Leaders of ACEC’s seven coalitions are busy addressing the year’s most pressing industry issues, while at the same time determining how to take advantage of emerging marketplace trends and opportunities.
The coalitions are practice-specific mini-organizations designed to advocate, communicate, and grow in a collaborative environment. They are a foundation of ACEC and represent each of the association’s major market sectors. The experience and insights they provide help ACEC better advocate for member firm interests in Washington, D.C.
The seven coalitions are the Coalition of American Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (CAMEE), the Coalition of American Structural Engineers (CASE), the Coalition of Professional Surveyors (COPS), the Design Professionals Coalition (DPC), the Geoprofessional Coalition (GEO), the Land Development Coalition (LDC), and the Small Firm Coalition (SFC).
“Our coalition helps us become a better business through relationships with other members. With that opportunity, I think it’s a great time to be an engineer.”
ADAM RICKEYCHAIR, CAMEEVICE PRESIDENT AND FACILITIES SERVICELINE LEADERKCI
For CAMEE, a coalition dedicated to developing the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services market, “our main focus is on the vertical building industry, which is seeing a significant amount of growth at this time,” says Adam Rickey, CAMEE chair and vice president and facilities service line leader at KCI.
“A lot of that growth is due to the increase in infrastructure development investments, retrofits, and upgrades to MEP systems in older buildings,” Rickey says. “There are also more commercial construction activities, and rapid urbanization is becoming more popular. That being said, CAMEE is really focusing in on three key areas to best serve our CAMEE membership and the greater ACEC community: education, advocacy, and our DEI efforts.”
This year’s CAMEE education endeavors will focus on how firms are managing the workflow from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Rickey says. “The Coalition will work to teach others how to plan for long-term solutions while addressing trends such as managing decarbonization and reducing carbon emission from a best business practice perspective,” he says.
The group’s advocacy efforts will also be focused on some of those same topics, such as energy efficiency, carbon emission reduction, design-build, Qualifications-Based Selection for MEP firms, and the Brooks Act in federal funding of green initiatives.
“One of the most discussed topics recently has been the effect of artificial intelligence on engineering firms, and how firms have been looking at the viability of AI on their design practice. Employee recruitment and retention have been popular topics, and changes in the R&D tax credit have been a hotly debated issue.”
BRUCE BURTCHAIR, CASEPRINCIPAL AND VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERINGRUBY + ASSOCIATES
COALITION OF AMERICAN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERSCASE addresses business practice issues that concern structural engineers. “The four standing committees within CASE are Guidelines, Toolkits, Contracts, and Programs,” says Bruce Burt, CASE chair and principal and vice president of engineering at Ruby + Associates. “In the past year, each of these committees has produced valuable information for its member organization— information that is also available to non-CASE members.”
The Programs Committee has hosted presentations at CASE’s winter and summer meetings, Structural Engineering Institute Structures Congress, the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations Summit, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)-hosted Steel Conference, and ACEC’s Annual Convention, Burt says. Topics have included structural engineering, trends in decarbonization, and digital twin technology, among others.
This year, the Guidelines Committee released a commentary on the recently updated AISC Code of Standard Practice. The Toolkits Committee published a tool for developing engineering fees, and it’s working on another for validating design software. The Contracts Committee is focusing on design-build topics and will soon release a commentary on teaming agreements.
“These are just a few of the many resources CASE has developed in the past year,” Burt says.
“We are facing increased competition from municipalities and agencies when it comes to recruitment and retention. Most firms cannot compete with the higher salaries and pension benefits these entities offer.”
RICHARD SULLIVANCHAIR, COPSVICE PRESIDENT, PSOMAS
Due to a severe shortage of survey professionals and technicians, COPS is most focused on education and networking opportunities within the survey profession, says Richard Sullivan, COPS chair and vice president at Psomas.
“We are facing increased competition from municipalities and agencies when it comes to recruitment and retention,” Sullivan says. “Most firms cannot compete with the higher salaries and pension benefits these entities offer.”
COPS is joining forces with other organizations such as the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) on education and network opportunities.
