Tag Archives: architect

How Twitter Can Benefit Your A/E/C Business (guest post)

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Today’s guest post is by Katie Frasier, a social media specialist and writer for Work Boot News, a niche site specializing in work boots and dedicated to providing relevant, entertaining content for tradesmen. She can be found tweeting the latest construction news and interacting with industry members at @workbootscom.

Many A/E/C professionals understand the importance of using social media and have been advised to join Twitter—but putting yourself in the Twitterverse can seem intimidating at first. If you find yourself wondering what the heck Tweets are and how you’re supposed to implement them into your marketing plan, here are a few tips to help you get started and make the best return on time spent tweeting.

 Getting started

  • When signing up for your twitter account, choose a username that best reflects your business name to make your brand easy to find. Encourage followers by linking to your Twitter feed on your website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and any other platform you use.
  • Decide on your desired audience and Twitter goals. Are you reaching out to other industry professionals? Do you want to share and discuss industry news or gain leads for new business? These decisions will impact how you tweet, how formal or informal you want to come across, and the kind of content you will share with followers. To be successful, make sure you clearly define your method and stick with it consistently.winking twitter bird

 Create a core group to interact with

  • Find competitors or users who tweet to your desired audience, and spend time observing their approach. Search who they are following—chances are you’ll find users there who you’ll want to follow, too.
  • Utilize some of the many Twitter directories such as Twellow.com to search for people by keyword, such as construction” or “contractor” to follow, and add yourself to the directory while you’re at it.
  • Depending on your goals, you may want to investigate if any of your vendors use Twitter. Create a list and add them to it; this allows you to easily follow their tweets and stay informed.

 Listen and engage

  • Spend time listening to the conversations going on before adding to it. You should strive for a balance between conversing with others, asking questions and promoting yourself. If you’re constantly trying to drive traffic to your website or begging for business, no one will listen. But if you actively participate in your specialized Twitter community, people may be more apt to follow links you tweet or offer you their business.
  • Ask questions to get people talking. Answer questions to build relationships and assert yourself as an authority in your field.
  • Retweet content from others that may be relevant to your audience. They’ll appreciate the information, and the original tweeter will appreciate the gesture. Social media is all about building relationships. Making these connections, whether you’re portraying yourself as the expert in a subject or finding camaraderie among other A/E/C professionals, opens new opportunities for your business.

Questions for Katie about the benefits of using Twitter to promote your architectural or engineering practice?  Leave a comment, below.  And, remember to “follow” me on Twitter as well, at @melissabrumback.  I look forward to “talking” to you!

Photo ©Morpurgo.nl via Creative Commons license.

New NC Laws for Engineers, Architects, & other Construction Professionals (Tue Tip)

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[Note: This article was originally published on November 22, 2011]

NC flag

Today’s Tip is a big one….. a turkey-sized offering in advance of Thanksgiving.   At least 19 new North Carolina laws that effect construction professionals were passed this legislative season.  They run the gamut, including public project bidding requirements, building permits, code issues, and the use of design-build building methods.

Of particular note to Design Professionals:

Senate Bill 708/Session Law 2011-269 reconciles certain rules adopted by the Building Council relating to the January 1, 2012 effective date of certain portions of the 2012 Energy Conservation Code and the 2012 NC Residential Code.

House Bill 616/Session Law 2011-304, which modifies regulations for Engineers and Land Surveyors, including general requirements for licensure.

Check out the spreadsheet for the other construction laws.  You can go directly to the language of the laws from links on the spreadsheet.  Happy reading!

Photo:  Mr. T in DC via Flicker/CC. 

Pick Up the Phone! (Tues Tip)

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phoneToday’s Tip is a simple one: Pick up the phone to ensure good communications on the construction project.  Too many of us naturally default to email or text message when communicating on the fly.  Without the tone of voice, however, many times things get misconstrued or taken out of context. 

