Category Archives: Project Administration

Your time sheet is due!

TimeClockAccording to Stephanie Kirschner, Executive Director of the Society for Design Administration, one of the things she always hears from A/E/C administrators is, “What can we do to get our staff to submit their time sheet on time?”

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They’re coming . . . are you prepared to modify your contract agreements?

image The FAA recently proposed regulations for the commercial use of drones, according to Jim Yand (partner at the Seattle law firm of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn). Jim presented an interesting session on “Construction Photos: Avoid Putting Your Selfie in the Crosshairs.”

If you have been thinking about using drones to capture construction photos, make sure you are covered, in more ways than one: Get proper insurance to safeguard against property damage caused by crashes, trespass claims, and invasion of privacy.  And make sure your contracts spell out everything, like who owns the drone images, and how those images will be used (can they be posted to social media?).

Drones can be beneficial to our design industry: Think cost-effectiveness, ability to reach difficult project areas, efficient inspection processes, and even sophisticated marketing and bid presentations.

“Stay tuned,” Jim said. A number of states and municipalities have passed or are considering limitations on unmanned aircraft, and the effect of such restrictions depends on the precise nature of the limitation.

Try this to improve your cash flow

invoice-153413_1280In his webinar, “How the Best Firms Get Better,” Doug Rawson (Base Builders, LLC) shared tips for accelerating your cash flow. Continue reading

I am a Project Manager . . . now what?

A golden oldie excerpt from an SDA member’s white paper published in 2012.

I’ve just been made a project manager.  But now what do I do?

The first thing is to understand the key components of project management: Continue reading

IRS raises standard mileage rates for 2015

In viz-time: Project designs that will knock your socks off!

Remember back in the day when drafters took pencil to paper on drafting tables and drew up the plans that engineers and architects used to build their project? We’ve come a long way baby! Steve Johnson (senior design visualization specialist at Parsons Brinckerhoff) presented a business practice webinar demonstrating the cool simulations he and his colleagues have designed, and what many clients are now requesting in the way of deliverables or work products. These are hot video simulations that are visually awesome.

Just take a look at this simulation. It’s a historical build-up of the Seattle skyline showing 50 years of building development—from 1958 to 2008 (from Parson Brinckerhoff’s 3D model of the city).