Being a brilliant designer rarely translates into having a successful business. With all the years of education and training to make us experts in our profession, the skills needed to have a successful business were conveniently overlooked. This webinar will fill the void and provide you with the business management highlights that every firm needs to apply to achieve their full potential. In this session, we will learn the fundamentals of all successful AE firms and provide the basis for making well-grounded business decisions. We will learn how firms can transition from being professionals providing services, to highly tuned businesses that can identify the needs of the marketplace and create services and products that are appropriately priced and yield consistent and greater profits. Rather than seeking out new projects that merely build upon your current skills, you will start from a business-thinking mindset, where processes that are critical to building a thriving firm are examined and constituted in your firm. We will explore the importance of data within an architect firm and demonstrate how careful collection and interpretation can lead your firm into more exciting and profitable territory.

Being a brilliant engineer rarely translates into having a successful business. With all the years of education and training to make us experts in our profession, the skills needed to have a successful business were conveniently overlooked. This webinar will fill the void and provide you with the business management highlights that every firm needs to apply to achieve their full potential. In this session, we will learn the fundamentals of all successful AE firms and provide the basis for making well-grounded business decisions. We will learn how firms can transition from being professionals providing services, to highly tuned businesses that can identify the needs of the marketplace and create services and products that are appropriately priced and yield consistent and greater profits. Rather than seeking out new projects that merely build upon your current skills, you will start from a business-thinking mindset, where processes that are critical to building a thriving firm are examined and constituted in your firm. We will explore the importance of data within an engineering firm and demonstrate how careful collection and interpretation can lead your firm into more exciting and profitable territory. Join us for an engaging, live webinar presented by Steven Burns, FAIA, Chief Creative Officer at BQE Software as he shares lessons learned over 35 years working with over 1,300 engineering firms.  

Do fasteners matter? Accepted practices for thermal performance evaluations negate fasteners. But with the advent of exterior insulation, fasteners and cladding attachment systems now serve as the primary bridging elements within typical clear fields. These components inherently disrupt the insulation layer, providing intermittent continuity with sheathing and studs. Furthermore, the ‘cladding attachment system’ has essentially morphed into the ‘cladding fastening system’ while also achieving de facto exclusion from thermal calculations. In other words, prescriptive R-values and alternative U-factors did not account for the ill effects of these thermal bridges. What ensued was a decade of under-achieving walls where effective R-vales were only marginally better than conventional framed assemblies. In this presentation, I offer clarity on the effects of fasteners and cladding attachment systems that vary in both material and form. My findings show that fasteners do matter and that certain fasteners warrant inclusion for thermal calculations and code compliance.

Ready to start mastering fees and better understand what they mean for your bottom line? To do so, let’s start at the very beginning—when you receive a request for a proposal. In this course, you will learn how to define your project scope, develop a Rough Order of Magnitude of construction cost, and estimate your project hours. We’ll finish off with how fees are broken down and explore a simple system to improve your overall project profitability.

Just like a pilot does a safety inspection before a flight, the success of a project often depends on the activities conducted before the project starts. Just as importantly, closing a project helps prepare your teams to avoid blind spots, pitfalls, and mistakes on future projects. In this session, we will look at best practices to prepare for a successful project and incorporate lessons learned from completed projects into your business and project management processes.

The chart of accounts is foundational to understanding your firm's finances. In this course, we will review basic terminology used in accounting, analyze a typical chart of accounts that will work for most small firms, and show how this chart of accounts can assist with understanding your flow of money and help to create your budget for the coming year.

Sometimes a design finish cannot be achieved within a certain budget or time frame. While not intended to be a substitute for real materials in every situation, architectural finishes mimic the aesthetics of natural and other materials. This course discusses the uses, manufacturing process, performance characteristics, selection considerations and proper installation techniques of architectural finishes.

Choosing the right insulation for your roof can have lasting impacts on the building performance and energy conservation. This presentation explains the different types of commercial insulation, long-term performance and liabilities, re-usability and sustainable roof design approaches for long term owner, occupant and maintenance benefits.

Just like a pilot does a safety inspection before a flight, the success of a project often depends on the activities conducted before the project starts. Just as importantly, closing a project helps prepare your teams to avoid blind spots, pitfalls, and mistakes on future projects. In this session, we will look at best practices to prepare for a successful project and incorporate lessons learned from completed projects into your business and project management processes.

Provides an overview of the significant role solar control window film can play in a energy savings, occupant comfort, and daylighting strategies for architectural applications.

This free, live professional development webinar reveals a simple approach to end the chaos of business and get back to what you love: architecture.

In the bestselling book Atomic Habits, James Clear illustrates that the key to unlocking significant improvements in our lives lies in small, incremental changes, emphasizing systems over goals for sustained progress. This webinar explores how integrating technologies into our daily routines, guided by Clear's four laws of behavior change (make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying), can transform our work processes and AE firm’s culture. By adopting a mindset shift towards seeing ourselves not just as design professionals, but as innovators, we align technology with our identity, ensuring its seamless adoption. Join the founder of The Well-Designed Firm and former Chief Creative Officer of BQE Software, Steven Burns, FAIA, as he shares actionable insights on fostering a culture that embraces experimentation and learning, illustrating how these atomic habits can compound to achieve remarkable growth. Discover how to leverage these principles to propel your AE firm forward by letting automation and technology handle the heavy lifting, saving you hours per week!

In an architectural practice, time is money. Without proper tracking and allocation of time there is no way to understand and manage profitability on your projects. In this webinar, we will discuss time tracking via buckets, calendar blocking, and a work-life balance.

