2020 CMAA Project Achievement Award
Water/Wastewater/Utility: Construction value greater than $50 Million
Temecula Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility 23 MGD Expansion Project
Owner: Eastern Municipal Water District | CM: TRC Companies
This CM team consisted of owner and consultant personnel, i.e. the District's standard way of delivering large projects. Due to the importance of this project, EMWD’s Construction Administrator (CA) was intimately involved as well as the Construction Administrative Representative (CAR), and the inspections team and worked side by side with the TRC (formerly Vali Cooper & Associates) CM, Deputy CM, and OE. This combination of personnel worked seamlessly and cohesively as a team. The CM’s unique approach to management was: open communication, lead with participation, guide team around sticking points, allocate responsibility, and hold team members accountable.
This manifested itself within the CM team as daily meetings were held for inspections to debrief the team on field activities and for the office staff to apprise inspections of any pending changes, issues, or submittals. The CM also met daily, as much as possible, with the Contractor’s Project Manager. This was to keep open dialog alive throughout the duration of the project. Both parties were intentional in their efforts at keeping the meetings a regular occurrence. Since the CA was not onsite full time, the CM would provide the CA with a summary of discussions. The CA would also inform the CM of any discussions he had with any of the Contractor’s management team. This kept the CA and the CM in sync, in real time, in regard to project issues, trends, opportunities, or potential problems. Since team congruence was so important, the CM made a tough decision early on in the project to replace a key individual on its team.
As this was a major, high profile project for the Owner, the CM understood the importance of having the right personalities on the team. Unresolved personnel conflicts that lingered could disrupt the even temperament needed to keep open dialog and open lines of communication among CM, Contractor, and Owner through the life of the project. These efforts resulted in a truly blended team approach with a goal to perform as one.
