While
I didn't write this for school, this was a submission for the
National Partnership for Highway Quality's 2004 "Making
a Difference Award" that I submitted during my senior year,
drawing in part upon my PR Case Study from my PR Practices course.
NPHQ:
Making a Difference Awards
Nomination
submission:
S.C.
Route 802, Beaufort County, South Carolina
Client:
S.C. Department of Transportation
Prime Contractor: U.S. Group, Inc.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The S.C. Route
802 widening project (SCDOT Project File Number 7.623) in Beaufort
County, South Carolina was a unique partnership in which the S.C.
Department of Transportation, the contractor, and local community
stakeholders worked together to complete a project on time, with
a minimum of adverse community impact, and with the full involvement
of all parties.
The project
was to widen S.C. Route 802 (Sams Point Road) on Lady’s Island,
South Carolina from two lanes to four, with a center turn lane
and earthen medians at various points along the project.
This included the realignment of one road and three intersections
that connected with Route 802.
Work began
on the project in May of 2002, and was completed in December of
2003. This was approximately one month ahead of the scheduled
completion date, with six percent of total contract time remaining.
The total contract amount, with Change Orders, was $6.577 million.
This project
was overseen by CRM-West, a Construction Resource Management group
tasked by the South Carolina Department of Transportation to oversee
several projects under its 27-7 accelerated road construction
projects program, and built by U.S. Group, Inc., a South Carolina-based
general contractor.
A listing of
key parties involved in this project would include:
S.C.
Department of Transportation
David
Glenn,
District Construction Engineer
Rob
McFee,
Resident Construction Engineer
U.S.
Group, Inc.
Greg
Cook, Regional Manager
Lee
Wilson, Project Manager
Earl
Capps, Community/Media Relations
CRM-West/Davis
& Floyd
Reed
Bull (Davis & Floyd),
Design Project Coordinator
Ray Pendleton (Davis & Floyd),"
District Construction Engineer
Dan Gawenda (CRM West)
Construction Project Coordinator
Austin Philips (CRM West),
Project Administrator
Lady’s
Island Bus. &
Prof. Association
Jan
Malinowski, President
Jim Hicks, Planning Commissioner
EVALUATION
CRITERIA
Measurement
of quality end result/Customer focus:
U.S. Group,
Inc., the prime contractor for the project, received the Spirit
Award, an annual community service award given by LIBPA (Lady’s
Island Business and Professional Association). This award
was given for the prompt completion of the Route 802 project,
as well as the prime contractor’s implementation of its Community
Relations program to keep the community and stakeholders more
informed. Jan Malinowski, the President of LIBPA, in a letter
to Elizabeth Mabry (attached with this submission), Executive
Director of the S.C. Department of Transportation, praised the
contractor as having “made a significant contribution to our community.”
The most positive
result of this joint effort was the positive image it helped foster
of the parties involved in the project management team.
According to Jim Hicks of LIBPA, who also serves on the county’s
Planning Commission, the contractor had developed “a very positive
image in the community”. Hicks’ opinion is seconded by LIBPA
President Malinowski, whose letter points out: “The community
is very proud of not only the quality and appearance of the new
road but the manner in which it was completed.”
Originality/Ingenuity
of Innovation
The Route 802
project presented a challenge to the project team. A prior
major project in the community had gone badly, leaving a poor
image of the road construction industry, and a reluctance by the
community to accept assurances that this project would be any
different. According to Jim Hicks of LIBPA, the most notable
problem with the prior project was a “failure to communicate.”
A team effort was made early on to include community stakeholders,
such as including the LIBPA leadership in the project planning
process, and well as including community representatives in the
weekly project progress meetings.
The most innovative
solution employed on the project was to address to problem of
public communication. This led to the development of the
contractor’s Community Relations program, which is now a standard
part of the company’s major road projects. Organized by
Greg Cook and Earl Capps of U.S. Group, the program was initiated
to keep the public in the community served by Route 802 more informed.
