Resources

For an electronic copy of the Torone Consulting newsletter, please contact us.

TORONE CONSULTING PRESENTATIONS

Brian Torone was a co-presenter of "The Top 10 Ways to Prevent Major Screwups During Design and Construction" at the the national conference of the American Institute of Architects. The session was the most popular AIA presentation of all time, drawing more than 1,200 people. The presentation was a survey of the ten most common screwups, and how they can be avoided. The AIA selected the presentation to be part of the its continuing education program on the internet. It's now available for viewing on the web (for a fee), where it is an eclassroom best seller.

Brian also presented a well-attended session at another AIA national conference called "The Top Ten Reasons Architects Don't Get Rehired." The presentation covered the most common reasons why clients have problems with their architects, and how successful architects stay out of hot water. This presentation was also selected by the AIA for its continuing education program on the web.

In addition, Brian has co-presented two sessions on Design-Build at noteworthy conferences: the Associated General Contractors' Legal Advisory Committee (AGLAC) Conference in Indian Wells, and the Coalition for Adequate School Housing conference in Sacramento. The presentations were called "Avoiding Design/Build Disasters," and explored the accuracy of the conventional wisdom that design-build is faster, cheaper and helps prevent disputes. He discussed the types of projects best suited to design-build, how design-build contracts can be better formulated to avoid disputes, and important attributes of the design-build and owner teams. Of course, the program was spiced up with real-life examples of design-build disasters, and discussed ways that they could have been avoided.

Brian has done a number of lunchtime presentations for law firms, architects, owner organizations, and contracting firms. These sessions have included topics such as avoiding disputes, scheduling and schedule analysis, negotiation, and design-build issues. If you'd like to have him present at your firm, please contact us.

We have had numerous successes settling cases. You can find out about some of them at our Success Stories page.

 PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The American Bar Association (ABA):
http://www.abanet.org
The ABA's Construction Forum hosts two major conferences per year dealing with relevant legal issues in the industry.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA):
http://www.aia.org/
The AIA website has a wealth of information about its chapters, its contract documents, continuing Education, professional interest areas, and the American Architectural Foundation.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC):
http://www.agc.org/
The AGC website has numerous feature articles on contracting, as well as information about contract documents, conferences and training.

The Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.):
http://www.cashnet.org/
C.A.S.H. is a California coalition of school districts, architects, attorneys, consultants, and vendors. C.A.S.H. holds a monthly meeting in Sacramento, two workshops per month, a Spring and Fall Conference and a statewide Annual Conference in the spring of each year.

Construction.com:
http://www.construction.com/
This site features up-to-date job postings, feature articles, and listings of the largest design and construction firms in the U.S. and in the international market.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA):
http://www.ifma.org/
IFMA is the largest organization for facilities managers. The site includes information regarding certification, professional development, conferences, and monthly media & reports.

The Project Management Institute (PMI):
http://www.pmi.org/
PMI has an extensive network of information generated from its numerous conferences, an Educational Foundation and other sources.

SOURCES FOR BOOKS

The Construction Book Express:
http://www.constructionbook.com/
The Construction Book Express has a collection of books, videos and software for construction, design, and facility professionals. They include code books, construction software, and estimating software.

Construction Education Books:
http://www.constructioneducation.com/indexbks.htm

PMI Bookstore
http://www.pmibookstore.org/

Wiley & Sons
http://www.wiley.com/
Wiley & Son has a large collection of books on architecture and design. They sell books on architectural graphic standards, building design, historic preservation, and professional practice.

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