Basic Risk Management for Consulting Engineers

In Basic Risk Management for Consulting Engineers, you'll learn ...

• The difference between proactive and protective strategies
• How proactive measures can help prevent the need for protective strategies
• Guidelines and opinions on conflict management and mitigation
• Legal means of dispute resolution

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 3 CPD

Length: 41 pages

Litigation in the engineering profession, specifically in construction, is at an all-time high and escalating. No matter how competent or vigilant a professional engineer is during the normal course of work, a situation can easily arise that creates conflict with a client on some level. In today's litigious society, conflict can escalate rapidly if not addressed quickly and effectively. Depending on the client, conflict can potentially arise by simply choosing the wrong word in conversation or in a deliverable report. The best strategy is a proactive one which minimizes the circumstances that tend to give rise to conflict. However, when a situation arises that hints of potential conflict the engineer must be aware and prepared to immediately implement protective measures to prevent escalation if possible and, if not, have strategies readily available for use at each level until a dispute is resolved amicably.

This course reviews proactive and protective strategies, concepts, principles and theories of liability, contracts, insurance and bonds, professional conduct and requisite paperwork for proactive project management and effective communication. Guidelines and recommendations are provided for both the prevention and the mitigation of conflict when and if it should arise. All of the proactive strategies discussed have been proven effective in the field by the author as every dispute or miscommunication has been resolved expediently and amicably during his thirty plus year career. The information in this course is tailored specifically to issues that typically confront a professional engineer on a daily basis during the normal course of project management and client relationships.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between proactive and protective strategies.
• Explain how proactive measures can help prevent the need for protective strategies.
• Apply guidelines and opinions on conflict management and mitigation.
• Describe legal means of dispute resolution.
• Identify areas of legal liability that are common to consulting engineers.
• Evaluate the types, needs, and advantages of contracts.
• Analyze the responsibilities of parties to construction.
• Demonstrate how obligations are created.
• Interpret the importance of the term "standard of care."
• Calculate the impact of using certain words in letters, memos, emails, reports, and other binding documents.
• Verify guidelines for record retention.

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 20 questions. CPD credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.