ACEC President's Monthly Update - August 1, 2010
Dear Colleagues – I hope your summer is going well. I just got back from visiting with ACEC/Louisiana leadership for a first-hand look at oil spill clean up operations involving member firms. Engineering creativity was exemplified by Kenny Smith of T. Baker Smith and his ingenious system of booms comprised of huge steel pipes welded together and placed strategically to blockade the oil. The creativity of ACEC members is also highlighted in the August issue of Popular Mechanics which carries an article on HDR’s “onions-to-energy” plant in California, mentioning that it had won ACEC’s top engineering excellence award. Congress will soon be leaving for its August recess; we are hard at work promoting water and aviation infrastructure legislation as a last piece of business.
Dave ACEC PRESIDENT’S MONTHLY UPDATE
August 1, 2010
General
- ACEC/Indiana won a landmark court case – with support of the Minuteman Fund – barring “economic loss” claims against design firms based on alleged negligence.
- ACEC, APWA, ASCE collaborative effort on an Infrastructure Sustainability Project Rating System received input from government agencies toward pilot testing by October and a special session at ACEC's Fall Conference in Puerto Rico to introduce the rating system.
- Congratulations to ACEC/South Dakota became fourth state to reach its 2010 ACEC/PAC goal, joining Wisconsin, Hawaii and Indiana.
- Thanks to ACEC/Louisiana leadership for hosting a first-hand look at oil clean-up efforts conducted by member firms (See July/August Engineering Inc. story and update in Last Word this Thursday).
Government Affairs
- Hosted the head of the Federal Government’s Procurement Policy Office, Dan Gordon, for an important discussion on strengthening the acquisition workforce and the importance of qualifications in procurement of engineering services.
- Promoted adoption of FAR-based procurement and audit rules at AASHTO Audit Subcommittee Conference in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Opposed the DISCLOSE legislation in Congress which is slanted toward union and anti-business interests.
- Collaborating with AGC and ABC in urging passage of legislation limiting liability of firms that worked at Ground Zero after 9/11.
- Hosted fundraising events for Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR), Dan Lipinski (IL), Devin Nunes (CA), Bill Shuster (PA), and Senator Roger Wicker (MS).
Institute for Business Management
- Collaborated with the US Green Buildings Council in co-sponsorship of USGBC’s online LEED certification preparatory course for ACEC members.
- Two seminars this month – one on Client Feedback and the other on Tax Advantaged Ownership Transition: Is Selling to an ESOP Right for Your Firm? – addressed issues identified in ACEC’s Industry Trends survey as important to member firms.
- The ACEC/NCEES Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP) – which provides a one-stop shop for members seeking specific types of continuing education – topped 4000 registered users after the first year of its new software.
- Bookstore hot sellers for the month included Risk Management for Design Professionals in a World of Change; The Blue Sourcebook: Business Practices and Risk Management for Engineering Firms; and The Leadership Challenge, The Living Company, and The Leadership Moment, (the last three are required reading for the Senior Executives Institute).
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