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Volume XXIII, Number 8
March 1, 2002
1015 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7474
Fax
202-898-0068
www.acec.org
E-mail acec@acec.org
Ellen
Mullally, Editor
Francis George, Production Manager
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ACEC Means
Business
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Send Us Your News If you have any items you would like included in a future issue of ACEC’s bi-monthly magazine, Engineering Inc., (interesting projects, awards or other honors, new hires, etc.) please send them to Ellen Mullally (emullally@acec.org). |
ACEC’s Minuteman Fund is a "war chest" that helps fund state legislative and legal battles of national importance. The Fund has supported numerous successful efforts in Alabama, Virginia, Nevada, California, Illinois and other states. Member contributions to the Fund are critical to ensure a favorable business environment. Click here to make your contribution to the Minuteman Fund today.
CEO Retreat: A Framework for Success
ACEC’s CEO Retreat April 10-12 in Marco Island, Fla., provides a framework for personal and business success by giving participants insight into the present and future of their lives and their firms. Speakers will examine numerous areas of interest, including ownership transition, personnel and human resources issues, technology directions, strategic positioning and the marketplace, and management development.
The class size is limited to 35 participants, and Early Bird Registration ends March 8. For more information or to register, Click here or contact Nancy Mosely (nmosely@acec.org or 202-682-4324).
Project Management Training Is Closer Than You Think
Online courses cost one-third less than off-site classroom training, consume half the time, and allow you to take the course in the comfort of your own office. ACEC, in conjunction with SmartPros.com, now provides online courses to all engineering firms and individuals embracing distance learning.
Click here to view a full list of available courses.It’s almost time for ACEC’s 2002 Annual Convention in Las Vegas May 12-15. Full registration materials are being mailed soon with all the details. Meanwhile, check ACEC’s Web site, www.acec.org, for convention updates and for instructions on how to register online. And call "convention central," the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, at 1-888-746-6955 and reference "ACEC" to book a room. The reservation cut-off date is April 12.
Survey Firms Can Prepare Better Proposals
Survey firms: Do you wish you could be more organized in putting your proposals together? ACEC’S Council of Professional Surveyors (COPS) has developed a Project Estimating Spreadsheet on disk (W-102-A) that allows you to "play with the numbers" and use different scenarios in preparing your proposals. The cost for members is $30 plus $3 shipping and handling; COPS members receive a $10 discount.
Click here to order.
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ACEC Supports Water Legislation The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held two hearings this week on The Water Investment Act of 2002 (S. 1961), which would provide a total of $35 billion over five years to the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. ACEC provided testimony to the committee on the merits of the legislation and has pledged its full support to secure passage of the bill. However, the Bush administration’s current focus on homeland defense and overseas military operations raises questions about the availability of funding for an ambitious water infrastructure program. On the House side, Reps. Sue Kelly (R-N.Y.) and Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) have introduced legislation (H.R. 3792) to provide a total of $25 billion over five years to the Clean Water SRF. It is expected that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will introduce its own legislation or possibly use the Kelly-Tauscher bill as the vehicle to reauthorize the Clean Water SRF program in 2002. Fight Continues To Restore Federal Transportation Funding; ACEC Leading The Charge ACEC is leading a successful grassroots effort to secure cosponsors for H.R. 3694 and S. 1917, bipartisan legislation to restore highway funding for 2003. As of Feb. 28, 265 cosponsors had been secured for H.R. 3694 and 48 senators had signed on to cosponsor S. 1917. The administration’s budget proposal allocates $24.1 billion for FHWA, including $23.2 billion for the Federal-Aid Highway Obligation Limitation, which is $4.4 billion below the funding level authorized in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) for F.Y. 2003, and $8.6 billion below the actual F.Y. 2002 funding level. The reduction in funding is due to the fact that gas tax receipts are expected to fall nearly $5 billion short of original estimates in 2003. Congress could take up a budget resolution as early as the week of March 11. Members on both sides of the aisle are indicating their support for restoring the highway funding. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Ranking Minority Member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) have both expressed their concerns over the proposed reduction in funding. In a further positive development, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Senate Transportation Subcommittee Chairperson Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have also expressed support for restoring highway funding in the F.Y. 2003 budget. The grassroots effort on behalf of transportation is working, but more pressure is needed to ensure the votes necessary to win the fight. Securing additional cosponsors for the two bills in the days ahead sends a strong message to the leadership in the House and the Senate to restore transportation funding. Click on these lists of House and Senate cosponsors. If your representative and senators aren’t on these lists, send this letter to help secure their support for this important legislation.ACEC Spearheads Event For Chairman Don Young During CCD ACEC is hosting a fundraising reception for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the evening of March 11 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Chairman Young, also a March 12 luncheon speaker for Consulting Congress Day (CCD), is leading the charge in Congress to restore vital transportation funding in the 2003 budget, and will be the driving force when Congress reauthorizes the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) next year. This event represents the first time the design community will come together exclusively to support Chairman Young. ACEC members will have a unique opportunity to meet the chairman and discuss their views on infrastructure issues pending in Congress. For more information on the fundraising reception, contact Steve Hall or Susan Doyle at (202) 347-7474. Click here for complete information on CCD, the Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, and the Federal Markets Conference.Trade Negotiators Can Boost International Practice For Environmental Firms When working outside the United States, has your environmental firm faced trade barriers such as onerous licensing procedures, restrictions on commercial relationships or cross-border supply of services, or other discriminatory devices? As World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on environmental services reach a critical phase, U.S. negotiators need detailed information on the trade barriers U.S. firms face. Help U.S. negotiators and ACEC members doing business abroad by completing the short survey located here. All responses will be kept confidential.For more information, contact Michele Moore at ACEC (mmoore@acec.org) or Sage Chandler at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Environmental Technologies Industries (Sage_Chandler@ita.doc.gov). The "Buzz" On Organizational Peer Review Does it feel like you are headed north while your firm is headed south? If so, perhaps it’s time to consider an ACEC Organizational Peer Review. Peer Reviews are confidential, cost effective, and focus on seven areas: General Management, Human Resources & Professional Development, Project Management, Quality Management, Computer Systems Management, Financial Management, and Business Development. Here’s what some firm principals had to say about their peer reviews: "It was a pleasant surprise to hear that the majority of our firm’s current procedures are effective. The suggestions made for improvement were for the most part anticipated; however, a few which were invaluable we would have never thought of ourselves. It was a very rewarding experience for all the employees. It gave a tremendous boost to company moral." David E Hobza III, P.E., QuadTech Engineering"This was a highly effective critique of how our business is doing and a good way to get fresh views and ideas to become more successful and productive." Keith Criminger, McBride & Kelley Architects"The peer review provided us with the opportunity to focus on areas of management that needed attention and provided us with the basis for our next strategic planning meeting." Larry Kaprielian, KNA Consulting EngineersFor more information on this invaluable management review tool, contact Emily Guerrero (eguerrero@acec.org, 202-682-4320).
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