Engineering Influence from ACEC

ACEC Private Markets Update: Booming Economy Powers Huge Surge in Engineering Industry Revenues

Earlier this week, ACEC released our latest Private Industry Brief, which provides practical, detailed information and targeted market insights on key A/E private sectors. The 2021 Mid-Year Economic Update overflows with data and insights about the current state and future prospects of the national economy and the engineering industry.
To dive a little deeper into the numbers and analysis, Erin McLaughlin ACEC vice president for private market resources and author of the brief, joined us on the program. 
Click here to download a free copy of the Private Industry Brief.
Click here to read Erin's The Private Side column in the latest issue of ACEC's Engineering Inc. magazine.

Beating Employee Burnout

It’s been more than 15 months since most employees at engineering firms switched to remote work and many of them are still there. One of the impacts of this sudden change in how we work has been employee burnout, with many finding it difficult to strike the proper work/life balance. This is a big issue for engineering firms because high-performing employees tend to be more susceptible to burnout, and they can become disengaged and end up leaving the firm for greener pastures.
Talking with us about how to beat burnout is Peter Atherton, who is president of ActionsProve, LLC. Peter has presented a program for ACEC on burnout and has a book that’s available on Amazon titled Reversing Burnout.
Click here for the ACEC On-Demand online class Leadership, Engagement, and Burnout Prevention in a World of COVID and Change.
 

ACEC Alabama Wins Landmark Indemnity Protections

ACEC Alabama Executive Director Renee Casillas and Roger Guilian, general counsel and vice president at Volkert, join the program to talk about a big legislative victory for the industry in Alabama this spring, winning indemnity protections for engineers and other design professionals in the state.
The new law renders void and unenforceable contractual provisions in three key areas: (i)those that require engineers to indemnify others for damages that are not caused by the engineer; (ii) those that require engineers to defend another party if a defense is not covered by professional liability insurance; and (iii) those that require engineers to name another party as an additional insured on a policy of professional liability insurance. The new law also establishes a statutory standard of care for engineers and voids any more expansive contractual standard of care.
It was a nearly three-year effort by ACEC Alabama and its partners to get this done.

Government Affairs Update for July 2, 2021

On this week's update, Matt Reiffer discusses the House's passage of the INVEST Act and what it means for the larger infrastructure push going on in Congress right now.

Making Your Project Management More Effective

 Howard Birnberg, who is president of Birnberg and Associates and executive director of the Association for Project Managers, came on the program to talk about project management and project managers.
In engineering firms, projects are how things get done and project managers make that happen. The quality of a firm’s project management system invariably shows up on its bottom line, so it is critical to create one that is effective and efficient.
Howard is a frequent presenter and instructor for ACEC and beginning on July 13, he will lead a nine-week ACEC course titled Project Management 101: Laying the Foundation for Superior Project Managers. For more information and to register for the course, click here.
 

Government AffairsUpdate for June 25, 2021

On this week's Government Affairs Update, Steve Hall re-caps the week's events focusing on the bipartisan Senate agreement on infrastructure.  

Stop Elevating the Standard of Care in Your Contracts

Standard of Care can be a huge contractual issue for engineering firms because if they elevate their Standard of Care in a contract, they can open themselves up to significant uninsured liability.
Daniel Buelow, managing director of Willis A&E's Architects & Engineers Division, joined the program to talk about how firms can best manage Standard of Care in their contracts.
Here is the wording recommended by Willis to ensure an insurable Standard of Care:
“In providing services under this agreement, the consultant will endeavor to perform in a manner consistent with the degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by members of the same profession currently practicing under similar circumstances.”
Buelow cautions, however, that there are many other instances in contracts where engineers can inadvertently elevate their Standard of Care.
Buelow was a co-presenter in an ACEC online class on Standard of Care in April. Click here for more information. 

Government Affairs Update for June 18, 2021

On this episode of the Government Affairs Update, Steve Hall covers the current state of negotiations on infrastructure and we discuss how EEA can be an effective advocacy tool.