WTW A&E has developed a series of on-demand risk management education programs that are available exclusively to our WTW A&E clients. Whether you use these programs for on-boarding new employees who join your firm, to assist in project manager development training and/or as an efficient and cost effective way for your staff to earn continuing education credits, these WTW A&E on-demand education programs can be a valuable tool for your firm.
- Each program comes with a short quiz and is eligible for 1.5 CE/PDH credits.
- These programs are available to our WTW A&E clients at no cost. You can access these programs by filling out the form on the right.
WTW A&E on-demand education programs
WTW A&E on-demand education program details
Claim Stories Around the Campfire
Summer is here and it’s time to gather around the campfire and tell some scary claim stories. Join us as for an interactive discussion on claim trends and specific risk management tips A&E firms should consider in order to mitigate their risk from costly claims and client disputes. Mark Blankenship, Director of Risk Management for WTW A&E, Anthony Carolei, Director of Risk Management for Professional Liability for The Hanover Insurance Group and a prominent A&E defense attorney will review some recent claims against design professionals and valuable lessons learned. This is a great program for all levels of staff!
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Contract Negotiation Strategies
You want a fair and balanced contract, but can you explain why you should get the terms you are asking for? This program will explain the guiding principles that underly a balanced contract. Risk transfer devices will be identified, and their significance will be explained. Mark Blankenship, Director of Risk Management for WTW A&E, and attorney Katherine Jones from O’Hagan Meyer will offer guidance on how to prioritize your negotiation strategies. The potential impact of important clauses will be discussed with a focus on finding areas of common interest with the owner. Integration of subconsultant agreements will also be discussed along with how to get additional insured status on the contractor’s general liability policy.
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Artificial Intelligence – Opportunities and Concerns
Mark Blankenship, Director of Risk Management for WTW A&E, will lead a discussion with some industry experts on the evolving risks associated with AI in the design profession. Mark is Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on AI for the ACEC National Risk Management Committee and will engage WTW global experts on AI along with some legal and design professionals for a lively discussion on this important topic. This program recognizes the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and surveys the current applications. Concerns are identified in a survey of the current legal environment, and guidance is provided based on relevant legal cases. We will conclude with recommendations regarding best practices for implementation of artificial intelligence in a professional practice.
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The 7 Deadly Words You Must Avoid on Shop Drawings and Construction Phase Communications
Communication is a fundamental component of professional construction contract administration, but all communication is not risk-free communication. Misconceptions, risks and errors of judgement frequently impact CA procedures, as we explored in our record-breaking 2023 webinar Why We No Longer ‘Stamp’ Shop Drawings. Following that webinar, its author addressed many sticky CA questions in two WTW podcasts, revealing how risks can arise from the consequences of using (at least) seven deadly words during the construction phase.
In this webinar, we will explore specific risks that can occur in CA communications, including emails and during the “review” and “approval” of submittals, RFIs, substitutions and other CA documents.
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Deal Makers and Deal Breakers
This is a great program for anyone that negotiates contracts, is responsible for new business development and/or interested in learning the critical issues every design firm must consider when it comes to negotiating fair and insurable agreements with their clients. This program includes an interactive discussion on contractual “deal makers” and “deal breakers” and certain “red-flag” words and phrases from both a legal and coverage perspective. We provide specific negotiation tips on how to come to a win-win solution of a balanced, fair and insurable agreement with your clients.
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CYA with CA
This popular program will review the pitfalls and opportunities design firms face when it comes to construction administration. Effective documentation is key to effective CA as well as a firm grasp of the standard of care. This program will review important lessons all staff members that have any CA responsibilities should understand to mitigate their risk. We have an interactive discussion on critical issues and risk management advice on a wide range of CA issues including site visits duties and inherent risks, addressing non-compliant work, reduction and elimination of your role, rejection of work, scope creep, handling requests to terminate contractors as well reduced or terminated site visit responsibilities.
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Communication and Documentation
Most claims against A&E firms are rooted in poor communications and documentation practices. Join us for an interactive discussion around this critical topic and often neglected area of risk management within the design practice: effective communication and documentation. We review the challenges and specific exposures associated with poor communication and documentation within the design and construction practice. This program will offer practical measures your firm can take to establish and manage expectations and implement effective documentations practices to reduce your risk to costly claims and client disputes.
