Engineering Influence from ACEC
Episodes
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
John Carrato and Michael Carragher, the Chair and Vice Chair of the ACEC Research Institute joined Engineering Influence to talk about the organization's mission, vision and future.
Transcript:
Host:Welcome to another edition of Engineering Influence, a podcast by the American Council of Engineering Companies. One of the really exciting things that was announced over the past was the development of the ACEC Research Institute, which would be the research arm of the Council. Something that really wasn't there before. While we do now have an impressive advocacy program. While we have a lot of talent on education and even some market research staff, we've never really had a dedicated organization that actually took an analytical look at the industry and trends that are guiding the engineering industry as we move forward into really a world that is based on data technology and, and really just a rapid change in the overall marketplace. And the ACEC Research Institute, which was officially launched at the board of directors meeting just this last month on a virtual platform.
Host:We wanted to be able to do it personally, but unfortunately in the world we live in right now of COVID, we had to go virtual and we and we released the first promotional effort to announce the ACEC Research Institute. We want to talk about that today. And we're very pleased to be joined by two leaders of the Institute. John Carrato. He is the Chair of the Research Institute. He is also president and CEO of Benesch, a multi-disciplined professional services firm providing civil structural, electrical, mechanical, geo-technical landscape architecture and environmental services. And also we're joined by the Vice Chair, Michael Carragher. Michael is president, CEO of VHB, a multidisciplinary civil engineering consulting and design firm headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts. John and Michael both welcome to the program.
John Carrato:Thanks Jeff, we're really excited to get the, get the opportunity to talk about these two today.Yeah, it's a great thing. And I wanted to kind of go over the mission here. I cause it's, it's, it's really poignant. The Institute's mission is to deliver knowledge and business strategies that guide and elevate the engineering industry. And it's been tasked with identifying funding and providing industry wide research forecasts and trend analysis that will help capitalize on the rapidly changing nature of technology and society to ensure a sustainable engineering industry, to promote the engineering industries, professions the professions in a central value to society and to inspire future generations to solve the world's most challenging problems through engineering. Not at all an easy task.
John Carrato:Well, it came to fruition as part of developing the ACEC strategic plan. It was pretty clear that we want to be an influential thought leader in the industry. So the Institute will help accomplish this by being the leading source of injury industry-wide research forecasts and cleanse analysis. So repurposing the existing foundation, which solely focused on scholarships was a great way to stand up the Institute. So that's really what we've done. We've changed the bylaws, we'll still be giving out the scholarships, but primary focus now will be positioning us as a thought leader.
Host:And I, it's, it's important because as an industry you need to have some kind of framework. You need to have some kind of system in place to be able to actually gather the data about the impact of the industry. Because it's, it's large both in the public sphere and the private market.
Host:In your, in your opinion I guess we'll start with John and then toss the mic. Why is having the Institute in place and developing research so important both for ACEC as the organization that's trying to get the word out about the importance and the impact of the industry, but also to individual farm executives who are doing the day to day work to maintain and expand their own businesses?
John Carrato:Well, I, I think you know, things are changing rapidly in our industry, in the world. Whether it be climate change and the need for a more resilient infrastructure or staying ahead of the frenetic pace of emerging technologies. Engineers need to be at the forefront. So one of our goals is to demonstrate that the engineering profession by essential value to society, which kind of lifts all of our boats. If, if we're at the forefront of these things as they come about, it positions our firms to compete for that work as well.
Mike Carragher:You know, it's interesting, Jeff, our our member firms are sometimes challenged with finding time to contemplate future trends and opportunities and look out there on the horizon and we see the research Institute really having the opportunity to step back to look across that horizon of the possible and kind of organize the broad array of influencing elements and trends and provide some focused insight into which are the key opportunity areas or key areas for research that we should all be thinking about. And in doing so, we'll be able to really be seen and to provide guidance as thought leaders to not only our industry and our industry's leaders, but really to our nation's leaders as they help shape the course of our future together.
Host:That's a really good point. I mean you're both leaders in the industry leading your own firms and a lot of we hear from our executives, you know, they're so busy on the day to day that it's not so easy to kind of step aside and look at you know, prognosticate about what's happening next, especially in this market. There's a lot of challenge, but there's a lot of opportunity for both of you. What do you think is the biggest threat to the industry right now and what do you think is the best kind of an untapped opportunity?
Mike Carragher:You know, Jeff, as we look out there, there, you know, the, the pace of change as always has continued to increase and it just continues at an ever increasing pace. And I think one of the things that is influencing that pace of change and the array of possible on the horizon is the advancement of technologies, which is exponentially increasing in its pace. And we at the Institute are working hard to think about how to help make that understandable and how to kind of bring that within the grasp of our member firms. So that we can help shape the the opportunities that come out of these, you know, emerging and, and developing technologies as really additional tools to help us solve our client's challenges. The broad array of things from you know, climate change and the need for resiliency and how that plays into sustainability and all those things, you know, the ability to understand them and to address them in a way that helps improve, you know, society and all the way down to people's communities and their daily lives are aided by our ability to embrace and understand how to use these technologies to solve those problems in more thoughtful and creative ways that that really intertwine with a successful, sustainable environment.
