Last Word

________________________________________________________________________________________

American Council of
Engineering Companies
(formerly the American
Consulting Engineers
Council)

Volume XXII,
Number 10

June 1, 2001

1015 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7474
Fax 202-898-0068
www.acec.org

E-mail acec@acec.org

Francis George, Editor
___________________
 
 ACEC Means
Business

Key Strategies from CEO Networking

What do a bunch of engineering firm CEO’s talk about when they get together? No, not sports or sports cars; rather, they compare notes about business; what would you expect?

At ACEC’s San Antonio Annual Convention, engineers discussed various elements of four business areas affecting their firms, during a three-hour medium/large firm CEO Roundtable session.

Under the topic of Human Resources (HR), the 30 CEOs asked each other "how can I better recruit hard-to-find engineers?" The shared ideas included several thousand dollar finder’s fees and signing bonuses, using (or defending against) headhunters, college recruiting "tricks," creating premier employer images, finding candidates in unusual places (e.g., through parents), and optional benefits plans to suit the personal needs of employees.

Also under HR, these business leaders discussed how to better train their managers and project managers. "Brown bag lunches" and budgeted individual seminar expenses were favorite solutions. Internal vs. external training pros and cons were discussed, as was paid vs. unpaid training time.

In the area of financial management, the hot topic was incentive compensation, that is, discretionary financial rewards based on company profitability and individual performance. No two companies had identical plans, but everyone was looking for ideas on how to improve their plan. The payment amount, frequency and level of recipients varied widely. Most agreed that financial incentives are far better than automatic annual bonuses, and compensation directly related to one’s performance was most important.

Under technology, the group was interested in new ways to get staff tasks done faster and cheaper. New software programs and surveying equipment was discussed, as was better and easier to use accounting and project management systems. Most of the CEO’s admitted that they were not getting the full benefit of the technology they owned.

Under the topic of Business Development, the CEOs discussed ideas related to strategic planning, including the mix of private vs. government clients, accounts receivable collection differences between the two client types, and growth through diversification in services as opposed to using mergers and acquisitions (M&A). There were more M&A success stories than failures.

Most areas of consulting businesses were represented at the Roundtable, and all participants agreed that they see no softening or slow down in their volume of business. They were all optimistic about the future of their businesses and looking for new ideas to continue to grow the size and/or success of their companies. The critiques of the Roundtable Discussions confirmed that participating CEOs find these sessions to be the most beneficial of the ACEC meeting programs.

For more information, contact Bob Miller of Miller Legg & Associates, Inc. (954-436-7000; rmiller@millerlegg.com).

 

 

 

Sen. Smith Introduces Legislation to Eliminate MTBE

Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced legislation to eliminate the threat posed by Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) by authorizing $200 million to be spent from the existing Leaking Underground Storage Tank trust fund to be used to clean up MTBE contamination caused by leaky tanks. The bill would also ban the use of MTBE in gasoline and allow governors to waive the oxygen mandate in the Clean Air Act, while maintaining the environmental benefits of the air toxins limits in that Act. The bill would also address the integrity of the underground storage tank program, and help fund the transition from MTBE use to safer and cleaner gasoline additives.

Coastal Beaches to Receive Grants

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, that Sen. Bob Smith championed, would receive $2 million in grant money to be divided among the states that request funding. The Act would amend the Clean Water Act to improve the quality of recreational beaches and shorelines, would require all states with coastal recreation areas to adopt water quality guidelines to protect public health, and would require the EPA Administrator to publish performance criteria that provide guidelines for state monitoring and public notification programs, in cooperation with local and state officials.

Shift in Senate Power Will Not Affect Small Business Superfund Liability Relief

The passage of HR 1831, a bill that would provide liability relief for small businesses will likely be unaffected by the change to Democratic control of the Senate. Democrats gained power of the Senate when Jim Jeffords (I-VT) announced he would switch parties. Under the new organization, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will become Chairman of the EPA Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Control, and Risk Assessment, replacing Lincoln Chafee, and Sen. Jeffords will replace Bob Smith (R-NH) as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Industry sources said that the Senate brownfields measure will also be unaffected by the switch of power, as that legislation was approved by the full Senate.

