Experts Talk: Improved Collaboration With Outside Authorities at Airports With Scott Jarvis and John Thomas

Experts Talk is an interview series with technical leaders from across our transportation program.

How Treating AHJs as Project Partners Sets Aviation Construction Up for Success

When airport projects move beyond the terminal footprint and into surrounding roadways, utilities and public right of way, coordination with authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) becomes a key project delivery issue. That challenge becomes even more pronounced on alternative delivery projects, where design and construction move concurrently and outside agencies may be reviewing plan packages that are less developed than the 100% plan sets they are used to seeing in traditional design-bid-build. 

Program management expert Scott Jarvis and alternative delivery specialist John Thomas are leaders of our work on the Airfield and Terminal Modernization Program Roadway Improvements Project at Los Angeles International Airport. The project includes the reconfiguration of 4.4 miles of roadways near LAX to reduce local traffic congestion and separate airport and local traffic flows. The progressive design-build project has required coordination with numerous AHJs, including Caltrans, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, and Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, among others. 

Scott has spent years leading large, complex infrastructure programs in aviation, highways and rail, where third-party coordination can shape schedule and cost outcomes. John has helped guide alternative delivery projects through overlapping approvals by defining clear expectations with agencies early and then carrying those relationships through execution. They have seen how a more collaborative approach with AHJs can reduce friction and keep major work moving. 

In this interview, they explain how early coordination reduces friction, the importance of ongoing coordination during execution, and the value of treating AHJs as partners during project delivery.

Q. How does the project delivery method influence the need for collaboration with AHJs?

Scott: On a traditional design-bid-build project, agencies review a complete package at the end of design. Alternative delivery changes that rhythm and creates a need for increased upfront coordination and conversations with AHJs. 

In models such as design-build, progressive design-build or construction manager at-risk (CMAR), design and construction are often happening at the same time, and contractors need enough information to advance the work before every element is fully developed. That can create tension with AHJs that are more familiar with reviewing a finished, 100% set. 

Both the advantage and the challenge of alternative delivery is that a lot of work is happening at the same time. But the process only works when everyone understands what level of project development is appropriate at each stage and what decisions need to be made in parallel. 

Q. What does a more proactive approach to AHJ coordination look like at the beginning of a project?

John: We typically develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) framework that we work through with AHJs at the very beginning of a project. As part of that, we define exactly what goes into a 30% plan set, a 60%, a 90% and so on. Many permitting authorities are used to getting 100% plans, and so setting expectations is very important. We don’t want them to just say, “You’re missing X and Y. Resubmit.” Instead, we let them know what to expect and which comments make sense at what point. Both so that they won’t reject plans early, but also so that they don’t add comments late after plans have moved ahead. 

We also do a lot of coordination to determine which permitting agencies have final authority over which sections of plans. In several areas near LAX, for instance, overlapping jurisdictions mean that multiple agencies or departments have some overlapping responsibility in a location. Determining who will be the final permitting agency can require careful collaboration and agreement among all parties. Securing agreement on that responsibility early can help avoid delays or confusion further in the project delivery process. 

Q. What’s the benefit of being proactive with communication with AHJs? Why bother? On the flip side, what’s the risk of paying less attention to this step?

Scott: The biggest benefit is schedule protection, which quickly becomes a cost benefit, too. The biggest and most expensive changes on a construction project are when the contractor gets delayed. Projects require a huge amount of overhead every day, tied to people, equipment and material. On major airport projects, every day of delay can add hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost. 

For airports trying to improve operations alongside delivering substantial public capital improvements, those schedule hits can become business-critical problems very quickly. Partnering with AHJs and working closely with them from the beginning does add some upfront cost, but it’s much smaller than the risk of a long delay or claim.

As important as upfront partnering and proactive communication are, another aspect of proactive engagement with AHJs is establishing the design criteria early in the project development process. With early agreement on the criteria, the technical “rule book” is established in a timely manner, resulting in project plans being designed and reviewed across a transparent, consistent platform.

These various ways to be proactive in communication also relate to the impact of the project delivery method that is selected. Alternative delivery methods are often chosen specifically for their schedule benefits. If meeting an accelerated schedule is very important for a project, it makes sense to do what we can to protect that schedule.

John: Flexibility can also be a benefit. In Los Angeles, for example, we were able to work with authorities to permit early foundation work on a bridge, before a full permit package was available. When the contractor neared the time to place foundations, independent design checks were still happening for the superstructure, meaning the full permit package was not ready. But the foundations had been checked and reviewed. So we secured AHJ approval for a standalone permit to drill those and keep the construction moving without delay while we completed the superstructure plans. 

That was achieved because we communicated with them as partners from the beginning of the project. All of the parties involved trust us and know that we are dedicated to the best interests of the project. That trust meant there was more willingness to be flexible.

Q. What happens in execution? There’s more to AHJ coordination than just setting it up at the beginning.

Scott: Setting up the right foundation with MOUs and clear communication is the first challenge. After it’s set up, we still need to implement a plan and follow through to be successful. 

Plan implementation involves continually reviewing the overall project schedule, including the critical or near critical activities that could be impacted by delayed AHJ approvals. When balancing many project delivery priorities, analysis of the schedule helps the team to focus on the reviews and approvals that, if delayed, could have the greatest impact to the schedule.

Successful AHJ execution also involves structured communication and issue resolution, including scheduling and prioritizing regular meetings with the right subject matter experts and decision-makers in the room. Often the worst situation for a fast moving, alternative delivery project is a lack of decisions. Thus, it is important to not only have an effective decision-making structure in place, but to also emphasize the importance of timely execution of the process.

John: It’s really helpful to bring the permitting agency into the project as a partner, not just a plan reviewing agency. In L.A., one of our primary permitting agencies has offices at the project site, right next to the contractor, and has staff there several days a week. That access means that when questions arise, whether on the owner side or the contractor side, we’re able to just walk over to their desk and say, “Hey, we're going to be submitting this plan set. We've got some questions. What do we do to make this work? What are your expectations?”

It’s been very valuable to have those opportunities to really work with them, rather than just toss a plan set over the fence and say, “Review and give us comments.” That real true partnership has been a key part of success in keeping the airport project moving forward.

Q. What’s been the one most impactful change you’ve seen that can positively influence a project?

Scott: In a word: partnership. As John said, we’ve found that permitting agencies appreciate being treated as a partner and true team member. 

If you view them as a plan checker, they'll be a great plan checker. And that's what they're going to focus on: perhaps any little detail they can find in the plans, and then the parties start going back and forth with comments. But if you bring them on early on as a partner, then they're working with you to achieve a common goal.

John: Yes, establishing those common goals and objectives, a unified mission, is incredibly important. In addition to that, ongoing open communication has been a real game changer. 

Scott mentioned the importance of regular meetings. Specifically, we bring in permitting agency staff to several recurring meetings. They’re invited to our technical work group meetings that we hold weekly with each of the different disciplines. There, they can get any questions answered quickly and provide guidance to keep reviews moving quickly. We also have a standing meeting with just AHJs and the owner to provide an opportunity to speak candidly and bring up any concerns or questions. 

By acknowledging their valuable role on the team delivering this project, we keep everyone focused on moving forward toward the same goal. And the approach has paid off. In Los Angeles, we've had all of our plan sets permitted without delay to construction. There have been some changes made after permitting, but the contractor has been able to begin construction without delay, which is a huge success on a program of this size. 

Each Experts Talk interview illuminates a different aspect of transportation infrastructure planning, design and delivery. Check back regularly for new insights from the specialized experts and thought leaders behind our award-winning, full service consulting practice.