Lessons in Risk Management for the Class of 2020

Managing risk is vital to the operations of a successful engineering firm. The Class of 2020 tackled this important topic during its fourth session – Risk Management for Future Firm Leaders.

Paula Dixon, Holmes Murphy & Associates, provided best practices from the lens of insurance industry, while John Boldt, Clark Dietz, weighed in with real-world examples from the engineering perspective. To add additional examples, Matt Richards, Strand Associates, joined the class to share additional risk management lessons learned with case studies. These examples from real projects always generate great questions and discussion.

And we can’t cover risk management without addressing the legal side. Scott Ruksakiati joined the class to present We’ve Been Sued – Can our Contract Help. Scott provided great examples during the hands-on contract review exercise.

In addition to risk management, the session also featured important information on human resources and ethics. Wendy Culver, Mead & Hunt, presented What Leaders Need to Know about Human Resources – a practical guide leader’s involvement in HR. New this year, Wendy also covered diversity and inclusion. Using a hands-on exercise, we saw how our worlds are diverse and how unconscious biases are impacting decisions.

Visit ACEC National’s Risk Management page for resources, including the class’s pre-reading assignment, Client Expectations of Perfection.