ACEC Prevails At World Engineering Congress; Thomopulos Elected To FIDIC Excom Gregs Thomopulos, newly elected to FIDIC Executive Committee Representatives of engineering associations from 63 nations meeting in Paris this week for the annual convention of International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) elected ACEC's nominee to their Executive Committee and committed themselves to pursuing QBS and other best practices advocated by ACEC. Gregs Thomopulos, chairman of ACEC's International Committee received the highest number of votes among six candidates running for three open leadership positions on the FIDIC Executive Committee.

ACEC Chairman Eric Flicker led the ACEC delegation to Paris. ACEC Chairman Eric Flicker led a large U.S. delegation which included ACEC President Dave Raymond, Chairman-elect Bill Howard, Vice Chairman Joe Paoluccio and 20 others. "Our participation in this convention is directed at ensuring that FIDIC continues to deal effectively with international issues vital to our industry," Flicker said. Raymond briefed the FIDIC directors and secretaries on communications strategy, and Thomopulos briefed the convention on QBS. "QBS is a central issue that I will focus on during my four-year term as we promote ACEC business practices to improve the international business environment for our firms," Thomopulos said. FIDIC celebrated its 90th anniversary during the convention. The organization's anniversary brochure paid special tribute to ACEC's William W. Moore, FIDIC President during 1970-72 as the "Father of Modern FIDIC."

Battles Being Waged On Outsourcing, FLSA Reform Provisions; President Threatens Veto

Proposed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) reform and President Bush's initiative to open competition of non-inherently governmental jobs to the private sector will be the focus of intense debate by House and Senate conferees as they hammer out compromise language on key spending bills.

Earlier this week, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) that seeks to prevent the Department of Labor from moving forward on its efforts to reform and update the FLSA. The Harkin Amendment was adopted by a vote of 54-45, with Republican Senators Ted Stevens (AK), Arlen Specter (PA), Lincoln Chafee (RI), Olympia Snowe (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO) voting in favor of the amendment. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) was the lone Democrat to oppose Harkin.

ACEC and its coalition allies were successful in defeating a similar amendment in the House of Representatives during consideration of the F.Y. '04 Labor, HHS, Education appropriations bill, which means the issue will now be settled in conference. The White House has indicated that the spending bill may be vetoed by the President if the Harkin language remains in the final conference report. ACEC will be working with the White House, as well as House and Senate conferees to strip the Harkin language from the final package.

On the outsourcing front, ACEC and its industry allies were successful in killing one amendment that sought to impede the ability of federal agencies from opening commercial activities to competition from the private sector. The House rejected an amendment to the F.Y. 2004 Transportation and Treasury appropriations bill offered by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) which aimed to derail the Administration's competitive sourcing initiative. Though the Hastings amendment was defeated, a second and very similar amendment offered by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) was adopted.

ACEC and its coalition partners are now focusing their efforts on the Senate to ensure that a similar anti-outsourcing provision is not included in the Senate bill. Just as with the FLSA amendment, the White House has issued a veto threat against the bill if the Van Hollen provision survives conference. Click here to see how your House member voted on the Hastings amendment and click here to see votes for the Van Hollen amendment.

SEI-IX: A full house of participants listen, learn and partake in discussions at ACEC's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

SEI-IX Launched In Washington

The ninth class of ACEC's Senior Executives Institute (SEI) began this week at ACEC headquarters in Washington for 20 engineering executives from across the nation seeking to enhance their leadership skills.

Participants in this first of SEI's five multi-day sessions received an overview of the inner-workings of government, how it affects their businesses, and how ACEC lobbies on their behalf.

"It has been a very impressive experience for me so far," said Paul Lynes, of BWSC, Inc., in Nashville.

John Walsh, of Degenkolb Engineers in San Francisco, said he was impressed with the way the class bonded quickly during its first session. "It was something I was told to expect at an SEI class and I'm real happy the way our group has come together."

SEI's two-year program is specifically tailored for senior-level design professionals and is conducted by the American Council of Engineering Companies in cooperation with the Advanced Management Institute for Architecture and Engineering (AMI) and The Brookings Institution.

Sessions for the tenth class of SEI begin in April 2004. For information on how to register for the tenth class of SEI, click here.

September Market Forecast Series:
How To Tap GSA's Opportunities

There is still time to register for online participation in the September session of ACEC's Market Forecast Series featuring David Eakin of General Services Administration (GSA). Learn the secrets of government contracting, where money budgeted for GSA is being spent, and how you can tap into these markets.

September 18
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EDT (On-site participation is sold out)
Click here to register for desktop participation only.

Workshops/Seminars

Marketing: Raising the Bar
Co-sponsored by The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)
September 17-18   —   San Francisco

In this seminar participants learn how to analyze industry trends and develop new tools for business development. The seminar instructs how to emphasize the marketing function throughout your firm, apply new methods to enhance current relationships, and develop a working plan to position your firm for consistent new business. Click here to register.

Registration Fee: ACEC/SMPS members $645/Non-members $845

Project Management: The Road to Profitability
October 16-17   —   Nashville, Tenn.
November 13-14   —   Houston, Texas

This seminar examines the stages of managing a project and the project manager's role. It will help managers calculate project profitability and understand project budgeting methods and cost estimating. It will also discuss how to build a project team that increases productivity through the allocation of resources, develop a comprehensive and effective project plan, and increase client retention and gain referrals using proven client relations tools and techniques. Two great locations provide two opportunities for design professionals to develop valuable skills.

Click here to register.
ACEC members $545/Non-members $745

Business of Design Consulting Leadership Seminar
October 22-25   —   Nashville, Tenn.

This intensive, multi-day course offers up-and-coming design firm leaders the chance to look in-depth into several different management areas and learn from renowned industry experts, including: Leadership and Human Resources for the A/E Firm with Pat Holcomb of the Picus Group, Finance and Business Management with Bill Fanning of PSMJ, Information Technology with Mike Ingardia of Systems Management Consultants, Inc., Legal & Risk Management with Bob Crist of Black & Veatch and Marketing and Project Delivery with David Stone of FMI. Individual modules feature hands-on activities, extensive discussion and interactive workshops to prepare you for difficult issues ahead.

Click here to register or contact Sandrine Mailli at Education@acec.org.

Early bird cut-off date of September 30, 2003
Member early bird rate - $1295, Non-Member early bird rate - $1495.
AFTER September 30, 2003: Member rate - $1495, Non-Member rate - $1695

Five Professional Business Forums At Phoenix Conference

October 8   —   Phoenix, Ariz.
ACEC will offer five professional forums: Professional Sales and Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology and the newly added Young Leaders Forum. The forums are included as part of the full registration to the Phoenix Fall Conference or can be purchased individually. Forums are structured for networking in a roundtable format that promotes interactive discussion, and cover topics such as emerging trends and problem solving. A professional listserv for each discipline will be available to each participate enabling idea sharing and communication year-round.

Click here for more information.
For further information, please contact Andrew Fort with ACEC at (202) 682-4330.

Click here to review past editions of the Last Word.