Focus on Core Value of Enjoyment, Brings Ultimate Success

Enjoyment is not just recommended at DPR, it is one of the company’s core values. DPR’s Austin office recently proved that it is also integral to the success of a project.

DPR had already completed several projects at the Riata Corporate Park in Austin, TX, including six buildings and a parking structure, for owner CarrAmerica, when it was asked to construct a $10 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. office building plus tenant improvement for a major financial services company. While each of the previous projects was successful overall, the goal of closing with zero defects remained illusive. “We worked really hard on those first few buildings and did not achieve that last goal,” said DPR Project Manager Jay Darwish.

Determined to achieve the ultimate success, DPR sat down early on in the process with the owners, architect and subs to brainstorm methods for attaining this goal. Dubbed “Project Eagle” by DPR Austin’s Kevin Jones, the team established a fun work environment in which every member of the team embraced responsibility for achieving zero defects, which included total buy-in from the owners, architects and engineers, and instrumental performances by the project team.

From adopting a project name to developing their own vocabulary, the DPR core value of Enjoyment seemed to underlie everything the project team did:

• “Eagles” were team members who were getting the job done.
• “Buzzards” became a friendly term referring to team members who were not succeeding.
• “Flapping Hard” meant you were struggling. Team members were overheard saying, “I am really flapping hard today.” or “My wings are really getting sore.”
• “Soaring” meant you were doing well, getting through all the items on your punchlist.
• And the “Buzzometer” was a thermometer-like chart used to give the entire team a fun, visual reference of how the individual subcontractors were progressing during the project.

The team’s focus paid off when the project was completed with zero defects and the owner and architect praised the team’s efforts in a letter of commendation for the project’s success. But the most telling indicator of the success of these efforts came not from the owner, architect or DPR, but from a subcontractor on the project. Baker Drywall named Jay Darwish their Project Manager of the Year and Kevin Jones their Superintendent of the Year.