SEClION

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V The Selection of
the Civil
Engineer
:I I GEN ER AL
I fill selection and

engagement of a Civil
Engineer is one of the
important decisions to be
made during the
development of an
project. No two Civil
Engineers have the same
training,
capabilities,
personnel,
workloads,
and particular ilillitios.
Selection of the most
qualified Civil Engineer for
a specific .loject will result
in a well-planned and
designed, economical, and
ICCOS gill project.

criteria for the lection of

qualified Civil Engineers
for particular projects.
The rint's first step is to
define
the
proposed
scope of the project In
'me cases, this may be a
general statement of the
performance
iirements
of
the
project.
At
other
times, the tasks to be
1
turmed
maybe
individually
identified
and defined. By clearly
Ailing
the
services
which the Civil Engineer
is to furnish, the 'lint can
accurately judge whether
or not the Civil Engineer is
best 1.,qaped to provide
them.
,

of the factors that

should be considered in
the selection oISS are:

his section presents

what experience has
shown to be the best lid,
therefore, the
recommended procedure
for the engagement of ivil
Engineer.
2 BASIS FOR
SELECTION
client should establish
administrative policy and
IQ

Responsible Civil
Engineers and its
employee and must be

ifigIsterecl professional Civil

Engineers.

Civil Engineers should

have demonstrated
qualifications and
tixpertise, performing the
services required for the
project.
Civil Engineer should be
able to assign qualified
engineering staff who will
be in responsible charge of
the project and will be able
to provide and complete
the
required
services
within the time allotted.
The Civil Engineer should
have
the
necessary
financial and business
resources to accomplish
the assignment and provide
continuing service.
The selection procedures
described in this manual
apply to projects of the
private
sector.
For
government projects, E.O.
164 and PD 1594 as
amended
apply
to
procurement of consulting
services and selection of
contractor for construction,
respectively.

3.3 CLIENT'S
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Within
the
client's
organization there should
be
an
established
administrative policy for
designating the persons
authorized to select or
recommend selection of
Civil
Engineers
for
specific assignments. The
persons appointed should
be familiar with the project
requirements and should
be kept free of internal or
eternal pressure during the
selection process.
One satisfactory
procedure is to utilize a
selection committee of
three or more individuals,
at least one of whom is a
professional
engineer of the appropriate
discipline. For public
projects, the client
35

must choose Individuals who doniorsilrete

r hI I L, 9 10
iivnici the tippet/mince of a conflict cal iniortglit !Pin
rIVII I nglitoor. At least one of the individuals should toff thoroughly
14(111111,H with the civil engineering practices. The committee is
4)111)(11131bl for making recommendations after conducting
oppinpriate investigations, interviews, and inquiries. The final
selection is then based upon the selection committee's
recommendations.
3.4 QUALIFICATIONS-BASED SELECTION (QBS)
PROCEDURE
1 lift selection procedure is considerably enhanced when the client
Ms lully familiar with the purpose and nature of the proposed project,
ten describe the project in detail, and can prepare a project scope
nd outline of services expected of the Civil Engineer. In some
948 the client may not have professional staff available to define
the project scope and describe the required services. The client
should still be familiar enough with the project requirements to
understand what is expected of the Civil Engineer. The selection
procedure, however, can be modified to suit the circumstances.
The client's usual steps in the selection procedure are presented
below. If the client has had satisfactory experience with one or
more Civil Engineers, it may not be necessary to follow all of the
steps outlined.
By invitation or by public notice, state the general nature of the
project, the services required, and request statements of
qualifications and experience from Civil Engineers who appear
to be capable of meeting the project requirements. The client
may issue a "Request for qualifications" (RFQ) or "Request for
proposals" (RFP). RFQs are normally used to ascertain the
general qualifications in a selected area of expertise while
RFF's are used to seek Civil Engineers for creating "short lists"
for selecting a Civil Engineer for a specific project.

36

rtapiiii. .1

0.111autntl
III in or lit'lls

time and costs that can be

pounlial Civil 1.ngineer prior to receipt of the

*mite the statements of qualifications received. Select at !

writ three Civil Engineers or firms that may appear to be best
lithillited for the specific project. It should be noted that often
will(' than three Civil Engineers or firms may appear to be
ticoolly qualified - in which case more Civil Engineers or firms
111,4y tJL considered. However, in fairness to those not selected
ii. Is usually best to make a conscientious effort to keep the
number selected for further consideration for realistic minimum
in view of the cost and time required to prepare competent
pm oposals.

