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Design Risk-How to Design a Brave New World
A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step. However, any journey carries with it some element of risk and possible pitfalls along the way. To better your chances of reaching your desired destination, it is important that the first step be a step in the right direction. Design is often the first major step in executing any project. As that ‘first step’, design is a key component of a project’s overall risk potential. Following is a discussion of some risk elements in the design process.
MDC Systems Engineer Wins Presidential Grant for Best Green Business Idea, Washington, DC
Washington — To Amal Kabalan and her fellow entrepreneurs, the plight of schoolchildren in Guinea presents a fairly basic need that inspired a simple but creative business response. Guineans don’t have much access to energy for light. Kids wear backpacks. Why not attach a solar-powered device to the backpacks, collect energy on the walk to school, and then use the stored energy to power lamps so the children could study at night?
The idea earned the 27-year-old Lebanon native $3,000 in seed money to start the venture with her new business partners — people she had met just days before and who had been selected by Athgo International, a nonprofit organization that sponsored the competition in partnership with the World Bank Speakers Bureau.
Litigation Strategies In Construction Disputes: Being Cost Effective and Winning
John E. Osborn and Eric L. Guhring
Originally printed in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 1999
Why Excellent Inhouse Counsel Facilities Cost Effectiveness And Winning
Cost effectiveness and success in the resolution of construction disputes is determined by a recipe. The recipe is different for each dispute because the characteristics and ingredients of each construction project and the participants and their quality vary widely. It is clear that the quality of inhouse counsel significantly affects the cost and success of the dispute resolution.
Common Documentation Problems
James M. McKay, AIA, P.E.
Former MDC Systems® Project Manager
Construction is, to a great extent, a paper business. In addition to a completed building project, an end result of the construction process is reams of documents. From initial project concept through completion, an extensive paper trail is generated.
Water Treatment & Distribution
Donald R. Keer, P.E., Esq. MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer Clean water is necessary in almost every aspect of an industrialized society. Ironically; the greater the industrialization, the harder and more expensive it is to treat water to ensure its purity. Moreover;...
Inoculate Your Project Team to Prevent Construction Failures
Robert C. McCue, P.E.
MDCSystems®
Consulting Engineer
If you are seeing a rise in problem projects and difficult work-outs, take steps now to inoculate your project team for success and profitability. Basic PMBOK training is certainly necessary but not entirely sufficient to ensure success in today’s fast-paced project environment.
Solar Analysis Report
Amal Kabalan
MDC Systems®
Consulting Engineer
Today there is a lot of dialogue about ‘being green’, ‘energy efficiency’, and ‘carbon footprints’. One of the main promises of campaigning politicians is investing in renewable energy technology. Every other commercial on TV or in a magazine speaks about green energy. Solar power is a major component of the renewable energy mix. By now, most people know that solar energy is a pollution free technology; it has the potential to reduce your carbon footprint and provide clean energy for future generations. In 2010 state imposed rate caps on electricity are set to expire, and utilities are positioning themselves for massive rate increases in Pennsylvania.
Fukushima – The Rest of the Story
Fukushima - The Rest of the Story[1] ( AKA Paul Harvey ) By Robert C. McCue, P.E. The complete Japanese investigation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant disaster of 2011 was recently released in a 641 page report ( the “Official Report”) with the conclusion that...
Construction Defect Inspector Protected Against Contractor Defamation Suit
Where homeowners retained an inspection firm to investigate the cause of their leaky roof, the inspector issued a report stating that the roof had been installed years earlier over fiberboard roof insulation that was soaking wet, thereby causing the later leakage. When the homeowners then sued the contractor for construction defects, the contractor brought a third party defamation action against the inspector, asserting that the statement about the roof being installed over wet insulation was false and defamatory. Summary judgment was granted for the inspector by the trial judge, and this was appealed by the contractor. On appeal, the court found that the statement by the inspector could indeed be actionable as defamation, but that a conditional privilege existed to publish the statement to the homeowner to serve the purposes of the contract between the homeowner and inspector. There are several lessons to be learned from this decision as explained herein. Downey v. Chutehall Construction, 86 Mass.App.Ct. 660, 19 N.E. 3d 470 (2014).
