A new attitude

That's the message from the UK construction industry's largest client, the National Health Service. Harsh? Maybe. However, it's not the first time it's been said.

Clients don't know what they don't know, so how can they ask for the most effective solutions? Often a fan coil system is specified because the client has 'used it on previous projects'. Hang on. Wasn't the engineer supposed to design the best ventilation and cooling system? Are engineers struck dumb when faced with clients? Are we training our people to nod first, and ask questions later?

It is difficult to work out why this is so. Services engineers have been asking for a place at the top table for years, and it’s finally happening. Clients realise how much good services can contribute to the project’s bottom line, and to the performance of their building. So why aren’t we taking this opportunity to speak out for sustainability, efficiency, or lean construction?

Perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong with the way services consultants are paid. Linking remuneration to how big a plant room you can design doesn't seem quite right in the new, sustainable and co-operative world of construction. And it's not exactly going to inspire clients to view engineers as 'consultants'. It's like PriceWaterhouse charging for their management consultancy based on the amount of extra paperwork they can create in your organisation.

Some consultancy firms are changing this by asking for payment assessed up front and based on their contribution to the project. In the US there are experiments in fees based on the amount of energy saved by smart services design. That's more like it – a fee system which says to clients 'we have confidence in our own skills'.

So perhaps showing leadership to clients doesn't simply mean pointing out better methods. It means standing up for better engineering and being prepared to make fundamental changes in the way engineers work.

Karen Fletcher, Editor