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Speci?cations are an important tool for communicating with suf?cient detail how, where, and when a particular item or project is to be manufactured or constructed to meet an owners needs. On civil engineering projects, the speci?cations are part of the contract documents and usually are supplemental to a set of drawings. If the assemblage
of contract documents were to be considered a body, then the drawings should be viewed as the skeleton and the speci?cations as such body parts as muscle, sinew, and skin, which together add up to the whole.

The term speci?cations is often used to describe a portion of the contract documents that include the bid documents, agreement between owner and contractor, general provisions, special provisions, and technical speci?cations. The complete document that includes all these subjects is sometimes called the project manual. Throughout this section,
the term speci?cations is used interchangeably with project manual.

3.1 Composition of
Speci?cations
Speci?cations describe the particular requirements that are to be used to bid, contract for, build, test, start up, and guarantee an engineering project.
Typically, speci?cations include:
1. Sections that describe how a prospective bidder must prepare the bid.
2. A copy of the agreement (contract) between the owner and contractor to be executed.
3. A division called general conditions. This division describes procedures generally required to be followed during construction of all projects, including procedures to be followed by all parties; that is, the owner, engineer or architect, and contractor. A well crafted general conditions is likely to be reused many years for similar projects.
4. A division called supplemental conditions, which modi?es the general conditions to the
speci?c or special requirements of the project. Using this method to modify the general conditions ensures the integrity of the general conditions and encourages familiarity with the general conditions. Contractors can focus their attention on the supplemental conditions with con?dence when they are fully aware of the standard general conditions that were used to administer their past projects.
5. A division called technical speci?cations. This division is organized into logically arranged
sections that describe comprehensively the material, equipment, or performance of items that must be incorporated into the completed work.

This combination of requirements, together with the contract drawings and bidding docu-
ments, comprises the contract documents. When faced with the task of preparing speci?cations for an engineered project, the engineer must consider many factors, among which the most important are:
Nature of the owners business private industry or public body.
Magnitude of the project.
Estimated duration of construction period.

Does the owner require the engineer to adhere to a set of standard speci?cations, or will the engineer have a free hand in preparing the type of speci?cations?

Does the owner have an attorney who will review the legal aspects of the speci?cations?
Does the owner have an insurance advisor who will review the insurance requirements included in the speci?cations?

Does the owner have an engineering staff, such as that for a state department of transportation, which will review the speci?cations?

Also, the engineer should realize that courts of law recognize the status of contractual relations between owner and contractor as that between free and independent individuals, not as that between a principal and agent. The speci?cations must support this relationship by refraining from prescribing construction methods and exercising control over the contractors work.

After the basic conditions for a project have been established, the engineer is obligated to prepare complete contract documents for the project. The principal parts of these documents usually consist of the following:
Advertisement for bids (notice to contractors, or invitation to bid)
Information to bidders
Proposal form
Contract-agreement form
Bond forms
General provisions, or general conditions
Construction drawings
Special provisions, or special conditions
Technical speci?cations
For general guidance, forms for all but the last three are available from sponsoring agencies, such as the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee, American Consulting Engineers Council, American Institute of Architects, American Society
of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Associated General Contractors of America, Construction Speci?cations Institute, and General Services Administration. Article 3.11 is an example of a technical speci?cation prepared for a public agency having standard documents. (For a discussion of general provisions, see Art. 3.6.)

3.2 Contract Documents and
Contracting Procedures
The implementation of contracts between owners and contractors for construction work requires that the parties observe certain legal formalities. Such steps are evidenced by executedwritten documents that, together with the plans and speci?cations, constitute the contract documents. The nature and content of the contract documents vary with the
owner agency that sponsors the improvement and the procedure employed for the receipt of bids.

It is standard practice for government and other public agencies at all levels to provide for public letting of contracts for public works. In such cases, sealed bids are invited by advertising in various news media for stated periods. After bids areopened, publicly read aloud, tabulated, and evaluated, the low bidder is determined.

It is customary to issue the plans and speci?cations to prospective bidders who apply and pay stated charges. In most cases, proposals must be accompanied by a proposal guaranty in the form of either a certi?ed check or a surety bond, to ensure
that the successful bidder will enter into a contract.