John Carrato:And I would just add that I think Mike said it very well that, you know, you can look at these as threats or you can look at them as opportunities and we believe part of our mission as the Institute is to help the industry turn threats into opportunities.
Host:Absolutely. And I think there's on the other side of the world where you're trying to talk about both the changing nature of the marketplace, the, the threats that we all experience in, in climate change disruptive weather patterns or the need for resiliency. These are all things that are part of that larger national conversation. And the best way to try to get a handle on exactly these larger issues is by putting numbers behind them. And you're able to really tell a story and you're able to demonstrate that essential value if you're to actually put numbers behind the statements that you're making from a media standpoint. Of course, you know, that's, that's the world I come in and it's, it's, it's very important to be able to talk to a reporter or talk to a member of the media and be able to say, well, the engineering industry's impact is x and actually back up with a number or talk about different trends or requirements in, in, in what we're advocating for based off of actual statistics. And that's, that's really an important piece of the puzzle.
Mike Carragher:It's interesting, Jeff, as you talk about that and you, you talk about being able to convert that into numbers, that again plays into the array of information that's generating the array of data that's generated and now able to be collected, sorted through and made sense of by some of these emerging technologies. Create the opportunity for us to take that all into account and to organize it, you know, synthesize it and with it come out with more definitive guidance, more definitive elements to convert those thoughts and ideas about how we address the issues across the horizon into, you know, real digestible elements with sound backing so that we can share that with, you know, society at large and with the leadership in Congress as well.
Host:What do you think the industry does well as a whole in terms of advancing really our overall business interests? And where do you think we fall short?
John Carrato:ACEC does a great job, excuse me, of advocating for the industry, whether it be for investment in infrastructure fighting onerous legislation, but unfortunately we're not, we don't always have a seat at the table. And we've seen that Linda and her team are working hard to change, that the Institute can help by being at the forefront of issues such as climate change and technology by producing research positions so ACEC is an intellectual thought leader. So we will, we will be needed at the table. And that's really our goal is we want people to want to sit at the table to implement those decisions.
Mike Carragher:And we see that opportunity to, to be at the table is reinforced when you're providing not reactionary, you know, day to day responses. But when you're really helping to paint the picture of the future and how we navigate the uncertainty of the future, the more that the Institute can provide that type of guidance and insight to our people who are sitting at that table, I think the more influential the conversation that ACEC can bring will be recognized by the broader markets at large.
Host:Absolutely. I mean you, you saw that immediately with the waves of surveys that are being put out by the Institute on business impacts related to coronavirus. Being able to come out and say with certainty. This is how the industry is reacting to the paycheck, protect the paycheck protection program. You know, this is how many firms have taken advantage of the programs as so many firms are, are looking to take advantage of the program. Being able to use that and, and take that not only to the press, which immediately sees numbers and wants to use them, but then also being able to take that to policymakers who were working on those programs. That gives them insight, which is of, of critical need and importance. And if you develop those numbers, people will seek you out. That's, that's a good example of research that's being done. Now I know that there are a lot of projects in the pipeline. What are some of the short term goals for the Institute? And, and long-term. What do you hope to accomplish with some, your research? What's in the pipeline right now?
John Carrato:Well, we as you started the podcast, we didn't get the start leading up to you know, having an in person meeting at the annual conference, but our goal upfront is to really demonstrate the value that the Institute can bring to our members because that will help us stand up our fundraising efforts, which will allow us to reach our, our long-term goals by immediately what we're looking at is over the next three months, we will be hosting three webinars that look towards the future. The topics will be the buildings we live and work in and pack the technology on engineering and funding and the new normal. And these will be conversational style panels. They won't be presentations and they will be leading experts both in their, in our industry and industries that are aligned with us for the long-term. We'll be standing up research advisory council that will help ensure that we have a robust research agenda for the long-term. And we're currently in talks with multiple organizations about teaming to do research.
