How To Select An Engineering Firm
Deciding how to select an engineering firm is not a simple matter. There are a number of issues to consider before making the decision that can affect the success of your project.
When you are planning a project for which you know you will require expert technical help, you will need to hire engineering consultants. Engineering firms are also called in to provide technical help with existing problems. Through professional engineers, you will have access to the latest technology and expertise to complete your project or solve your problem.
Knowing how to select an engineering firm is not always easy. There are almost 20 branches of engineering, presenting you with a large number of choices when you begin looking for engineering consultants. Even when you have settled on a short list of engineering firms that specialize in the area you require, there are a number of issues to cover before making a final decision. It is worth taking the time to consider those issues to ensure you find the professional engineers who are right for you.
There are many engineering firms, with many specialties. Deciding how to select an engineering firm that is best for your needs can be a long process, but it is also an important one. Whether your project is large or small, it is essential that you arrange to have it handled by engineering consultants who can complete it satisfactorily. By doing your homework now, you will save time and money later.
Most professional engineers maintain a presence on the Internet, so that is a good place to start your search for engineering consultants. From their websites you should be able to gain an idea of the experience and expertise of consulting engineers, and to decide whether they will suit your requirements. If you want to centralize your search, you can also find general directories of engineering firms on the Internet.
When considering how to select an engineering firm, you should ensure that, before starting the selection process, you have details of the qualifications of any engineering consultants you are thinking about hiring. It is a good idea to ask engineering firms for their qualifications before issuing Request for Proposals (RFPs). This will save time for both you and the engineering consultants you are considering. You can invite such submissions through advertising or direct approach to engineering firms.
Responses to the request for qualifications from the professional engineers you contact will provide information about the companies, as well as the qualifications of their staff. Using details you have provided, the consulting engineers on your list should also include an outline of how their expertise can benefit your project. After selecting the various engineering firms whose qualifications suit your requirements, you can then issue Requests for Proposal (RFPs) that invite them to bid for the work.
Like the request for qualifications, the RFPs can either be advertised or sent directly to engineering firms. The RFP is a vital part of the process when you are deciding how to select an engineering firm. It should, therefore, be prepared with as much thought and care as possible, before you invite the consulting engineers on your list to submit their proposals for your project.
Your RFP should provide the engineering consultants with a comprehensive explanation of what the work will involve. You should be as detailed as you can about such matters as technical requirements, schedules, and budget expectations, because an RFP with an emphasis on clarity and quality should attract a similar standard of response from the consulting engineers. Ask the engineering firms to whom you send the proposals to complete and return them by a specific date.
Should the matter of how to select an engineering firm for your project be based on the qualifications or the bidding of the engineering consultants offering their services? This matter can cause some agonizing when you are considering the professional engineers on your list. It is important to have consulting engineers with high qualifications. It is also important to have the work done at a competitive price.
The short answer is that both aspects are important. At the same time, common sense should prevail when you are selecting consulting engineers. If the firm with the lowest bid also has the least experience, you would be well advised to look further up the list of engineering firms to find one whose higher price may be balanced by greater expertise and experience. Most engineering consultants will be prepared to negotiate on price. This is a better option than sacrificing quality.
The reputation of the engineering consultants competing for your project is an important factor to consider when you are deciding how to select an engineering firm. If they include professional engineers who have worked for you in the past and whose work proved satisfactory, you will probably not need to investigate them again. If, however, you are thinking of hiring consulting engineers whose work is unfamiliar to you, there will be a need to do some research on them.
This can include checking the references of the various engineering firms and confirming the credentials of their staff with state licensing boards. You can also obtain feedback by talking to former clients of the engineering consultants on your short list. This will give you valuable information about the reliability and quality of work you can expect from the engineering firms you are considering.
The size of your project should influence the processes you undertake when deciding how to select an engineering firm. If the project is small and uncomplicated, you may be happy to sole source it. This involves negotiating with only one firm of consulting engineers on a non-competitive basis. In this case, if you have employed professional engineers in the past and been satisfied with their work, you will probably need to look no further.
Even if you have not employed engineering firms before, if the project is small, you may be able to obtain a recommendation based on the reputation and work of the company. Whether or not you have an immediate project that requires professional engineers, it is helpful to have a list of two or three firms that you can use for small projects. This will give you a couple of options when you do need to hire consulting engineers.
Even a large project can be sole-sourced, if you are confident that you know how to select an engineering firm that can do the work satisfactorily. The selection can be made on the basis of a successful relationship you have already established with a firm of professional engineers. You may also have a formal strategic alliance arrangement with engineering consultants who are well qualified to undertake the project.
Sole sourcing has the advantage of eliminating the need for the time and effort required to check credentials and qualifications of engineering firms. It also means there is no need to expend the time and cost involved in the preparation of Requests for Proposals (RFPs). This enables you to get the project underway much more quickly. There are times, however, when because of the size and complexity of the project, or for other reasons, you prefer to issue RFPs.
When you are using Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to make a decision about how to select an engineering firm, a simple way to ensure that quality is the main consideration is to use the two envelope system. This requires each firm of engineering consultants to submit their proposals in two separate, sealed envelopes. One envelope from each group of consulting engineers contains details about the proposed methodology for the project. The second envelope contains details of the fee proposed by each firm of professional engineers.
The first envelope from each of the engineering firms is opened, the information is evaluated, and one firm of consulting engineers is selected. The second envelope submitted by this firm is opened, but the other envelopes containing the fees submitted by the other engineering consultants are not opened. This simple but effective method ensures the selection of the best-qualified professional engineers from the applicants.