For recent ACEC news, click below:
The ACEC Index compares the stock performance of ACEC’s publicly held Member Firms(—) with the NYSE Composite Index (—) and Total U.S. Construction Spending (—).
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Energy
DOE Commits $1 Billion in ARRA Funds to FutureGen 2.0
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that the Department of Energy has signed final cooperative agreements with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and Ameren Energy Resources to formally commit $1 billion in Recovery Act funding to build FutureGen 2.0... click here for more.
Storage and Power Electronics May Soon Revamp Electric Grid
Officials from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers say the electric grid could see all sorts of changes in the near future including new forms of grid storage and power electronics that control large flows of energy in a more efficient manner... click here for more.
Buildings/Land
Cornell Develops Software to Streamline Green Design
Cornell University researchers are developing simulation software that streamlines the process of making buildings meet sustainability requirements, which will enable architects to employ environment-conscious design principles from the start... click here for more.
Transportation
FHWA Reports 100% of ARRA Highway Funds Awarded
The Federal Highway Administration has met the September 30th deadline for providing nearly $27.5 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars for highway and bridge projects throughout the nation... click here for more.
Amtrak Unveils $117 Billion Plan for East Coast High-Speed Rail
Amtrak has revealed a $117 billion, 30-year plan to construct a high-speed rail line on the East Coast that they claim would significantly reduce travel times throughout the congested corridor and use trains that travel up to 220 miles per hour... click here for more.
Click here for more News Briefs.
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Use the Job Board to hire the best talent and save money
Fall is the perfect time to find the next superstar employee for your firm and save with ACEC Job Board.
Add ACEC’s Job Board to your recruiting mix and enjoy 15 percent savings on any multiple posting package through the end of October. Just use the promo code SAVE15 at checkout. Your posting package automatically includes resume database access.
Save money and reach thousands of candidates. With over 550 posted A/E/C industry jobs and more than 27,000 candidate resumes, the ACEC Job Board’s advanced search features produce effective, specific results for both job seekers and employers.
Reach your target audience quickly and effectively with the ACEC Job Board and the Engineering and Science Career Network.
For more information, contact Nina Goldman at 202-682-4325 or write ngoldman@acec.org.
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Over 550 Searchable Jobs Posted
Over 27,000 Searchable Resumes Posted
Over 2,200 Registered Employers |
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Last Five "Help Wanted" Open Positions:
Independent Quality Assurance Manager—Golden, CO
Accounting Clerk—New York, NY
Roadway Engineer or Technician—Muskogee, OK
Experienced MGP Site Project Manager—Norwood, MA
Lab/Field Technician—Fresno, CA
A Sampling of Posted Resumes:
Geotechnical Engineers—1,240
Water Resources/Wastewater Engineers—1,771
Transportation—1,526
Civil Engineers—2,424
Structural Engineers—1,655
Environmental Engineers—1,608
View These and Other Resumes and Jobs
on ACEC's Job Board
www.acec.org/jobbank |
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Nurture Client Relationships to Grow Your Business
Wired to…Clients
Get Inside Your Customers’ Minds for Success in Business Development
David A. Stone
Connecting with your clients on the technical level in a proposal or presentation isn’t enough. If you haven’t bonded with them on a personal level through your business development, you’re not going to win that job. Wired to . . . Clients gives you practical new insights and unique pathways to win client confidence... and jobs.
To order, click here.
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Clientship™
Building Client Service Bridges to Profitability
Michael Kennedy, Steve Greenberg
Clientship™, Second Edition illustrates once again that good client service is part of your competitive advantage. Returning clients will keep your company in business for years to come.
To order, click here.
Click here to see all of the publications and merchandise available at the ACEC Bookstore.
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Defend Overhead Rates; Economic Outlook Highlight Online Seminars
ACEC online seminars provide critical business information for Member Firms navigating current market challenges and seeking new business opportunities.
Here’s a look at upcoming topics:
October
7—Survival and Success: Essential Project Management Practices for Sub-Consultant Structural Engineers, by Scott Braley, Braley Consulting
First seminar in CASE fall program.