Mike Carragher:So right now, Jeff, we're, we're starting out, you know, again, we're starting to walk before we can run and, but already we're partnering with FMI on an ownership transfer and management succession survey. The results can be found on our website that was recently completed and shared and it's generated some good conversation in our industry from that. We've also just launched a study kind of a new updated, refreshed look at quality-based selection and you know, that result in kind of a really state-of-the-art report and brings advances that discussion, which has been ongoing for quite a while, but I think gives it a little more depth and currentness and we'll also be looking to provide that to our member organizations is they use that in each state to bring that into the conversation necessarily each of our States. We're also intending to fund study on kind of, again, a new refresh look at what is really the impacts of design build delivery across our industry on the quality of the built project, the treatment of all the members of the design build team and how that works out for each of them. And what's important to know and what is important that legislatures should understand before they go down the path of design, build delivery and also an economic impact of engineering in the United States. We see that, again, getting to your point of trying to put some numbers to categories and to be able to convey the impact and kind of a multiplier impact of the work that, that we as engineers do as it contributes to the overall economy. You know, as we look out on the horizon, we've been developing a longer list that we help to, to work and to refine with a research advisory council that we're looking to work and put that together. But some of the items out there in the horizon, we've touched on today, you know, elements of climate change and resiliency in engineering sustainability the impact of rapid technology change on the engineering industry and what that means for us, the opportunities it opens.
Mike Carragher:And I mean, even if you think of how that plays out with the additional types of expertise that we need to, to bring it into our organizations and how to meld those elements together. We're also looking at you know, a broader perspective around innovation and how do we really encourage and create the environments of innovation within, you know, our engineering firms now and moving forward as things continue to proliferate. We hope to be able to look at a broad array of viable options for infrastructure funding is something that has perplexed and challenged society at large for years and the case only grows in its importance. We're also have a topic looking at women, minorities and the case for inclusion, equity and diversity in the engineering industry. So as you can see, there's kind of a broad array of things that we're looking at and we're hoping to get input and guidance from a kind of wide casted research council to help us narrow those downs and prioritize the projects that we undertake.
Host:Yeah. Each, each and every one of those is a critical area of focus from diversity to innovation technology. It's all really rich ground to mine for not just a good numbers, but then also just that thought leadership. And I've seen some of the details on those, on those round tables. And I gotta tell you it's, heavy hitters. I mean, the people who are, are lining up for, are participating in these roundtables are, are leaders in their field - are recognized names. And, and one of the things that's been said about thought leadership is, is it's not just getting information out there, but it's also being able to convene thought leaders and leading voices in the world to sit down and, and be the organizer to bring these people together to start talking about these issues. And it really does look like the Institute is on a solid firm footing. One of the questions I do have is, is kind of tied into that last point, which is getting involved in the Institute. There's a lot of work that has to be done. And how can ACEC members, how can members of the engineering industry get involved to help the Institute with its mission?
John Carrato:Well, as you know, we're, we're still standing up the Institute, but we would really appreciate any members that have ideas for research to pass those along to us. And we talked about the research advisory council. If anybody's interested in being a member, we would appreciate them reaching out to Daphne Bryant. It's not an open council but we will certainly consider anyone that expresses an interest. And finally we would greatly appreciate any level of contribution. Members are willing to make the support the Institute. Charitable contributions will determine how much research we can perform going forward. And we're just starting to ramp up our fundraising institutes. But it's essential that we have a wide network of supporters in order to accomplish our goals as an Institute.
Mike Carragher:Yeah. That support is going to be critical. And I think when you look at, you know, our, our member firms and their focus and their, their mission statements of what they're trying to do and not just create a successful company but really have a strong impact on the future, I think those things weave together. And this is an opportunity to kind of direct, you know, financial support into the research and study of elements that are going to help broaden the perspective of our industry, of how to, you know, provide a, you know, a safe and sustainable future in the built environment. And that element of understanding that this really, it comes down to - Jeff, you have made the point about being able to convey a numbers and that's important, you know, but everything we do in our industry results in the impact on humanity and the built environment and our ability to kind of not only have the numbers, but to convey the stories down to the human and personal level of how it helps improve the quality of life on this. Something that's very important to us. And as we look to people to be on the, the research advisory council, bring that broad array of perspectives will be, will be important to us and it's also going to be important on our storytelling as we go forward to, to share our perspectives.
Host:Absolutely. Well for those who want to get involved immediately I encourage everyone to take a look at the institutes website. It's ACEC Research Institute, all one word, dot org. They also have links to their social channels. They're on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Follow them because all the research that they're putting out will be posted to those channels. But then also on the, on the website, you go over there right now and you'll see the first few waves of that coronavirus impact survey as well as the FMI ownership transfer management succession survey. It's all there for you to take a look at, download and and review. John and Mike, thank you very much for taking the time today. On a, I guess a pre-holiday Thursday. We're all working from home so the holidays kind of blur. I keep forgetting that it was Memorial Day weekend coming up. But for both of you stay, stay healthy, stay safe and I really want to have you on back on the show as the Institute really gets into full swing. Maybe during those round tables we can kind of reconvene and talk about some of the topics that were discussed and of course with your next big survey going out. We definitely want to have you back on the show.
John Carrato:Thank you very much Jeff. We're really excited about the potential of the Institute. Greatly appreciate the opportunity to talk about it.