Write a letter to each Civil Engineer or selected for further

consideration describing the proposed project in detail,
including a project scope and outline of services required, and
asking for a proposal describing In detail the Civil Engineer's
plan for managing and performing the required services, the
personnel to be assigned, the proposed schedule, experience
with similar projects, office location in which services are to be
performed, financial standing, present workload, and
references. Each Civil Engineer or firm should have an
opportunity to visit the site, review all pertinent data and obtain
clarification of any items as required_ For major or complex
projects a pre-proposal conference may be desirable to explain
details of the proposed scope of services and to answer
questions,
On receipt of proposals, invite the Civil Engineers or firms to
meet individually with the selection committee for interviews
and discussions of the desired end results of the project and
the engineering services required. These interviews may be
held at the Civil Engineer's office. The client may consider

37

sUpplernenting III. selection

corniiiiitpo with poloonnell WI 141

have specialized expertise to advise

appropriate. During each interview the saliat,iii )11 cemmlik,
should review the qualifications and experience of each Levi
Engineer or firm, the capability to provide the services wit
the time allotted, and the key personnel to be assigned to t
project.
0. Check with recent clients of each Civil Engineer or firm
determine the quality of their performance. This check ne
not be limited to references listed by the Civil Engineer.
T. List the Civil Engineer or firms in the order of preferenc
taking into account their approach and understanding of th
project, reputation, experience, financial standing, siz
personnel available, quality of references, workload, Iocatio
and other factors pertinent to the project being considered,
a Invite the Civil Engineer considered . to be best qualified to
develop a detailed scope. List of deliverables and schedule,
and to negotiate fair compensation for the services.
0 The compensation proposed by the Civil Engineer should be
evaluated on the basis of the clients experience and budge
estimate, taking account of the range of charges reported in
Section 4 herein; giving consideration to the project's special
characteristics and the scope of services agreed upon. Fair
and reasonable compensation to the Civil Engineer is vital to
the success of the project since it will enable the consultant's
expertise to be fully utilized,

10. If satisfactory agreement is not reached with the first Civil

Engineer, the negotiations should be terminated and the Civil
Engineer or firm be notified in writing to that effect. Similar
negotiations should then be held with the second Civil
Engineers or firm and, if necessary, with the third Civil

rrionsers 01 Firm ir no accord is reached. tho client should

k outside 0. Amu) before continuing with the selection

ii. Suc hi I procedure will usually result in development of
..illifactory contract. All such negotiations should be on a
confidential basis, and in no case should the
ompansation discussed with one Civil Engineer be disclosed
another.

When agreement has been reached on scope, schedule and

compensation, the client and selected Civil Engineer should
formalize their agreement in a written contract.

SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR "LEVEL OF EFFORT"

CONTRACTS
vii of effort" type of contract for engineering services is a
at procedure used to supplement a client staff, either by
Ing an extension to existing disciplines and capabilities dy
on board or by adding special disciplines not available on client's
staff.
applied to "level of effort" contracts, the QBS procedure sets
the general nature of services to be rendered, the types of
cialists required and the estimated number of hours required
ng the contract period for each type and grade of specialist, and
requests proposals from qualified firms. Proposals usually
e the experience of the firm as it pertains to the given scope of
ices, and the backgrounds of the specialists available to work
the project. After narrowing the proposals to those which best
et experience qualifications, the client negotiates an agreement
described in paragraphs 9-11 above.
3.5.1

Bidding

Professional engineering and architectural societies, recognize

38

39

QBS as the preferred method for procurement of professional

sorvicos
1,int the NI f k Guidelines
fi lo pimureeiont
of i i n g i n i l A i r i g and arch iteGtu ill 'all %/lima Only by a
process similar to that described in "Quatinuations Based

