Andrew Mendelson of Berkley Design Professional to Address Design Project Scope Creep & Profitability at ACEC 2018 Fall Conference

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Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA (August 21, 2018) – Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA, senior vice president, chief risk management officer at Berkley Design Professional, a division of Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company, will explore the methods for identifying and managing design project scope creep at the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) 2018 Fall Conference to be held October 28 – 31, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The session titled “From Scope Creep to Profitability: Managing Change, Risk, and Your Client’s Expectations” will highlight the triggers of change and the means for preventing process claims, maintaining client relationships and staying profitable. This includes managing scope creep, which occurs when professional design services expand without corresponding fee increases or the realization of additional risk and exposure. The presentation is scheduled to take place on Monday, October 29, 2018 at 3:45 p.m. pacific time.

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8 Steps to Successful Subconsultant Relationships

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Streamline the design-build process with a solid strategy for choosing partners

 

by Andrew Mendelson FAIA
August 8, 2018

Prime design consultants often have a great deal of project control and leverage. Unfortunately, such responsibilities increase the potential for significant risk. This is especially true if errors or omissions committed by subconsultants cause damage to the client or project. Under such circumstances, the prime will most likely be held liable as if they committed the negligent acts themselves.

Given the risks and responsibilities, it’s surprising how many times prime consultants retain subconsultants without thoroughly vetting their skills and backgrounds. Many even fail to hold written contracts with their subs or only move forward with brief agreement letters and/or the subconsultant’s proposal. But consider this: if problems occur and the prime has no contract with the subconsultant, or if the contract is inadequate or ambiguous, the prime could end up paying for the client’s entire loss.

Another problem is that primes often neglect to require insurance—or an adequate amount—from their subs which places their own deductible and policy limits at risk.

As a result, here are eight steps Berkley Design Professional recommends for helping to prepare against issues before they arise, while also protecting against costly and time-consuming delays.

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ACEC Fall Conference Educational Session

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

From Scope Creep to Profitability: Managing Change, Risk, and Client Expectations

Presented by: Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer

Monday, October 29, 2018, 3:45 pm

https://www.acec.org/conferences/fall-conference-2018/educational-sessions/

From Scope Creep to Profitability: Managing Change, Risk, and Your Client’s Expectations Change challenges the basic premise of project management: the control of resources to meet a certain objective by a specific date within a finite budget. Scope creep happens when there is an expansion of services provided without a corresponding increase in the design professional’s fees or recognition of additional risk exposure. The good news is that while change is inevitable, scope creep is not. This workshop will help you learn the triggers for change and how to manage the change process to prevent claims, maintain your client relationships, and stay profitable.

Learning Objectives

  1. Recognize that concise definition of scope of project and services is a critical component of contract administration
  2. Identify potential risks in reduction of professional services in construction documents and construction administration, as well as increased risk exposure due to expanded scopes of service.
  3. Learn strategies to identify and control modifications to construction systems, material and products through effective change management
  4. Learn how to manage the implications of change through proactive communication and documentation