If an award is made, the proposal guaranty is returned. If the low bidder fails to execute the contract, the amount of the certi?ed check will be forfeited as liquidated damages or obligations of the surety under the bond will be enforced as compensation to the owner for the cost of awarding the contract to the next lowest bidder or for the added cost of readvertising. As a general rule, proposals are acceptable from competent bidders
(evidenced by statements of experience and ?nancial responsibility submitted to the owner). Forms for these usually are included in the project manual.

Under the foregoing procedure, the contract documents generally comprise the advertisement (instruction to bidders may be either included or separately provided); proposal, properly executed; contractors progress schedule; resolution of award
of contract; executed form of contract; contract payment and performance bonds, plans and speci?cations; supplementary agreements; change orders; letters or other information, including addenda (Art. 3.2.3); and all provisions required by law to be inserted into the contract, whether actually inserted or not. All the documents con-
stitute one legal instrument.

3.2.1 Adoption of Standards by
Reference
Sometimes standard speci?cations, such as a statede partment of transportation speci?cation, are made part of the contract by reference to their title only. By this reference, the standard speci?cations effectively become a part of the contract
documents as if a copy of them were included with the contract documents. Language stipulating this should be included in the general or supplemental conditions. (See Art. 3.9.3.)

3.2.2 Noncollusion Af?davits
When required by law, a noncollusion af?davit must accompany the submission of the proposal.
This af?davit certi?es that the bid has been submitted without collusion or fraud and that no
member of the government agency or of?cer or employee of the owner is directly or indirectly interested in the bid.

3.2.3 Contract Revisions
For various reasons, revisions of the contract documents become necessary between issuance of the invitation or advertisement for proposals and the termination of the contract. Such revisions may be classi?ed as addenda, stipulations, change
orders, or supplementary agreements.

Addenda are revisions of the contract documents made during the bidding period. They mainly are concerned with changes in the contract drawings and speci?cations due to errors or omissions, with the necessity for clari?cation of parts of these
documents, as revealed by questions raised by prospective bidders, orwith changes required by the owner.An addendumis also issued to notify bidders when a bid-opening date has been postponed.

Addenda should be delivered suf?ciently in advance of the bid-opening date to permit all persons to whomcontract documents have been issued tomake the necessary adjustments in their proposals. Bidders must acknowledge receipt of all addenda; otherwise,
their bids should never be accepted.

Stipulation is a written instrument in which the successful bidder agrees, at the time of execution of the contract, to a modi?cation of the contract terms proposed by the owner.

Change order is a written order to the contractor, approved by the owner and signed by the contractor and the engineer, for a change in the work from that originally shown by the drawings and speci?cations. Usually, under a change order, the work is considered as being within the general scope of the contract. The owner, represented by the engineer, may issue the order to the contractor unilaterally, with payment provided for by contract
unit prices, negotiated price, or force account.

A change order may apply to changes affecting lump-sum work or to increases and decreases in quantities of work to be performed under the various items in a unit-price contract. The changes in quantity will be evaluated at the contract unit prices and the contract total amount adjusted accordingly. But if the total cost change amounts to
more than a speci?ed percentage, say 25%, of the total contract price, a supplementary agreement acceptable to both parties to the contract should be executed before the contractor proceeds with the affected work.

Supplementary agreement is a written agreement used for modifying work considered outside the general scope and terms of the contract or for changes in work within the scope of the contract but exceeding a stipulated percentage of the original amount of the contract. The agreement must be signed by both parties to the contract and the
written consent of the company that issued the payment and performance bonds for the project should be obtained.

3.3 Types of Contracts
Construction contracts for public works are almost always let on a competitive-bid basis. Usually, such contracts are of either of two types unit price or lump sum depending on the method of paying the contractor. Contracts for construction for private owners may be either competitive-bid or negotiated, but in either case, they generally are of
the same two types (see also Art. 4.4).

