Managing Project Risk: Best Practices for Architects and Related Professionals

Discover the benefits of effective risk management practices Risk management may not be a standard course in architecture school, but it is an essential concern for architects and related professionals working today. Managing Project Risk is a key resource for integrating good risk management into professional practice. Based on a popular series of articles in AIArchitect, this accessible volume offers an on-the-ground perspective of what can happen on the job and what architects can do to prevent or mitigate threatening conditions and events. With an engaging, non-legalistic style, authors Atkins and Simpson draw upon their considerable experience and upon AIA Contract Documents to show how sound risk management strategies work in a variety of real-world settings, covering such practical areas as: * Risk management fundamentals * Contracts * Relationships with clients * Understanding the architect's role in the project * Risk issues with digital drawings * The modern architectural workplace Rendering potentially dry topics lively with wit and anecdote, Managing Project Risk resonates with the experience of contemporary architects, while offering helpful suggestions applicable not only to risk management but also to project management and professional development.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Douglas Gordon, Hon. AIA, and Stephanie Stubbs, Assoc. AIA, Editors of AIArchitect vi Preface viii Acknowledgments ix Introduction x Chapter 1 Fundamentals 1 The Importance of Risk Management: Its Key Role in Professional Service Delivery 1 Risk Management Basics: Essentials for Maintaining an Effective Risk Program 6 To Document or Not to Document: Basic Documentation Requirements 12 Another Fine Mess—The Onerous Contract, Part 1: Risk Management after the Agreement Is Signed 18 Another Fine Mess—The Onerous Contract, Part 2 22 Free Fall: Working without a Contract 29 Chapter 2 Clients 39 Love Me Tender: Maintaining the Client Relationship 39 Smoke, Mirrors, and Snake Oil: Risks in Marketing 44 Double-Edged Sword: The Owner’s Separate Consultants 49 The Power of One: The Effective Owner-Architect-Contractor Team 55 Chapter 3 Power and Profi ciency 63 Project Manager or Risk Manager? The Architect’s Dual Role 63 Master and Commander, Part 1: The Architect’s Authority 69 Master and Commander, Part 2 75 Top Gun: Targeting and Resolving Problematic Issues 80 Zen and the Art of Construction Administration, Part 1: How Discipline and Self-Control Can Improve Your Services 88 Zen and the Art of Construction Administration, Part 2 93 Chapter 4 Essentials 99 A Loss Cause: Drawing Discrepancies and Ensuing Damages 99 A Loss Cause Too: Betterment 105 Absolute or Absolution? Observations, Inspections, and the Contractor’s Warranty 113 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Challenges and Risks of Nonconforming Work 122 Drawing the Line: Why the Architect’s Documents Cannot Be Used for Construction 130 Chapter 5 Applications 139 A Fistful of Dollars: Surviving Project Buyout 139 Ch-Ch-Changes . . . : Managing Risk in the Change Process 147 According to Hoyle: The Submittal Process 156 Visible Means: Site Visits and Construction Observation 166 A Certifi able Risk: Cautions and Strategies in the Payment Certification Process 174 Substantial Completion, Where Art Thou? A Challenging and Elusive Milestone 178 Chapter 6 The Architects’ Lament 189 Your Grandfather’s Working Drawings: A Nostalgic Look at the Past, Observations of the Present 189 The Speed of Life: Preserving Your Personal Life in a Hectic World 197 Raiders of the Lost Art: The Vanished Treasures of Architecture 203 Chapter 7 Introspection 211 Who Are You? Defi ning the Architect 211 Who’s on First? Covering Your Bases in a Resource-Challenged Industry 217 Little Boxes: The Challenges of Producing Original Design 224 Gimme Shelter: The Building Exterior Wall 231 Lemons to Lemonade: Benefi ting from Mistakes 242 Index 250