Building Envelope Investigations
MDCSystems® has performed building exterior envelope investigations for over forty years on all types of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Some of these investigations have included unique aspects of work concerning:
Understanding and Surviving Project Complexity
The article Complexity is Often the Culprit in Cost Overruns and Delays was published last year in the MDCAdvisor® (March, 2014) and garnered much feedback. In today’s article we will revisit the Complexity and Systems Thinking topics and foster additional discussion of how andwhy project failures are driven by complexity. Complexity often arises to frustrate even the best efforts of Architects, Engineers and Contractors working to complete projects on time and budget.
Risk, Risk Management and Reward in Project Execution
Robert C. McCue, P.E. MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer Risk and risk sharing means different things to different people. It may not be possible to eliminate all risk in undertaking capital projects. Owners will attempt to shift risk onto contractors through contract...
Construction Manager at Risk Held to Assume the Risk of Design Changes on Massachusetts Public Construction Project
Written by James D. Hollyday, Partner, Pepper Hamilton, LLC
Republished with permission. This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of AGC Law in Brief.
“Construction management at risk” or “Construction management at risk services” or “Construction management at risk delivery method,” a construction method wherein a construction management at risk firm provides a range of preconstruction services and construction management services which may include cost estimation and consultation regarding the design of the building project, the preparation and coordination of bid packages, scheduling, cost control, and value engineering, acting as the general contractor during the construction, detailing the trade contractor scope of work, holding the trade contracts and other subcontracts, prequalifying and evaluating trade contractors and subcontractors, and providing management and construction services, all at a guaranteed maximum price, which shall represent the maximum amount to be paid by the public agency for the building project, including the cost of the work, the general conditions and the fee payable to the construction management at risk firm.
Is the Solution to our “Fracking Mess” Dilution or Concentration?
(Waste Reduction and Pollution Minimization) The Problem The recovery of natural gas from tight rock formations, such as shale, has presented the oil and gas industry with serious environmental challenges. Quite possibly the most significant issue is the use and...
Discovery – It’s Not All in the Documents
Document discovery is to be anticipated and disliked on every construction litigation effort. By their nature, construction projects are paper and electronic data generation machines. How can the litigation team quickly and efficiently navigate through the voluminous and redundant files while collecting the most important documents?
MDC Engineers Testify at Philadelphia City Council
Julian Toneatto, Ph.D., PE and E. Mitchell Swann, P.E. testified on 1 August 2013 at a City of Philadelphia City Cophilabldgcollapseuncil hearing looking into techniques, technologies and guidelines to improve building demolition practices within the city. [Background: On 5 June 2013, a building under demolition experienced an uncontrolled collapse which fell onto an adjacent retail property which was occupied at the time. There were 6 fatalities and 14 injuries, several of them critical.
Protecting Against Corruption In Construction and Renovation: Corporate Counsel’s Essential Role In Making Integrity Pay
John E. Osborn
Originally printed by The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Inc., Volume 8
Design–Build In Name Only
Owners and Contractors should ask the following questions and carefully consider the answers before identifying a new project as Design-Build. It seems that almost every undertaking is now labeled as Design–Build.
The Benefits of CPM Scheduling
What is the purpose of critical path method (CPM) scheduling and how is it useful for construction projects? Though CPM scheduling is widely used, many project managers choose to work and supervise without it. Why should you adopt CPM software on your next project? These are the advantages that CPM schedule consultants can offer you. How will CPM make your project run more smoothly and according to your projections?
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
The Importance of Systems Thinking and Integration in Project Delivery
Recently the global marketplace has been buffeted about by news of the recall of children’s toys by several major manufacturers and by the collapse of the subprime lending market including its investment derivatives and related impacts on credit and capital markets worldwide. These items might seem completely unrelated to each other, not your typical project management or construction topic. Try this; think about each scenario as a portrait of a system and consider the impact on a project if the system components are misaligned.