3.3.1 Unit-Price Contract
When it is not possible to delineate on the drawings the exact limits for the various items of work in the contract, the work is broken down for payment purposes into major elements with respect to the kind of work and trades involved. Each element designated as a payment item, with its number of estimated units, called estimated quantity, is listed,
in the proposal, and the bidders are required to write in a bid price for each unit. An example is the number of cubic yards of concrete to be bid at a unit price per cubic yard.

The total bid is obtained by summing the amounts, in dollars, for all items listed in the
proposal, arrived at by multiplying the estimated number of units for each itemby the corresponding unit-price bid. The total bid becomes the basis for comparison of all bids received to establish the low bid uponwhich the award of contract will bemade.

Payment to the contractor will bemade on the basis of the measured actual quantity of each item incorporated into the work, at the contract unit price (see also Art. 4.7.6).

3.3.2 Lump-Sum Contract
When it is possible to delineate accurately on the drawings the limits of work comprised in the contract, whereby the bidder can make a precise quantity survey as the basis for the bid, a lumpsum contract is employed. For such a contract, it is imperative that the drawings and speci?cations be comprehensive and show in complete detail all features and requirements of the work. Compensation to the contractor is made on the basis of the
lump-sum bid to cover all work and services required by the drawings and speci?cations (see also Art. 4.4).

3.3.3 Contract with Lump Sum and
Unit Prices
It is not unusual to combine unit and lump-sum prices in the same contract; for example, an entire structure completely detailed on the drawings will be listed in the proposal as a lump-sum item, whereas unit prices may be required for features of variable quantities, such as excavations, or lengths of bearing piles.

3.3.4 Negotiated Contract
On occasion, public-works contracts and, more often, private-works contracts, are negotiated.
These contracts may be prepared on the basis of one or more of several different payment methods.
Some of the more widely used are:
Lump sum or unit price or combination
Cost reimbursable with a ceiling price and ?xed fee
Cost reimbursable plus a ?xed fee
Cost reimbursable plus a percentage of cost
Construction-management contract
In addition, incentives may be added.
For a negotiated contract, the owner chooses a contractor recognized for dependability, experience, and skill, and in direct negotiation establishes the terms of the agreement between them and the amount of the fee to be paid. For public agencies, factors contributing to the selection of a contractor are ordinarily determined by the prequali?cation or quali?cation procedures, using questionnaires and investigation. Such questionnaires are readily adaptable for use on contracts to be negotiated by
private owners.

A negotiated lump-sum or unit-price agreement is negotiated around the engineers estimate.
A ?xed percentage for overhead and pro?t is determined and agreed to, and the labor andmaterial prices of the contractor and those of the engineers estimate are adjusted by mutual agreement.
In a cost-reimbursable agreement with a ceiling price, the contractor receives reimburse-
ment for all costs as prescribed in the agreement up to a maximum cost. The contractor receives a ?xed fee, which will not vary with the cost of the work and otherwise is negotiated similarly to the cost-plus-?xed-fee type of agreement.

The determination of the fee to be paid the contractor under a cost-plus-?xed-fee agreement, which will be fair and reasonable to both parties to the contract, requires de?nitive plans, an estimate of the construction cost, and a knowledge of the magnitude and complexities of the work, the estimated time of completion, and the amount of
work to be done under subcontracts. The terms of the contract must therefore set forth the methods for control and approval of expenditures and determination of the actual cost.

Under a cost-plus-percentage-of-cost contract, the contractors pro?t is based on a ?xed percentage of the actual cost of the work. This form is less desirable than the ?xed fee since the contractors compensation increases with increase in construction cost. This creates a situation where there would be no incentive for the contractor to
effect any economies during construction.

A construction-management agreement requires the contractor to divide the work into
segments, usually by trade. The contractor takes bids for the work from a group of subcontractors and awards thework to them. The prime contractor usually performs a certain prescribed segment of the work and coordinates the work of others. The
owner reimburses the prime contractor for all the subcontractors work and for the contractors work plus a small pro?t and pays a negotiated fee for management of the subcontracts.