Nominations Update

Last week, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Linda Fisher as deputy administrator for EPA. Fisher served as VP of Government Affairs at the Monsanto Company and served in several EPA positions, including assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (1989-1993), during the Bush and Reagan administrations.

Also last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee approved the appointment of J. Steven Griles to be deputy secretary of Dept. of Interior and sent his nomination to the Senate for a vote. Griles served as assistant secretary for Lands and Mineral Management (BLM), which oversees the BLM, Minerals Management Service, and Office of Surface Mining. The ENR Committee also approved Jessie Hill Roberson and Lee Sarah Liberman Otis to be the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) assistant secretary for EM and DOE’s general counsel, respectively. The Senate in a late vote also confirmed several nominees for top DOE posts, including Frank Blake as Deputy Secretary and Bob Card as Under Secretary.

The Senate EPW Committee delayed its vote on Jeffrey Holmstead to be Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at EPA.

Victory for ACEC on Death Tax Repeal

The House and Senate each passed H.R. 1836, the tax relief reconciliation bill, by comfortable margins. The legislation now goes to President Bush for his signature.

H.R. 1836 constitutes the largest tax cut since 1981, and has been characterized as "the defining issue" of Bush’s presidency. This legislation also includes one of ACEC’s top legislative priorities— repeal of the death tax. The death tax would be repealed by 2010, with exemptions rising from the current $675,000-level to $3.5 million.

As a Tax Relief Coalition member, ACEC can take pride in this achievement. Again and again, ACEC answered the calls for grassroots action, and it is clear from the resulting votes at key points in this process, that this had a significant impact. Thanks to all of ACEC’s Member Organizations that participated and helped make this happen.

Thelma Askey Confirmed as TDA Director

Thelma J. Askey was confirmed as Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) by the Senate on May 26, 2001, after her nomination by the President. Most recently, Askey served as a Commissioner with the International Trade Commission. Previously she served with the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. ACEC is planning a "meet and greet" with Askey, and interested members should contact ACEC’s Michele Moore (mmoore@acec.org) for details. For information on TDA’s programs, visit www.tda.gov.

FIDIC Upholds QBS, Unveils "Integrity Management System" to World Bank

At the recent Biennial Meeting of the International Lending Agencies and the Consulting Engineering Industry, leaders of the International Federation of Consulting Engineering Associations (FIDIC) reiterated the importance of Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) in the procurement of engineering and design services. Following the joint FIDIC and FEPAC (Pan American Federation of Consultants) presentation of guidelines for integrity management—or elimination of corrupt practices—in the consulting engineering industry, bank officials concurred that firms with such a system in place could receive preference during the development of a procurement’s short list. ACEC is the largest of FIDIC’s 67 member associations. For more information, visit www.fidic.org.

Bush to Promote Southeast Europe Trade Initiative

This week, President Bush named enactment of a trade preferences program for Southeast Europe among his trade policy priorities for the year. The Bush Administration expects Congress will approve such a program, aimed at spurring new growth in the troubled region, by the end of this year. Infrastructure development, including standard and high-speed rail, highways, communications and power, represents a prime investment opportunity in the region. For more information, visit www.mac.doc.gov/eebic/ceebic.html and www.seerecon.org.

EJCDC Offers Complete Sets of Environmental Remediation and Procurement Agreements

The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee now offers complete sets of remediation and procurement contracts. The remediation documents include the general conditions, owner/remediator contracts and subagreements. The procurement contracts are used for acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment on a project.

Complete set of remediation documents (7 documents) in hard copy — $110 member, $220 non-member. Order no. R-900

Same as above combined with a Word 6.0 or Wordperfect 5.1 diskette — $550 member, $1,110 non-member. Order no. R-900-B for Word; R-900-A for Wordperfect.

Procurement (8 documents) in hard copy — $110 member, $220 non-member. Order no. P-900.

Same as above combined with a Word 6.0 or Wordperfect 5.1 diskette — $550 member, $1,110 non-member. Order no. P-900-B for Word; P-900-A for Wordperfect.

To order any of these packages, fax your request to (202) 789-7220 with your Visa, Mastercard or American Express number, signature and expiration date. Add $10 for shipping and handling.

For more information on what is included in the packages, or to order online visit www.acec.org.


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