The official Newsletter of the National Capital Section
April 2018 Cost Forum
February 2018 Cost Forum
Thank you to Susan Shaw and the over 80 people from our group and the CMAA National Capital Chapter who showed up to hear about the complex processes involved with the planning, funding, procurement, re-planning, selection, negotiation, and contracting of a transformational project in the area, which will be relevant for the next 50 years.
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2018-2020 Executive Board Nominations
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New Corporate Sponsors
We would like to recognize a few firms who have graciously sponsored the chapter to help bring you great content throughout the year:
Platinum Sponsors
K2 Construction Consultants
K2 was established on a strong understanding of project controls, and the tools which enable successful management of project time and cost. K2 is comprised of three divisions; Construction Consultants, Inc. (CCI), Project Control Systems (PCS) and Security Solutions Group (SSG). Leveraging our past performance, K2 entered into adjacent market sectors for project cost management software solutions and technician based security solutions relying on our project controls expertise as our differentiator.
O'Connor Construction Management
O’Connor Construction Management, Inc. is a valued leader of quality management solutions for the built environment that takes ownership of our clients’ needs and problems, and values their resources as our own.
We are a full-service, independent, owner’s representative company. Founded in 1982 as a cost consultancy for owners and design professionals, we have offices throughout California, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC. Over the past 35 years we have broadened our scope of services to excel at every aspect of program, project, and construction management. From programming through post-construction, O’Connor offers clients a wide array of construction management services. We regularly tailor our services to a client’s specific needs, and we consistently emphasize the necessity for due diligence at every stage of a project.
Over the course of our firm’s history, we have worked on more than 7,000 projects, for clients across a broad range of markets, including: Aerospace, Civic, Commercial/Retail, Education, Energy, Federal Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, Infrastructure
Gold Sponsor
Quantum Global Solutions
Quantum Global Solutions (Quantum) is a British founded and managed company, operating globally with our US office in Washington DC. We are a construction support consultancy partnering with many of the leading contractors, lawyers and employers around the world. At Quantum, our philosophy is Clarity, Focus and Resolution. We provide contractual, commercial and scheduling support to construction teams with particular expertise in forensic delay and quantum analysis. We specialise in the preparation of entitlement submissions for resolution of construction claims and disputes.
Quantum works extensively with our clients and their projects across the globe, serviced from our regional offices in the UK, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Turkey, South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong. We have over 80 specialists including experts in many fields, such as Chartered Engineers, Chartered Surveyors, Contracts/Commercial Specialists, Quantity Surveyors, Project Control Managers, Forensic Delay Analysts, Schedulers and Media Specialists.
Quantum is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and is committed to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence.
Silver Sponsor
Forella Group
We add certainty through the use of highly developed project controls from the acquisition and pro-forma phases, through design, construction and the move-in phases. These interconnected processes focus on the three things most critical to every owner: the optimization of cost, schedule and quality
New Programs
We are excited to announce 2 programs coming up in March
CSI Meets Construction
First off, on March 8 at 6:00 PM at the MBP Fairfax office, Mathew Schofield of Quantum Global Solutions will show how they use high end multi-media presentations to demonstrate their client’s position in the acquisition of work or resolution of construction disputes. Joint Sponsors for this event include the American Bar Associations from MD, DC and VA and the Baltimore Section of AACEI.
Project Risk Management: Practical Tools for Any Project
Then, on March 21 at 8:30 AM at the Washington Building Congress HQ, Sagar Khadka and Mirav Mintz from MBP will teach the value of risk management in every project execution plan and the applicable risk management tools available to suit specific project needs. Joint Sponsors for this event include the Washington Building Congress and the Baltimore Section of AACEI.
Federal Agency Roundtable
The National Capital Section is proud to support the Federal Agency Roundtable again this year on April 20th. Join multiple agencies for a one-half day symposium on practical approaches to develop internal cost department excellence. The goal will be data-driven decision methods that solve problems. The three planned outcomes are results that are evidence-based, aligned to agency mission, and reflect the maturity level of agency processes. Federal executives will receive free admission and a continental breakfast. Formal presentations are optional. What we seek is wisdom and insightful discussion.
See the links below for more information
New Job Postings
There are no new job postings to date.