In some states, public-agency projects of larger size are required to be bid by separate trades, such as general civil; mechanical; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC); and electrical. To accommodate this and to ensure proper contract management, some speci?cations have been written to require the general civil contractor to include
an item for construction contract administration of the other trades. Bids for all major trades are taken by the owner with direct assignment of the mechanical, HVAC, and electrical subcontractors to the general civil contractor. In effect, the general
civil contractor signs a construction management agreement along with an agreement for completion of the general civil work. The speci?cations require the bid of the civil contractor to include costs to account for coordination and control of the subcontractors to the same degree as if the civil contractor had taken direct bids and signed
agreements with the various trade subcontractors.

Incentive-type contracts vary. The basic premise is that the owner will pay bonuses for economic construction and earlier completion and that the contractor may have to suffer for inef?ciency and late completion.

3.3.5 Specialty Contracts
Special situations sometimes dictate a departure from the ordinary contract-letting procedure (Art. 3.2). Examples are contracts for the procurement and installation of highly specialized equipment and machinery, such as toll-collection facilities and
communication systems.

For projects in the private sector, instead of advertising publicly for bids, the owner in such
cases usually invites proposals from a selected group of contractors especially quali?ed and generally recognized as specialists in the manufacture and installation of such facilities. When competition is possible, it is so arranged. The contract documents prepared by the owners engineer in such instances are as described in Art. 3.2, with certain exceptions. Since advertisement is not used, this and related items of the documents are not included, but the contracting procedure is substantially that followed for contracts publicly
bid. Public agencies can use a modi?ed procedure that involves preparation of and public bid on a prequali?cation bid package, prepared by their engineers.
See also Art. 3.8.

3.4 Standard Speci?cations
Government agencies and many other public bodies sponsoring public works publish standard speci?cations, which establish a uniformity of administrative procedure and quality of constructed facilities, as evidenced by speci?c requirements of materials and workmanship. A sponsors standard speci?cations usually contain information for prospective bidders, general requirements governing contractual procedures and
performance of work by a contractor, and technical speci?cations covering construction of the particular work that lies within their jurisdiction. Highways, bridges, buildings, and water and sanitary works are examples of the types of improvements for which agencies may have standard speci?cations. Standard speci?cations, published periodically, may be updated in the interim by issuance of amendments, revisions, or, supplements.

So that the speci?cations for a particular contract are completely adapted to the work of
that contract, the standard speci?cations almost always require modi?cations and additions. The assembled modi?cations and additions are known as supplementary speci?cations, special provisions, or special conditions. In conjunction with the standard speci?cations, they comprise the speci?cations for the work (see also Art. 3.11).

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By : E-book Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers

2.11 Production Control
Once a project is undertaken, the work involved has to be completed regardless of time or cost. Still,the ?rm must operate within a budget so design can be performed ef?ciently. A designer does not deal with a tangible product for which the ?rm can establish a cost per unit and operate on a production line basis. Nor should the ?rm go to the extreme of establishing a control in such a manner that the cost becomes more important than the
product.

Cost control in its simplest form is a matter of bookkeeping. The ?rm should keep records of all costs relating to each project. At the end of a project, therefore, the ?rm should know the costs and income received and whether the work was done at a pro?t or loss. When a ?rm undertakes a new project similar in nature and size to one completed previously, a record is available to guide the new activities. Such cost accounting can be re?ned to varying degrees.

Also, it is well to know ones ?nancial standing as to work on hand before completion of the work since it may be years before some projects are completed. During the course of a project, the ?rm should project the costs and income based on percent completion at a particular time to determine whether they are in line. Such projections should be made periodically to gain a picture of the ?nancial condition of the ?rms operation at a
particular time.

Many engineering ?rms use computerized ?nancial control systems to monitor costs and help to manage projects. These systems allow a project manager to monitor personnel and expense costs charged to their speci?c project on a weekly or monthly basis. This allows the project manager to compare the actual cost expended to date versus the budgeted cost. If the actual costs are less than the budgeted costs, the project manager can be
assured that the project is in good ?nancial health.

However, if the actual costs exceed the budgeted costs then the project manager must determine what elements are over budget and develop a corrective action plan to bring the project back to within budget.

