AIA Kentucky - Site Visit Guidelines, Risk Management, & Case Study

This program is two-fold, with the first portion of the presentation focusing on developing best practices for design professionals performing construction site observation duties. Discussions will target preparing for and conducting site visits and reframing unsafe conditions discovered within site visits. Employee safety is emphasized against the backdrop of communicating challenges. This program also explores virtual site visits.

The second portion of the program will closely review an Elementary school design case study. Within this case study, under a tight schedule and even tighter budget, the architecture firm designed a 600-student elementary school. The school district insisted on the lowest-bidding contractor and cut construction observation services to save money. The district insisted on changes during construction and substitutions were approved on other items to cover the increased costs. The school opened on time, but six years later, cracks in the roof trusses were discovered along with construction defects and poorly performing substituted materials. The details as to what makes for a quality site visit and how to adequately train for and identify inherent risks before they become an issue will be key discussion points.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Gain a clear understanding of the role of the design professional in performing site visits and offer best practices.
• Recognize and document unsafe conditions and explore health and safety against the backdrop of OSHA investigations.
• Discover how increasing communication and documentation practices can lead to a safer jobsite and how that minimizes third party liability exposure from bodily injury claims.
• Discuss the appropriate course of action to address and rectify the red flags encountered in the case study above and other similar scenarios in terms of short-term and long-term safety and risk management.

3 AIA LU | HSW learning units will be reported to AIA for all AIA members attending. We believe the program will also be eligible for 3 PDUs in health, safety and welfare toward Kentucky state licensing requirements.  Individuals are responsible for reporting credits to the Kentucky Board of Architects.  AIA Kentucky will provide attendance verification forms to all attendees at the conclusion of the program.