Mike Carragher:Yeah, thanks Jeff. This has been a great conversation. I appreciate the opportunity and you know, just to our listeners you know, John and I are always looking for good and supportive people throughout our industry. So we look forward to continuing the conversation.
Host:Absolutely. So again, go to www.acecresearchinstitute.org and check out the research that's already been posted. And again, this has been Engineering Influence, a podcast from the American Council of Engineering Companies. We'll see you on the next episode.
Thursday May 21, 2020
Thursday May 21, 2020
Steve Hall, Matt Reiffer and Katharine Mottley from ACEC's Advocacy team joined Engineering Influence for our very first video podcast to give a government relations update on their Rescue, Recover, Rebuild grassroots advocacy campaign and the current status of the PPP program.
Transcript:
Host:
Welcome to another edition of Engineering Influence, a podcast by American Council of Engineering Companies. Today we are bringing a new kind of twist to our podcast. We're in the world of Zoom and COVID-19. We're going to try to do something visual this time and have a government affairs update with our own Steve Hall who has been practically on Zoom since the day started to um bring us up to date on what's going on with the Paycheck Protection Program. I want to give you guys a little bit of an idea of where things stand here as far as the association goes and with our industry on the PPP program. In our latest member survey on May 8th, we found that 88% of respondents reported applying for the program. And 94% of those said that they'd been approved for the PPP program and another 4% are awaiting approval.
Host:
So it was very popular with the industry and 94% let's see here. And just under two thirds, 64% of those firms plan to use all of the loan funding while 22% plan to use some of it and return to rest only 2% right now or are considering returning all of the funds. So it's a program is being accessed by our industry, many other industries. It is a monumental effort by the SBA. This is not an agency that's actually designed to do something like this to take this amount of volume of applications and this kind of money and try to get it out to the economy. It's been going well but there've been issues with guidance. Treasury and SBA have been slow to get some certainty out there with certain aspects of their FAQ. And things have changed over the past couple of days. And Steve, if you want to kind of bring us up to date on, on where the program stands and, and what Treasury and SBA have done and what really, you know, it was going on with the program right now.
Steve Hall:
Yeah, thanks Jeff. Now we're seeing some encouraging developments really over the past week and a lot of anxiety up until now, and it's lingering a bit, but over two issues really. The issue of, of certifying good faith in terms of economic uncertainty, in other words, is, is the firm worthy to, to receive this loan. And I think what we saw released last week was encouraging basically loan holders at $2 million and below are essentially defacto certified by virtue of the size of the loan. And then the guidance goes on to say that for borrowers above that $2 million SBA is going to work with them through a process to help them to to figure out if they can meet that certification threshold, but a much more encouraging tone, a much more deferential tone than perhaps we had seen in, in previous weeks.
Steve Hall:
Where there was a great deal of concern generated about you know, what SBA and the federal government take a very punitive approach to borrowers really outside of what we thought was within the intent of Congress. I think Congress really wanted to be very deferential to to borrowers and try to structure the program as such. So that was a good step on that question of certification and and I expect that we hope we'll be seeing some additional information come out on that. The next issue was loan forgiveness. You know, the core of the program and we did see some information come out earlier this week. You know, the, the application for forgiveness and the kind of data and criteria that SBA is looking for, which gives us a sense of what it was, what it's going to take to get some, most, all of your loan forgiven and some guidance with that.
Steve Hall:
I think we are expecting to see additional guidance, more comprehensive guidance forthcoming. But again, this has been helpful to our firms, to our CPAs, to, to get at least an initial sense of what the agency is looking for to satisfy that question. So, you know, good news over the last week, not a complete catalog of information that we need and where you're hoping to see that relatively soon. And as if history is any judge, you know, it may be that con or SBA and treasury continue to put out guidance in small traunches and then refine that guidance responding to questions from organizations like ACEC. And then at some point we may actually have to go back to Congress if there are structural problems or challenges that are really beyond SBAs per view to to fix where we have to amend the law. We'll do that. But we'll work hand in glove with our members before we do that and work with our CPAs. We've got a lot of very smart people working with us to you know, go through this information and to come up with recommendations that we need to deliver both to the agency and to Congress.
Host:
Because it is a popular program. And I think that the universal call or answer from, from the private sector is that they want it to be a success. So that there's a lot of, you know, it's not a adversarial relationship with, with, but the SBA and Treasury, it's more just informing them of what we need, what we need to actually make this program work as it's intended. So it's good to see that that guidance come out. And again, you know, as we get this information, of course we're putting it out anywhere we can. So we have our Coronavirus Resource page of course, which is on acec.org. It's right on the homepage when you see that. And, and we're making sure to put all this information into our normal communications to members. There's going to be a weekly message coming out from our CEO, Linda Darr. It's going to be focusing on a lot of what Steve just mentioned here and everything's been linked and it's all available for you.
