizons on the road traveled. A journey is a trip toward personal growth and for many, the journey is the destination.

So it is with agencies like the U.S. General Services Administration and firms such as Gray Construction and FMI. They are constantly seeking a better way to do business.

Podcast George Heery: Building Contractual Bridges Related Links: Teamwork and Innovation Drive the Quest for Success Innovative Federal Agencies Push Home-Grown Methods Success Means Being More Than Dependable Extended Enterprise Service Helps Write Project Success Stories Could Big Change Happen Here? Architects Belatedly Move Toward the Light 'Bridging/CM': A New System That Gives Owners Results

This report also is a journey of discovery into the quest to develop better project delivery systems. Master Builder, Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build, Construction Management, Project Management and Job Order Contracting are stops along the way. Some firms pick a station and stay, satisfied with what they practice. Others keep moving or improving. They see project delivery as a progressive, unending series of tweaks or radical leaps and bounds and are never satisfied. That makes them the subject of this issue of Progressive Project Delivery. 

1. Our cover story features an in-depth look at continuous improvement, as practiced by Gray Construction. It embraces change, quality, teamwork and relationships in building structures. Gray has readily adopted kaizen to improve its project delivery services and the results in revenue and repeat business is impressive.
   
   
2. GSA is now using a form of delivery called construction manager as constructor, a variation of CM at-Risk, and bridging, a design-build variant, on large, complex courthouse projects to control risk and meet tight schedules and budgets. These evolved slowly, driven from the field.
   
   
3. The final feature is on FMI’s new Extended Enterprise process, which helps promote long-term alliances. It helps participants write their own success story, before starting the project.
   
   
4. The section features three Viewpoints. The first is by Brian Bowen, in response to ENR’s November 2006 PPD story on innovative project delivery at the London Olympics. He discusses other major changes happening in England and potential barriers to adoption here.
   
   
5. Marketplace Viewpoint is by Scott Simpson on the “Next Architect,” and how new technology and increased owner pressures are changing design and construction.
   
   
6. The Technical Viewpoint by George Heery describes the evolution and benefits of a new system, bridging/ CM, that offers significant advantages to owners. Heery comments further on the system in a podcast that can be heard and downloaded by clicking here.