Blog

Hackers make headlines daily with targets ranging from major Swiss banks to Minecraft users to German nuclear power plants. But what are the risks to architects and engineers? Professional Liability carrier Victor O. Schinnerer urges design professionals to Take Cyber Liability Exposures Seriously in a recent blog post: Cyber liability problems that have disrupted firm operations often […]

Complying with the many provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a concern for even those well-versed in the Act. Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified when the FMLA applies, and spelled out an affirmative duty of the employer to inquire and confirm if an employee wants to take FMLA […]

Design firms preparing to purchase or renew professional liability insurance ask the same few questions every year. How will my professional liability premium be calculated? Will my professional liability premium go up? Should I change professional liability insurance companies? One helpful resource to answer these questions is the 2015 Professional Liability Insurance Survey of Carriers, a report […]

Chicago architecture firm and a/e ProNet client John Ronan Architects is one of seven finalists for the design of the Obama Presidential Library, which will be built on Chicago’s South Side. The remaining seven firms hail from all over the world, so it’s exciting that at least one “local” architect made the cut. John Ronan Architects […]

In what attorney Brian Stewart calls a “disturbing trend,” more and more project owners design professionals to procure separate questionnaires from their insurance brokers. These “broker-verification questionnaires” are meant to re-state or re-affirm the limits, exclusions, etc. of the relevant insurance policies to the project.  If you’re an architect or engineer who has met push-back […]

They offer a bird’s eye view of construction sites. They provide breathtaking photographic opportunities for architects looking to showcase their work. And they’re fun to fly. However, while they may be intriguing tools for architects and engineers, drones open up the design firms that use them to many possibly unanticipated risks. These days, obtaining a drone is […]

Attention engineering students! This year, a/e ProNet has partnered with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to offer a brand new scholarship: The a/e ProNet Engineering Scholarship Award: $2,500 Deadline: March 7, 2016 Eligibility Students must be entering their junior, senior, fifth, or master’s degree year, in the fall of 2016 to qualify for the […]

Which is better, more or less documentation in your project file after the job is complete? Despite recent advances in technology, document retention has become a difficult, expensive and complex proposition. Computers have changed design professionals’ work flows and methods, greatly increasing efficiencies, but also exponentially multiplying the volume of data; e-mails, attachments, drawing revisions, […]

America’s federal highway system–once a source of great national pride–is disintegrating. Why? For one thing, it’s been 20 years since the Federal Gas Tax was last raised. President Ronald Reagan increased the tax to just over 18 cents a gallon, reminding the American people that the federal highway system required an ongoing source of income for maintenance. The […]