Steve Hall:
And Jeff, just to add to that you know, the education side of ACEC is teed up and ready. We've got a panel of CPAs that will take part in a free webinar. Once that additional guidance comes out, we expect that we'll be well attended and we will redo it as often as we need to and as often as new guidance comes out but you know, but the organization really geared itself around getting that information in the hands of our members as soon as possible so they can make good business decisions. And and we're certainly going to continue with that.
Steve Hall:
And I know that you've been, like I said earlier, you know, you've been busy all day on Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting. We are right in the midst of a larger advocacy push under the Rescue, Rebuild and Recover kind of theme and it's been a virtual grassroots effort. Letters, emails, meetings, Zoom meetings with members of Congress. How many meetings do you think you've been on right now with, with members of the House and Senate with ACEC members across the country?
Steve Hall:
Gosh, I think we're North of total North of 70 meetings so far. And and these are happening. I've been on a few today and I know my colleagues Matt Reiffer, Katharine Mottley have been participating in these as well. And really the message has been coming back has been very encouraging, you know, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. They get it. I mean, they want, they very much want to support a recovery agenda built around infrastructure and you know, there's lingering questions as there always is about how to pay for it. But a great deal of interest in doing this. I think you know, as you've heard me say before, I think Congress is still in emergency response mode and still thinking near term needs. I think what, what may be emerging as the next package of assistance may actually be built around assisting state and local government agencies, DOD, transit agencies things of that nature.
Steve Hall:
Obviously that's something we're very supportive of, you know, anything that will prevent, you know, current projects from being interrupted or shutting down. We want to be supportive of and there does seem to be an inkling of bipartisan support emerging from this approach. So that may be the catalyst for the next package. You know, as, as Katharine indicated, there's sort of hopeful expectation. We might see something in June on that package and and then hopefully, you know, Congress then switches gears and thanks a bit longer term, you know, in a multiyear recovery agenda, you know, built around what Congress has to do this year. They've got to do a surface transportation bill to replace the fast fact by September 30, and they've got to do a big water package. And the Senate stepping out, they, they have reported all of those bills out of committee unanimously. Which is great to see. And and that gives you know, the congressional leaders in the Senate the option to package all of them together into one big package or to move them separately if they wish, but actually to get something done this year, but they got us, they got to move quickly because the clock is ticking.
Host:
Yeah, it's not in their favor. And you mentioned, you mentioned Matt and Katharine and I think they have joined us, so I'm going to switch over to a view and bring them in. And thank you both for joining in. So we have really the the, the feet on the, the, the boots on the ground here for the PPP and surface transportation effort. So Matt and Katherine, thanks for joining the interview here. Steve was going over, a lot of the PPP work has been done. A lot of the guidance coming out and of course the webinars and the meetings with members of Congress, part of our advocacy program. I mean, I know you've been on some of the meetings as well. How do you think they've gone, this is new, it's virtual instead of going actually into somebody's office and talking to somebody, you have a screen like this where you know, you have maybe 10 people or less and a member of Congress. How, how has it compared to what, you know, the traditional shoe leather lobbying that you guys do?
Katharine Mottely:
You know, Jeff, I think that's a really interesting question. I mean it is a different kind of connection. On the one hand you don't get that face to face. You, you can't really read the body language and get and get sort of that better sense of the story behind what they're telling you. On the other hand, I think it has sort of opened up these meetings to a larger swath of our members. The meetings that I've been on have had, you know, 25 members from the state with their senators and for some of them some of those folks may not have been able travel to DC on a normal basis anyway. So, you know, I think that sort of greater access for both, for our members and for the legislators can be a good thing.
Matt Reiffer:
I would agree with that. In the, in the few that I've been on what's nice is you get the Congressmen or the Senator's undivided attention for a block of time. When you're meeting in DC, almost inevitably you get interrupted by votes or committee meetings or markups or important briefings or something. But particularly for the house members who have largely been back in their districts you know, they're not, they're not getting pulled away into those sorts of things. So you get, you know, 20 to 30 minutes of their undivided attention, which is really tremendous. And there, you know, they are so eager to hear about what's going on with their constituents, where their local businesses. So it was valuable for them to hear not just here's our advocacy priorities, but you know, here's what we're working on. Here's what we're experiencing, here's what we're concerned about, you know here are plans for, you know, reopening our offices or keeping our employees safe. Here's the, you know, here's what we're doing, worksite protocols and safety, you know, just a range of things that they care about. And then, yeah, how are the aid packages that we've already approved working for you? Are they helpful? What do we need to change? Cause they want to know. So this has been really valuable input for them.
Steve Hall:
You know, Jeff, Matt made a really good point there with respect to, you know, how certainly our members reviewed on these calls. You know, because there are great conversations with lawmakers and the lawmakers and seeing each one of those faces on the screen and they're often zoom calls like this. Each one of those faces represents a firm that employs many people. So that, that, that ACC member talking is not really talking just for himself or herself. But for all of the folks that work in the firm and and that reality is not lost on lawmakers and the staff that participates on these calls these, these, these contacts resonate and really do have meaning.
