The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will flood states with financial grants to develop projects that many states would never be able to accomplish otherwise. Without federal funding, low-tax states or those with tremendous needs for remedial and new infrastructure projects would be unable to pay for developments that create jobs and economic growth.... Continue Reading →
Solar panels are essential in reducing carbon in US energy production, but there is a clear understanding that the global solar panel supply chain relies heavily on forced labor from China. Polysilicon is a key raw material in the solar photovoltaic supply chain and China is its major producer. Now, the US solar industry and... Continue Reading →
As design firms know, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is an enormous source of funding for capital projects, allocating $1.2 trillion to a wide variety of programs ranging from environmental remediation to bridge repair to addressing cybersecurity in state, local, and tribal governments. According to the Federal Funds Information for States (an organization... Continue Reading →
It has been 26 months since we first blogged about the effect of COVID-19 on design firms. The dangers to employees, their families, and design firm productivity are still with us. So firms might want to use, or suggest to employees, the CDC Quarantine and Isolation Calculator. The calculator is geared toward the general public and... Continue Reading →
On March 30, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced new building energy code requirements for federal buildings. Beginning in April 2023, all new buildings and major retrofits constructed by the federal government must comply with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the 2019 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers Standard 90.1 building energy... Continue Reading →
Design firms interested in the details of the new infrastructure funding can access information through the special website set up by the White House that addresses the details of the bipartisan infrastructure law. Firms can download a copy of a guidebook on the law that the Biden Administration released on January 31. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law... Continue Reading →
On February 5, 2020, we published our first blog post warning firms about the possibility of disruptions caused by COVID-19, which was not a pandemic yet. We cautioned firms to contact clients to discuss services and schedules, restructure contracts to address the probability of delays, and protect their employees from exposures. Since that first post... Continue Reading →
The world is changing, especially for design firms. The two-year disruption caused by the unpredictable impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced both design firm management and employees to reassess how they provide services. A resurgent economy—provided an extra stimulus by the historic investment by the federal government in the revitalization and expansion of the nation’s... Continue Reading →
It is that time of year when gifts among friends are common, but if those friends are in private firms and public agencies, those gifts can cost both parties their careers. Even the appearance of impropriety can create a public relations nightmare. It is vital that firms act in compliance with applicable laws. Gift-giving laws... Continue Reading →
On November 1, ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) published a revised version of its Phase l Environmental Site Assessment Standard, now known as E1527-21. ASTM first published a standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments in 1993, with revisions in 1994, 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2013. The previous... Continue Reading →
