CE 301: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Professional Engagement
Professional engagement is defied as
To secure professional services, to hire
Major issue:
Difficulty in defining & communicating the specific needs and/or tasks
required to arrive at a solution
Potential clients may realize they have a problem to be solved, most do not
understand engineering or what it takes to define and communicate their
problem to the engineer
Engineers recognize this situation and refer to it as the need to
create a scope or statement of work (SOW)
One of the challenges for engineers is that sometimes learning and
understanding the client’s operation and/or objectives takes quite a bit of
time, and there may be several ways to address the problem with a variety of
capital and/or expense scenarios
Professional Engagement
In the course of assessing the client’s needs,
The engineer may spend quite a bit of their own (or their company’s) time
and expenses to provide a detailed SOW
The SOW needs to include a
Cost estimate
Project schedule
Tabulated labor categories (which may include subcontractors, so that the
client may choose an appropriate path forward)
Occasionally the engineer may find that the client is surprised at
the depth of their own needs or the costs associated with resolving
them
The client may then provide the engineer’s SOW and proposal to a
competing engineer for an alternative approach or lower cost.
Professional Engagement
To increase the chances of preparing a winning proposal and
securing the professional engagement, engineering firms
often create and follow a business development process
This process involves the civil engineering firm identifying
potential leads early in the project initiation phases and
following these projects through to the RFP (Request for
Proposal) and proposal phases
Savvy firms work to position themselves strategically with
exceptional project experiences, talented staff, and other
differentiating factors that can give them distinct advantages
to win these projects
Professional Engagement

Business Development Process by

DAVID EVANS & ASSOCIATES
Professional Engagement
Professional engineering services are probably best provided
when the client knows and trust the engineer
This is why large clients have their own engineering staff
These staff engineers know the mission and requirements of
their own employer and can act in the latter’s best interest
Sometimes, the staff engineer may require assistance just as
companies that doesn’t have engineering staffs
The engineering staff nay be in a good position to prepare a
SOW for outside engineering support
Alternately, a firm could establish a support contract with an
engineering firm to provide these services as the need arises
Professional Engagement
Working Relationship & Trust Factor between the client and
engineer are extremely important factors
However, professional engineers are bound by ethics,
business law, and contracts so the trust factor is not usually a
problem
In practice, it’s human nature to hire or work with someone
one knows rather than a perfect stranger
Professional Engagement
Writing engineering proposals
Regardless of the specific client situation, it is imperative that the engineer have a clear
understanding and demonstrated skill to communicate problem solving
These key components to problem solving include
Identifying the client’s particular problem/s
Possessing background knowledge, the ability to work as a team member, and
preparing a clear and comprehensive SOW
Understanding the client’s requirements and constraints
Having the ability to communicate clearly
Formulating technical alternatives
Providing the client with alternative evaluation and/or selection
Performing engineering design including engineering plans, specifications, and cost
estimates
Offering construction assistance, construction monitoring, or construction
management
Providing start-up assistance and/or operations and maintenance assistance
Creating a realistic project schedule
Project Development
The architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry
always has operated on the “virtual” organization principle and is
infamous for its fragmentation
Constructed products involve a staggering number of players.
These include
Private owners
Developers
Government agencies
Engineers & architects
Other designers
Builders
Product & material suppliers
Real estate agents
Lending institutions
Inspectors etc.
Project Development
The industry is design-intensive because most projects are one-of-
a-kind
AEC professionals in most cases have to produce unique products
with stringent cost, schedule, and quality standards
The owner typically thinks in terms of quality, as well as short and
long term costs
Architects and engineers have a different perspective; often they
are motivated by the desire to avoid mishaps and to minimize their
costs relative to billable hours
Civil engineers must work with a staggering number of
determinant and non-determinant processes, a vast array of
participants, and the need to evaluate outcomes and manage risk
in order to develop and evaluate perspective design
Participants in Project Development
A need for civil engineers to be problem solvers, innovators,
analysts, critical thinkers, and communicators has remained
constant for millennia
Another uninterrupted theme throughout the history of civil
engineering is the involvement of three key players in the project
development & delivery process
Owner
Designer (engineer and/or architects)
Builder or contractor
These three main groups coexist and interact with a fourth group
composed of various legislative bodies and interested groups (see
figure in next slide)
Participants in Project Development
Flow of Work in Project Development
The typical project moves through several phases:
• Pre-design, design, bid, construction, occupancy, and eventually
adaptive re-use, and decommissioning and/or demolition
Predesign
In predesign or planning, clients enter a “discovery” phase
where needs and wishes are explored
If a client is large, client staff may be responsible for
preparing a general plan of action & outlining requirements
A client without in-house capacity may hire a consultant
These consultants may hire additional consultants to support
their efforts
The table provided in the following slide gives examples of
professional services available in predesign
Predesign
Professional services
available in predesign
Predesign
At this initial stage, the entity responsible for the evaluation
forms a working organization and identifies the information
needed
Data should include
History of the events leading up to the decision to build
Purpose & function of the project
Policy decision
Timescale for the project
Cost limit, or budget, of the project
Details of the site and services
Basic details of building requirements
Comparable best practices
Predesign
The results of this effort is a Statement of Need
The Statement of Need indentifies the need for a new or remodeled
facility based on business objectives or public policy and enables the client
to gain internal approval for the project
The Statement of Need states the problem, not the solution
All options should be considered
Relative benefits, drawbacks, and risks need to be analyzed
Feasibility studies may be conducted
Alternative may be tested to determine their financial, economic,
technical, or other advisability
Predesign
Key activities
Confirming that options have been identified
Agreeing upon which option(s) to pursue
Identifying potential problems with items in the budget and agreeing on a
total budget
Establishing a timeline
Carrying out a risk assessment
Defining clear objectives
Preparing a Program or Statement of Need or Brief
The Statement of Need or Brief captures the essence of the project
During the proposal phase, the Brief forms a key component of
the RFP
Predesign
The Brief or Statement of Need is usually written with the help of
a designer
This document is developed following certain well defined steps
Predesign
Key Briefing issues
Getting requirements right early results in significant payoffs:
Improved product quality
Saving of time & budget
Better client relation