“NSPS has a Certified Survey Technician Program that can be used to develop surveyors,” Sullivan says. “This also provides a clear path to advancement and will hopefully result in licensure. We are also providing seminars on developing technologies such as reality-capture tools.”
“We want to maximize opportunities for our members to participate in advocacy efforts to advance the regulatory and legislative interests of DPC member firms.”
ERIC KEENCHAIR, DPCCHAIRMAN AND CEO, HDR
Priorities for DPC this year are to help network, educate, advocate, and create positive impacts for member firms and the industry at large, says Eric Keen, DPC chair and chairman and CEO of HDR.
“Our strategies align to these priorities and establish our organizational focus,” Keen says. “We meet in person twice a year and hold various smaller meetings to advance our strategies. We cap our membership at 60 firms to aid in helping to manage the number of participants and to support a more collegial meeting environment.”
DPC encourages active participation by members. An executive committee made up of the member firms seeks input from members to conform with the group’s strategic plan and identify important topics facing the industry. These topics are presented during coalition meetings that are facilitated by one or several members, and oftentimes invited speakers.
GEO focuses on business issues that affect geotechnical and environmental engineering as well as construction materials engineering and testing.
“We are greatly impacted by the changing workforce, workplace challenges, and emerging technology,” says Andrew Pennoni, GEO chair and regional vice president of Pennoni Associates. “We hold roundtables and network with other geoprofessional leaders from around the country to discuss these issues that directly affect our firms.”
The recent increase in federal funding due to the IIJA “has helped move many overdue projects that address our infrastructure needs and improve our country’s economic competitiveness while providing opportunities for our member firms,” Pennoni says.
“We are greatly impacted by the changing workforce, workplace challenges, and emerging technology. We hold roundtables and network with other geoprofessional leaders from around the country to discuss these issues that directly affect our firms.”
ANDREW PENNONICHAIR, GEOREGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, PENNONI ASSOCIATES
“Whether solar, battery energy storage, offshore wind, or the decarbonization movement, land development engineering is a critical part of the process that makes these projects feasible and permittable. LDC member firms are playing a significant role in the renewables market now and into the future.”
DJ HODSONCHAIR, LDCMANAGING PRINCIPALLANGAN ENGINEERING & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
LDC is focused on the recent Supreme Court Sackett decision, which produced a shift in the interpretation of the definition of “waters of the United States.”
“The federal and state regulatory reactions to this decision will have significant potential repercussions on land development,” says DJ Hodson, LDC chair and managing principal at Langan Engineering & Environmental Services. “It’s important that the LDC stay active as the EPA and Department of the Army issued the final rule on August 29, 2023, to amend the previous January 2023 rule” and was expected to address this issue in several webinars held in fall 2023. LDC is working with the ACEC Government Affairs Committee to provide technical support needed to deal with this issue.
The battle to attract and retain talent is an ongoing issue for the coalition. “LDC is releasing a new publication on this topic to help member firms strategize ways to attract and retain staff,” Hodson says. “This publication will be added to the long list of existing LDC library of publications.”
Monthly LDC Executive Committee open roundtable meetings enable member firms to discuss issues impacting work. “Having senior-level input from representative firms around the country makes for interesting and informative conversations,” Hodson says.
SFC isn’t specific to any single area of interest within the industry. Instead, it’s focused on all engineering disciplines, market sectors, and issues that small firms face. Many of these issues are similar to those faced by large or mediumsized firms, but the approach to resolving them can be very different.
One of the most successful programs within SFC is hosting small firm roundtable discussions at conferences, where anyone can ask for input on any issue they’re having. “Our members are always willing to share their experiences addressing issues ranging from marketing and business development to HR, accounting, and IT,” says Brandon Claborn, SFC chair and CEO of Meshek & Associates.
Some of the coalition’s biggest challenges currently include legislative relief from the Section 174 amortization requirement which causes significant cash flow issues for many small firms; succession planning for future leaders and future owners of firms; and recruiting and retaining staff to develop the workforce needed to be competitive in today’s market.
“Our firms are excited about the potential to use new technologies to help us deliver the projects that are desperately needed while experiencing a shortage of workers.”