12—Insider’s Guide to Developing and Defending Overhead Rates, by Paul Haglund, Paul Haglund Consulting
Be ready for increased government client scrutiny.
13—Project Partnering: Principles, Techniques, and Benefits, by Gary Bates, Roenker Bates Group
Project Partnering’ $uccess for design professionals.
14—Understanding and Using AIA C401 Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant: Deconstructing AIA B101, by Bill Geisen, GraydonHead
Second in CASE fall seminar series.
27—High Speed Rail: Outlook, Opportunities and Obstacles, by Donald M. Itzkoff, Nossaman LLP; Jeffrey Boothe, Holland & Knight; and David J. Carol, Parsons Brinckerhoff
28—Understanding and Using AIA C40l Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant: Uses and Modifications, by Bill Geisen, GraydonHead
Third in CASE fall seminar series.
November
2—Effective Use of Government Contracts to Optimize Liability Protection by Ray Biagini, Esq., and Herbert Fenster, Esq., McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
High potential consequence activities require extra special vigilance.
11—Retirement Plans—Which Plan is the Best Fit for Your Firm? By Robert Kuna, Wachovia Securities
Fourth in CASE fall seminar series.
16—Systematic Client Feedback: How to Get It, Use It, and Benefit From It, by Mike Phillips, DesignFacilitator
Ten usable criteria for monitoring your firm’s ongoing performance.
17—Short-Term Economic Outlook—Will Financial Reform Help Your Business? By Greg Ip, editor, The Economist
An examination of the current state of the economy, and the outlook for growth and implications of the recent financial reform bill.
December
7—What is the Right Value for Your Firm? by David Cohen, Matheson Financial Advisors
Firm internal/external sale in your future? Start building more shareholder value now.
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Download AASHTO Audit Guide Online Seminars
ACEC's popular series of online seminars detailing the new AASHTO Uniform Audit and Accounting Guide are now available for purchase and download on-demand through the ACEC Bookstore.
To order, click on the seminar title of interest:
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| ACEC Promotes QBS, Infrastructure Investment at 2010 FIDIC Conference
ACEC Chairman Jerry Stump (right) at the FIDIC Conference in New Delhi with FIDIC President Gregs Thomopulos, who is also Chairman and CEO of Stanley Consultants. |
ACEC’s delegation at the recent International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Conference in New Delhi called for the adoption of QBS, licensure and technical standards to combat fraud and corruption in infrastructure-related work.
Council members also recommended elevating the importance of infrastructure projects in developing countries.
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| Still Time to Join 600-Plus at the ACEC Fall Conference in Puerto Rico
The 2010 ACEC Fall Conference will be held at El Conquistador Resort,
October 17-20. Click here for more information and to register. |
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| Alaska is Latest State to Hit ACEC/PAC Goal in Critical Election Year
ACEC/Alaska PAC Champion Floyd Damron |
ACEC/Alaska has reached its PAC objective for 2010, joining Wisconsin, Hawaii, Indiana, South Dakota, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Washington. Many other states are close to their goals.
“We met goal this year because we’ve broadened the base of ACEC/PAC contributors in the state, who recognize the value to our firms of this strong political program,” said PAC Champion Floyd Damron of CH2M HILL in Anchorage.
For more information about ACEC/PAC, click here. |
| SEI Program Takes New Generation of Industry Leaders to Congress
ACEC Senior Executives Institute participants on Capitol Hill. |
The 23 members of ACEC’s Senior Executives Insitute (SEI) program began their intensive two-year leadership training in Washington, D.C. last week.
They spent two days at the Brookings Institution, hearing from experts on public policy trends that shape the marketplace for engineering firms. In addition, the group received briefings from ACEC leadership and visited members of Congress.
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| Nominate Vendors for Engineering Inc.’s New Peer-to-Peer Resource Guide
If you have a vendor that provides exceptional service in the accounting/financial, marketing/communications, or IT service areas, recommend them to other ACEC members by submitting their name to the new Peer-to-Peer Resource Guides.
