I personally had a great time connecting and reconnecting with my friends from both near and far. This year’s event seemed a little more subdued from past years, but was still very well attended.

While at the event, I attended two seminars and posted my observations live at AECforensics.com.

• Phyllis Modlin, Todd Schweitzer, Teresa Wolcott and Lee Wright presented a panel discussion on construction defect claims and insurance issues
• Wendy Wilcox, Esq., Michael Sargent, Esq., Bruce Wick, Ted Bumgardner, and Gary London presented an enlightening panel discussion about the end of construction defect litigation as we know it

I invite you to read my full recap of the 19th annual West Coast Casualty’s Construction Defect Seminar. In it, I discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the end, it is clear that the construction defect litigation cottage industry that many of us work in is changing. Some firms have already collapsed, others have split or merged, and yet some are seemingly on the ascent.

Following the event, I spent some time reflecting on the business climate associated with construction defect claims. The firms that will survive, and even thrive, are those that understand the need to pivot in their business strategy.

Thanks again to all those that I had an opportunity to talk to. I wish you all well, and look forward to seeing you again soon. And special thanks to the tireless efforts of Dave and Coral Stern of West Coast Casualty for putting on an exceptional event. See you next year!

There have been a number of important developments since the last A/E/C Brief was published. One of the stories I’m most excited about is using an iPad for construction defect investigations.

During some recent visual inspections as part of a construction defect investigation, I had a chance to use my iPad. Instead of carrying a clipboard loaded with a dozen or more pages of material, I used my iPad to document observations and complete my checklists. Instead of needing several 3-ring binders of backup floorplans, checklists, defect lists, etc. in my car, everything I needed was within easy reach – just a few clicks away.

In the article, I discussed some of the tools and apps I used to make it all work, as well as providing some alternatives. The bottom line: Yes, the iPad can, and should be considered for anyone doing field investigations. However, adopting such an approach involves an investment of both time and money. As with everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. For me personally, I’m glad that I made the effort to learn how to use this device to improve both the quality and efficiency of my field inspections.

Please read the full article to see if an iPad might be right for you and your team.

Photo Data Management for the A/E/C Industry

My friend Rob Mathewson is the founder of a new construction technology startup called Geedra. His product is a secure, cloud-based, photo-driven database for collecting, sorting, managing and sharing pictures taken in the field. Geedra is incredibly user-friendly and is useful for both course-of-construction documentation as well as for forensic investigations. Using any modern web browser, you can sort and filter photos by location (gridlines on the plans, room/floor/unit number, or GPS), trade, CSI division, etc. The images can also include descriptive comments. You can edit photo data one at a time or apply changes to multiple images at once. Photos can be sent to clients and other parties via email, plus Geedra allows you to create professional PDF reports including both photos and additional comments or annotations.

You can read more about the service in my article, Geedra: Photo Data Management for the A/E/C Industry.

With tools like the iPad and Geedra, it wouldn’t be hard to establish an industry-leading consulting firm – without having to invest a fortune in custom application development. But as they say, your mileage may vary. If you are interested in improving your firm’s service offerings, I strongly suggest reading this: The Scientific Approach to Building a Successful, Innovative and Sustainable Business – The Lean Startup.

In Other News…

Here are some additional stories worth taking notice of:

• Hourly Billing Loses Ground” – The Wall Street Journal on flat fees and other alternative fee arrangements
• Nevada’s Chapter 40: Not all its cracked up to be…
• A LEED alternative for California homes: GreenPoint Rated
• 5-Story Hospital Earthquake Simulation in San Diego
• And finally, Frontline asks, “Is forensic evidence reliable?”

In the movie, as with most Hollywood films, of course everything works out. The key to the success of the workers ultimately comes down to a combination of personal and interpersonal motivation. In order to meet the expectations of the ownership, a change in culture must take place.

I made reference to this now obscure movie for a very important reason. Here’s what I wrote:

In order to raise the level of quality without decreasing levels of production in construction, a change in the culture is also needed. How do we change the culture? I think that it starts with communication. But also essential, is verification. By clearly communicating expectations for the outcome of a given scope of work, and then verifying that the work is completed as expected along the way, the end result is the formation of trust. With trust, comes respect. Once there is mutual respect among the members of the team, goals become aligned.

The full post at RDCToday.com can be found here.

In other news, here are some of the most important stories worth you attention:

• Recommended levels of insulation for new and existing homes by climate zone
• Residential and Commercial Insulation Demand On The Rise (Probably because of everyone reading the article above…)
• Are privileged documents provided to an expert witness discoverable? (In Florida, at least, sometimes the answer is no.)
• Law firm risk management: How project management can reduce the long-term cost of professional liability insurance
• And finally, Do small firms need consulting to grow? (My take on why some small companies resist growth.)

Thanks again for taking the time to read this.

This is what we refer to as intent.

Unfortunately, Murphy was an optimist.

There exists a gap between quality intent and quality delivered, as any of my colleagues in construction defect litigation can attest.

My friend, Erik Peterson, is on a mission to “bridge the gap between quality intent and quality delivered.” If you have about 6-1/2 minutes to spare, please check out this video explaining how we can bridge the gap:

Bridging The Gap – Episode 1 – A $4 Billion Dollar Problem

Here are some additional links worth checking out:

• Arizona’s oldest law firm uses iPads to deliver more from less
• The Hon. Terry B. Friedman (Ret.) on the use of discovery referees in complex litigation
• Former Broward County Courthouse employees sue, alleging “sick building syndrome”
• Frank Gehry claims sour grapes
• “Pop-up architecture” helping to lift spirits a year after the tragic earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand

I just wanted to send out a quick email to let you know about the newsletter. When I first created a newsletter to accompany AECforensics.com, my hope was to make it easy for people to stay informed about the latest updates. So like clockwork, any time there was updates on the blog, an email would go out on Fridays with links and excerpts to the latest posts. But over time, I feel that the newsletter was a little too impersonal.

What’s New

From now on, I’ll be personally writing each newsletter. That may mean that when I’m out of town on inspections, or otherwise short on time, there may not be a newsletter every week.

As you may have noticed, the name of this newsletter has changed to The A/E/C Brief. That’s because it is no longer just a newsletter, but a full-blown website. The A/E/C Brief will contain archives for the newsletter as well as all the links that I share via Twitter and elsewhere.

Since most of you that subscribe to this newsletter are professionals in the construction, real estate and/or legal industries, I want to provide something of value. Over at my blog, More From Less (BLHill.net), I write about business development, marketing, technology and social media. I’ve spent most of the last 20 years working with small/solo professional service firms, so I want to share relevant information through The A/E/C Brief that might be useful for your own business.

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be adding more resources including case studies, white papers, video, and more. Stay tuned.

And now, some links

Here are some of the more important items worth looking at as time permits:

• RDCToday.com: Transforming JCPenney’s brand through architecture, innovation – my latest article for Retail Design and Construction Today
• Construction defect litigation expert expands into construction management
• 7 Critical Mistakes that Engineers & Architects Make that Sabotage their Projects – North Carolina construction attorney Melissa Brumback created a white paper with solid advice for design professionals
• The iPad 3 is coming in March
• A very geeky wedding proposal – Drake Martinet, son of construction defect expert Ed Martinet, proposed to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day using an infographic on one of the biggest blogs in the world

That’s all for now folks. Thanks again for subscribing.