Cost accounting serves an additional purpose: it establishes controls during the programming of the work. These controls enable the ?rm to determine where productivity and ef?ciency need improvement before the end of the projectwhen it is too late.

A professional ?rm, like any business, is concerned with making a pro?t. Maintaining a
proper pro?t margin is essential to survival and growth. Such a pro?t margin varies with the size of a ?rm and number of principals; whether principals are on a salary, as in a corporation, or not, as in a partnership. Cost control is an important tool for helping managers ensure the required pro?t margin to keep the ?rm operating ef?ciently.
(T. G. Hicks, Standard Handbook of Consulting Engineering Practice McGraw-Hill Book
Company, New York.)

2.12 Internal Organization of a Design Firm
Basically, an engineering ?rm consists of technical departments and administrative and support staff. Figures 2.2 to 2.4 illustrate typical consulting ?rm organizations.
Technical Departments n Depending on the size of the ?rm, the technical department can be divided into divisions, such as structural, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering and architectural. These divisions can be subdivided and overlapped under the direction of a job captain, project manager, or project partner for particular projects. (In very small ?rms, many functions are performed by one individual, including the proprietor.)

There are numerous ways of organizing a technical department (see, for example, Figs. 2.2
to 2.4). The most important consideration in any organization is communication.Whenever a ?rm is formed or expanded or new departments are established, communication should be considered of prime importance. The ?ow of information between line levels should be well-de?ned.

Furthermore, there should always be one individual who acts as project manager or captain in a position to coordinate all activities whether they are only those of departments within the organization or those of outside contractors or consultants involved in the project.

Many ?rms also have a separate construction or construction-management department, which consists of the project and construction managers, resident engineers and inspectors required on a project site, and project engineers rendering ?eld consultation services and coordinating the efforts of ?eld personnel. Instead of establishing a separate department for this function, some ?rms have the project engineers for design in the various
design divisions continue in the same capacity through the construction phase; they draw on a nucleus of ?eld personnel for backup, as necessary, for on-site inspection.

Computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) offers designers multiple options and ?exibility in design organization. Designers can draft their designs at their desks, using appropriate design software, and need not rely on drafting support. Primary support functions are new business development, human resources, accounting, and
of?ce support services.

New Business Development n Professionals do not sell services directly; theymust apprise
the market of their availability. The ?rm has to prepare quali?cation data (Arts. 2.3 and 2.5), which can range from completion of standard prequali?cation forms to preparation of elaborate brochures, supplemented with extensive project descriptions and photographs. Although a new clientmaymake the initial contact and retain a design ?rm without
prior communication, a design organization cannot rely on this manner of receiving new business. As a consequence, client contact is an essential part of an organizations operation.

Client contact can be limited to impersonal contact by mail or range to active sales efforts, where an employee or principal (or even a staff if the size of the ?rm warrants it) makes personal calls on potential clients. The name of a ?rm has to be promoted continuously, which requires good public relations. Sales efforts, however, should not be a substitute for quality of service.

In the face of intense competition and the need for growth and diversity of a ?rm, the search for new markets and development of new business are vital functions.

Employee Compensation n Employers have speci?c legal obligations. They must pay
payroll taxes, such as Social Security and state unemployment and disability, and they must withhold taxes from employees earnings. These requirements result in administrative burdens involving the ?ling of forms and reports. There are insurance obligations and statutory requirements, such as workers compensation. Also, an employer has obligations mandated by federal and state laws, including labor laws affectingminimum
wages and overtime and regulations governing working conditions, equal employment, and safety.

Employers may wish to give employees the opportunity to subscribe to medical and other
forms of insurance as a group, and theymay pay all or part of the costs for other bene?ts including 401K and pension plans. In the competitive market for skilled personnel, such fringe bene?ts must be added to the basic wage.

Employers should have ?rm wage and salary policies. Besides paying a competitive wage, they must establish policies for salary reviews and increases, salary ranges for various types of positions, bonuses, and whether to include a pro?t-sharing plan. Primarily, however, employers should give employees opportunity for advancement. Also, they should give recognition for efforts on behalf of the ?rm. If employers can instill the
pride of accomplishment and profession, they will have ef?cient and happy workforces.

