Introduction to the Special Section on “Risk Management and Legal Considerations of Project and Services Delivery”

Effective project delivery starts with effective services delivery. Fundamental to the delivery of services is the proper management of the most important professional asset of any company—that being the talent and commitment of a dedicated staff. Building on that premise, this special section of Legal Affairs looks at the key legal issues of employee management and the risks associated with geographically spread area office management. Patrick Bannon, a longtime employment lawyer, tackles the key issues confronting employers in this age where every key employment decision must consider the potential of a claim. Gerry Conklin, president of a consulting engineering firm, delves into the practical aspects and risks of managing employees geographically dispersed in area offices.

From this look at the risks of project delivery from the perspective of staff, David Brush and Lisa Turnbaugh, both having extensive project experience, then look at risk from the standpoint of large-scale projects. Here the focus is identifying project risks and the techniques of qualitatively assessing that risk. The consequences of failing to deliver services and managing risks include the failure to deliver a quality project on time and at budget.

Don Weiss and Saahil Malik consider real-time cost accounting as a method of measuring budget risk and expectation. Benedict Schewgler, Spiro Pollalis, and Burcin Becerik, some of the leading design and construction technology experts, take a look at how new technologies are changing the allocation of responsibility of traditional project management. I add my own views on some of the obstacles to implementation of changes driven by new technology.

Having looked at project delivery from the aspect of staff management and large-scale financial risk management, this special section also looks at a fundamental change in how projects in the public sector may be delivered with the assistance of private sector funding. John Stainback and Michael Donahue address public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a method for public project capitalization, particularly in the public school sector. Private sector financing will drive careful cost accounting, risk management, and staff management, all of which are discussed in this special section.

One of the privileges of being a special editor is the opportunity to work with experts who are willing to share their extensive experience and practical advice. Serving as a special editor to this journal has been no exception. I thank each and every one of the authors for their commitment and work in advancing our industry.