The 2022 Business of Structural Engineering Boot Camp: Communications, Claims & Contracts was held on November 1, 2022, in Chicago.
The three-part session included Examining Claims: Lessons Learned for SE Leaders by John Tawresey, S.E., Chief Financial Officer, KPFF Consulting Engineers; a communications session on Having Hard Conversations and Coming Out on Top by Marc Warren, President and Co-Founder, Customer Follow Up, Inc. and concluded with Why is Legal Advice about Contracts like Twinkies and Cockroaches? which was presented by Karen Erger, Senior Vice President, Director of Practice Risk Management, Lockton, and Eric Singer, Partner, Ice Miller, LLP.
Examining Claims: Lessons Learned for SE Leaders highlighted that sharing actual claim experiences is the single most powerful tool available to practicing professionals. Sharing can promote the professional learning process and help other firms avoid making those same mistakes repeatedly. In addition, this sharing provides structural engineers with practical information that allows them to implement loss prevention tactics and practices.
Having Hard Conversations and Coming Out on Top showed attendees how to prepare themselves to have successful, hard conversations and how those conversations can be instrumental in positioning a firm for positive project outcomes and long-term successful client relationships without simply giving clients everything they ask for.
In the day’s final session, Why is Legal Advice about Contracts like Twinkies and Cockroaches?, attendees took a deep dive into service agreements and the importance of well-written contracts. As the presenters pointed out and reiterated throughout the afternoon, while bad contracts do not cause claims, they can make claims much worse and harder to resolve.
If you are looking for similar educational content, you are encouraged to attend the ACEC Spring Convention and Fall Conferences, occurring every year. Each year CASE sponsors a series of educational sessions at ACEC events that are similar in content. These events are open to all attendees.