AACEI NCS is pleased to offer job postings on its website and through its section email distributions for $50 each for a 60 day period. Sponsor firms receive this benefit for free. Reply to this email for further information.
Please feel free to reach out to me or anyone on the board if you have any questions or suggestions on how we can provide a better experience for you.
W. Regis Fox
aacei.ncs.president@gmail.com
(301) 938-0622
Upcoming Events
March 2018 Evening Program - Thursday, March 8, 2018
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
MBP
3040 Williams Dr
#300
Fairfax, VA 22031
Attendance will earn .25 Continuing Education Credits towards AACEI Recertification.
Cost: $20 before 3/1/18 @ Noon. $30 after.
Food & Drinks are included in the price of admission
Quantum Global Solutions appreciates that a picture tells a thousand words.
- 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual
- Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text
Whether bidding for a project or endeavouring to resolve a contractual dispute, it is imperative that the scope for misinterpretation and ambiguity is minimised. Quantum uses high end multi-media presentations to demonstrate their client’s position in a clear and compelling manner enabling a full understanding triggering negotiations for an amicable settlement.
This is particularly important in a construction or engineering environment where situations are often technically complex, and have the added dimension of events occurring in various sequences and over periods of time. It is vital that information is conveyed in a manner as to reduce the risk that one party will not fully understand the other party’s argument or point of view.
- Quantum believe in visualisation
- And we focus on clarity of message
- Quantum want to get the message across and allow people to understand and appreciate the issues that are faced and their consequences
All complex information can in one way or another be distilled into a graphical format and our presentation “CSI Meets Construction” will enable our audience to understand how Media will help them in their projects going forward.
Presenter – Matthew Schofield
Matthew Schofield MBA, President of Quantum Global Solutions USA, joined Quantum Global Solutions in Doha, Qatar in April 2015.
Matthew has years of on-site construction and extensive global project controls/scheduling management experience, having worked on various mega-projects, these include Hong Kong (Hong Kong (Kowloon)-Beijing Express Terminal), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (KAIA), Jeddah) and Australia (Aurizon and FMG Cloudbreak Iron Ore Mine)
Matthew is responsible for the management of Quantum's USA office and staff, delivery of multiple project portfolios, relationships with numerous key clients and assignments throughout the United States. Matthew is a dynamic and proactive Senior Executive Director with over 20 years’ experience in project and operation management, project scheduling, forensic delay analysis and risk management.
Based in Washington DC, USA, Matthew operates throughout the Americas market as the President for Quantum Global Solutions USA. P
In Person & Webinar Registration Here
March 2018 Morning Program - Wednesday, March 21, 2018
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Washington Building Congress HQ
1100 Vermont Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Attendance will earn .25 Continuing Education Credits towards AACEI Recertification.
Cost: $15 before 3/14/18 @ Noon. $25 after.
Light Refreshments are included in the price of admission
Many owners know that formal risk management programs are not a luxury; they are a project necessity. In a study examining 258 transportation projects throughout North America, Europe and Asia over a period of 70 years, nine out of ten projects experienced cost overruns. Delay overruns were just as likely. In response, federal agencies including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) have required formal risk management programs to reduce cost and schedule uncertainty. This has taken the form of quantitative risk assessments to establish appropriate cost and schedule contingency in the planning phase and project risk management plans during design and construction phases to monitor and mitigate risks on an ongoing basis. By implementing risk management techniques, owners have seen tangible and significant cost and time savings. Through this presentation, you will learn the value of mandating risk management in every project execution plan and the various risk management tools available to suit specific project needs.
In this presentation, we will (Learning Objectives):
- Introduce the fundamentals of project risk management and the multiple qualitative and quantitative techniques available to a project team to manage risks effectively.
- Share how the Ohio Department of Transportation successfully implemented qualitative project risk management tools on the $500 million Cleveland Innerbelt Phases 1 & 2 I-90 Eastbound Bridge Projects.
- Review the process of quantitative risk analysis - implemented at both planning and construction phases - to determine cost and time contingency requirements, gauge the health of the project, and manage risks.
- Share how these quantitative analyses are being applied at the $5.68 billion Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project (Silver Line) and a large-scale federal building project to achieve on time within budget completion objectives.
