Engineering Inc - September/October 2017 - 4

ENGINEERINGINC.

FROMACECTOYOU

Council Racks up
More QBS Wins

CEC/Rhode Island's new law mandating that its municipalities
follow a "Qualifications-Based Selection" (QBS) process-making
clear that price should not be a factor prior to negotiation of
engineering services-is not only a major win for engineering firms
in the Ocean State but for all of us nationwide.
While we have achieved QBS laws for most states, pushing these down to the
municipal level has been more elusive, making the Rhode Island victory all the
more important. ACEC/Rhode Island credits the national organization with
maintaining an effective website on this issue; apparently it was impressive to
Rhode Island lawmakers who were referred to it for compelling information to
justify expansion of their law to the municipal level.
QBS has been a cornerstone of the Council's advocacy program since long
before the Brooks Act in 1972 established it as federal policy. And we have
steadily expanded its reach to most states, many localities, and throughout the
federal government, including a 2014 law that applies it to wastewater projects
funded through the State Revolving Fund program.
Yet-even as we broaden its scope-attacks on QBS have persisted. In just
the last several months, anti-QBS bills have sprung up in Florida, Georgia and
Arkansas, and the Council has rallied to repel these. We can expect such threats
to continue in the future, but our defense of QBS will be unrelenting.
This issue of Engineering Inc. includes noteworthy reports on how virtual
reality could be "the next big thing" in engineering operations (See page 30); how
we have achieved more resilient infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricane
Sandy (See page 10); and an insightful portrait of our colleague "Gridlock Sam,"
who actually coined the term gridlock as it applies to traffic jams (See page 38).
Hope you had a wonderful summer, and we'll look forward to seeing you at
the Fall Conference Oct. 15-18 at the beautiful Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
& Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Florida. An outstanding lineup of nationally
recognized speakers, important business sessions and enjoyable social activities
await you.
See you there!

Sergio A. Pecori
ACEC Chairman

David A. Raymond
ACEC President & CEO

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES
CHAIRMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT,
OPERATIONS

Sergio A. Pecori
David A. Raymond
Mary Ann Emely

VICE PRESIDENT,
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Steven Hall

VICE PRESIDENT,
BUSINESS RESOURCES
AND EDUCATION

Marie Ternieden

DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS
AND MEDIA

Alan D. Crockett

STAFF EDITOR

Andrea Keeney
akeeney@acec.org
202-682-4347

SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS
WRITER

Gerry Donohue

ACEC PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN

Mary Stiff

IMAGINATION

Tim Gregorski
Jeff Kibler
PROJECT DIRECTOR Amy Stephenson Fabbri
MANAGING EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING SALES

Leo Hoch
ACEC
1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005-2605
202-682-4341
lhoch@acec.org

Engineering Inc., Volume 28, Number 5 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published
bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC),
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