BRANDON CLABORNCHAIR, SFCCEO, MESHEK & ASSOCIATES
At the CASE winter and summer meetings, a roundtable discussion is always included, Burt says. “One of the most discussed topics recently has been the effect of artificial intelligence on engineering firms, and how firms have been looking at the viability of AI on their design practice,” he says. “Employee recruitment and retention have been popular topics, and changes in the R&D tax credit have been a hotly debated issue.”
Tech is also top of mind for SFC: “Our firms are excited about the potential to use new technologies to help us deliver the projects that are desperately needed while experiencing a shortage of workers,” Claborn says. “Small firms are typically able to enact change and respond quicker than some large firms. These issues combined with expected increases in infrastructure and economic development are great reasons to be excited when looking to the future.”
Among the trends COPS is looking at are risk management and safety, Sullivan says. “These topics are interrelated in that there are policies changing on a frequent basis,” he says. “What may have been true one year ago may no longer be relevant. We are keeping a close eye on these legal trends in our industry so our members can make decisions with the best set of facts possible.”
Safety incidents can be one of the costliest aspects of business for surveyor firms, Sullivan says. Experience modification ratings (EMRs) are often used to qualify firms. “If the EMR is too high, a firm may be precluded from performing work on a project,” he explains.
The GEO Coalition will continue to advocate for issues that are important to member firms, such as risk management, workforce safety and wellness, workforce development, and government requirements.
“Collaborating with the other ACEC coalitions has allowed us to benefit from their work and provided the GEO Coalition an opportunity to represent our member firms on issues that directly affect our firms, such as the solicitation and contracting of geoprofessional services by other engineering firms,” Pennoni says.
“DPC will emphasize collaboration among its members through effective programming, opportunities to participate, and opportunities to network,” Keen says. To that end, the coalition will host formalized networking activities at its meetings to provide a welcoming atmosphere for new members and provide opportunities for greater C-suite interaction.
The coalition’s goals also include a focus on educational efforts on the future of the industry and firms, diversity and inclusion, case studies and lessons learned, and developing legislative remedies for ACEC advocacy programs.
“We want to maximize opportunities for our members to participate in advocacy efforts to advance the regulatory and legislative interests of DPC member firms,” Keen says. This includes expanding the use of member firm expertise to provide practical solutions for legislation and working closely with ACEC advocacy programs’ research and data analytics to support industry positions.
LDC is still tracking and discussing the infrastructure enhancements via the IIJA and is seeing a significant uptick in renewable energy projects. “Whether solar, battery energy storage, offshore wind, or the decarbonization movement, land development engineering is a critical part of the process that makes these projects feasible and permittable,” Hodson says. “LDC member firms are playing a significant role in the renewables market now and into the future.”
CAMEE is putting a work plan in place with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Rickey says. “Both organizations are working together to identify areas where we feel we can advance and promote the mutual interests of our respective members,” he says. “This implementation will lead to greater opportunity for collaboration in education and publication, policy and advocacy, and other areas that members might find commonality.”
The group’s most important efforts “are in the steps we take to engage our members,” Rickey says. “We are designing a program for our CAMEE participants, as well as the ACEC community, that accurately reflects what we have taken away from our in-person roundtables this year. If any ACEC members have not yet had a chance to attend these practice area-specific roundtables, I would encourage them to do so. It is a great opportunity to really connect with your peers and learn about the industry.”
CAMEE has heard from its members about what’s important to them and aims to continue creating content and meaningful business practice tools to help firms grow in whichever way they define growth. For KCI specifically, “CAMEE has provided an invaluable experience and partnership,” Rickey says. “We not only have benefited from a business aspect, but we have also been able to strengthen our industry relationships.”
Rickey adds that he is excited about the direction the industry is headed. “There is a lot of change happening, and things are moving fast. Technology and innovation are revolutionizing the way we all complete our work, and CAMEE gives us a platform, structure, and the resources needed to employ excellence in the industry. Our coalition helps us become a better business through relationships with other members. With that opportunity, I think it’s a great time to be an engineer.”
Bob Violino is a business and technology writer based in Massapequa Park, New York.