Four Owner’s Reps Weigh in on Adapting to Industry Evolution, Shifting Client Needs

By CN Staff

In an era of labor shortages, emerging delivery models, political shifts, integrated technology, supply-chain disruptions and rising expectations for collaborative, community-facing and mission-driven projects, owner’s representatives have had to evolve. These critical project team members are adapting their approaches, expanding their scopes, and responding to new demands to keep projects moving forward.

For the July/August edition of Correctional News, the publication invited Ed Whatley, PE, CCM, senior vice president and director of Program Management at CGL Companies; Tim Hancock, senior executive director and justice lead at Vanir; Cameron Glass, director of justice at Kitchell; and Bill Dobyns, senior project management direct for Turner & Townsend Heery, to weigh in on the changing role of the owner’s rep. See the original article for their additional thoughts on the role’s shift from enforcer to partner, requiring a new skillset and the ability to address new pressures and meet higher expectations.

CN: How has the role of the owner’s rep in corrections evolved over the past decade?

Whatley: The past decade has seen a number of changes both within the criminal justice space and in the world at large: economic volatility, technological changes, changing criminal justice practices and expectations, inflation, labor shortages, the Covid-19 pandemic. The result is that our clients are experiencing unprecedented volatility and uncertainty. Criminal justice facilities require significant investments of public resources. The leaders who authorize and fund these projects want to know what the projects will cost, and they want to know that they are making the best decisions for their constituents. It is becoming more difficult to predict future outcomes with any certainty.

Hancock: The role has shifted from being primarily technical and schedule-focused to being a strategic advisor and consensus builder. In the past, owner’s reps were often engaged to manage processes and mitigate risk. Today, we’re helping shape delivery models, facilitate early stakeholder alignment, and manage public perception—particularly on projects that are politically or socially sensitive. Progressive Design-Build and CM-at-Risk models have pushed us to engage earlier, advocate for more collaborative team structures, and ensure transparency throughout the process. Budget constraints have also heightened our role in value management and long-range phasing.

CN: As technology, offsite manufacturing, and integrated systems play a greater role in facility design and operations, how has your coordination approach changed?

GLASS: Technology and integration have changed everything from how we coordinate to how we anticipate issues. We’re no longer waiting on drawings to catch up with construction. We’re in real-time coordination using BIM and cloud-based design tools from day one. Offsite manufacturing and modular components add a new layer of complexity. Logistics, lead times, and sequencing have to be locked in much earlier, and we’re working closer than ever with fabricators and vendors to make sure systems arrive just-in-time. Gone are the days of walking the field, taking some photos and issuing a report. With the right tools and people in the room early, it’s a game-changer for quality and predictability.

Dobyns: Although many more tools are available today to refine the coordination process, for the end user there can be a bit of information overload. To the end user, the tools we use every day to facilitate coordination can be overwhelming. A BIM model, while common in today’s design and construction world, is often a completely new concept to an operator. The owner’s rep needs to make sure the tools are used in a manner that the end user can understand and digest. The same issue can affect off-site manufacturing or prefabrication. The end user often does not have the background to visualize these components in their final state. Visits to the manufacturer are becoming more important in these situations. End users can see a finished product and make decisions about their own facility by seeing things in person versus trying to visualize them from drawings.

CN: Have you worked on any recent projects where your role evolved in an unexpected way?

Whatley: I can’t think of a project where my role didn’t evolve into something unexpected. As projects become more complicated, one role that has become increasingly more important is that of communications experts. We have a standing partnership with a firm that handles project communications, and that partnership is invaluable. It is critical that project teams communicate timely, accurate, and consistent information to internal stakeholders as well as interested parties external to the project team.

Hancock: We were brought on to manage construction for a youth facility, but our role expanded significantly as the county shifted toward a trauma-informed, rehabilitative model. We facilitated engagement between probation leadership, mental health providers, educators, and the local community to ensure the facility design reflected therapeutic goals—not just security. This meant supporting smaller housing units, integrated classrooms and spaces for family interaction. Our team also navigated pandemic-related disruptions while maintaining schedule and budget. Ultimately, we helped deliver a modern, mission-driven facility that supports youth development and successful reentry.

Glass: On a recent project, the [client] had originally planned to go with a traditional design-build delivery method, but after early conversations about scope complexity, market volatility, and stakeholder coordination, we worked with their leadership team to pivot to Progressive Design-Build. That shift … required detailed discussions around risk allocation, team collaboration and timeline compression. We brought in data, showed examples from other counties, states, and helped build internal confidence that Progressive Design-Build would give them more control and flexibility during design.

Dobyns: In a couple of recent projects, we were hired as an alternative delivery method advisor to help navigate agencies through their first use of alternative delivery. One a Progressive Design-Build and one a CM-at-Risk project. In both of these projects … they had no established procurement methods or procedures, our role evolved quickly from an advisor to an educator. We helped to establish processes and procedures in purchasing, accounting and legal while educating those department employees. We used our relationships with legal teams, third-party estimating teams and design teams to help explain and create processes to facilitate the chosen delivery method.