Hiring Civil Engineering Consultants

5 Questions to Ask when Hiring a Civil Engineering Consultant

5/23/2016

When choosing a civil engineering consultant, many businesses focus on the most cost-effective proposal. However, often the lowest price doesn’t ensure your needs are met. When the consultant understands and meets your needs, the result can be a long-term working relationship. So what should you ask when hiring a consulting engineer?

Do you foresee any unique challenges with this project? Foreseeing challenges before they become problematic and including workable solutions into the process sets apart the best consultants from the average ones. Look for a firm that acknowledges the unique challenges of your project.
Is my input welcome during the development process? Because you know your system better than anyone, it is essential to identify incorrect information and address the issues early. The result is a better design and smoother construction process.
What are your response times to my emails and phone calls? Response times between projects and phases differ, so be sure to clarify your expectations. If you expect fast responses, reach an agreement with the engineer prior to hiring them.
How often should I expect communication from you? The frequency of regular feedback on your project’s progress will vary but should include weekly or monthly updates, timelines, milestones, and budget.
What do you bring to the table that other engineers don’t? Many engineering firms can provide the services you need, so it is important to look for characteristics that distinguish them from others.

Selecting the best civil engineering consultant facilitates open communication throughout the project while soliciting your input on each step.

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9 Comments

Ben Allen link

2/13/2017 07:30:21 am

I appreciate the information on questions you should ask when hiring an engineering consultant. I agree that it is important to find out what the response time to emails and phone calls typically is. Knowing this can be a deal breaker and it can be very hard run a successful project without any good communication. I would imagine that most engineers are great communicators because they need to give updates on projects often.

Harold link

5/18/2017 12:45:03 am

By far the most important of these is being available. Thus making the question: What are your response times to my emails and phone calls? one if not the most important. And it is also expected that engineers constantly communicate the state of the project.

Ashley Turns link

9/6/2017 08:55:08 pm

The company I work for is planning on hiring a civil engineering consultant to help us with the building we are creating. So I really like the idea of asking the consultant about how fast they plan to respond to emails or phone calls, so you can be on the same page. I'll be sure to mention that we should make sure our civil engineer knows we would like to have our messages answered within 24 hours since we really want to move fast on our project.

Tiffany Locke link

11/17/2017 06:14:28 pm

Your advice to ask a potential consulting engineer that will acknowledge your project's unique challenge is a great idea. This could show that they know what problems could arise and have the skill and knowledge to help you work through them. You might also want to ask them about what solutions they can think of to these problems and the best way to try prevent them so that you can make sure the consultant will be an asset to the project.

Callum Palmer link

1/3/2018 06:00:13 pm

These are some great questions, especially about whether or not your input will be accepted. If you are hiring a civil engineer then you are likely the business owner after all. If this is the case, then you want to make sure that you opinion will be taken into consideration when the civil engineer is working out the details of their project.

Gerty Gift link

11/13/2018 10:59:29 am

I liked your suggestion to ask what characteristics they offer over other engineers. I think that it's a smart way to find out what to expect from them. It's important to stand out from the crowd and I think that this is a great way to accomplish that.

Gillian Babcock link

3/14/2019 05:50:40 pm

My sister wants to have a new building for her business and she wants it to be well-built. It was explained here that when hiring engineers, she should ask them on what problems they may encounter during the project. Moreover, it's recommended to hire professionals from a good civil engineering firm services for quality work.

Kate Welling link

4/4/2019 02:44:41 pm

I'm happy that I found this article about hiring a civil engineer. I now understand how it would be important to ask how often we should expect communication from them, as you mentioned. Communication is so important, and being open with those you work for is crucial! My husband has been thinking about getting his own business. This is something that he has always wanted. I will let him know this information so that he can remember these questions when he finds a construction company.

Jocelyn McDonald link

4/18/2019 06:58:07 am

My sister wants to start her own industrial business, and I suggested she work with an engineer to do this. Your article had some great tips for choosing someone like this, and I liked how you said if fast response is expected, my sister should each an agreement with the engineer regarding this prior to hiring them. Thanks; I'll share this with my sister to help her hire an engineer for her future business.

5 Questions to Ask when Hiring a Civil Engineering Consultant

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