State departments of transportation, bridge and turnpike authorities, and other agencies often require the services of a consulting engineering firm. This may be because the agency chooses not to maintain an engineering staff of its own, because its workload is greater than its staff can handle, or because expertise in special kinds of bridges is needed. Consultants can fill these needs.
Where only routine types of bridges are involved and the agency has an engineering staff, the best that a consultant can be expected to do, usually, is only as good a job as the agency’s engineers can do. The agency’s staff may include veteran engineers who have become extremely proficient in design of routine and not so routine bridges, and who also know exactly how to prepare plans in the proper format and sheet sequence preferred by the agency, as well as how to use exact pay item
descriptions and to refer to pertinent proposal notes and special provisions. A consultant, in this instance, is like a temporary employee who knows the basics but needs to be trained in local procedures.
When a consultant serves a client for many years, however, that consultant can become as proficient as the agency’s staff. Long-term contracts for continuing or on-call services eliminate the need to train a new consultant. However, they can be seen as showing favoritism in an environment where other consultants expect an opportunity to compete for contracts. For this reason, and because a long-term contract may allow a consultant to become complacent, the client may limit the term of the contract and, upon expiration, issue a request for proposals (RFP) to perform the services. The original contract holder may or may not be eligible to respond to this RFP, at the agency’s discretion.
In other instances, agencies may hire consultants as program managers. In these cases, the consultant manages designated design and construction contracts for the agency, providing administration, technical review, and construction inspection services.
Consultant’s Responsibilities. To serve the client in a professional and efficient manner, the consultant should
• Deliver the product promised in the contract scope of services
• Deliver the product on time
• Conform to accepted codes and standards
• Develop economical designs
• Use time-tested materials, avoiding purely experimental materials and systems
• Confirm in writing to the client any verbal understandings
• Keep the client informed of project status
• Avoid issues that could involve the client in litigation
• Not make statements to the public or to the media without the client’s knowledge and authorization
Client’s Responsibilities. Just as the consultant has a responsibility to the client, the client has a responsibility to the consultant. Responsibilities include
• Executing a contract with the consultant that includes adequate hours to perform the work, recognizing any unique requirements, and not applying standard allowances for nonstandard work.
• Performing reviews in a timely manner.
• Performing reviews either concurrently or sequentially, but not expecting the consultant to make changes required by one branch of the client’s office only to be subsequently countermanded by another branch. In other words, the client should transmit consolidated review comments.
• Not interrupting the work unless absolutely necessary.
• Paying invoices in a timely manner. Contracts with subconsultants often stipulate that the subconsultant’s invoices will not be paid until payment is received from the prime consultant’s client, so a delay in payment from the client results in delay of payment to the subconsultant.
• Being frank with the consultant about any dissatisfaction the client may have with the consultant’s performance so that corrective action can be taken immediately.
If the client and consultant meet their respective responsibilities, the relationship will be a partnership that benefits both parties.
