Continuing Education Archives

Are you an SDA Certified Design Firm Administrator?

By Lynda

We’re especially proud of our partnership with the Society for Design Administration (SDA). Our members are well aware of the important role office administrators play in design firms, particularly when it comes to insurance matters. Today, we want to congratulate Penny Nelson, Director of Finance for Douglas Pancake Architects in Irvine, California, on passing the SDA Certified Design Firm Administrators exam! Ms. Nelson is the Orange County SDA’s Chapter President.

What is CDFA?

The SDA, the recognized leader in education for best practices in the A/E/C industry, offers a credential that recognizes your achieved administrative and management expertise, the Certified Design Firm Administrator (CDFA) designation. The CDFA credential is a voluntary certification designed to elevate the professional standards in design firm management and administration and contribute to the firm’s organizational growth and maturity through better practices in firm management. The credential comprised by the SDA’s Certification Program distinguishes and supports the roles performed by the spectrum of administrators and managers in the A/E/C firm. Furthermore, enhanced marketability and increased earning potential are just two of the many benefits CDFA certification provides.

CDFA certification recognizes an individual who has met a rigorous standard of experience and expertise in design firm management and administration and who has demonstrated their knowledge of the practice and related disciplines through a thorough examination of management and administrative competencies. This individual further adheres to the ethics and responsibilities of the profession as outlined in the SDA Code of Ethics.

Last year, we announced that a/e ProNet will pay one half of a new SDA member’s dues if that member’s insurance broker belongs to a/e ProNet… Chapters can partner with the local broker and reach out to principals and managers in their network. How about that for a good deal! Contact your local a/e ProNet broker today…

Shout-out Credit:

Alicia K. Igram, AAI, VP & Branch Rep
Design & Consulting Liability Specialist
IOA Insurance Services – Aliso Viejo, CA
Email: Alicia.Igram@ioausa.com / Phone: 949-680-1789

a/e ProNet Partners with the Society for Design Administration (SDA)

By Lynda

In May this year, the Society for Design Administration (SDA), the nation’s largest professional organization for architectural and engineering design firm administrators and managers, announced its endorsement of a/e ProNet.

The proper management of professional risk factors such as contract administration, project administration, and document management are known factors in reducing professional risk in a/e firms. Both SDA and a/e ProNet are dedicated to providing a/e firms the necessary tools to better manage risk and improve firm management. ~ Deborah A Gill, CPA, CGMA, CDFA, 2013 SDA President

As announced in the June/July 2013 issue of SDA Today, “a/e ProNet will pay one half of a new SDA member’s dues if that member’s insurance agent belongs to a/e ProNet… Chapters can partner with the local broker and reach out to principals and managers in their network.”

a/e ProNet and the SDA will also collaborate on a number of educational events, including the SDA’s annual EDSymposium conference. Last year, past a/e ProNet President, Leslie Pancoast, made two presentations at EDSymposium12 in Portland, Oregon, and current a/e ProNet President Jeff Todd spoke at EDSymposium13 in Williamsburg, Virginia earlier this year.

We look forward to a long and successful partnership with the SDA.

Need CE Credits? a/e ProNet’s Contract Review Guides Can Help

By Lynda

Looking for a convenient way to fulfilll your AIA Continuing Education credit requirements? a/e ProNet can help.

In the past few years, a/e ProNet has published two risk management guides for the design industry: Risk Management & Contract Guide for Design Professionals and Risk Management for Design Professionals in a World of Change. Both include courses at the back of the book, which have just been renewed with the AIA for credit for an additional 3 years.

Our books and access to the courses are available for purchase on our website, but you can receive a discount for both by requesting copies from your a/e ProNet broker. (And if your broker isn’t an a/e ProNet member, call your local a/e ProNet broker today!)

Read on for details about both contract review guides… Continue reading “Need CE Credits? a/e ProNet’s Contract Review Guides Can Help”

Design Professional Contracts – Words to Avoid

By Lynda

At its most basic level, risk management for design firms includes selecting and signing sound contracts. a/e ProNet’s Risk Management & Contract Guide for Design Professionals (2005) can assist with the specifics of this process.

