Innovation that involves new products and technologies is a fact of life in the design and construction industry. New products can help organizations capture the value of advancements in science, engineering, and manufacturing. Yet such innovation can pose significant risks to stakeholders on a project, where the cost of failures of non-performance can be enormous. During this presentation, we will identify types of risks in specifying new products and offer strategies for reducing, avoiding, or allocating risks. We will also illustrate these concepts with actual examples of successes and failures.
After attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
Understand the role and importance of innovation in the built environment.
Identify the risks involved in specifying new products.
Discuss when specification of new products may be appropriate from a risk/value perspective.
Understand methods of risk management for innovative work.
Speaker: Christine Diosdado, PE, Associate Principal at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Christine Diosdado has extensive experience as a lead investigator, project manager, and expert witness on complex construction defect cases. Her investigation experience encompasses a wide variety of building types, including high-rise and low-rise residential, institutional, commercial, and medical buildings. Her notable recent projects include flooring and building envelope investigations for medical facilities, an examination of material and soil properties for artificial turf athletic fields, a structural evaluation of solar array panel supports, and an evaluation of exterior cladding and roofing systems for iconic buildings. Christine assists owners, contractors, design professionals, and attorneys.
