Quantitative Analysis of Partnered Project Performance

Abstract

Partnering is a technique that has become the construction industry's application of total quality management and enjoys widespread use throughout the industry. This paper details the results of a statistical analysis of over 400 Texas Department of Transportation construction projects worth a total investment of nearly $2.1 billion. Half the projects were completed under partnering agreements. After comparing the two groups of projects, the paper concludes that partnering promises to furnish a means to control the two prime project performance indicators—cost growth and time growth. Additionally, in a large construction program the continuous application of partnering will result in improved project performance across the entire program.