Host:
And it's just not, the meetings are fantastic. So I think it provides a, it's a new way of reaching out and talking to your member of Congress in person, virtually in person. Like I said, Katharine, if you have 25 people on a call, it's hard, you're hard pressed to find, you know, 25 people don't get them into an office. Even, even a, even a ranking where a senior Member, you know, their offices aren't big enough to fit 25 people in normally. So being able to get people on a screen, you know, you get more, more bang for your buck there. But then we're also doing the traditional, you know, letter writing. We're doing, you know, emails to Members of Congress and of course, social media activity. Matt, I mean we, we've, we've topped a significant number of compared to, I think the last major push was on tax reform and I think we've kind of eclipsed the number of, of emails and messages sent. What's the last you have the last tally available? I know, I don't, don't want to spring it on you, but I know that
Matt Reiffer:
I don't, but I can click over and check and get them.
Host:
Yeah, no, that would be great 'cause I know that the number is significant.
Matt Reiffer:
Get you real time information. Hang on just a sec.
Host:
Yeah. that would be awesome because again, you know, on the, on the acc.org website you know, you'll see it right there. When you land on the page, you'll see advocacy and that takes you to the R3 - Rescue, Recover, Rebuild advocacy site where you can click to tweet. It has issue sheets. It has social media resources for, for grassroots activism. And it's really a one stop shop for everything that you need to take part in this.
Steve Hall:
You know, Jeff during tax reform. And Katharine knows this. I mean, we generated something on the order of 6,000 contacts with lawmakers and which was far and away bigger than we've ever done. And I think when, when Matt last checked this, we were rapidly closing in on that amount. So this campaign is going to go into the summer and I have no doubt that we're going to Go well beyond what we did previously.
Katharine Mottely:
And you know, Steve, just to add to that, I've heard comments from a couple of our members who remember that advocacy effort during tax reform and part of what they've communicated back is that we didn't realize that we could have such an effect. We didn't realize that our engagement through ACC and contacting our members of Congress could result in such a good outcome. And so a lot of them would have remembered that and taken it forward to this time. And they see that what they do and say and the emails they send can make a difference.
Matt Reiffer:
I just checked - we've got 2,060 member firm advocates who have taken action and delivered just about 6,400 messages to the Hill.
Steve Hall:
That may be a new record right there.
Matt Reiffer:
Tremendous outcome.
Host:
And again, yeah, this is, this is, this is in its early stages. It's going to evolve as the situation evolves. You know, we're calling for of course a focus on an infrastructure based recovery agenda. Of course that's going to be focused again and Steve, like you mentioned, FAST Act reauthorization and WRDA - two pieces of legislation that are must do's must pass bills and they're already teed up. Each chamber is working on its own respect of tracks and as you noted in the Senate, they've been marked out unanimously. There's no real bipartisan schism when it comes to WRDA and surface - they are a lot closer than people think. So the, the continued push by our grassroots to get this through is going to be significant.
Steve Hall:
It's going to be critical. Jeff, not to interrupt cause we've, we're, we're hoping to see how spills emerge in the month of June. And so you know, it'd be great if we could double those numbers in the month of June and and give some additional push behind house lawmakers to, to at least get this out of committee in the month of June and get them ready for floor consideration.
Host:
Absolutely. Well we covered PPP, we covered kind of the advocacy campaign and the, and the work you guys are doing on, on, on the individual member meetings, but then also the webinars and everything else that's going on. I mean it's, it seems like every day there's, there's, there's another webinar or three webinars that we're running to, to make sure we're covered. Anything else to think of as we enter kind of an odd Memorial day weekend?
Steve Hall:
Ah, you know, just, just the, the issues we've talked about and then side issues, you know, we're working to make sure that issues relative to from overhead are addressed and protected. You know, there is a, you know, regulatory action on the part of the department of defense that would require firms that receive forgiven loans to provide their federal clients with a credit to offset those loans. We don't think that really was the intent of Congress. We've pushed back and we actually have developed a letter that a number of organizations are signing on to, to help us push back. So that's an ongoing priority and something that Matt has been working with the rest of the team on. And as well as similar efforts in issues and potential concerns on the transportation side with respect to state DOTs and the Federal Highway Administration. You know, in addition to the big issues in Congress, there's a lot of granular issues that we're working on with respect to those issues and you know, tax issues and the tax deductability questions that are outstanding relative to firms that receive PPP loans and something that Katharine has been working on.
Matt Reiffer:
Yeah, I was going to say Katharine and I were a little late coming onto this call because we were just coming off a small firm roundtable with about 40, 45 participants, a really great forum for information sharing and helpful for us to listen to and hear what firms are experiencing. And yeah, there are a lot of interest in both of those issues. A lot of those firms took PPP loans, are interested in forgiveness, interested in the tax component of that as well as the potential impact on their overhead rates in terms of loan forgiveness and how that may be treated for federal state contractors. So yeah, very timely and yeah, very interesting.