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of emailing someone, and later learning they are mad or offended at something you said.  You thought the comment was innocuous.  They took it the wrong way.  Apologies were necessary; feelings were hurt.

While telephoning the other party can take more time, it keeps things on an even keel.  Tones can be “read” and misunderstandings can be cleared up right away. 

The next time you need to have a substantive communication with the Owner or Contractor, try the telephone.  You know, that email-checking/text-enabling device that is always with you?  It can telephone folks too.  Try it.

This post was in no way inspired by any misunderstood emails involving the author.  (Am I serious, or kidding? Hard to tell, isn’t it?).

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Photo:  (c) Victor Manuel via Creative Commons license.

 

 

Construction, er make that CONTRACT, Administration services: a primer (law note)

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[Update 12:42 pm ET, 11/3/11– CA is for Construction Contract Administration, or “Contract Administration” for short- thanks Liz O’Sullivan]

 One of the Architect’s responsibilities on a construction project is that of construction contract administration (“CA”).  While not every contract contemplates the architect performing a CA role, most commercial construction projects do.  What, exactly, should be included in the CA role?  The CA role can be whatever the parties agree upon.  In fact, the AIA A201 form contract documents anticipate that the architect’s role will be defined in an exhibit. 

Construction Construction Contract Administration
§ 4.2.10 If the Owner and Architect agree, the Architect will provide one or more project representatives to assist in carrying out the Architect’s responsibilities at the site. The duties, responsibilities and limitations of authority of such project representatives shall be as set forth in an exhibit to be incorporated in the Contract Documents.
What, then, should be included in the CA role assigned to the architect?  The nature of the construction administration role is project specific.  Some projects require a full-time on-site architect, a clerk of the works, or a weekly or bi-weekly site visit.  Because the nature of the CA role cannot be adequately described in a form document, it is especially critical that you take care to describe the specific CA duties assigned to the architectural team in detail.
site observation by architect
 
One of the main CA roles for the design team is that of site observation. Consider:
  • What frequency is contemplated for visits?
  • How long should those visits last? 
  • What is your role during such site visits?
I see many disputes that arise over a misunderstanding as to how often the architect should be on-site, and what his role is in observing the contractor’s work once he is there.  Again, being specific will only help you to avoid misunderstandings, possible litigation, or even extra liability later on.
 
Perhaps the most important concept to remember for your CA role on a construction project: never agree to “inspect” the contractor’s work.  Your role should be observation to see that the work is in general conformance with your design.  You cannot guarantee the contractor’s work (nor would such be insurable).  Therefore, be careful to use the word “observation” and not the word “inspect” in your CA description.
 
What have been your construction observation experiences? Drop me a line and tell me your story.  (And thanks to my many new readers to the blog this week!).
 
 
 
 Photo (c) Mark Hogan via CC.
 
 

 

Standard of Care for Engineers- the Jury Instruction (law note)

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Not perfection I’ve previously talked about the standard of care for design professionals on construction projects. 

As you should be aware, the standard is reasonableness, not perfection.  To illustrate the point, consider a standard North Carolina jury instruction on the standard of care for engineers:

 “Under our law, a professional engineer is required to exercise that degree of care which a professional engineer of ordinary skill and prudence would exercise under the same or similar circumstances, and if the engineer fails to exercise such degree of ordinary skill and prudence under the same or similar circumstances, the engineer’s conduct would be negligence.”

For an architect, just substitute the word “architect” for “engineer” in the jury instruction above.    Sometimes it can be challenging to meet a client’s expectations, and some clients believe that plans should (and can) be perfect.  In your discussions about the project with the client, be sure the client has reasonable expectations.  It is not reasonable to expect perfection in design plans.  Unforeseen conditions, changing criteria, and differing code inspector interpretations are all to be expected.  Educate your client about typical errors & omissions at the start of the construction project.
 
Do you have a question about the standard of care?  Drop me an email at mbrumback@rl-law.com.  Be sure to sign up for email delivery of blog posts directly to your inbox so you never miss a post!