|
|
|
________________________________________________________________________________________
American Council of
Engineering Companies
Volume XXII, Number 21
August 24,
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
Marketing in the Design-Build Environment
Marketing efforts for design professionals seeking to become the owner’s technical advisor are no different from the marketing strategy of most firms in the past. It is of utmost importance to make sure the owner is aware of the benefits of getting the proper level of technical advice early in the process.
Owners should chose advisors on the basis of their qualifications and experience before entering into a long-term relationship. The relationship should allow for input and consultation throughout the design and construction of a project. Unless the owner has sufficient staff with experience in design-build, or other technical resources, the need for a technical advisor throughout the course of the project must be emphasized to the owner.
Marketing efforts for design professionals seeking to become a design-build partner or subconsultant on a design-build team are similar to those for design-contract-build (design-bid-build) projects in many ways. They involve the same general components, and the prepared team with the right experience and connections will be well placed to win the job. However, the most important distinction for design-build procurements is that the game often involves much higher stakes than other types of projects, and this brings higher potential for both risk and reward.
Design-build projects expose the design professional to an assortment of risks that are not normally involved with other project delivery methods, and when the design professional negotiates these risks successfully he stands to reap handsome rewards.
From a design professional’s perspective, the pursuit of design-build work as a design-build team member can be more costly and more time consuming than that of design-contract-build work. It can involve greater risk and major shifts in roles and responsibilities. As with other projects, the design professional needs to present his professional qualifications and develop a thoughtful and responsive scope of technical services explaining how he will complete the various tasks the client requires.
Design firms will also have to find other firms with whom they can form alliances. Most importantly, they must find a qualified contractor. In addition, the design professional is likely to be required to make a significant investment in the proposal, including performing design studies in order to identify quantities needed to prepare the construction cost estimates that often form the core of the design-build proposal.
Excerpted from Multiple Delivery Systems Handbook on Design-Build Project Delivery, by the ACEC Professional Procurement Committee and Ben Perez, Editor. Design-Build Project Delivery is available for sale through the ACEC Bookshop #LW-371, $29 members, $39 non-members, $4 s/h. Orders should be sent to ACEC, FAX (202) 789-7220, or purchase this item online at www.acec.org/publications. Please include your Mastercard, Visa, or American Express number with the expiration date, contact name, firm name, street address, phone number, and e-mail address on mail/fax orders.
|
AECWorkForce Joins Forces With ACEC ACEC announced this week its partnership with ZweigWhite’s AECWorkForce, an Internet career portal devoted to professionals in the design and construction industries. This collaboration makes AECWorkForce the preferred Internet job-board and career information center of ACEC. The deal also cements ACEC’s position as the official engineering association of AECWorkForce. "ACEC is very excited to be able to offer to its members access to such a useful, powerful, and exhaustive job bulletin service," says Florian Kogelnik, ACEC’s Director of Business Practices. "It has been a dream that has been a long time coming." Under the agreement, AECWorkForce offers ACEC members a 10% discount on all employer membership packages. "This is a great deal for all parties involved," says AECWorkForce spokesman Mike Kemether. "Since engineering firms make up a large portion of our target market, we feel that the real winners in this deal will be ACEC and AECWorkForce members around the country. Obviously, we’re extremely pleased and excited about working with an association of ACEC’s caliber." AECWorkForce is the fastest-growing career portal for architecture, engineering, and construction jobs on the Internet. Packed with career news, helpful information, and job postings from industry leaders such as Parsons Corporation, HDR, Camp Dresser & McKee, HOK, Gensler, HNTB, Carter & Burgess, and many more, AECWorkForce.com is the premier career site for design and construction industry. Look for more details on this partnership at AECWorkForce.com, and www.ACEC.org. To learn more about how to sign up as an AECWorkForce employer member and receive your 10% ACEC discount, call a customer service representatives at 1-800-218-8930. CILC Looking for Your Help With EPT The use of Electronic Plan Transfer (EPT), sometimes referred to as electronic file transfer, is becoming more widespread every year and is often touted as another example of the "new, better way" of doing business. However, ACEC’s Construction Industry Liaison Committee, is not completely sold. After hearing reports both praising EPT and identifying the major problems with this practice, the committee has decided to seek your input. The Committee asks you to send an email to jcarney@acec.org describing your experiences (good and bad) with EPT. Specifically, we are looking for responses to the following questions: • Are you
using electronic plan transfer? If so, how often? Thanks in advance for your time and help. The Construction Industry Liaison Committee will compile the results of this survey and report on those results in a future issue of the Last Word. Record Profit Levels for Environmental Consulting Firms Environmental consulting firms experienced strong profit margins for their most recently completed fiscal year (2000 for the majority of firms), according to ZweigWhite’s newly published 2001 Financial Performance Survey of Environmental Consulting Firms. Firms recorded their highest pre-tax, pre-bonus profit per professional/technical staff since the survey was first conducted in 1993. The 2001 survey shows that environmental consulting firms had their third straight year of double-digit profit margins, with a median pre-tax, pre-bonus profit of 11.5% of net service revenue. Pre-tax, pre-bonus profit on professional/technical staff reached an all-time high median of $11,869— compared to a low of $4,054 in 1996. What’s contributing to these profits? The financial indicators point to revenue growth and more efficient utilization of human resources. Median net service revenue per total staff reached a high of $82,123 in this year’s survey, compared to a low of $66,009 in 1993. With a high of 61.2%, median chargeability was also up in 2001, compared to a low of 54.4% in 1994 and in 1996. The key to profitability in the environmental consulting industry lies in achieving high multipliers on direct labor, while controlling overhead expenses and maintaining high chargeability levels. Although the survey data show little change in the median net multiplier for the industry and an increase in overhead rates, firms were able to maintain profitability through higher chargeability levels. The 2001 ZweigWhite Financial Performance Survey of Environmental Firms is available for sale through the ACEC Publications #LW-3675-6-01, $345, $6 s/h. Orders should be sent to ACEC, or FAX (202) 789-7220 . Please include your Mastercard, Visa, or American Express number with the expiration date, contact name, firm name, street address, phone number, and e-mail address.Travel Benefits for ACEC Members World Wide Travel, one of the nation’s largest travel agencies, has joined forces with ACEC as the Council’s official travel agency. As the Fall Conference approaches, WWT will be able to make all your tavel arrangements including air, hotel, and rental car reservations. WWT has developed an online travel management system that allows you to manage your corporate travel purchases from your desktop or from anywhere in the world via the internet. Specifically, as an ACEC member you will realize substantial savings by using WWT’s Travel Management Solutions. These include: • A no fee online travel management
solution For more information on WWT and other discounted member services, visit ACEC’s Hall of $avings at http://www.acec.org/members/savings.cfm or http://www.WorldWideTravel.com/QualityAgent/acec.htm. The following editions of the Last Word are available online, to retrieve a particular issue, choose the date from the drop down box below, and click "Go Get It!" |