THE SELECTION OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING

I. BASIS FOR SELECTION

Factors that should be considered in the selection process are:

1. The professional and ethical reputation of the Civil Engineer and his staff as determined
by inquiries to their previous clients and other references.
2. Responsible civil engineer and its employee and must be registered professional civil
engineer.
3. CE should be have demonstrated qualifications and expertise, performing the services
required for the project.
4. CE 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.
5. The CE should have the necessary financial and business resources to accomplish the
assignment and provide continuing service.

II. CLIENT’S SELECTION COMMITTEE, QBS PROCEDURE (1-3)

Client's selection committee

Within the client's organization there should be an established administrative policy for
designating the person authorized to select or recommend selection of civil engineers for specific
assignment.

There should be 3 or more individuals in a selection committee with at least 1 of them is

professional engineer of the appropriate discipline. The final selection is then based upon the
recommendation of the selection committee.

Qualification Based Selection (QBS) Procedure

Is a procurement method used in various industries, particularly in engineering,

architecture, and consulting services. QBS focuses on selecting contractors or service providers
based on their qualifications, expertise, and experience rather than solely on the lowest bid. This
approach aims to ensure that the selected professionals or firms are well-suited for the project
and have the necessary skills to deliver a high-quality outcome.

Client's usual steps for QBS Procedure.

1. By invitation or public notice. Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposal
(RFP), Then create a shortlist for selecting a CE for the project.
2. Preparation of a budget for the staff time and cost that can be expected from potential CE prior
to the receipt of the RFQ's or RFP's Client's usual steps for QBS Procedure.

3. Evaluation of the statement of qualifications received.

4. Correspondence with the chosen engineers.

A. Describe the project in detail including:

 Scope of the project

 Services required

B. Proposal for the engineer to describe:

 Plan for managing

 Plan for performing the required services
 Assigned personnel
 Proposed schedule
 Experience with similar projects
 Office location where services will be performed
 Financial standing
 Present workload
 References
 Each civil engineer or firm should be given the opportunity to visit the site, review data
and obtain clarification of any required items.
 For complex projects, a pre-proposal conference might be beneficial.

5. Interview and discussion.

6. Check with recent clients of each engineer about the performance of services.

7. List the engineers of preference.

8. The best qualified engineer is invited to develop a detailed scope.

9. The engineer's proposed compensation should be taken into account.

10. If negotiations fail, inform the first civil engineer or firm through writing about termination
of negotiation and then proceed to the second engineer.

11. When an agreement (scope, schedule, compensation) has been reached, a written contract is
finalized.
 III. SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR ‘LEVEL OF EFFORT’ CONTRACTS

A "level of effort" contract for engineering services supplements a client's staff by extending
existing capabilities or adding specialized disciplines. Under the QSB procedures, the contract
outlines services, specialist requirements, and estimated hours. Qualified firms submit proposals
detailing their experience and specialist backgrounds. The client selects proposals based on
experience qualifications and negotiates agreements.

Bidding

Professional engineering and architectural societies, recognize QBS as the preferred

method for the procurement of professional services. The NEDA Guidelines require the
procurement of professional engineering and architectural services only by a process like that
described in the “Qualifications-Based Selection Procedure”, above.

Qualifications and resources, including training, professional licensing experience, skills,

capabilities, special expertise personnel, and workloads, are paramount 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 cost and
should be subordinate to professional qualifications and experience.

Bidding for consulting civil engineering services often leads to unsatisfactory outcomes for
clients due to several reasons:

1. Bidding overlooks the importance of professional judgment, which is essential for

quality engineering services. Professional judgment distinguishes services from
simple product delivery.
2. Defining the full scope of services upfront, especially during initial project phases, is
challenging. Bidding firms often propose minimal effort to remain competitive,
resulting in services that may not fully meet the client's needs.
3. Firms selected based on the lowest bid may provide only the basic services required
to fulfill the client's scope, neglecting in-depth studies and analysis necessary for
quality outcomes.
4. Limited flexibility and creativity in meeting client requirements are common among
consulting civil engineers chosen through bidding processes.
5. Engineering designs produced through bidding tend to lack completeness, with details
often left to the contractor. While this may lower initial costs, it can lead to increased
expenses during construction due to change orders and contractor claims later on.

For these reasons, bidding for professional services is not recommended.

Two-Envelope System

The two-envelope system is a method employed to select engineers or engineering firms for
projects based on both technical merit and cost considerations. In this system, engineers or firms
submit proposals in two separate envelopes: one containing technical details and the other
containing pricing information. The technical proposal outlines the approach, methodology,
qualifications, and experience of the engineer or firm, allowing the client to assess their
suitability for the project based on expertise and past performance.

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
the basis for the negotiation of contractual scope and fees. The second envelopes submitted by
the unsuccessful proposers are returned unopened.

If the client follows this procedure, the net effect is as outlined in the “Qualifications-Based
selection procedure”, provided that the client and the best-qualified consulting Civil Engineer
have an extensive discussion to reach a full agreement on the scope of services. This allows the
client to utilize the knowledge and experience of consulting Civil Engineering establishing the
scope of services. Upon the agreement of scope, the price of services should be negotiated to
reflect changes from the original scope used for obtaining proposals.

If both envelopes of all 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 established to confirm 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

recommended QBS procedure except that the added cost to prepare a comprehensive scope and
price discourages some consulting Civil Engineers from participating to be firms not selected,
which increases the overall business costs of consulting Civil Engineering and ultimately of the
clients.