The mission of the Risk Management Program of the Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE) is to improve the practice of structural engineering by reducing the frequency and severity of claims.

CASE members have access to tools that make achieving this goal more manageable. These tools have been developed with the 10 Foundations of Risk Management as a guideline. The 10 principles form the basis on which a risk management program can be built. More information on the 10 Foundations can be found at www.acec.org/RMP/index.cfm.

Previous Risk Management columns published in Structural Engineer have introduced the first eight foundations of risk management and their associated tools. Tools 9 and 10 have now been completed, providing a full set of tools for reducing risk management.

Tool 9-1: Produce quality contract documents
For most engineering work, the final deliverable is the document that will direct the project’s construction. For some time, owners, contractors, and design professionals have expressed concern about the quality of structural construction documents. They have observed that the quality of documents has deteriorated, resulting at times in poorly coordinated and incomplete design drawings. Inadequate and/or incomplete design drawings often result in inaccurate competitive bids, delays in the schedule, numerous requests for information (RFIs), change orders, increased project costs, and a general dissatisfaction with the project.

In an effort to address these concerns, CASE has prepared the "Guideline Addressing Coordination and Completeness of Structural Construction Documents." The guideline discusses the background of the issue; the important aspects of design relationships, communication, coordination, and completeness; guidance for dimensioning of structural drawings; effects of various project delivery systems; and document revisions; and it closes with recommendations for development and application of quality management procedures.

Tool 9-1 includes a copy of the guideline, a series of questions and answers based on the guideline to facilitate its use as a learning tool, and a copy of the "CASE Drawing Review Checklist."

Tool 10—1: Provide construction phase services to complete the risk management process
The final phase of a project—the construction phase—is the time when claims arise, if any, against the engineer. It is also the last opportunity for the engineer to catch and correct any design errors or discover major construction errors. Active involvement by the structural engineer provides opportunities to mitigate risk during construction of a project. One of these activities is structural observation of the project by the structural engineer.

Tool 10-1 has been developed to facilitate proper structural observation during construction. The tool includes a series of site visit cards that outline general guidelines for preparation and communication during a site visit that point out key items to observe for various types of construction. Site visit cards have been developed for the following:

• General guidance and rules of thumb,
• Composite slabs on metal deck,
• Reinforced concrete flat slabs,
• Concrete spread and wall footings,
• Reinforced concrete masonry unit walls,
• Structural steel—general framing, and
• Wood framing—shear walls.

The cards are in an editable, digital format so they can be customized as needed.

Conclusion
Access to all 10 tools is provided free to CASE members. Non-members may purchase the tools; additionally, non-members may test one of the tools at no cost. Visit www.acec.org/RMP/tools.cfm for a complete description of the tools. E-mail Corey Matsuoka, chairman of the Toolkit Committee, at cmatsuoka@ssfm.com for more information.