Key Briefing Issues

Design
After the client has developed a program or brief and has
selected a designer, the client & designer enter into a
contract for professional services
In addition to being a legal document, the contract is a
communication tool
It spells out the
Design tasks to be performed
Parties’ (client’s & designer’s) specific responsibilities during design
Client approvals required
Schedule, including start date, end dates, & major milestones
Budget, including any contingencies
Design
The design effort can be divided into several phases:
Schematic design
Design development
Construction document
Bidding
Construction
Schematic design
Involves establishing the general project scope, relationship
among project components, basic geometry, and client
understanding & acceptance
As part of schematic design, the designer also validates the
program or brief that client has provided
Design
Design development
The design concept is elaborated in this phase
Major systems are defined
Important decisions are documented
A clear, coordinated description of the project is developed
Construction documents
Provide the contractor with sufficient information to build the project
Delineate the responsibilities of the two parties who sign the construction
contract
Also provide information about the role of designer
Who usually is not a party to this contract but who has responsibilities during the
bidding & construction phase
Comprise of drawings & a project manual, made up of bidding requirements
and technical specifications
Design

Summary of the purpose, activities, & deliverables

associated with the various project phase
Design Thinking
The design process works with information as well as “flash of
insight” on many levels
In pursuit of appropriate & acceptable solutions, designer must
process:
Client requirements
Technical variables
Physical, budgetary, and schedule constraints
Permitting & code issues
Political realities
If design begins with analysis, it proceeds with synthesis
Through a combination of sketching, talking, calculating, and
thinking, designers must reach sufficient understanding to form a
concept
Design Thinking
Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, offers a methodology for making
this transition that he calls “design thinking”
Outlines three phases of design thinking:
Inspiration
Ideation Next slide
Implementation
Designers are encouraged to :
Explore the circumstances
Generate, develop, and test ideas
Chart the path to completion
Design Thinking
Design During Bid & Construction
The work of civil engineer usually not end with the completion of the construction
document
Most clients rely on their prime designers to help them through out the bid phase
As part of the bid process, civil engineers may be responsible for including following
procurement & contracting requirements in the project manual:
Advertisement for bids
Invitation to bid
Instruction to bidders (contractors)
Prebid meetings
Land survey information
Geotechnical information
Bid forms
Owner-contractor agreement forms
Bond forms
Certificate of substantial completion form
Certificate of completion form
Conditions of the contract
Procedure for answering bidders questions
Design During Bid & Construction
Civil engineers usually attend prebid meetings
To acquaint prospective bidders with the project
Following contract award (the owner & contractor enter into a
contract), civil engineers may be responsible for
Attending a preconstruction meeting
Responding to field question, called request for information (RFIs)
Making field observations
Reviewing submittals, including shop drawings
The process used by civil engineers for reviewing submittals &
shop drawings should be referenced in the general conditions of
the construction contract and discussed at the prebid and
preconstruction phase
Quality Control Plan
Throughout the design process and particularly in the
construction document phase, a quality control plan (QCP) should
be implemented
QCPs are an important aspect of any successful project
Important elements of a QCP
A knowledgeable project manager adept at implementing a QCP
An experienced QC Team capable of reviewing contract documents
An extensive & successful QCP outline
Implementation of a comprehensive QCP includes the following:
A clear & concise organizational chart outlining roles & responsibilities f the
QC team
Proper scheduling of review
Including ample time for each review
Good project management practice to ensure the reviews are completed
Quality Control Plan
A comprehensive QCP
Reduces the risk associated with incomplete or poorly completed work
products
Improves the overall quality of the work
Enables a final review for any missing items or incorrect standards
All these attributes lead to a better end product and will
increase client satisfaction
It maximize the client’s desire to solicit the designer for
future work
Repeat business is paramount for sustaining a successful &
profitable organization
Any steps that can be taken to ensure this should be implemented