Case-based Study and Analysis of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Approach and Trust-Building Attributes

Abstract

The goal of this Ph.D. research is to explore the IPD contractual strategies, to highlight the elements that distinguish IPD from a traditional delivery approach, to analyze how trust-based relationships are established and promoted, and to demonstrate if/how trust and IPD contractual principles correlate. The result of this research will promote the understanding of the industry on the strategies that promote trust and integration through real world case studies. The significance of the subject becomes more evident when reflecting on the current industry's crisis: productivity loss, fragmented delivery process, and lack of trust and collaboration. Through a literature review a Project Delivery and Contracting Strategies (PDCS) framework, an IPD traits framework, and a trust-Building framework are developed. The frameworks are used as the organizational tools to structure and inquire relevant information on the two IPD projects. An expert panel is assembled to discuss the frameworks and the findings of literature analysis and to seek the industry's insight on the units of analysis for contract, and the units of measure for trust. The units of analysis for contract are elements, such as strategies for risks/rewards sharing, liability considerations, decision making authority, and governance. The units of measure for trust are the individuals' perception, and the trust-building attributes as outlined in table 4-1. Two IPD projects were selected and their contract agreements were studied. A questionnaire including both open-ended questions and multiple choice questions was developed based on the information collected through: 1. the IPD agreements in each case study, 2. the literature-based frameworks on trust and project delivery contracting strategies. Accordingly, two IPD case studies are developed following the analysis of their IPD agreements and the individual one-on-one interviews with their key IPD players. The trust-building framework presented in this work includes a series of techniques that the contracting parties can follow when establishing their contractual and managerial strategies and also when interacting with each other.