, service performed is likely to be tailored to fit the minimal

Selection
Procedure
r",
There are many reasons
above.
Selection of Civil Engineers and related service professionals,
Including consultants and sub consultants on construction
projects, should result from competition based on the
qualifications and resources best suited to complete a project

successfully in terms of performance quality and costeffectiveness. Qualifications and resources, including training,
professional licensing experience, skills, capabilities, special
expertise personnel, and workloads, are paramoun
considerations in engaging engineering services, Costs of these
services, while important and meriting careful negotiations and
performance accountability, are a small portion of overall project
costs and should be subordinate to professional qualifications
and experience,
why bidding for consulting Civil Engineering services often
produces unsatisfactory results for the client. Principal among
these are:
Bidding does not recognize professional judgment, which is the
key difference between professional services and the furnishing
of products. Judgment is an essential ingredient in quality
engineering services.

a. It is virtually impossible to completely detail in advance the

scope of services required for an engineering project especially

for the study and preliminary phases, without lengthy

discussions and negotiations with the selected firm. Lacking
Specifics, the bidding firms must, in order to be competitive,
submit a price for the least effort envisioned. The resulting
40

if requirements of the bid documents and will not necessarily

suit
tl in clion149 rimerin or

119

3 In-depth studies and analyses by the consulting Civil

Engineer or tot likely to be performed. The consulting Civil
Engineer selectud by lowest bid will often provide only the
minimum services necessary to satisfy the client's scope of
services.
The consulting Civil ,Engineer's ability to be flexible and creative
iri meeting the client's requirements is severely limited.
The engineering designs are likely to be minimal in
completeness with the details left to the contractor. This
produces a lower first cost design but tends to add to the cost of
the completed project. The lack of design-details also can and
frequently does, lead to a greater number of change orders during
construction and to contractor claims at a later date.

these reasons, bidding for professional services is not

mrnended.
3,5.2 Two-Envelope System
The two-envelope system involves submission of a technical
proposal in one envelope and a price proposal in a second
envelope. The client then evaluates the technical proposals and
selects the best qualified Civil Engineer based on that consulting
Civil Engineer's technical proposal At this point in the selection
procedure, the client opens the price proposal submitted in the
second envelope and uses this as a basis for negotiation of
contractual scope and fees The second envelopes submitted by
the unsuccessful proposers are returned unopened.
41

If the client follows this procedure, the net effect is as outlined in

"Qualifications Based Selection procedure," provided that the

-

client and the best qualified consulting Civil Engineer have

extensive discussions to reach full agreement on the scope of

- ,

. 11/1111 11,

ervinnit MIS eirioWN

Liron1
rho klmwirlitilti
tixpitriEinrr. of thu congrilling Liifiinour it a niiiiii1liN1111111 !Hu
iscopo 01 services. Upon agreement of scope, tlie plice of
services should be negotiated to reflect changes from the
Original scope used for obtaining proposals_
If both envelopes of an proposers are opened at the same time,
a bidding process, as discussed in the section on "Bidding," is
initiated with attendant disadvantages_ Procedures should be
egtrililishod to provide confirmation that the second envelope is
opened for only the successful proposal.
The two envelope system is not recommended_ If used as
Intended, it is similar to the recbmmended Q2S procedure
except that the added cost to prepare a comprehensive scope
and price discourages some consulting Civil Engineers from
participating. The costs to prepare a proper price proposal are
considerable to the firms not selected, which increases the
overall business costs of consurting civil engineering and
ultimately of the clients.

SECTION
_m i a m m l +

_____

4
.

GENERAL
-Charging
for Civil Engineering Services
ryes for engineering services are usually computed using one
IN methods:
Salary cost times multiplier plus direct non-salary expense
("Reimbursable").
I lolirly billing rates plus reimbursables.

Per diem.
Cost plus fixed fee ("CPFF7
Fixed price.
Percentage of construction cost (Percentage").
mbinations of methods of payment for different phases of the
ntract may be used. The method or combination of methods used
depends upon the nature, scope, and cornplexity of services
quired by the client. The first four methods are based upon the
Ivil Engineers costs to perform services, They are particularly
applicable to assignments where the scope of services is not self
defi ned. The fixed price and percentage of construction cost
ethods are based upon a specific deliverable and do require that
the project scope be well defined. The cost plus fixed fee method
provides more flexibility to accommodate both scope and fee
changes than do either the fixed price or percentage or construction
cost methods_
The potential risks and problems faced by both the client and the
Civil Engineer, when the scope of services is not well defined,
should be recognized and discussed during early negotiations.
Often, in estimates of maximum engineering costs for projects

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