On playing cello, refurbishment and a better way of building

Here you see Andreas Bloch. Andreas is a client consultant, who also plays the cello. And that is actually one of the reasons why we finished 6 weeks ahead of schedule when we refurbished three schools in Skælskør.

The whole team was given a taste of Andreas’ playing when we held the first building meeting, attended by everyone from the school caretaker to the local mayor. It was the first of many such meetings, where everything from sailing trips to communal cookery classes were offered.

Delivery 6 weeks ahead of schedule

It might sound slightly strange and rather inefficient to spend time on that kind of thing, when the objective was to refurbish and modernise three schools. But in reality it was quite effective. So effective in fact that we delivered the completed result 6 weeks ahead of schedule. Because when you spend time getting to know each other really well, you build a foundation of trust, openness and dialogue. So all expectations, pitfalls and success criteria come out into the open much more easily. And you avoid spending costly time on arguments over budgets and schedules, instead focusing on the shared objective: To get as much quality as possible for the money.

Partnering – a better way to collaborate

This form of collaboration is also called partnering, where in essence everybody declares their hand, states their honest expectations and really listens to each other.

In this particular case, once everyone in the team had got used to this different form of collaboration, an excellent building process resulted where mutual trust grew steadily as the construction proceeded. And when disagreements arose, they were resolved quickly, efficiently and in a good atmosphere of understanding.

80% built by local tradesmen

One of the wishes of the municipality was that local tradesmen should carry out as much as possible of the work. They did so, completing tasks on time and at the right quality. Many of them had been pupils at the schools, and had local knowledge which turned out to be a great advantage. As much as 80% of all the building tasks were carried out by local tradesmen.

Finished faster – and money back

The result of choosing partnering as a collaboration form, and a shared way of tackling the project, was that the task was completed 6 weeks ahead of time – despite a tight schedule. It even meant that Skælskør Municipality got some money back! Of course the sense of pride in the collaboration, which we still feel today, cannot be put in monetary terms.