SELECTION OF

CIVIL ENGINEER
BASIS FOR SELECTION

1. Professional and ethical reputation of Civil Engineer and his staff

2. Registration as a Professional Civil Engineer
3. Conformance to qualification, expertise
4. Ability to assign qualified engineering staff in charge for the project.
5. Financial capacity and business resources to accomplish the service.
CLIENT’S SELECTION COMMITTEE

• Persons appointed should be familiar with the project requirements.

• Utilize a selection committee of three or more individuals, at least one of whom is a
professional engineer of appropriate discipline.
• Responsible for making recommendations, conducting appropriate investigations, interviews
and inquiries.
QUALIFICATIONS-BASED SELECTION
(QBS) PROCEDURE
• Usual steps in selection procedure:

1. By invitation or by public notice, state the general nature of the project, service required
and request statement of qualification (RFQ), Request for proposals (RFP) and experience
from the CE
2. Prepare a budget for the staff time and cost expected from potential CE
3. Evaluate the statement of qualifications. Select at least three CE or firms that may appear to
be best qualified for the project.
QUALIFICATIONS-BASED SELECTION
(QBS) PROCEDURE
4. Write a letter to each CE or selected to further consideration describing the proposed project in
details, including project scope, outline of services etc. For major or complex projects a pre-proposal
conference may be held.

5. On receipt of proposals, invite the CE or firms to meet individually with selected committee for
interviews and discussions of the desired end result of the project.

6. Check recent clients of each CE or firm to determine the quality of their performance.

7. List the CE or firms in order of preference, taking into account their approach and understanding
of the project, reputation, experience, financial standing etc.
QUALIFICATIONS-BASED SELECTION
(QBS) PROCEDURE
8. Invite the CE considered to be the best qualified to develop detailed scope. Schedules, negotiation of
compensation for services.

9. Compensation proposed by the CE should be evaluated based on client’s experience and budget estimate

10. If satisfactory agreement is not reach with the first CE, negotiations should be terminated and the CE or firm
be notified in writing. Similar negotiations should be held to the next CE or firms

11. When agreement has been reached on scope, schedule, the client and selected CE should formalize their
agreement.
REASONS WHY BIDDING MAY PRODUCE
UNSATISFACTORY RESULTS TO THE
CLIENT
1. Bidding does not recognize professional judgment.
2. It is virtually impossible to completely detail in advance the scope of services required for an
engineering project. The resulting service performed is likely to be tailored to fit the minimal
requirements of the bid document and will not necessarily suit the client’s needs
3. The consulting CE selected by lowest bid will often provide only the minimum services
necessary to satisfy the client’s scope of services.
4. The consulting CE’s ability to be flexible and creative in meeting the client’s requirements is
severely limited.
5. The engineering designs are likely to be minimal in completeness with the details left to
contractor. The lack of design-details also can and frequently does, lead to greater number of
change orders during construction and to contractor claims at a later date.
TWO-ENVELOPE SYSTEM

• Involves submission of technical proposal in one envelope and price proposal in a second
envelope.
• The client evaluates the technical proposals and selects the best qualified CE based on
proposal.
• The client then opens the price proposal submitted in the second envelope and uses this as
basis for negotiation of contractual scope and fees. The second envelopes submitted by the
unsuccessful proposers are returned unopened.