Iwww.acec.orgNC. ENGINEERING May/June 2010 The AwArd-winning Business mAgAzine Minuteman >> Fund Protects Firms’ Rights >> Big Win On PLA 2010 EEA Agreements 9% Tax Award >> Deduction ‘Real Money’ For Member Winners Firms HDR’s Onions to Energy Plant Powers To The Top We insure professional liability and property casualty, and we keep you safe from big bad wolves. No matter what your materials are, your building has to stand. And sometimes it has to withstand the unexpected. Travelers understands, and has both professional liability and property casualty lines of insurance tailored specifically for engineers. And because our underwriters specialize in underwriting engineering risks, your coverage will evolve alongside your most complex projects. For more information on Travelers insurance for engineers, contact your independent agent or call 443-353-2253. Suddenly, those big bad wolves aren’t so big, or so bad, after all. ©2008 The Travelers Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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One Tower Square, Hartford, CT 06183 travelers.com Fallon | Minneapolis Client: Travelers Publications: Issue: Close: Ext: ACEC Mid-Year Convention Guide 05/01/08 04/01/08 Job Number: SPFPI7PC026 Engineering, Inc. 05/01/08 04/02/08 File Name: SPFPI7PC026v1alt1x8-3x10-8 Description: Engineers - Big Bad Wolves Date/Time: 03/26/08 Bleed: 8.625" x 11.125" Creative Director: Todd Riddle/Al Kelly Trim: 8.375" x 10.875" Art Director: Chelsea Johnson/Dean Hanson Live: 7.875" x 10.375" Copywriter: Anna Stassen Media: FP 4C Bleed Production Artist: Brett Hudoba Fonts: Scala Sans Regular and Bold; Project Manager: Jenny Wyant Arial Regular and Arial Black Regular for crops/slug Art Buyer: Dave Lewis Ink Colors: CMYK Print Producer: Tom Beckel Notes: N/A Account Executive: Jamie Lykken Account Supervisor: Pete Brown ENGINEERING INC. may/june 2010 ● Vol. 21, no. 3 12 24 8 Features NobLE CAusEs 8 Minuteman Fund provides critical financial assistance for Member Organizations’ legislative Cover Feature and judicial battles. ENgiNEEriNg AmErica’s RecovErY 24 2010 ENgiNEEriNg ExCELLENCE AwArds 12 Highlights from the 2010 ACEC Convention and Honoring the year’s top engineering achievements. Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C. Departments From ACEC to You 2 mEmbErs iN thE NEws 28 Getting America back to work. Parsons Brinckerhoff celebrates its 125th anniversary; Donald E. Stone NEws & NotEs 4 named CEO of Dewberry; Gannett Degenkolb learns from earthquake Fleming announces acquisition of damage; engineers called essential to VANUS, Inc. solving world’s problems. busiNEss iNsights 32 mArkEt WatCh 5 Sourcebook offers help Needed: private investment in global water with management and infrastructure. risk decisions; the future of BIM; new profes- LEgisLAtivE ACtioN 6 sional development Major ACEC win on project labor requirements. agreements protects firm interests; nine percent deduction is “real money” for members; bipartisan climate change bill 4 hits stumbling block. COVER PHOTO: Trevor PEARSON Engineering Inc. promotes the advocacy and business interests of ACEC by offering news, legislative analysis and business practice information to member firms, clients, opinion leaders and policy makers. The articles and editorials appearing in this magazine do not represent an official ACEC position or policy unless specifically identified as doing so. From ACEC to You ENGINEERING INC. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE Getting America Back to Work AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES etting America back to work through infrastructure funding and AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES unleashing the power of the private sector were the overriding themes CHAIRMAN Gerald Stump of the recent ACEC 2010 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit PRESIDENT & CEO David A. Raymond VICE PRESIDENT, Mary Ann Emely in Washington, D.C. OPERATIONS Every aspect of the Convention—from a massive lobbying effort on VICE PRESIDENT, Steven Hall GCapitol Hill to targeted business management sessions—focused on how the engi- GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS neering industry can help lead the nation toward a sustained economic recovery. VICE PRESIDENT, Jeffrey L. Beard INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS Hundreds of ACEC’s “citizen lobbyists” filled congressional offices to advocate for MANAGEMENT vital legislative issues, such as: DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS Alan D. Crockett • Infrastructure-based “jobs” bill: The need for senators to follow the House lead and MEDIA STAFF EDITOR Andrea Keeney and pass legislation that includes robust spending on infrastructure, energy and [email protected] vertical construction projects. 202-682-4347 • Multiyear water infrastructure program: Calling on senators to pass legislation SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS Gerry Donohue to provide nearly $40 billion for water and wastewater projects over five years. WRITER • Six-year surface transportation program: Securing a long-term jobs bill to ACEC PUBLIC RELATIONS AND replace SAFETEA-LU and help states launch major transportation projects. EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Convention highlights included a panel discussion featuring leaders of three of CHAIRMAN Cynthia K. Allen the nation’s largest engineering firms—MWH Global; Black & Veatch; and Par- TMG sons Brinckerhoff—who offered insights on current industry challenges. A Bentley MANAGING EDITOR Corey Murray Systems-sponsored CIO panel discussed critical IT issues for Member Firms featur- ART DIRECTORS Jeff Kibler, Melissa Miller Hamid ing officers from WSP Flack + Kurtz; Jacobs Engineering Group; AECOM; and PROJECT MANAGER Mary Mieszczanski Malcolm Pirnie (now part of ARCADIS). Be sure to read about two major Council victories for Member Firms: the exclusion ADVERTISING SALES Nina Goldman of engineering services from federal Project Labor Agreements, and a new rule that Director, Sales and M.O. Services makes retainage on federal contracts optional (page 6). ACEC Congratulations to HDR for winning the Grand Conceptor Award for an inno- 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005-2605 vative waste-to-energy system fueled by onions. More than 500 attended this year’s 202-682-4325 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala to celebrate 163 exceptional Member Firm [email protected] engineering achievements. For more on this year’s award winners, see page 12. Engineering Inc., Volume 21, Number 3 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the upcoming ACEC Fall Conference at bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the beautiful El Conquistador Resort & Spa in Puerto Rico, Oct. 17–20. 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscriptions are $24 for members (included in dues as a non-deductible amount); $45 for U.S. non-members; $65 for institutional subscriptions. Back issues are $15. Gerald Stump David A. Raymond POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Engineering Inc., c/o ACEC, ACEC Chairman ACEC President & CEO 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. © 2010 American Council of Engineering Companies. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied, downloaded from the ACEC website, stored in electronic or hard-copy format, and disseminated to third parties for educational and information purposes. ACEC expressly disclaims any liability for damages of any kind in connection with such copying, downloading, storage, and/or dissemination. By copying, downloading, storing and/or disseminating this publication, the recipient of this publication expressly agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold ACEC, its officers, directors, employees, volunteers and agents harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, claims, causes of action and liabilities, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or resulting from the recipient’s use of this publication. Notwithstanding the above, no part of this publication may be altered, resold, licensed, or used for any other commercial purposes without the prior written permission of ACEC. 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