For recent ACEC news, click below:
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Energy
Texas Plans $5B Upgrade to Wind Power Transmission Lines
Though many ranchers in Texas have expressed a desire to host wind turbines, few want the unsightly high-voltage transmission lines needed to carry the power to distant cities... click here for more.
Land/Buildings
New Orleans Gets $1.8 Billion to Rebuild School System
Before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans' public schools were notoriously bad, with substandard academic performance, drastic underfunding, racially and economically segregated students, and massive disrepair... click here for more.
Transportation
Report Identifies Best Ridership Corridors for High-Speed Rail
A new study by America 2050 concludes that high-speed rail corridors have the greatest potential to attract ridership in all of the nation's "megaregions," or networks of metropolitan regions... click here for more.
Click here for more News Briefs.
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2010 Professional Liability Survey Now Available
2010 ACEC Professional Liability Survey of Member Firms
ACEC Risk Management Committee
Benchmark your firm's professional liability coverage and compare the carriers who serve our industry with the 2010 ACEC Professional Liability Survey of Member Firms. Available for immediate download in PDF format.
To order, click here.
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Save 25% Thru Jan. 31 on ACEC's Project Delivery Series
No coupon needed — prices on website reflect discount
Construction Management at Risk
Elliott Gappinger
Member Price: $49.00 $36.75
To order, click here.
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Design/Contract-Build
Member Price: $89.00 $66.75
To order, click here.
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Design-Build Project Delivery
Member Price: $49.00 $36.75
To order, click here.
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Design-Build-Operate
Member Price: $89.00 $66.75
To order, click here.
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Project Delivery Systems Owner's Manual
Tom Warne & Jeffrey L. Beard
Member Price: $99.00 $74.25
To order, click here.
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Wired to Clients, BIM for Bosses in 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:
February
2—Wired to Clients—Insights on Getting Inside Your Customers’ Minds for Success in Business Development, by David Stone, Stone and Company
Get new insights, win client confidence and jobs.
9—BIM for Bosses, by Eric Wing, C&S Companies
Gain a realistic picture of what to expect and what not to once BIM is up and running.
16—An Inside View of Programs and Funding of Rural Development, USDA, by Ben Shuman, USDA
Learn how RD money is distributed, opportunities available for engineering services.
17—The Perfect Storm-A Bad Lawsuit, A Bad Contract, Indemnification and the Duty to Defend, by Christine Drage, Weil & Drage, APC
A look at the new practical realities and ideal defense and indemnity clause.
March
16—DOE Energy Efficiency Block Grant Funding: Market Opportunities in a $3 Billion Program, by Mark Johnson, DOE
Get critical inside information on eligible projects, applying for funding, reporting requirements.
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Let the ACEC Job Board Work for You
Post your firm’s open positions on the ACEC Job Board. As a niche job site the Job Board gives you direct access to this focused group of qualified engineering talent specific to your needs.
Take advantage of discounted member rates and our participation in the Engineering & Science Career Network. As a part of the network, your job posting appears on 39 industry job sites, at no additional charge. Your firm will have exposure to thousands more job seekers and access to our resume database with over 31,000 searchable candidate resumes.
The ACEC Job Board is your source for new employees. For more information, please contact Nina Goldman at 202-682-4325 or write ngoldman@acec.org.
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Over 550 Searchable Jobs Posted
Over 31,000 Searchable Resumes Posted
Over 2,250 Registered Employers |
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Last Five "Help Wanted" Open Positions:
Bridge Engineer—Uniontown, PA
Civil Engineer I—Minot, ND
Asst. Manager, Construction, Maintenance & Customer Operations—Imperial, CA
Project Manager-Transportation Services—Portland, OR
Surveyors I—Moorhead, MN
A Sampling of Posted Resumes:
Mechanical/Electrical—7,874
Transportation—1,576
Environmental Engineers—1,564
Civil Engineers—5,238
Structural Engineers—1,826
Water/Wastewater—721
View These and Other Resumes and Jobs
on ACEC's Job Board
www.acec.org/jobbank |
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| ACEC/Illinois Achieves Landmark Legal Victory for Industry
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that an engineering firm's scope of duty is "circumscribed by the terms of the contract" and should not be held to a higher standard of care after the fact.
