Geotechnical News December 2010
39
ASFE NEWS
ect team member who wants to avoid
responsibility frustrates client repre-
sentatives and others on the team. That
aggravates the problems that make ef-
fective risk management so necessary.
Litke:
You’re aware that one of the
problems ADSC members and other
foundation contractors have to deal
with is skimpy geotechnical reports
that make it difficult to come up with
an effective bid. Are you saying that
the solution is geoprofessionals earn-
ing more respect from other project-
team members?
Martin:
Yes. Inadequate bids lead
to delays, change-orders, budget over-
runs, distrust, disputes, and claims,
problems that can affect just about all
principal project-team members. Top-
flight geoprofessionals want to avoid
all those problems and now exactly
how to. But in order to have their guid-
ance sought and listened to, they have
to be a respected member of the project
team; they have to step up to the plate.
Bottom line, they have to be good con-
sultants. You can’t be that if you move
forward continually watching your
backside. It’s not good professional be-
havior.
Litke:
But good professional behav-
ior has to recognize that the profession-
al services are being delivered through
a business, and in order to stay in busi-
ness you have to keep risks under con-
trol and be profitable.
Gaboury:
Of course, but it’s a mat-
ter of how you go about doing that. Ev-
erything we’ve learned over the years
shows that professionalism is profit’s
best friend, because professionalism
creates long-term relationships. When
you have a long-term relationship, the
client comes back time and again for
more of the same and for new services
that often involve even more responsi-
bility. On the one hand that increases
profits and, on the other, it lowers risks,
because more often than not you’ll be
engaged sole-source or through qualifi-
cations-based selection, so you’re deal-
ing with better scopes of service and
with people whose needs and prefer-
ences you know well.
Martin:
Professionalism is also
what gets you to the C-level, so you
have much more opportunity for deal-
ing with the CEO, the COO, or the
CFO of an organization, or at least with
the key decision-makers for a given
project.
Litke:
So ASFE’s focus on effec-
tive risk management in particular has
taken you to effective practice manage-
ment in general?
Gaboury:
Yes. Businesses that do
things right minimize the risk of things
going wrong. Stated another way, the
most effective risk management is do-
ing things right. The more you do right,
the fewer risks you have to contend
with. Some people seem to think there
are shortcuts; that effective risk man-
agement means using certain types of
contract provisions or obtaining certain
types of insurance coverages. That’s
important, but it’s really just a small
part of it. I like to believe that ASFE-
member firms understand this; that
they get it, and know how to run their
businesses well, without compromis-
ing professional principles.
Litke:
So where’s the disconnect? If
these firms know how to run their busi-
nesses well, why is ASFE needed to
“maximize the geoprofessions’ impor-
tance and value to the marketplace”?
Martin:
ASFE-member firms tend
to predominate in certain markets and,
frankly, they’ve earned their stripes
there. They’ve earned the respect of
their client representatives and col-
leagues and that’s why they participate
in project decision-making. As a result,
the entire team is able to deal with a
range of issues at the outset, so fewer
things are left to chance. That translates
into fewer risks and fewer risks mean
fewer things go wrong, even though the
projects associated with the markets in-
volved are often large and complex.
Litke:
Which markets?
Martin:
The railroad market, for
one. Most of the client representatives
involved understand the importance of
having an outstanding geoprofessional
service performed. A reliable subsur-
face evaluation. Well-thought-out rec-
ommendations with the client’s needs
and preferences in mind.
Gaboury:
The same can be said for
the tunneling market, for mining, and
for offshore work.
Schoenwolf:
Most high-rise own-
ers understand, and most brownfield
developers get it, too: The geoprofes-
sional component of the project is just
too important to let it go to just anyone.
You retain well-respected geoprofes-
sionals to give you advice and you fol-
low the advice.
Litke:
And when you don’t?
Martin:
Things go wrong. Unfor-
tunately, the markets where marginal-
ization and commoditization are most
predominant also generate the most
projects. These are the vertical con-
struction markets in particular: single-
and multifamily residential. Commer-
cial. Institutional. Given the size of
these markets, it’s understandable that
they generate the most claims. And
given the existing attitudes about geo-
professional practice, it’s understand-
able why, to the best of our knowledge,
geoprofessional problems are the most
common source of construction prob-
lems; of unanticipated conditions, de-
lays, budget overruns, failures, claims,
disputes, and litigation.
Litke:
So these things are all avoid-
able?
Schoenwolf:
Just about, yes.
Litke:
How?
Schoenwolf:
By doing what client
representatives and colleagues do in
those markets where geoprofessionals
are not marginalized or commoditized.
Litke:
And they’re not going to do
that until geoprofessionals change their
own behavior.
Martin:
A lot of geoprofessionals
need to perform better, to be sure. But
we also have to make more client rep-
resentatives and colleagues aware of
the benefits they can derive by select-
ing geoprofessionals more carefully
and getting them involved. So we want
to increase the demand for high-quality
geoprofessional services at the same
time that we try to increase the supply.
Litke:
So how would you character-
ize this effort to maximize the geopro-
fessions’ importance and value to the
marketplace? Would you call it the next
step in risk management?
Martin:
It’s much bigger than that.
We’re looking to reduce the problems
created by the
status quo
by changing
the
status quo
.
