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Most professional liability insurers attempt to track the
changing demands on firms so that coverage can be adapted to meet
policyholder needs. Now more than ever, professionals are
experiencing a transformation in how professional services are
defined and delivered.
Blending or Unbundling of Services
Because of client demands, there are fewer “traditional”
projects. Some clients see the separation of design and
construction as inefficient. Requirements for accountability and
time and cost savings are blurring the bright line that has
traditionally separated design and construction.
Despite efforts by state regulators to section off specific
services for licensed professionals, clients often demand the
blending of responsibilities with the goal of purchasing a final
“product.” At times, nonprofessionals are defining
projects from feasibility through design and into operations. As a
result, many design firms are finding their roles reduced as others
package projects. Some design firms are becoming program managers
to fill this demand.
In contrast to blending design and construction, clients are often
separating out, or unbundling, the traditional design services.
This can challenge the ability of professionals to provide services
in a coordinated manner. As projects become more complex, many
clients ignore the value of having an integrated design team that
is able to develop functioning interprofessional
relationships.
Confidentiality and Security
An increasing challenge is meeting the security and confidentiality
needs of clients. Not limited to infrastructure projects or public
clients, the security of project information can alter the practice
management techniques of firms of all disciplines. Government
agencies led by the Department of Homeland Security and the
Department of Transportation have developed guidelines to protect
security-sensitive information. But many private clients, ranging
from corporations to residential clients, may impose similar
constraints on the use of design information.
The practice of limiting access to, and dissemination of, client
information during the design process may impede the collaborative
design process. Bidding may be reshaped as security-sensitive plans
and specifications are kept from many prospective contractors.
Controls are established to monitor and record the use of the
documents. Workers, from design professionals to construction
workers, may have to meet security clearance requirements to be
involved on the project. Even awards programs that indicate floors
plans, structural systems, or mechanical equipment may by
constrained by privacy and security concerns.
Digital Practice
Building Information Modeling will help foster the integration of
the design process with fabrication and erection planning. A
model-based technology linked to a database of project information
presents opportunities creates challenges for design firms. As
sophisticated private and governmental clients demand such
integration, the professions will have to respond. Professionals
will either have to segregate services into limited areas of design
or expand services to become project information integrators that
control the overall process and create the database of design,
procurement, and construction information that is either provided
to or managed on behalf of the client.
Driven by technological advances and the client’s goal of
using the building information model database throughout the life
of the project, the evolution to a consolidated digital model that
replaces plans and specifications challenges many of the principles
that have guided design firms. Questions of ownership of
information, liability for design decisions, and, perhaps foremost,
compensation for professional services all need to be
addressed.
During this time of rapid change, construction-related
professionals must reassess their preferred roles in design and
construction. They must also realize that their professional
liability insurance needs to be broad to provide protection for an
expanding range of services and responsive to the changing needs of
the professions.
Originally printed in “Guidelines for Improving
Practice”, Vol. XXXV No.3, May/June 2005. Reprinted with
permission of Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Inc.
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