Alan Schuchman, corporate counsel for CH2M HILL, which was one of the defendants in Thompson v. Gordon, thanked ACEC for its "invaluable help" in providing Minuteman Fund support for an amicus brief which helped to influence the Court. He said the case represented "a great decision for our industry."
"Supporting cases like Thompson is a prime example of the value that ACEC brings to Member Firms," said David Kennedy, executive director of ACEC/Illinois.
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| ACEC's Infrastructure Agenda Gets Boost in Obama Speech
ACEC is using President Obama's call for "increased infrastructure investment" in his State of the Union Address to urge quick Congressional passage of several long-term infrastructure funding programs.
"We're very pleased that the President embraced infrastructure and hope the White House and Congress will work together in the coming months to pass new highway, aviation, energy and water bills," said ACEC President Dave Raymond.
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| ACEC Convention Attendees to Sway Congressional Infrastructure Outcome
Speaker of the House
John Boehner |
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica |
With Congress scheduled to consider critical industry issues during the ACEC Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., March 30-April 2, Council members will have a unique opportunity to have an immediate and substantial impact on the Congressional debate.
Several Congressional leaders have been invited to speak at the Convention, including Speaker of the House John Boehner and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee John Mica.
The Convention will feature two days of member visits to their senators and representative's offices to advocate for industry interests, including infrastructure investment, tax reform, and government competition.
For more information on the 2011 ACEC Annual Convention, click here.
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| Federal Agencies Commit to More A/E Contracting Opportunities Abroad
Ken Baum, who heads the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Global A/E Indefinite Quantity Contract program, told the ACEC International Committee that his agency is committed to increasing its use of engineering and architecture services.
"One of our major priorities is to get our agency to learn culturally that it needs A/E services in order to do quality construction work," said Baum.
The Global A/E Indefinite Quantity Contract is a five-year, $500 million program to provide private-sector infrastructure related expertise to USAID missions around the world.
For more information on the ACEC International Committee, contact Mark Steiner at msteiner@acec.org or 202-347-7474.
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| ACEC/Mississippi Leaders Support Congressman Gregg Harper
ACEC/Mississippi presented an ACEC/PAC check to Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS) last week. Pictured (left to right) are Charles Williford, Thompson Engineering; Walter Lyons, Michael Baker; ACEC/MS Executive Director Judy Adams; Rep. Harper; ACEC/MS President Jim Hust, Waggoner Engineering and James Nelson, Allen & Hoshall. |
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Sign Up Now For ACEC's 2011-2012 National Committees
ACEC encourages members to serve on ACEC National committees. Participation on ACEC committees brings vitality to the Council and ensures that member issues and interests remain central to Council operations and public policy.
ACEC committee membership is open to all employees of ACEC Member Firms.
Most of ACEC's committees are "open" (i.e., sign up and you're on!). A few require appointment by the incoming ACEC chairman.The terms of appointed committee members begin during the 2011 Annual Convention, March 30-April 2. If you are interested in one of the appointed committees, please let us know and follow the process on the web page referenced below.
Open Committees
- Contract Documents Committee
- Environment & Energy Committee
- Federal Agencies & Procurement Advocacy Committee
- Institute for Business Management Committee
- International Committee
- Management Practices Committee
- Membership Committee
- Public Relations Committee
- Risk Management Committee
- Tax and Regulatory Affairs Committee
- Transportation Committee
Appointed Committees
- Engineering Excellence Awards Committee
- Planning Cabinet
- Bylaws & Procedures Committee
- Tellers Committee
Of growing interest to firms involved in the energy sector is the joint Environment & Energy Committee, with its strong sub-committee on energy. ACEC will establish a separate Energy Committee if there is sufficient interest.
