The Blue Sourcebook: Business Practices and Risk Management for Engineering Firms

This publication derives from the author’s 30 years of experience dealing with hundreds of engineering firms. The publication has been reviewed by ACEC’s Management Practices Committee, the Risk Management Committee, the former chairman of the Legal Counsels Forum and other industry professionals including insurers.

It deals with the business side of engineering and reflects the best practices encountered by the author in dealing with firms of every size and from every part of the country.

It presents various situations and problems faced by engineering and land surveying firms and offers solutions or alternatives.

One Way of Distinguishing Your Service from Others

Engineers are schedule driven people. It goes into proposals and clients are generally kept up to speed. Progress is tracked against a schedule but if the project falls behind the hope is that time can be made up later. The pace of a project can separate you from competitors.

A major factor in moving a project along is accessibility to the client and the client should decide what acceptable terms of accessibility are. You are in competition for the client’s time. Those who can help the client meet the demands for his time will flourish.

Accessibility is a frequently overlooked aspect of service and a good way of distinguishing your service from others.