We can all agree the Egyptians knew a thing or two about architecture and construction. After all, the Great Pyramids at Giza are one of the world’s most extraordinary engineering achievements. What strategy did the Egyptians use to accomplish this feat? It’s a good bet that the design and construction was guided and executed with a single point of responsibility: a “master builder,” today known as “design-build.”

Collaboration and trust: true markers of design-build

One single point of responsibility. One contract. These are the hallmarks of design-build. But it’s the collaboration and trust behind the contract and delivery method that truly defines design-build and makes it an ideal option to meet schedule, cost and quality goals.

To ensure we not only successfully embraced this relatively new delivery method, but to truly excel and lead, we developed the Design-Build Center of Excellence (DBCEx) in 2009, to educate, mentor and advise Kitchell project teams with an ongoing, hands-on role: Design-build Done Right™ (the Design Build Institute of America’s raison d’etre). The DBCEx is led by an advisory board of six experienced design-build professionals, each active members in DBIA with the Designated Design-Build Professional accreditation.

“As an architect who has been working for construction companies for most of my career, I cannot overstate the value of the design-build delivery model,” said Kitchell Director of QA and one of the founders of the DBCEx Bill Vandrovec. “The notion of not having to redraw anything in a plan is, in a word, staggering. That constructability reviews are ‘baked in’ to the early stages of design is a tremendous benefit to the entire team, especially, of course, to the owner.” It is for these reasons, among many others, the Design-Build Center for Excellence was formed.

As a result of our investment in mastering design-build, some of our most successful projects, 65 of them totaling $6.5 billion in California, Arizona, Nevada and Iowa, have been created via this delivery method. Two significant projects, California Health Care Facility (Stockton, Calif.) and Dignity Health’s Chandler Regional Medical Center Dignity (Chandler, Ariz.), were singled out by the Design Build Institute of America with its distinguished Design-Build awards. Chandler Regional Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Jane Hanson captured the value of design-build with this comment: “The team exemplified collaboration, integrity and excellence in execution. Its members worked together and with us and the architect to the benefit of patients, healthcare providers, hospital administrators and the community.” We hear similar comments on every design-build project.

Taking our design-build expertise one big step further with education

Our close work with architects and owners prompted us to create a comprehensive design-build curriculum to keep us at the forefront of design-build as it evolves.

Our comprehensive training comprises eight distinct modules over the course of 20 continuing education hours. For example, Module 2 focuses on Team Establishment and Leadership, exploring the dynamics and techniques of creating a high performance integrated team and how to draw out the best attributes of individual members, while keeping owners engaged as full practicing collaborators and partners. For our 2016 educational series kick-off, Dr. Barbara Jackson, a guiding force in the design and construction arena, shared her philosophy harvesting input from all of the various players to ensure success with a crowd of design-build enthusiasts from across Kitchell.

“Kitchell is a company with a very diverse offering of construction services,” said Kitchell Regional Executive Dave Kirn, another DBCEx co-founder. “We work for both public and private clients in many market segments. The goal of the DBCEx is to bring this diverse experience into focus and educate/train our staff as the knowledge and experience grows.  We share lessons learned and points of view from many diverse perspectives to grow knowledge exponentially rather than individually.”

Or as the great philosopher Phil Jackson once said so eloquently, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

Steve Whitworth, Vice President, Texas Region

Our series shining a light on Kitchell’s employee-owners continues with a conversation with Steve Whitworth, Vice President, Texas Region. While we had a base in Texas in the ‘80s, Kitchell opened its first office there since then in Austin in 2014 and we’re staffing our most recent office, in Houston.

While Steve is a recent transplant, he’s taken to the Lone Star State in a big way. (It certainly helps that he spent five years working on projects for Medical City Dallas). It’s welcomed him, and the entire Kitchell team with open arms proving that the great Texan Lyle Lovett knows what he’s talking about… “That’s right you’re not from Texas but Texas wants you anyway!”

Why did Kitchell open an office in Texas?

During the recession, Texas was able to weather the storm better than other regions and we saw great opportunity here. Kitchell’s longevity is based in large part on its nimbleness, our ability to quickly to make a big play in a new market or industry and create a home base where the demand is. Houston is the healthcare capital of the United States, and healthcare construction is our “sweet spot.” In fact we jumped into Texas via healthcare with projects for Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Temple and in College Station.

Does the Texas market differ from other markets and how so?

Texans likes doing business with Texans. They are very loyal to their own and we’re the new kids on the block. But we’re doing a great job blending our Kitchell culture with Texas culture, hiring Texas natives who have inculcated the rest of us to the Texas way! It’s been fascinating to interview Texans, all of whom have stated they’ll move anywhere as long as it’s in Texas! They simply don’t want to go anywhere else and now I know why.

What’s the feeling amongst the Texas team?

There’s incredible energy as we ramp up and tell Texas our story. We tell people we bring the feel of a small contractor but with large contractor resources. It’s quite thrilling to have this sense of exploring new horizons, but bringing proven depth and strength. Internally, we have the feeling that we’re building something much larger than ourselves and we have the opportunity to shape it the way we want.

What’s the best thing about living in Texas?

Besides good barbeque, it’s a friendly place. People are so nice. There are four large cities but the majority of the state is ranchland. Most people I meet grew up in small towns and on ranches. It’s no lie, Texans are the friendliest, most open people you will meet. I love it here.

What took you the longest to grow accustomed to?

The difference between the markets is eye-opening. Austin is completely different from Houston which is different from Dallas/Fort Worth. It’s akin to the differences between Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles and the distances are kind of the same.

What are you looking for in an ideal Texas job candidate?

We are looking for exceptional project managers and superintendents, specifically those who have spent the majority of their careers in Texas. Prospects are excited by the fact that a 66-year-old company has planted a flag in their home state, and that they can build something from the ground up. It’s very appealing to them. We hear this a lot at our Texas A&M and Texas State recruitment events.