Click here to view the committees, current goals and rosters. If you are interested in joining one or more of the committees, click on the link at the bottom of that page.
For more information, contact Mary Ann Emely, ACEC vice president of operations & membership, memely@acec.org, 202-682-4300.
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Get New Insights, Win Client Confidence and Jobs
February 2, 1:30-3 p.m.
Connecting with clients on the technical level in a proposal is no longer enough to win the job. If you haven’t also bonded with them on a personal level through your business development activities, chances are slim that you’ll work together.
In this online seminar, Wired to Clients—Insights on Getting Inside Your Customers’ Minds for Success in Business Development, marketing guru David Stone gets specific with the why and how of building trust-based relationships and creating confidence on the client-side that can’t come from “a brochure or a written proposal.”
Click here for details and to register.
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Build Skills for Success with 2011 Business of Design Consulting Course
May 11-14, Las Vegas, NV
The Business of Design Consulting (BDC) program addresses the challenging realities of the current business environment, providing the strategic insights and best-practice management skills fundamental to success for design professionals.
This intensive four-day course offers engineering firm executives and managers the collective state-of-the-art expertise of the A/E industry's leading practitioners. The curriculum delivers essential 2011 updates on the real-world business topics not offered by engineering schools, including business management, finance, marketing, risk management, contracts, leadership, human resources, and information technology.
BDC is recommended for owners, senior executives, principals, business administrators, project managers at all levels, human resources managers, and managers of facilities and infrastructure projects.
Click here to register.
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Get Answers to Bottom-Line BIM Questions, Online
February 9, 1:30-3 p.m.
What results should you expect to see from BIM applications that you just bought (or are about to buy)?
BIM for Bosses provides practical answers to your key questions about the technology and practices of Building Information Modeling (BIM).
Eric Wing, C&S Companies, discusses the benefits and end goals of using BIM firm-wide; the processes needed for a seamless implementation; and the steps and changes in hardware, software and network—plus new training and workflow practices—to get your firm involved and up-to-speed.
Click here for details and to register.
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USDA Details Programs and Funding for Rural Development, Online
February 16, 1:30-3 p.m.
Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, distributes over $1.5 billion annually in loans and grants for water and wastewater projects, environmental projects, electrification, telecommunications, renewable and energy efficiency programs, bioenergy and biobased projects, health clinics, and emergency service facilities.
In An Inside View of the Programs and Funding of Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ben Shuman, senior environmental engineer, USDA, will describe how the money is distributed and where engineers and local communities fit into the picture, and look at the prognosis for future funding.
Click here for details and to register.
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Avoiding the 'Perfect Storm' in A/E Services Contracts
February 17, 1:30-3 p.m.
In light of recent case law, including the well-known UDC and Crawford decisions in California, Christine Drage, Weil & Drage, APC, focuses on what the ideal defense and indemnity clauses would look like to protect a firm from The Perfect Storm—A Bad Lawsuit, A Bad Contract, Indemnification and the Duty to Defend.
This timely risk management online seminar for contract administrators, legal counsel, principals and others involved in contract creation and negotiation, discusses contractual clauses that can help manage risk if properly drafted, including scopes of service descriptions, limitations of liability, consequential damages waivers, and sole corporate remedy provisions.
Click here for details and to register.
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2010 ACEC Fall Conference Session Proposals Due by Jan. 28
Proposals for session presentations at the 2011 ACEC Fall Conference, October 19-22, in Las Vegas, are due on January 28.
Session presentations are 75 minutes and must focus on one of seven subject tracks: Engineering Markets and Issues, Business Management and Finance, Technology and Trends, Engineering Management and Leadership, People and Intangible Assets, Projects and Contracts, and Public Policy and Key Industry Issues.
For examples of topics, a summary of the benefits of presenting, and the Presentation Proposal Submission Form, click here.
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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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