A level that helps to ensure that things are straight.

The Level Made Me Do It.

How reliable is a survey? When a fire hydrant used as a survey benchmark is replaced by a new fixture, and a site is over-excavated as a result, who is responsible, and how does a seemingly minor 20 cm error in site levels lead to a massive $1.2 million lawsuit?
Case Studies Podcast Claims Lawsuits

Out of Site. Out of Control.

A retrofit presents special difficulties. In this case, a bid document requiring x-ray vision was unreasonable and unenforceable; a stipulated sum contract proved to be the wrong vehicle for unknowable site conditions; and a failure of mechanical and electrical co-ordination created costly delay and chaos.
Case Studies Podcast Claims Lawsuits

The Claims-Free Architect Podcast

For every architect who aspires to be claims-free in practice, this podcast is for you.
Case Studies Podcast Case Studies Podcast

Architects’ Claims Stories

Seasons 1 and 2 of Architects’ Claims Stories are packaged together for 3.5 hours of entertaining and educational stories for architects, foreign-trained architectural professionals and architectural interns.
Case Studies Podcast Podcast Season 1 Season 2

Visual Evidence

It’s often been said that seeing is believing, and this is certainly true in legal proceedings. Ever since movies were first allowed into a courtroom, film and video have provided a reliable way of capturing reality and presenting it as evidence. Who knows how many people have been convicted or exonerated on the basis of images on a screen? In this episode, featuring two stories, Architects find themselves confronted by video evidence that may reveal either guilt or innocence. And neither is certain.
Case Studies Podcast Lawsuits Podcast Visual evidence

Poor Choices

It’s an infrequent mistake, but it happens: Consultants and projects are chosen unwisely, and the architect must assume responsibility for the consequences. In these two stories, those errors are about to doom the projects . . . until a second—extremely rare—phenomenon occurs: Fate steps in and saves the day. The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 33 million to one. The odds of your project being saved by blind luck are in about the same range.
Case Studies Podcast Client or Sub-contractor Relationship Management Clients Lawsuits Podcast

Client Demands

Many architects will tell you that some of their greatest professional rewards come from their relationships with their clients, working as a team toward a common goal. But occasionally, these relationships break down, and what starts out as professional affection deteriorates into outright animosity. It’s a fine idea to make friends of clients, and even clients of friends, but remember: business and friendship can sometimes make poor allies.
Case Studies Podcast Client or Sub-contractor Relationship Management Clients Lawsuits Podcast

Unchecked Qualifications

“Trust but verify” is a diplomatic term that applies just as well to architectural practice. Give your team members enough space to exercise their own skills, but always maintain a discreet watchful eye. Lack of professional oversight contributes to several problems, and those problems lead to claims.
Case Studies Podcast Podcast Qualifications Team Management

A Claim in Four Figures

We’re introducing a new series that aims to provide a crisp, clear and numbers-driven claim situation. Kicking off the Claim in Four Figures series, is “The Square Footage Error.”
Case Studies Claims

Poor Site Planning

In architectural practice, boundaries are critical. There are physical boundaries, professional boundaries and, what might best be called aspirational boundaries. In this episode, boundaries are badly defined, ignored, stretched and transgressed. Abysmal record keeping only makes matters worse.
Case Studies Podcast Documentation / Contracts Podcast site plan