Gross burn rate is an important thing to measure. Burn rate is the pace at which a firm is running through its capital ahead of it generating any positive cash flow. It allows you to answer the question: “If we don’t sign another project, how many months can we stay in business? How long is our runway?” This webinar looks at the key performance indicators associated with your runway and burn rate and teaches you how to estimate your projected income.

Provides an overview of safety and security window film and attachment systems and includes discussions on the history of films and film classifications, the functional benefits and applications of window films and attachments systems, as well as relevant testing standards and specifications.

NFPA 285 is defined as: the Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components. NFPA 285 assembly tests are required when exterior non-combustible walls contain combustible components per the International Building Code (IBC). The scope of materials classified by the IBC requiring NFPA 285 testing is increasing. Combined with more stringent energy code requirements, the use of combustible materials is also growing in exterior walls. The most common contributing factors to non-compliance of designs requiring NFPA 285 assembly testing include: −Lack of understanding of applicability of test on exterior wall assemblies. −Recent building and energy code changes causing new triggers for the test. −Lack of understanding of assembly vs. product results for NFPA 285 tests. This seminar will discuss the impact of the NFPA 285 Test on buildings using IBC-2018, the parameters and history of NFPA 285, which building envelope components are combustible and require NFPA 285 testing per IBC, and the paths to NFPA 285 code compliance that a designer can take. These elements all combine to integrate NFPA 285 compliant assemblies into building envelope systems.

Successful AE firms rely on technology to collect and store information related to their clients, projects, and employees. However, once you have this vast amount of complex data, do you know how to leverage it to improve productivity? Or do you feel like your firm is drowning in a sea of meaningless information? Join Steven Burns, FAIA, Founder of The Well-Designed Firm, as he walks you through how smart technology can help you save time on repetitive tasks and unlock the meaning to your valuable stream of data. During the webinar, Steven will share the lessons he’s learned while working with over 1,300 AE firms and demonstrate how your firm can leverage this mine of precious data to achieve greater organization, efficiency, and profitability by adopting best practices and taking advantage of modern, user-friendly, and affordable computing technologies.

This course focuses on building connectors, providing an understanding of deflection and its importance in accommodating movement. Participants will learn about various types of deflection and drift clips used in the industry. The course also explores different support clips suitable for rigid attachments in building construction, as well as specialty clips and connectors that enhance performance and durability. Additionally, participants will explore labor-saving products available in the industry to improve efficiency and speed during construction. Finally, the course familiarizes participants with industry tools designed to aid in the design of connectors for building structures, equipping them with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and ensure the stability and durability of buildings.

Confused about the various types of laths available? Want to know the advantages of each? What are the ASTM standards the various types of lath are required to meet? What are some of the challenges of lath and plaster? This course will answer these questions and review best practices and solutions.

Most firms look at profitability as a bottom-line metric. They use this as a gauge to determine if the firm is financially healthy. However, every firm is composed of countless independent elements: employees, clients, projects, phases, consultants, and a myriad of expenses. What does a firm do when they aren’t achieving the profit margins they desire or experiencing losses? Knowing the answer to this question is the purpose of this webinar. In this webinar, we will explore: The best practices for monitoring the various profit-centers of your firm. The means and methods that will not only alert you to problems but discuss how to resolve them. Most A&E firms don’t apply the same rigor, discipline, and consistency that they use when executing their projects. We will show how easy it is for your firm to be well-organized, efficient, and profitable by applying best practices and utilizing modern, effortless, affordable computing technologies.   Join us for an engaging, live webinar presented by Steven Burns, FAIA, Chief Creative Officer at BQE Software, as he shares lessons learned over 35 years working with over 1,000 A&E firms.  

Provides an overview of the Industry Standards, as well as Code References, for the flashing materials used for the installation of Windows & Doors. The Code referenced material standards for window & door flashings are summarized and compared, as well as the Installation Standard practices that have been developed by the three main Fenestration Industry organizations. The Window & Door installation standards and principles presented, are also demonstrated through hands-on application using standard flashing materials with a focus on Commercial and Multi-Family Buildings.

Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving toward six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. Companies no longer have the luxury of business as usual. Businesses with the disciplined approach across all functions, whether manufacturing, supply chain or research have found the improved quality, operating efficiencies, and increased customer satisfaction. Six Sigma has proven to deliver value in all these areas and has been in use at global companies across many sectors, such as automotive, chemical and electronics.

Penetrations of the WRB are unavoidable, but it is critical to ensure that they remain watertight. The recommendations for sealing these penetrations are often based on unrelated test methods such as those for nail penetrations in roofing membranes or on anecdotal evidence. This course will cover a data driven test plan which was used to was used to determine which type of flashing and sealing solution is best to ensure water tightness after cladding attachments are installed over polyisocyanurate insulating sheathing. Additionally, information on how other single-layer insulating sheathing systems allow for water tightness of the assembly after cladding attachment will be discussed.

This course is intended to introduce the range of architectural precast concrete products and finish options to members of the design/construction community. Cost and time considerations will be highlighted. Additionally, as a HSW approved CEU, this course will review sustainability, thermal efficiency, building and site safety benefits and the durability of precast concrete.

Dive deep into the design and benefits that precast concrete can offer the data center world of construction. Looking into the details such as key elements to factor in during the designing phase of a project, considering the thermal and job speed benefits that precast can offer, and then the ability to have diverse aesthetic qualities to bring a building to life.