Description
About the Curriculum
Description
Fundamental Courses--Bidding or Negotiation Phase Risk Management
This course will provide design professionals with useful tips and best practices to use during the bidding and negotiation phase. This phase involves assisting the owner throughout the process, from obtaining bids all the way through helping the owner and owner's legal counsel with awarding the construction contract.
Description
Concepts in Risk Management
This course is the foundation for all risk management learning. Design professionals will learn the basics of identifying project risks and important ways to manage those risks to minimize unfavorable outcomes. Learn about the sources of project risk and gain a better understanding of strategic options in risk management.
Description
Construction Phase Risk Management
This course will show design professionals the importance of managing risk early and clearly within the contract documents and the selection of the contractor. It will help design professionals navigate important risk management procedures that align with the roles and responsibilities of the design professional versus the contractor.
Description
Cyber Liability
Design firms face an increased exposure to cyber risks and liability through an increased use and dependency on technology. Every firm should have digital protection protocols in place to minimize data breaches and manage those breaches when they occur. Firms can use this course to learn more about what they can do to get ahead of this issue and avoid the professional practice and overall business liability implications of this increasing digital threat.
Description
Design Liability in a Changing Climate
Society faces rapid climate change and extreme weather events, and antiquated codes and standards do not adequately address the demands of climate volatility. This course can help design professionals understand their legal duty to meet an ever-changing standard of care while responding to climate change in a way that puts the security and well-being of users and the community above the immediate financial interests of the client to design to minimum standards. Design professionals must also understand the legal environment where foreseeability of harm and the duty to design to a higher standard of care may increase their professional liability exposure beyond their contractual liability exposure.
Description
Developing the Capacity to Manage Risk
Managing risk in a design firm requires a commitment to best practices. This course will help design firms honestly assess their current capacity for managing risk and assist firms in developing important best practices and implementing robust capabilities for successful future practice.
Description
Evaluation of Projects and Clients
Design firms must carefully evaluate whether a project is really the best fit from a risk management perspective. This means projects should be evaluated from a number of perspectives, including whether or not the design professional can effectively add value during the planning, design, and construction phases. Similarly, the design professional must consider whether or not the project meets the firm's goals with respect to geographic location, project type, potential profitability, likelihood of disputes or problems, enhancement of reputation, and the prospect that the project will lead to future work. This course will support design firms in considering these implications.
Description
Five Legal Cases Every Design Professional
This course will help firms avoid potential legal pitfalls when negotiating and delivering projects. Cases that will be examined include the legal opinion that created the
Spearin
doctrine, which has been the basis of construction law for over a century, the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, and newer cases that have influenced the risks of design firms and contractors on issues ranging from consequential damages for delays to the exposures faced when incorporating new or untested materials into designs.
Description
Intellectual Property--Protect Yourself and Your Compensation
This course looks at copyright law-including the 1990 Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act that provides special treatment for designs-and how licensing or transferring ownership and copyright can be accomplished while preserving protection for the design professional. A deliverable is simply documentation of the creative design process and tangible expression of the intellectual property of design firms. Protecting this status gives design professionals leverage to collect fees and control use of designs by clients and third parties.
Description
Legal Liability of Design Professionals
Professional liability consists of those obligations that are, or will be, legally enforceable and that arise out of the performance of, or failure to perform, professional services by the design professional. This course will provide an overview of the legal principles underlying professional liability and will help design professionals recognize the implications in practice.
Description
Planning Phase and Design Phase Risk Management
Project planning begins with development of a clear, coherent definition of the project along with a plan for performing the scope of services provided for in the owner-design professional agreement. This course addresses the design professional's contractual and functional responsibilities in performing planning and design services under the EJCDC and AIA standard forms of agreement and emphasizes those activities that are critical to effective risk management.
Description
Understanding the Value of Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability (PL) policies are designed for a specific risk-the risk of loss caused by the negligent performance of professional services. Design professionals and their clients need to understand the unique features of the PL policy and how to effectively transfer the risk of negligent performance when specifying PL insurance requirements. This course will explain "claims-made" coverage, the extent of contractual liability coverage, and how broad indemnity obligations challenge coverage, among other topics.
Description
Intermediate Courses--Alternative Methods for Project Delivery
As market forces and technological innovations change design and construction, alternative methods of project delivery have become more popular. The traditional design-bid-build project delivery process includes procedures and legal requirements that are well-known. In this course, learn how the sequential approach to project delivery is being challenged by varying forms of construction management, program management, design-build, bridging, and integrated project delivery.
Description
Contracts for Professional Services
Clear, concise contract terms substantially reduce the risk of business and financial disputes, as well as the risk of professional liability claims with clients. Contracts have long been recognized as essential risk management tools. This course provides an overview and discussion of the types of contracts and project-specific and general contract terms commonly used in the procurement of professional services.
Description
Dispute Prevention and Resolution
This course will focus on success in preventing disputes and mitigating those that cannot be prevented through appropriate action when a dispute occurs. Managing the risks and consequences of disputes affects the ability of all parties involved on a project to put a capital asset in place. Disputes also risk delays, deficient design or construction, or project compromises that could impact public health and safety.
