Below is a listing of resources we regularly consult. Please feel free to
share your favorite resources with us and e-mail us with your comments on
what you find here. We will update this site as we collect additional
resources.
Alternative Dispute Resolution:
American Arbitration Association - This
not-for-profit, public service organization provides arbitration and
mediation services to the construction industry. The AAA will shortly also
be offering dispute review board services.
Program on Negotiation at Harvard
Law School - Offers programs on leadership, negotiations for corporate
executives and senior counsel. We’ve listed them here for their offerings
in negotiations, utilizing “mutual gains” strategies.
International Chamber of Commerce
Court of Arbitration- Established in 1923, the ICC is the leader in
international dispute resolution services. Their programs take into
account language and local laws and customs, frequent communication and
trust barriers to resolution.
Construction Industry Organizations:
Our alphabetical listing of construction industry organizations to visit
for relevant information on construction industry issues. Please let us
know if we have overlooked any additional organizations that ought to
appear in this list:
Contract-related guidance:
Standard Forms- The following organizations offer standardized families of
construction documents. As always, if changes are made in the standardized
documents, be sure the changes are standardized throughout each of the
contract documents.
Contract Clauses
Municipal Research & Services Center
is a non-profit organization offering sample municipal contract language.
Their library boasts Washington state’s largest collection of local
government reference material including ordinances, city and county codes,
budgets and financial reports, comprehensive plans and documents
illustrating virtually every function and operation of local government.
See the State Model
Design and Construction Management Manual.
Confused about joint and several liability, copyright, certifications,
guarantees and warranties, indemnity, standard of care? Contact
DPIC for a copy of The Contract
Guide: DPIC’s Risk Management Handbook for Architects and Engineers.
This is the most straightforward guide we’ve seen on contracting basics.
From the introduction, which explains contract terminology (elements,
formation, negotiation, oral vs. written) to the alphabetical listing of
contract issues, to Appendix 2: The Teamwork Ethic, this contracting
reference guide deserves a place on your shelf.
Contracts Counsel
The American Bar Association can refer
you to legal counsel specializing in construction and contracting issues or
to local city, county and state bar associations for local referrals. Also
see their Forum on the Construction Industry for construction issues.
Martindale-Hubbell publishes the
largest state by state and internet guide to attorneys practicing in the
U.S. and abroad. Their on-line guide can be confusing, but is fairly easy
to use. Search for attorneys by practice area or geography on line, go to
the print version for state-by-state and international reference. Attorney
listings provide a short biography that lists areas of practice, education,
birth date and contact information. Search results for print and electronic
data vary. Check both for best results.
Design-Build
For additional information or assistance in implementing these time and cost
saving techniques, we recommend the
Design-Build Institute of America for general information on getting
started in Design-Build techniques. If you are already performing
Design-Build Projects, contact the Construction Industry Institute for
research, workbooks and other guidance on improving project outcomes.
Project Management
The Construction Management Association of
America is one of the recognized leaders in developing and implementing
construction project management practices. The
Project Management Institute is another leader in establishing project
management standards, providing educational programs and seminars and
professional certification.
Miscellaneous
The University of Colorado School of Engineering has a
Design/Build Survey
tool that calculates the likelihood of success of your project utilizing
design/build as the project delivery method.
Visit the civil engineering virtual library
at Georgia Tech.
The School of Civil
Engineering at Curtin University in Perth, Australia has a large
collection of links to engineering schools around the globe, other civil
related web servers, newsgroups, bulletin boards and mailing lists.
Unfortunately, we find no evidence of the updates promised in 1996, so some
items (like a 24 second video link of the failure of the Tacoma, Washington
bridge known as “galloping Gertie”) no longer have functional links.
Visit PBS’s Science and Technology link
for information on programs in categories like Earth & Space, General
Science, Inventions, Physics and more. Look up specials or regularly
featured programs such as NOVA. Featured on the PBS home page in November
2000, were virtual tours of the White House, which celebrates it’s 200th
anniversary next fall, and the space station.
For those of you who saw PBS’s recent series
Building Big (Bridges,
Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams and Tunnels), don’t miss WGBH’s internet offerings
on the series. Learners of all ages can take construction challenges and
learn the basics of constructing bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams and
tunnels. Other features include "interviews with 10 awesome engineers and
architects" titled "Who builds big - what’s so cool about being an
engineer".
Fast Company is a newcomer to the
management scene, focusing on new economy issues - business education,
learning, tools and philosophies with a fresh, smart approach. Whether you
work for a fortune 500 company or for yourself, we’ll bet that like us,
you’ll find yourself discussing several articles from each and every issue
of this monthly magazine. Recent articles included “How to be a Change
Insurgent” and “The Care and Feeding of Talent”. The magazine is intelligent
and witty, with features such as “Job Titles of the Future” and “My Favorite
Bookmarks”. Fast Company also features regional and on-line salons called
Company of Friends, on- line education and FC:live - local workshops and
conferences.
Fatbrain is an on-line bookseller
focusing on business and technology. Featuring the latest in e-commerce and
e-business to the tried and true tomes from today’s leading minds. Fatbrain
also features a list of the 25 bestsellers. Below are a few titles we keep
on our shelves.
Customers as Partners: Building relationships that last, Chip R. Bell, 1996, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
The Deming Management Method, Mary Walton, 1986 by Perigee Books.
Getting to Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury, 1981 by Penguin Books.
The Leader-Manager: Guidelines for action, William D. Hitt, 1988 by Battelle Press.
The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity - New ways to manage time, paper, people and the electronic office, Stephanie Winston, 1994, Warner Books Edition.
A Passion for Excellence: The leadership difference, Tom Peters and Nancy Austin, 1985, by Random House, Inc.
Principle-Centered Leadership, Stephen R. Covey, 1990, by Summit Books.
Service America, Doing business in the new economy, Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke, 1995, Warner Books
Straight Talk for Monday Morning: Creating values, vision and vitality at work, Allan Cox, 1990, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sweet on Construction Law, Justin Sweet, 1997, American Bar Association.
Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a management revolution, Tom Peters, 1987, by Excel (Harper & Row)
Please share your favorite titles with us.
Findlaw. For a national database of
statutes, codes and case law, see Search for state and federal cases and
codes, find forms, libraries and organizations. This site will save you
hours of research time.
Additional Construction Web
Links. If you haven’t found what you’re
looking for in the sites mentioned above, try Thelen Reid & Priest’s
compilation of construction industry web links. Navigating the several
hundred links can be overwhelming, but you’re likely to find what you’re
looking for.
We look forward to your comments on this list of resources. Please
contact us with your suggestions for additions
(subtractions?) and recommendations.
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