Accounting n To operate ef?ciently, a ?rm must be able at all times to evaluate and analyze its ?nancial position. For this, the ?rm has to maintain proper accounts. The compiling and recording of all transactions relating to the ?nancial aspects of a
business are the basic responsibility of accounting.

The recording of ?nancial transactions has to be orderly for proper interpretation, to make possible preparation of ?nancial statements and to provide information on the economic health of the business. (See also Art. 2.11.) The method or extent of bookkeeping varies
with each ?rms size and needs. Normally, the double-entry system (classi?cation of accounts into assets, liabilities, and net worth) is used. Each ?rm maintains journals and ledgers. The journal is a daily record of all transactions, debits, and credits; the ledgers carry the journal entries in speci?c accounts. Again, the number and extent of ledgers
required vary with the ?rm.

A consulting ?rm has to decide how it is going to maintain its books for tax purposes, whether on a cash or accrual basis. On a cash basis, income is recorded when cash is received and expenditures are recorded when they are made. On an accrual basis, income is reported when earned and expenditures (or debits) when incurred, regardless
of the time the cash transaction takes place. When tax considerations are signi?cant in the business operation, the choice of accounting system is of primary importance; as is evident, a ?rms cash and accrued statement at the same time could be
quite different.

Although it is poor business practice to take a particular action solely because of the tax consequences, tax considerations are important in a consulting ?rms business practice. The initial decision of which form of organization to operate under should take into account the different tax consequences on individuals, partnerships, and corporations. Depending on income, a corporation may pay a large federal income tax; in addition, its
dividends are taxed. A partnership pays no tax on its income, but the partners, who receive no salaries, are taxed as individuals on their share of the ?rms earnings. State and local taxes should also be considered when establishing and operating a design practice.

Payroll is a consulting ?rms largest expenditure. Payroll costs should be identi?ed as direct
(technical) and indirect (administrative). Records of direct costs, preferably by department, should be maintained for each project. Also, identi?able direct expenses, such as travel, subsistence, and other allowances, long-distance telephone and telegraph, and reproduction costs, should be accounted for and identi?ed as a job expense. Major indirect or overhead expenses should also be identi?able to enable management to analyze indirect costs and their relation to fees earned during a speci?ed period.

In addition to internal accounting, it is customary and advisable to have an audited ?nancial
report prepared by a certi?ed public accounting ?rm at the end of each ?scal year. For ?rms of any size and especially those not closely held (public), such certi?ed audits are essential. Also, ?rms, regardless of size or type of ownership, that work in the public sector must undergo independent and certi?ed audits.

From its inception on, an engineering ?rm is concerned with ?nances. For one thing, a consultant is not reimbursed for a ?rms services the day after they are rendered. Terms of payment depend on contract conditions. Payments may be monthly, or the ?rst payment may not be due until 25% (or another percentage) of the work has been completed. Also, the ?nal payment may not be received for a long time after all expenditures have
beenmade. This sums up to one basic need: capital.

Consulting engineers must have capital to start and operate their organizations. The source of capital may be a loan or earnings. But regardless of the source, there must be proper ?nancing to meet ?nancial obligations that cannot be deferred until accounts are paid. In particular, when interest rates are high, ?nancial management becomes a critical
aspect of all businesses, including that of a design ?rm.

Insurance n A ?rms insurance portfolio normally includes coverage for general liability,
property damage, automobile accidents, and professional (errors and omissions) liability. For design ?rms, all insurance requirements are dominated by the professional coverage. This insurance, which is written by a few insurance carriers, protects a designer fromliability resulting froma design error or omission. Because of the extensive litigation
prevalent in the construction industry, with designers being named as defendants for alleged design error or as third-party defendants, the cost of this insurance is high. (This is also true in other professions, such as medicine.) This has resulted in a need for many practitioners to reevaluate the extent of their activity, to increase their fees to cover
such costs, and, in limited instances, to forego this liability coverage.