The Guides will be published in special 2011 issues of Engineering, Inc. magazine.
Click here to access the Peer-to-Peer Resource Guide Nomination Form. You may recommend more than one vendor in any of the three categories.
For more information, contact Andrea Keeney at akeeney@acec.org.
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| 2011 Young Professional of the Year Award Entry Deadline is October 11
Member Organizations and Member Firms seeking to recognize the achievements of a young engineer must submit their entry for ACEC’s 2011 Young Engineer of the Year Award by October 11, 2010.
The Award acknowledges engineers just beginning their careers who have already made significant contributions to the profession.
Award winners will be recognized at the 2011 ACEC Fall Conference and in Engineering Inc., and will automatically compete for the 2011 New Faces of Engineering Awards, which are coordinated through National Engineers Week.
For more information on the awards and to enter, click here. |
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Understanding Project Financials' Impact on Firm Operating Performance
November 4-5, Phoenix, AZ
In Essentials of A/E Financial Management and Firm Valuation, David Cohen, finance expert and principal, Matheson Financial Advisors, Inc., explores the impact that a volatile economy has on financial management above and beyond revenue, profits, backlog, and staff size.
Participants will learn to effectively extract and apply key financial measures such as break-even overhead rate, target billing multiplier and labor utilization percentage; how to examine various performance, liquidity and leverage ratios; and ways to benchmark these results to positively affect firm performance and shareholder value.
Best-price registration extended through Oct. 8. Click here for the brochure, agenda details, and to register.
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Gain Expert Witness Skills, Benefit Your Firm, Your Clients, Yourself
November 11-12, Orlando, FL
Litigation is a fact-of-life in the A/E industry. Firms need professionals who are knowledgeable in courtroom procedures to effectively serve the firm (or clients) as an expert witness.
Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness, ACEC’s one-of-a-kind course, is being offered November 11-12, in Orlando.
Topics include deposition behavior, permissible out-of-court statements, ethics, pre-courtroom testimony preparation, courtroom demeanor, how to maintain credibility, the differences between a fact witness and an expert witness, and agreement and compensation for taking on an outside assignment.
Register now and save. Click here for the course brochure, agenda details, and to register.
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CASE Online Series: Sub-Consultant Project Management Practices
October 7, 1-2:30 p.m. (Note special time.)
Structural engineers often work as a sub-consultant to architects—making direct communication with the client a rare occurrence, and project success dependent on the level of trust and teamwork attainable.
Scott Braley, Braley Consulting, presents the first in the CASE fall online seminar series, Survival and Success: Essential Project Management Practices for Sub-Consultant Structural Engineers, focusing on “procedures and practical information for managing your project in the context of the sub-consultant role.”
Click here to register. |
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Developing and Defending Overhead Rates in October 12 Online Seminar
October 12, 1:30-3 p.m.
With government clients—federal, state and local—paying increased attention to overhead rates, how you develop your firm’s rates is more critical than ever to your revenue stream.
Financial manager and consultant Paul Haglund presents Insider’s Guide to Developing and Defending Overhead Rates, October 12, online. Haglund will provide an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of developing and using client-approved overhead (indirect cost) rates, plus a range of other overhead issues including setting up the direct labor base and indirect cost pool; recognizing “non-allowable” costs; and getting approved overhead rates from state or federal agencies.
Click here for details and to register. |
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Project Partnering: Building Relationships, Reducing Risk
October 13, 1:30-3 p.m.
Savvy design professionals are realizing the advantages of partnering—beyond the traditional benefits to the owner/contractor relationship.
In a definitive online seminar, Project Partnering: Principles, Techniques, and Benefits, Gary Bates, Roenker Bates Group, describes partnering techniques and benefits, including the three stages of every partnering program; what partnering is and isn’t; and understanding the motivation for partnering and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Click here for details and to register. |
The American Council of Engineering Companies
1015 15th St., NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605
Phone: 202-347-7474 - Fax: 202-898-0068
www.acec.org - E-mail:acec@acec.org
Alan D. Crockett, Director, PR
Gerry Donohue, Editor/Designer |
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