Panel
Sagar B. Khadka, CCP, DRMP, FAACE
Director, Project Risk Management
McDonough Bolyard Peck
Mr. Khadka has more than 26 years of construction experience working with owners, general contractors, designers and construction managers on federal and commercial buildings, highways, bridges, dams and reservoirs, landfills, and site development. He has provided to his clients project risk management, critical path method (CPM) scheduling, cost estimating, cost control and analysis, claims analysis and contracts administration.
As Director of Project Risk Management for MBP, Mr. Khadka has provided risk management services on projects valued at over $10 billion for federal, state and municipal clients.
Mr. Khadka currently serves as the Chair of the Certification Board for the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACE International) and was named an AACE Fellow in 2016. He has written technical papers and spoken extensively before industry associations.
Mairav R. Mintz, PE, CCM
Senior Vice President/Regional Manager,
McDonough Bolyard Peck
Ms. Mintz has more than 24 years of experience providing a wide range of construction management/program management and claims analysis services including construction inspection and monitoring, cost estimating, CPM scheduling, and delay analysis and evaluation. Her impressive list of projects includes transit, highway, bridge, building, plant, and other heavy construction.
She is frequently called upon by government entities and private sector clients to analyze what went wrong during the construction process on projects both large and small. She possesses specialized experience in geotechnical engineering to include evaluation, testing, design, and rehabilitation of pavements; development of pavement management programs for roadway networks; and soils testing and analysis.
Ms. Mintz also serves as the Project Executive, on behalf of the owner, for a large federal project in Washington, D.C., where she has been employing the project risk management tools discussed in this presentation.
In Person & Webinar Registration Here
Federal Agency Roundtable - Friday, April 20, 2018
8:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The MITRE Corporation, Conference Center
7515 Colshire Drive
McLean, VA 22102-7539
To enhance project delivery and methods to the federal government, President Obama on Dec. 14, 2016, signed into law the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015 (PMIAA). Bipartisan support of this legislation included Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Representative Todd Young of Indiana, and Representative Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
The key thrust of this law is to demonstrate prudent spending of taxpayer dollars on large, complex projects. The PMIAA also reforms federal project management fundamentals in the following four dimensions:
- Creating a formal job series and career path for program managers in the federal government.
- Developing a standards-based program management policy across the federal government.
- Recognizing the essential role of executive sponsorship and engagement by designating a senior executive in federal agencies to be responsible for program management policy and strategy.
- Sharing knowledge of successful approaches to program management through an interagency council on program management.
Opportunities for AACE International
Since 2016, the AACE International Government Liaison Committee has been reinvigorated. Given that PMIAA has opened the door to external associations, the AACE team will lead efforts to build linkages with government agencies for the purpose of AACE being recognized as the technical authority in cost and schedule management for programs, projects, products, assets, and services. The committee will strive to create value by advancing AACE technical knowledge and professional development. Even though information technology (IT) represents the lion’s share of the federal project and program portfolio, AACE’s niche position fits construction, aerospace, and defense projects as well. The AACE Government Liaison Committee, working in concert with the AACE Board of Directors and AACE headquarters, assists in activities necessary to ensure the successful on-site execution of the Federal Agency Roundtable. In line with PMIAA, AACE International will address each reform in the following manner:
- Promote AACE membership, AACE Section activity, and AACE certifications for federal employees.
- Infuse Total Cost Management (TCM) as the standard for asset creation and asset management into the federal DNA.
- Develop relations with federal executives, especially those working on high-value, mission-critical federal programs.
- Facilitate knowledge-sharing between AACE and federal agencies with renewed cooperative agreements with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the U.S. Department of Energy.
- AACE members contribute heavily to the GAO Cost Expert Panel.
The Way Forward
We will feature a one-half day symposium on practical approaches to develop internal cost department excellence. The goal will be data-driven decision methods that solve problems. The three planned outcomes are results that are evidence-based, aligned to agency mission, and reflect the maturity level of agency processes. Federal executives will receive free admission and a continental breakfast. Formal presentations are optional. What we seek is wisdom and insightful discussion. We expect 30 attendees for this event; several agencies have agreed to provide attendees.