Host:
Yeah, it's nonstop with government affairs right now. So I know it's we're coming on to about half an hour. I know you guys have a busy packed schedule, so I really appreciate you all taking the time to to appear on a kind of an oddly I guess just figure we live on Zoom now. Might as well tried to do a video interview instead of just the the, the good old audio podcast that we do. So thank you for being on. And again, this is Engineering Influence brought to you by the American Council of Engineering Companies. Katharine, Matt, Steve have a great Memorial Day weekend. Stay safe, stay healthy and and stay engaged with us 'cause we are off to the races. Just go to acec.org click on advocacy. It's right there on the homepage. It'll take you right there to the R3 advocacy page, all the resources that you need to take advantage of the grassroots campaign we're running. It's all there for you and just take advantage of it. So thank you all for being on.
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Engineering Influence welcomes Pat Feyen, the President of the ACEC Life Health Trust, to discuss the new loyalty credit that will be sent to participating firms in August.
Transcript:
Host:
Welcome to another edition of the Engineering Influence podcast by the American Council of Engineering Companies. Today we're very pleased to be joined by Pat Feyen. He is the President of the ACEC Life Health Trust and we wanted to bring him on to talk about a couple of things, especially now in our current COVID-19 environment. And also we haven't really had the Trust on since our last in-person meeting in Chicago. This is a great opportunity to kind of reintroduce the Trust for those who weren't at the conference or, or didn't hear that episode. So Pat, welcome to the show first and tell us a little bit about the Life Health Trust.
Pat Feyen:
Well, thank you Jeff and thank you for having me. I want to start with recognizing that on May 1st the Life Health Trust celebrated 55 years of supporting ACEC member firms and honored, privileged to continue that role. We have a clearly stated mission to provide healthcare benefits, solutions and services to support the business objectives of ACEC member firms and the health and wellbeing of the firm's employees and their families. We are really excited about the opportunity to recognize the loyalty that's been demonstrated over the years from our member firms and customers. And I guess the combination of the fact that we've got a singular purpose and that's to bring value to ACEC member firms. Mission statement. I shared the little do that to support their business objectives. And then finally, in light of the coven, 19 challenges to our industry and the country. The life health trust board of trustees have approved a loyalty credit totaling $11 million that we will give back in the form of a reduction of August premium invoice.
Host:
That's a big number, 11 million. And that's, that's big news. Especially for firms today who are undergoing a cash crunch and are doing their best to minimize expenses and to recoup as many costs as possible to keep their businesses afloat. That, that's really good news. What kind of an impact is that going to have on firms, especially the firms that really make up the majority of, of the trust membership?
Pat Feyen:
Yeah, that's a great question. The average credit will be right around $8,000, but and there is a range, fairly wide range depending - based on how long the firm has been with the Life Health Trust. So by way of example, a firm with 25 employees would receive up to a $10,000 credit. A firm with 75 employees, you know, up to $35,000 credit. And then our larger firms around 150 employees could receive a credit of as much as $70,000.
Host:
Yeah. So not insignificant by any means. This credit. So I mean, that's significant. As of August 1st, 2020, all active firms will receive the loyalty credit. Of course, now we're coming into the later part of May do you have a timeline that kind of you know, the firms can take advantage of this and plan for when this credit's going to come into effect?
Pat Feyen:
Yes, we do. It's a little fluid, but the week of the 18th of May, we will announce the loyalty credit. On or about June 1st, we will provide the firms and their brokers and consultants the exact amount of their credit that will show up in the August invoice.
Host:
And I also understand that there's going to be potentially some webinars and some information in a website that'll be tied to that for active life health trust members to be able to get the information they need on that and to access information online.
Pat Feyen:Yes. Well, we'll be partnering with ACEC doing our own mailings, websites, LinkedIn announcements, webinars to make sure that this is well communicated and understood and that we're available to answer any questions.
Host:
Absolutely. And we'll do our part to get the information out there. Really that's great news. That this is happening. I think that it shows, again, the benefit of the trust and why it's so popular with our members. And of course you know, it's, it's always one of those, you know, things that's a secret weapon within ACEC. Are our three trusts and the Life Health Trust is definitely one of the most popular that, that I hear about from our membership. And it really just is, is extraordinary that you're able to do this credit is, have you, have you ever done it? Oh no. I was just going to ask if you had, have you ever done anything like this to your knowledge in the trust's history?We've reduced premiums in August of 2007 after converting all of our membership from a previous carrier to United Healthcare. We enjoyed some significant savings because of moving to United Healthcare and passed that along to our member firms. But that would have been I think the only time in other time in history where something like this has happened and I think this is a partnership. It's important. The loyalty to the Life Health Trust from our member firms really creates the opportunity to invest in the health and wellbeing of the firm's employees and families. As you might imagine, the longer members remain on the trust and trust insurance plan, the greater the opportunity, our value added services can have an impact on health and thus healthcare costs, which of course, we pass back those savings over time to our member firms. So that was the thought and the basis for a a loyalty credit. And we've got many, many firms that have been with us a long time and they're the ones that will be at the higher end of the range of credit.