Capps developed a website for the project, which included construction
schedules, and progress photos, as well as an opportunity for
visitors to sign up to receive traffic alert e-mails. A
monthly newsletter was written for community organizations to
provide progress reports on the project. In addition, the
U.S. Group management team of Cook, Capps, and Project Manager
Lee Wilson, kept in regular contact with community VIPs, including
community organization and school officials.
In keeping
with the prime contractor’s “Good Neighbor” philosophy of public
communications, this website and traffic alert e-mail list was
used to publish and disseminate important public safety information
regarding hurricane evacuation during the approach of a major
hurricane during the 2003 hurricane season. While the storm
eventually turned away, the ability of the prime contractor to
send traffic-related information to hundreds of households in
the vicinity of the 802 project was of direct benefit to the safety
of the coastal community.
This innovative
program, which was developed and is operated solely by staff of
the prime contractor, is the first contractor-managed Community
Relations program in South Carolina. In meeting the challenges
of the community in the vicinity of the Route 802 project, the
contractor was able to develop a program which has gone on to
be of considerable benefit to motorists and communities across
South Carolina.
Cooperation
involved in Innovation
As stated above,
the project involved four key parties: the South Carolina Department
of Transportation, as the client, CRM West/Davis and Floyd, the
Construction Resource Management group tasked to oversee the project
for the Department of Transportation, U.S. Group, Inc., the prime
contractor over the project, and the Lady’s Island Business and
Professional Association. Key representatives of each organization
are also named above in the Project Overview.
Implementation
of innovation by respective organizations
The most innovative
aspect of the Route 802 project was the close coordination between
all parties involved. The positive benefits allowed the
contractor to complete work while avoiding both unnecessary delays
and negative publicity, and allowed the community leaders a voice
in the process, which greatly enhanced the local public’s confidence
in the construction programs of the S.C. Department of Transportation.
The first specific
innovation was the effort by representatives of the S.C. Department
of Transportation and CRM-West to include community leaders in
the project, from the earliest stages of planning. This
helped to create a higher level of trust by the public in the
project, and helped insure the final design of the project would
better reflect the desires and needs of the local community.
The second
specific innovation was the Community Relations program implemented
by the prime contractor, as detailed above.
Cost and/or
time savings
On this project,
as well others involving U.S. Group, Inc., the joint efforts at
communication with the public has created goodwill, as well as
reducing negative public pressure upon the Department of Transportation
that can lead to politically-motivated quick fixes that are intended
to reduce pressure, but do little or nothing to expedite the completion
of a project. While many of these savings are difficult
to quantify, the trust developed between the parties allowed the
contractor to conduct their operations in the most expedient manner,
which helped insure the early completion of the project.
The contractor
was able to use this goodwill on more than one occasion to seek
input that reduced the impact of work upon the community.
When necessary, the contractor was also able to rely upon the
goodwill and trust developed to defuse problems caused by unavoidable
work that created short-term problems in order to overcome hurdles
on the project. However, the contractor made every effort
to not abuse this goodwill by communicating clearly with all parties
before potential conflicts would occur, and attempting to negotiate
alternatives whenever possible, or to work to mitigate the impact
when conflicts were unavoidable.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The
Route 802 project was an example of an outstanding project in
many respects. It was well-managed, completed ahead of schedule,
and involved an outstanding team effort which enabled the project
to be completed with a minimum of problems for all involved.
In the undertaking of this project, meeting some of the long-standing
challenges allowed the parties to work together to create new
and innovative solutions to the issues of public communication
and involvement. From this project, the parties have come
away having developed new tools with which to communicate with
the public, and have improved the public’s perception of the road
construction industry in South Carolina.
While the groundbreaking
lessons learned about effective public communication in road construction
are important, then most important lesson learned from the Route
802 project was that when every party is allowed the opportunity
to get involved and make a difference, the results can be beneficial
for all concerned. It is the hope of the parties involved
that the lessons learned from this experience will be studied
and adapted to fit the individual needs of the communities in
which future road construction projects are undertaken.
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