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Lessons in Liability
This is an excellent primer for all levels of staff for any design firm as it reviews critical issues associated with the standard of care, communications, documentation, construction administration and managing client expectations. We identify current claim trends and practical measures firms can take to reduce their exposures, discuss types of damages by category of project type and discipline and provide an analysis of non-technical contributors to risk exposure for designers, including contracts, client selection and team capabilities. This program also includes an in depth review of the standard of care, effective documentation practices (including what not to put in an email!) and the role of the design professional in construction administration.
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COVID-19 Risk Management
As we enter the various “reopening” scenarios and the evolving “new normal,” design and construction professionals must find adaptive strategies to stay current in all phases of the design and construction process and service to clients and others. In that spirit of lessons learned and moving forward, this program will establish the foundational issues for strategic solutions and then provide guidance for five distinct phases of the design and construction process: design, coordination, permitting, construction administration and project closeout.
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Managing Design-Build Risk
David Hatem will present on demand for another in depth discussion on managing evolving design build risk. David will review a claim scenario where the constructor on a design-bid-build project asserts claims against the project owner for substantial additional costs and delays allegedly due to (a) design errors and omissions and (b) owner failure to pay for contract and extra work, and interference with the Constructors performance of the work. From this claim scenario, a number of important issues will be reviewed that impact not only resolution of the constructor's claims against the owner, but also the health and future of the design professionals' relationship with the owner. The key to maintenance (and growth) of success in that relationship often depends upon how the owner and design professional interact with each other in the resolution of those constructor claims.
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Project Evaluation: Go, No-Go?
Every firm must ultimately decide if a prospective project is a “go” or a “no-go” and if they should commit valuable time and resources. Dan Buelow, Managing Director of WTW A&E and Andy Mendelson, FAIA, Chief Risk Management Officer for Berkley DP, present an interactive discussion around critical “go, no-go” considerations your firm should include when assessing a new client relationship and business opportunity. This program addresses a wide range of risk management topics and issues to consider when evaluating prospective projects; project team capabilities; financials, contracts and client relationships.
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Managing Cyber Risk & Developing an Incident Response Plan
Cyber claims involving design firms are on the rise and a number of A&E firms have experienced significant losses as a result of cyber related attacks and ransomware. We will be joined by top cybersecurity experts for an update on the cyber risks facing the design and construction practice with a focus on crafting a cyber incident response plan. Our panelists will review what every A&E firm should be doing to mitigate this complex and evolving risk and what controls you will need to have in place in order to secure standalone cyber liability coverage in the current insurance marketplace.
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Health Safety Welfare & Ethics for the Architect and Engineer
What are the ethical obligations of the design professional when it comes to the health, safety and welfare of the general public? Jeff Coleman, from The Coleman Law Firm, presents this program to address this very question. What are the potential risks and liabilities to the design professional surrounding accessibility, energy efficiency, issues relative to conflicts between existing codes and client requests? What steps should you take in the event an error or omission is discovered? This discussion addresses all of these questions as well as the rules and regulations governing the A&E practice.
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Insurance Requirements and Certificates of Insurance
Review of all the property and casualty insurance products design firms should understand and consider to transfer their risk and meet contractual requirements of their clients. This program will go into considerable detail of coverages, exclusions, clauses and nuances of all of the following P&C insurance products: professional liability, general liability, workers compensation and employer’s liability, automobile liability, umbrella/excess Liability and other various specialty coverages. In addition to providing an overview of these products, we will discuss the issues to consider when negotiating insurance requirements in your contracts and managing certificates of insurance.
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Managing Design-Build Teaming Agreements
A substantial number of the more significant professional liability claims asserted by design builders against their consulting engineer subconsultant in design build arise out of services performed by the consulting engineer during the procurement or pursuit, pre-award phase of a design build project. The ability to effectively manage, limit and defend professional liability risk of the consulting engineer in that high frequency and severity context often depends upon the scope and terms of the consulting engineer's engagement during the "teaming" (or phase I) agreement.