Host:
Yeah. And you do have firms that have been with you for a very long time. I mean, what's the average term that you know, a smaller mid range engineering firm has been with the trust.
Pat Feyen:
Oh, we lost track of when many of the smaller, most loyal firms started when we converted to United Healthcare. And that was 13 years ago. So our records go back 13 and, but those firms have been with us 30 and 40 years.
Host:
Yeah. So there, there are firms that, that match that a 55 year anniversary that you're...
Pat Feyen:
yeah, exactly.
Host:
So let's take a look, a broader view of this because you know, healthcare costs, of course, you know, we are in a medical healthcare pandemic right now. What are the other national, the large national healthcare insurers doing what are, what are some examples of, of what you've been seeing in the marketplace in response to a COVID-19?
Pat Feyen:
Well United Healthcare announced earlier this week that they are providing one point $5 billion in support to all of their customers nationwide. It takes on many forms like waving of copays not increasing premiums. The component of their plan that's most similar to ours is a 5 to 20% reduction in employer premiums to be reflected in the, their July invoice. But they've got a lot of programs and services and resources that they're extending and waiving costs. You know, that they have incurred fewer costs as of late because of the deferral of services knowing that there's a significant reduction in elective procedures. We have not seen that yet. If in fact that's the case and when we get another couple of months down the road, you know, then we'll consider you know, an additional return or reduction of premium to our member firms. Again, we're here to provide value to the member firm, not to make a lot of money. And if we're overcharging, then sure, the trustees will once again honor our mission statement and support our firm's business objects.
Host:
Yeah, absolutely. Because again, the loyalty credit that you announced today is not tied to the lower costs is just kind of based on the, on like you said, the the commitment to serving the members, especially in this very troubled time. So that's, that's really good to know and I know that you will be taking part. I know the Life Health Trust will be taking part in sponsoring some upcoming education on the ACEC education page. We have of course, part of our larger Rescue, Recover, Rebuild effort which is ongoing right now. We have been we've gotten the great and and, and very helpful support of the Life Health Trust to a sponsor, some webinars, some informational webinars, which will be free to members. And that has now up on our website at www.acec.org.
Host:
You'll find a link to our webinar series with the R3 initiative. And of course that first webinar coming up is going to be on May 21st. It's Controlling Healthcare Costs Through Work Site Wellness with Lindsey Simone. And that's going to be at three 3:30PM to 4:30PM on May 21st. And the information to register for that webinar's going to be up on our website. Just go on acec.org. You'll see it right at the top of the page, Pat. Is there anything else going on with the life health trust that you want to update our members on? At this point, the loyalty credit is of course the biggest news item to report. But anything else new happening that you'd like to to share?
Pat Feyen:
Yeah, that would be one thing. And that's the cause we know telemedicine utilization has, well, it's more than doubled during the pandemic. We have telemedicine services and of course provide access to physicians for general medicine needs you know, from the chest up. But we've added recently telemedicine services for behavioral health. Again, perfect timing, given the anxious times that, that we're, we're living in an addition dermatology and back here. So when I continue to encourage the utilization of that during, during this time when we're isolated,
Host:That's, that's really good information, especially now with the increased access and interest and of course, behavioral health, telemedicine of, of being able to remotely meet with someone, especially now in this time of quarantine and the different stresses and demands that are put on people for remote work. And just, just the, the nature of being locked in for so long. So that, that's a very important resource that, that people should take advantage of.
Pat Feyen:
Yes sir.
Host:
It is it is some really good news coming out of the life health trust and really appreciate Patty taking time out of your day to update on this. And again really just, just keep tuned to Life Health Trust www.aceclifehealthtrust.com for more information and follow out on, for their you know, follow them for updates and announcements for the loyalty credit. And hopefully we will have you on after the loyalty to credit takes effect, you can kind of give a status report on how it's going a couple months down the line. We'd love to have you back on the show.
Pat Feyen:
I would welcome that opportunity. Thank you, Jeff.
Host:
Well, thank you and Pat, stay safe. Stay healthy and and look forward to speaking to you again. Thank you for thank you for coming on.
Pat Feyen:
Okay. Thank you Jeff.
Friday May 01, 2020
Friday May 01, 2020
Richard Branch, the Chief Economist for Dodge Data & Analytics stopped by the program to talk about the current state of the U.S. economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and what lies ahead for the A/E/C sector.