Of?ce Support Services n The administrative staffs primary function is internal operation
of the ?rm. Personnel on the administrative staff may include an of?ce manager, secretaries, word processors, receptionist, ?le clerks, and of?ce employees. The number of employees and degrees of responsibility vary with the size of ?rm. However small the ?rm may be, the basic administrative duties have to be ful?lled: Letters have to be word processed; so do reports. Files have to be maintained, telephones answered and
messages taken, and plans reproduced. Although all the elements that constitute of?ce management are secondary to design, the primary function of the ?rm, they should not be neglected. Even with electronic communication, an unattractive letter can make a poor ?rst impression on its recipient, who may be a potential client. A ?rst impression of
a ?rmcan also bemade by the manner in which the telephone is answered. So although the
administrative duties are routine in most of?ces, they should be handled as competently as the technical work. The administrative positions should be ?lled by competent, properly trained
personnel.

In an engineering ?rm, there is a substantial amount of reproduction of plans and speci?cations and duplication of reports. The mechanics of providing the necessary reproductions is best handled by a separate department within the ?rm.Whether
the work is done on of?ce-owned equipment or sent out to a printing company is a matter of economics determined by the ?rms volume. In addition, of?ce services must encompass selection of the most economical and ef?cient of?ce systems for the ?rm. For ef?cient, economical operation, a design of?ce should be equipped at least with computers (personal or servers and workstations), plotters, high speed Internet connections, modems,
fax (telefax) machines, and copiers, in addition to the usual desks, record-storage facilities, telephones, and good illumination. Of?ce managers should be familiar with current electronic systems, innovations, and be able to judge their applicability to the ?rms needs.

2.13 Professional Societies
The role of professional societies, such as the
American Society of Civil Engineers and various associations of consulting engineers, initially was determined by their existence as organizations of individuals rather than ?rms. At ?rst these societies were concerned mainly with technical matters and very little with business affairs.

Although the medical, legal, and accounting professions each have one major society that
speaks for them, this is not the case for civil engineers, who are generally represented by the
American Society of Civil Engineers, American Consulting Engineers Council, or National Society of Professional Engineers. These societies, however, collaborate with each other on matters of common interest.

In a complex and progressive economic society, few ?rms other than industry giants have the resources to stay abreast of all the latest developments; keep informed of all current legislation, state and federal; and be aware of all administrative rules, regulations, and factors in?uencing their day-to-day activities. An association can ?ll these needs, and by serving these needs, professional associations are playing a more important
role than previously.

In prior years also, a design ?rm was on its own. It had little knowledge, if any, of the
activities of its competitors or even of its closest associates. Today a ?rm still is on its own in the competitive marketplace, but it can pool its resources in associations that represent the profession and industry. United action and sharing of information advance the interests of individual ?rms.

Activities of professional groups now include:
Legislation n Maintaining database on current legislation; representing and ?ling position papers with Congress and state legislatures on pending bills in which association members have a vital interest.

Government Relations n Liaison with various administrative agencies, federal, state,
and municipal. This area could include assistance to member ?rms interested in capitalizing on opportunities abroad.

Liaison with Industry n Maintaining contact with other organizations and establishing joint
committees to study and evaluate areas of common interest.

Publications n Initiating and distributing to members documents reporting current activities
and areas of importance and concern.

Insurance n Establishing group insurance policies (life, accident, health, and so on) to give
smallermembers advantages of larger group plans; advising member ?rms in ?elds of common concern, such as professional-liability insurance, an area of increasing concern because of numerous third-party suits against consulting engineers.

Engineering Practice n Acting as a pool and distribution center for information on the latest
technical developments and areas of interest to the profession; sponsoring continuing education programs.
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By : E-book Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers

1.6 Construction Costs
Construction cost of a project usually is a dominant design concern. One reason is that if construction cost exceeds the owners or clients construction budget, the project may be canceled. Another reason is that some costs, such as interest on the investment, which occur after completion of the project often are proportional to the initial cost.

Hence, owners usually try to keep that cost low. Designing a project to minimize construction cost, however, may not be in the owners best interests. There are many other costs the owner incurs during the anticipated life of the project that should be taken into account. For example, after a project has been completed, the owner incurs operation and maintenance costs.
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