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Construction Collection Challenges
The challenge to collecting design professional fees during the course of construction has become an increasing challenge in recent years and is approaching a crisis. The key leverage of the design has been delivered and contractual collection remedies are chronically inadequate and plagued with risk. This is especially true for traditional subconsultants and for any design professional on a design-build team. This program will demonstrate the challenges through real life examples, chronicle the typical contractual shortcomings, and seek to establish solutions to overcome and succeed.
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The Four Cornerstones of Risk Management
This course is filled with a heavy dose of the critical basics of risk management principles for architects and engineers. In this program, we will review WTW A&E’s Four Cornerstones of Risk Management:
- Risk identification and client selection
- Contract negotiation strategies and integration of subcontracts
- Best practices for quality assurance/quality control procedures including guidelines for documentation; and
- Contract administration including project close out
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Why We No Longer Stamp Shop Drawings
Seemingly mundane documents such as shop drawings and requests for information have been around for as long as designers have been designing and builders have been building. But costly misconceptions, risks and errors surrounding these basic construction administration procedures still abound. In the decade since the AIA published the provocatively-titled Best Practices article “Why We No Longer ‘Stamp’ Shop Drawings,” its architect-author (our special guest!) is still fielding surprising questions from designers, contractors and their attorneys. This program will explore the standard of care, contractual risks and practical applications of what it really means to “review” and “approve” submittals, RFIs and related construction phase documents.
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Health, Safety & Welfare Training for Architects and Engineers
This program will provide guidance for keeping architects and engineers safe at work, both on the jobsite and while at the office. The program will discuss an overview of OSHA requirements, how to create a job hazard analysis and a site-specific safety plan, guidelines for fall protection and confined space rules, ergonomics and work from home recommendations, and defensive and distracted driving rules.
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Claim Stories Around the Campfire
This program is an interactive discussion on claim trends and specific risk management tips A&E firms should consider in order to mitigate their risk from costly claims and client disputes. Mark Blankenship, Director of Risk Management for WTW A&E, will moderate a discussion between two seasoned A&E claims campers: Anthony Carolei, Director of Risk Management for Professional Liability for The Hanover Insurance Group and VP of A&E Claims for Hanover Insurance Company and Newt Marshall, a Chicago-based attorney.
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It’s Your Call – What Risk Management Topics are Important to You?
In this webinar, the participants will set the agenda in real time by selecting the risk management topics via multiple-choice polling questions. Join Beazley’s Colleen Palmer for this interactive session where we will discuss numerous topics based on what the audience selects on the day of the webinar. Possible topics include: the fundamentals of contract negotiation, document retention policies, client and project selection, risks associated with performing construction phase services, discussion of specific contract provisions that are the subject of difficult negotiation, risks of employee moonlighting, dispute resolution options and dealing with consent to assignment documents.
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Pre-Construction Services: Cure or Curse?
Third-party review and comment on any design professional’s work product can be uncomfortable. It exposes the design to critique, second guessing and “alternative” views. However, it can also validate and improve the design before any deficiencies lead to economic harm and consequences. Drawn from real-life cases in the media and courts, this program will highlight the potential risk and risk management opportunities emerging from third-party pre-construction design review by other design professionals, contractors and construction managers. In addition, it will offer corresponding strategies to help you successfully engage in those processes as the designer or the reviewer.
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Emerging A&E Risks
In October of 2021, WTW A&E completed a survey of claim experts from 12 leading A&E professional liability insurance carriers. Dan Buelow, Managing Director of WTW A&E, moderates a panel discussion on the aggregated results of this survey with claim representatives from Beazley, Berkley, CNA and Hanover. Our distinguished panel will be sharing their thoughts and insights on our findings from this extensive WTW A&E industry survey along with some claim stories and advice on what design firms can do to mitigate their firms’ risks from costly claims and client disputes. This program will demonstrate the challenges through real life examples, chronicle the typical contractual shortcomings, and seek to establish solutions to overcome and succeed.
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The information contained herein is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with your own legal advisors. In the event you would like more information regarding your insurance coverage, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