An excerpt from Chapter 7, Some Do’s and Don’ts of Contract Language:

7.2 Words to Avoid

Certain words create the impression that the design firm has a greater duty or responsibility than required by the generally accepted standard of care and scope of services stated elsewhere in the contract. Some words that risk managers often advise the design firm to avoid using in their contracts to the greatest extent possible include the following:

“supervise contractor’s work”
“control contractor’s work”
“direct contractor’s work”
“guarantee or warrant either your services or the contractor’s work”
“certify that contractor’s work meets the plans and specifications”
“inspect contractor’s work to assure it meets the plans and specifications”

This risk management guide was previously out of print, but has since been re-released in electronic format. The book includes three updated optional AIA-approved continuing education courses! Visit the a/e ProNet Web Store to purchase and download your copy today! Also available is our most recent guide, Risk Management for Design Professionals in a World of Change (2009). If you have any questions about these resources, find your local a/e ProNet broker or Contact Us.

Project Delivery Methods: A New Video CE Series from aecKnowledge

By Lynda

Partnering with aecKnowledge, one of the nation’s premiere sources of relevant and practical online continuing education for design professionals, a/e ProNet has sponsored a new video series on Project Delivery Methods.

This 5-part series is the culmination of a decade-long look at the exploration and evolution of alternative methods of project delivery. It will help you in your efforts to advise owners on making informed decisions about which project delivery option is most appropriate for each project. Choosing the most appropriate method helps align stakeholders’ goals relative to quality, schedule and cost control, decision-making and risk management, and leverages the skills, knowledge and resources available to each team member. Click here to watch a preview of this series, at no charge.

You will also earn 5 HSW Learning Units and, if you are an AIA member, your AIA credits will be automatically reported after you complete each course.

Purchase the courses in this series following these steps:

1. Register on the aecKnowledge website
2. Go to the Continuing Education module
3. On the right hand side, you will see Suggested Curricula. Click on Project Delivery.
4. Proceed to purchase each of the five courses.

If your insurance broker is a member of a/e ProNet, you are entitled to a 20% discount off of the lowest course prices available to anyone else. Contact your a/e ProNet broker today for the discount code.

Whether you are an architect, engineer, contractor, specialty consultant, owner, CM or advisor, these courses will enable you to make informed decisions about which project delivery method will best achieve your goals and, ultimately, create a better built environment. On behalf of a/e ProNet, we hope you find the Project Delivery Methods video series valuable.

A Good Time to be An Architect

By Lynda

Is it finally a good time to be an architect? We saw this question posed recently by ChicagoBusiness.com and, like many of you, we were excited to know the answer.

“I think there’s optimism—a very guarded optimism, given where we’ve been over the past four or five years,” says Scott Sarver, principal at Chicago-based SMDP LLC, which hopes to latch on to the better economy here, boosting its billings from domestic projects to 50 percent this year from 25 percent in 2012.

Among industry giants, San Francisco-based Gensler plans to add 50 professionals here through next year, to 273, says Nila Leiserowitz, a managing director in the Chicago office.

The pool of new architects is rising, too. Architecture schools awarded 10,252 degrees in the 2011-12 academic year, up 13 percent from 9,073 degrees in 2008-09, according to the National Architectural Accrediting Board.

Things a looking up. And if the “industry giants” are hiring to meet the increase in project opportunities, it’s also probable that seasoned professionals will take this chance to open their own shops. We hope so! Continue reading “A Good Time to be An Architect”

Online CE Series for Architects: Growing a Small Firm

By Lynda

One way a/e ProNet supports the design community is by promoting continuing education for Architects and Engineers.

Growing a Small Firm Marketing — Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, discussing marketing strategies specific to small, growing firms with panelists Cass Calder Smith, AIA, and Melissa Werner from CCS Architecture, Sam Fajner from TEECOM and Sylvia Kwan, FAIA, from Kwan Henmi Architecture Planning, Inc.

aecKnowledge, in collaboration with AIA San Francisco and Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, has created an exciting new online series called “Growing a Small Firm”. This set of talks provides targeted advice to design professionals who have recently branched out on their own or are considering starting their own firms. Each panel discussion, filmed live at AIA San Francisco and moderated by Mark Cavagnero, features some of the Bay Area’s leading design professionals, contractors and owners generously sharing valuable insights gained from decades of experience. Among the topics:

Developing effective marketing and diversification strategies
Developing a clear, distinctive identity
Pursuing public design opportunities
Cultivating repeat clients
Teaming with larger firms
Elevating the role of women
Collaborating with other design and construction professionals
Forming partnerships with other small firm
Managing a small firm (while staying sane)
Leveraging online media and social networking

Click here to access the first in this series, Growing a Small Firm – Marketing.

This course delivers targeted advice on marketing and business development and captures decades of insights into how best to meet potential clients, expand a firm’s portfolio, implement a vibrant marketing program on a limited budget, create an identity that resonates with prospective clients, and successfully collaborate with larger firms and allied professionals in the pursuit of widely sought-after commissions.