Description
Insurance for Design Professionals
Insurance is a risk-transfer mechanism that is designed to allow an insured, for a price and under certain conditions, to transfer certain types of risk to an insurer. Without insurance, few, if any, construction projects could be undertaken on a prudent and financially sound basis. In this course, learn how an integrated, comprehensive insurance program is an essential component of a sound risk management program. For design firms, this should include professional liability insurance to cover the firm's liability in the performance of professional services.
Description
Lessons Learned--How Case Law Informs Prudent Practice
This course will review cases involving a number of issues affecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Course content will discuss licensure issues faced by individuals and firms engaged in multi-state practice; how courts interpret and apply contracts on construction projects to protect the rights of project participants; and the insurance available to design professionals to protect owners and the public in the event of negligence on the part of a design professional.
Description
Managing the Claims Process
Professionals who have had lawsuits filed against them say they would have been less anxious if they had known more about what to expect during the claims handling process. This course will familiarize firms with the sequence of events in a typical claim, and provide advice on how best to assist in defending the claim. It will also provide advice on what not to do. Having this knowledge can help firms obtain a greater sense of control and reduce the stress of a claim and its impact on their professional practice.
Description
Managing the Risks of Various Project Delivery Methods
Design firms must understand their role on a project and how it is essential to successfully manage their risks. The project delivery method, whether it is design/bid/build, design/build, public-private partnerships, or integrated project delivery, sets up the role of design firms and the relationships they have with other project stakeholders. This course examines different delivery methods, the typical roles design firms have in each setting, and how to successfully manage a client's expectations and the risks that the design professional may have.
Description
Managing Your Staff--How Do Firms Deal with the Intricacies of Employment Liability
This course discusses the challenges confronted by firms in the normal course of business operations. From the dangers of employee misclassification (including treating employees as independent contractors) to dealing with underproductive staff members, this course explores the "cans" and "cannots" of employment processes and decisions. Firms must be aware of what is required by law in benefits and behavior, as well as what are "best practices" in hiring, retaining, and disciplining employees.
Description
Mitigating Risks and Protecting Profits During the Construction Phase
This course focuses on the role of the design professional in reviewing submittals, assessing substitution requests, responding to requests for information during the construction process, and evaluating construction quality. Learn about contractual language and procedures during the construction phase that design professionals can use to manage the risks to the public, the client, and their firms by providing an appropriate level of service at an appropriate level of compensation.
Description
Negotiating Contracts with Clients
This course examines the riskiest provisions design firms face in client-generated professional services agreements, focusing on onerous provisions that corrupt the standard of care, transform normally insurable professional services into uninsured contractual responsibilities, or create risk and cost-shifting obligations that exceed professional liability insurance coverage. Examples from Schinnerer's experiences reviewing contracts for policyholders are compared to standard language in the AIA and EJCDC agreement forms and focus on the contractual intent and associated risks of many client-generated provisions.
Description
Planning for Success in the International Project Arena
In this course, learn how design professionals can become involved in international projects without adequate preparation. In addition to learning about local laws and customs, design firms need to be aware of the complex body of international laws, treaties, standards, and practices that have evolved to bring some uniformity to the international construction industry. Along with new skills and knowledge, firms must appreciate the many new sources of risk they will encounter and how to avoid or mitigate that risk.
Description
Preparing for Design-Build--What Design Professionals Need to Know About the Proposal and the Contract
In this course, an expert in design-build shares insights on design-build delivery. Design-build is different than other delivery methods and brings with it a different set of risks. Drafting the proposal and determining which, if any, standard form contracts to use are important first steps to manage expectations for all parties and lay the groundwork for a successful design-build project.
Description
Reduce Exposure and Get Insurance Credit for Doing So
Based on over 60 years of claims statistics, the Victor program provides premium and deductible credits for certain procedures and processes that firms incorporate into their practices and document in their project records. This course examines those credits and their associated processes and how they position design firms to mitigate their professional liability exposure.
Description
Strategic Planning for Design Professionals
This course describes the rationale for strategic planning and provides a planning template. Planning allows design professionals to design their firms to their own specifications. With a good plan, all firm decisions align with long-term interests. Decisions regarding organizational structure, market position, and staffing requirements and training advance the firm's goals.
Description
Tailoring an Insurance Program for Your Firm Needs
This course will discuss those insurance policies unrelated to professional liability coverage that are essential in helping a design firm successfully manage the risk of unforeseen events. It will also discuss the role of cyber and privacy policies that provide coverage for business liability for a data breach involving sensitive information. At a time when firms are increasingly sharing digital information, firms need to understand their responsibilities to safeguard sensitive information and how cyber policies play a key role in protecting both the public and the client from harm.
Description
The Changing Rules and Continuing Challenges of Employment Practices
This course addresses the current rules and latest case law that guide professional service firms in their treatment of employment conditions and practices. From necessary changes to accommodate same-sex spouses to the chaos surrounding state and federal differences on marijuana use, how firms deal with employment practices is becoming increasingly complex. This course provides advice on how firms can cope with the challenges of reducing employment issues and avoiding claims.
Description
Using Dispute Resolution Boards to Bring Projects in on Time and on Budget
This course discusses how design professionals can help owners develop a strategy to integrate dispute resolution boards (DRBs) on projects to facilitate bringing the project in on time and on budget. Used by government agencies and private owners, DRBs ensure project success through significant decreases in delays and extra costs by resolving potential disputes during construction instead of waiting until project completion. Use of DRBs promotes trust and increases communication between the owner, contractor, project manager, and design professional.