Deliverers of oil and gas major projects in Alberta are late to the game of collaborative construction, but that could actually help them realize the benefits in cost, schedule and quality that have been proven in other markets.

Lessons from successful collaborative projects, including increasing numbers of commercial and institutional projects in Alberta, can help set pathways for meaningful change in the province’s industrial environment, according to Ken Chapman, executive-in-residence at GO Productivity.

As part of the Project Alignment and Delivery initiative, GO Productivity and the Construction Owners Association of Alberta are hosting a workshop on May 7 to help facilitate delivery improvements using the collaborative construction approach. This will include case studies and breakout sessions on practically applying lessons from successful collaborative projects.

 “This is not a new theory, [and] this is not a flavour of the month. This is a significant mindset change that is being led by some of the most progressive heavy industrial construction project owners. We’re looking at learning from those people, and adapting those learnings into Alberta industrial construction,” Chapman said.

Alberta-based Chandos Construction Ltd. says that it delivered the first Integrated Project Delivery contract in the province, and one of the first in the country. It’s an $11.4-million office building in Edmonton known as the Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce, and construction was underway from 2012 to 2015.

In his speech at the grand opening, then-mayor Don Iveson praised the collaborative construction model.

“How is it that [the project] is nearing completion and is 25 per cent ahead of schedule, five per cent under budget and has zero change orders in an industry that is plagued with missed deliveries, cost-overruns and litigation? Especially given that this project aims to be the world’s most northerly net-zero energy building, Edmonton’s first LEED Platinum commercial building and Alberta’s first Living Building certified project?” he asked.

“We built a team of professionals and tradesmen that were intrinsically motivated to do something different, shared the same core values, and wanted to create a legacy project for Edmonton. We found partners that wanted to test a better construction model — what we have come to know as Integrated Project Delivery. We extended trust, respect and safety to try new things to these team members and, well, look at what they all did.”

 Mosaic Centre is one of the case studies on the agenda at the GO Productivity/COAA workshop on May 7. So are presentations and discussions about collaborative delivery on industrial projects globally.

“Collaboration is an approach to industrial construction that has caught on around the world in significant areas that we’re competitive with for investment,” Chapman said.

“We’re looking at individual projects that can demonstrate how collaboration would actually be applied, and to implement it in smaller projects or in pieces of larger projects to actually learn how to do it.”

The GO Productivity/COAA workshop will be of most benefit for project owners, designers and constructors, subcontractors, craft trades, logistics, service and product suppliers who want to learn more about and be better at collaborative construction approaches, Chapman said.

Click here for more information and to buy tickets.