It is easy to communicate when everything is happening the way is should. The hard communication comes when you have to deliver bad news. How architecture and engineering firms handle themselves when things aren’t going well tends to define or solidify people’s perception of us.

We had a project several years ago where we prepared detailed construction plans for drilling gas extraction wells into a landfill. As many of you know, modern landfills have plastic liners in the bottom of them to protect the underlying groundwater from contaminants. When the contractor began drilling to the depths that we specified on the plans, he drilled straight through the bottom of the landfill. This was a major problem because the liner system that was buried under 30-feet of trash needed to be repaired. To make matters worse, the client was a fairly new client to our firm and this was one of our first construction projects with them.

I can’t offer you the same advice that you would get from your lawyer or your insurance agent, but I will tell you how we handled it. We acted quickly to figure out where the error occurred. Once we determined it was our error in the plans, we developed a plan to repair the liner system (at our cost). Then we sat down with the client to explain what happened, how it happened, and how WE were going to fix the situation.

Today, that same client is not only still a client, but they are one of our largest clients year after year. They could have reacted several different ways, but they appreciated the fact that we didn’t try to point blame at others or hide behind lawyers.

When you are dealing with a potential crisis in a project, try these tips:

• Respond quickly—Problems don’t go away by ignoring them. The sooner you address the problem and find out what happened, the sooner you can get the issue resolved so the project can move forward.

• Be honest—Let’s face it, mistakes happen, and sometimes we are the ones who make mistakes. Your client may be upset that the mistake happened, but he will be more upset if you don’t admit to a mistake that is clearly your fault.

• Focus on the solution—Don’t get dragged into a finger-pointing battle (with the client or inside your own firm). Keep the focus on what needs to happen to repair the problem, and get the project back on the right track.

About the Author: Richie Deason, P.E. is founding partner and chief operating officer of  Atlantic Coast Consulting, a Roswell, GA-based provider of solid waste consulting, engineering solutions, environmental monitoring, and construction quality assurance since 2005.

PSMJ is always looking to publish diverse views on issues and trends in the A/E/C industry. We invite you to submit a 500-word post on any industry-related topic. We look forward to hearing from you.

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