Day One

Tuesday, May 13 2025

7:00 am Check-In

8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

  • Jeanette Shaw Director, Quality & Sustainability, Powers Brown Architecture

Developing Technical Expertise

8:10 am Achieving Maximum Engagement in Technical Training Sessions to Ensure Designers are Equipped with Practical Skills & Constructability Knowledge

Synopsis

  • Boosting interest and excitement about technical design through simple, quick and relevant modules
  • Incorporating customized training on firm-specific design workflows into a broader curriculum on industry standards
  • Exploring the most effective training mediums to resonate best with recipients

8:50 am Panel: Bridging the Knowledge Gap Between Retiring & Emerging Professionals Through Mentorship Programs to Sustain a Skilled Workforce

Synopsis

  • Appointing diverse teams so that emerging design professionals can learn from senior technical designers on projects
  • Considering generational communication and cultural barriers when training mentors
  • Managing resources and knowledge within your firm through intranets and platforms to subsequently improve Quality

10:00 am Morning Refreshments & Speed Networking

Track 1: Quality Program Leadership

Technical Excellence in Design-Build Settings

10:40 am Case Study: Harnessing Design-Build to Better Integrate Design & Construction Quality Management Processes

  • Brendan Corcoran Assistant Director, Architecture and Engineering Services, Gray Architects and Engineers

Synopsis

  • Elevating the status of both design and construction team influence on a design-build project
  • Leveraging ROI for Quality to advocate for extended design-phase schedules in project timelines
  • Allocating dedicated time for submittals to ensure adherence to design intent

11:20 am Audience Discussion: Integrating Design & Construction Teams During Bidding to Ensure Clear Expectations & Reduce Scope Creep

Synopsis

  • Differentiating ‘design-assist’, ‘design-delegation’ and ‘design-build’ to ensure all stakeholders understand expectations
  • Incorporating design teams in the bidding process to mitigate risks and enhance accountability
  • Verifying the project scope in contracts to prevent clients from requesting additional work beyond the agreed terms

Track 2: Technical Design Quality

Integrating Cross-Stakeholder Quality

10:40 am Mapping Out Design Schedules to Account for High- Risk Quality Deliverables

  • Jeanette Shaw Director, Quality & Sustainability, Powers Brown Architecture

Synopsis

  • Creating alignment on definitions for design deliverables between individuals given the lack of industry standard
  • Understanding the most critical and high-risk elements of a project to prioritize work effectively
  • Ensuring the design schedule makes sense with the proposed construction timeline

11:20 am Improving Architect-Engineer Collaboration to Identify Structural & System Limitations

Synopsis

  • Outlining the nuances between technical considerations for vertical and horizontal markets
  • Analyzing project-specific touchpoints where collaboration is needed
  • Ensuring effective consultation during the design of nonstandard details

12:30 pm Lunch Break

Harnessing Data to Improve Program Efficiencies

1:30 pm Analyzing Data & Metrics to Implement More Proactive Quality Measures in the Future

  • Mark Walsh Firmwide Director, Technical Design, Perkins & Will

Synopsis

  • Reconciling inconsistencies in financial metrics across projects caused by variations in contract values and methodologies
  • Determining which metrics should be shared across the organization or managed locally by individual project teams
  • Utilizing data in real-time to adjust current plans and actions on projects

2:10 pm Audience Discussion: Tracking Metrics in Dynamic Project Environments to Hold Teams Accountable to High Standards of Work

Synopsis

  • Determining the most impactful metrics to evaluate technical excellence on projects
  • Exploring methods and software for capturing and inputting data with ease
  • Promoting accountability among project designers to ensure the production of accurate and reliable data

Promoting Cohesive Teams & Processes

1:30 pm Leading Effective Kick-Off Meetings to Foster Collective Responsibility for Project Success

Synopsis

  • Developing consistent communication frameworks to build trust and transparency among all stakeholders
  • Inspiring Quality ownership across the entire team, regardless of their position within the structure
  • Ensuring contractors fully comprehend the implications of specifications in each scope
  • Ensuring common objectives among all stakeholders

2:10 pm Benchmarking Best Practices for Design Reviews to Address All Technical Issues Before Construction

Synopsis

  • Identifying key elements within drawings that require review
  • Ensuring the QC reviewer has a clear understanding of the project scope
  • Establishing a robust technical methodology for projects requiring ongoing reviews to prevent information loss between versions
  • Incorporating construction management software into design reviews once construction has started

2:50 pm Afternoon Refreshments

Carving Out Time for Quality

3:20 pm Uncovering Proactive Strategies to Manage Compressed Schedules Without Compromising Design Integrity

  • Miles Johnson Principal & Director, Quality, CROFT & Associates

Synopsis

  • Evaluating project feasibility upfront to set clear expectations on quality management for all parties
  • Creating opportunities for teams to pause and re-assess objectives in line with project goals and requirements
  • Shifting Quality upstream to avoid additional work during construction administration, despite tensions between cost, schedule and quality

4:00 pm Audience Discussion: Understanding the Opportunities for AI to Expedite Design Without Adverse Risk & Liability

Synopsis

  • Discussing the possibilities of AI to enhance both technical quality and alignment of design with client intent
  • Addressing liability concerns associated with the use of AI in design processes
  • Preserving technical design skills in the emerging workforce to validate the accuracy of AI outputs

4:30 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

  • Jeanette Shaw Director, Quality & Sustainability, Powers Brown Architecture

4:40 pm End of Conference Day One