INTRODUCTION
Large consultants
cannot hope to compete with small specialist consultants that
operate, in such areas as providing footing construction reports
(FCR), and site classification. The primary reason is that these
consultants have clients with large workloads. That is taking FCR's
as an example, the consultants have builders of pre-designed
(market/spec). homes for clients. Whilst the buildings themselves do
not need designing, the footings need to be designed specifically for
the chosen site. Such footing design is relatively simple and highly
repetitive. Thus once you have designed one footing, designing
another is simply a matter of reviewing and selecting a previous
design. Most of the design is thus reduced to a matter of obtaining
soil bore-logs, and classifying the site. Once the site is classified
the footing and slab sizes can be obtained from tables derived from
prior designs. There is no need for mysterious "black boxes"
like CORD and SLOG, the problem solver is just a simple look up
table.
Thus it is possible
to improve the convenience and speed of service delivery by providing
the service on-line over the Internet. By so doing the market place
expands to the world, constraints of local standards is largely
nonsense, most national standards are based on international
standards, or standards of countries where research is conducted,
namely America, Britain, Germany and Europe. The main restraint to an
international market is language and local by-laws. Local by-laws are
also a constraint to both developing state and national markets. Such
variances however can be addressed as the need arises, and the
potential for expanded markets develops. A web site that caters for
multiple design standards will allow local designers to compare
variations in the results and better question why the codes are
different.
THE WEBSITE
The web site should be set up and
presented in such a manner that it encourages and promotes the use of
engineering services, for both simple and especially complex
projects. Simple projects are completed by clients themselves over
the Internet, complex projects require person to person discussions
with engineers.
The value of the website is that it
assists to promote the idea that engineers do not sell time,
but that they sell responsibility for risk : insurance. The
other value is that it provides engineers the opportunity to
demonstrate that they can provide more economical solutions,
than those that come from comparative designs. However no one is
going to pay an engineer $1000 to save a $1000 worth of concrete. In
short computer programs force engineers to demonstrate their value to
the community above and beyond that of crunching numbers.
The website needs to take an individual
through the various steps required for producing a report suitable
for building approval. Thus the following steps may be shown:
- Order soil bore-logs
- Enter bore-logs data
- Classify Site
- Footing Construction Report
To get to this point a client will have
to log on and provide details about themselves and the project, they
will then be allocated a project/client reference number.
Irrespective of whether the client continues with the service at
this point, the consultant will have obtained information about the
client and the impending project. Thus information will be available
for public relations and market research purposes. Thus the client
can be contacted personally if the consultant considers it to be of
benefit to both parties.
If the client makes use of the services
then they can pay for the services using either BPAY or a credit
card.
Not all services provided however will
have a fee.
If the client has bore-log data then
they can select to enter the bore log data into a web based database.
It is the client/project number that keeps this data private to the
client, a password may also be employed. Once such data is entered
they can then select to classify the site. The site classification
will then recommend whether an engineer needs to be contacted in
person, or whether the FCR's can be obtained on-line. If not
available on-line then the client can e-mail for further assistance,
details of the project coming from the on-line database.
If they do not have bore-logs then
these can be ordered from the web-site, this results in an e-mail
going to the consultants who then forward the request to their
preferred suppliers. The supplier once they have obtained the
bore-logs, enters the bore-log data on-line into the database. Once
this is done the client is advised of the bore-logs being available
to complete, site classification and FCR requirements. The client
gains access to their specific project using their project/client
number and passwords.
THE MARKET
Clients are not just restricted to
project owners, they can extend to builders, architects, students and
other consultants. Graduates who are familiar with the web-site
become preferred choice as future employees. Builders can get their
solutions quickly, and get on with building. Architects can dream as
much as they like, at a price, and compare variations, and seek
engineering input to provide more economical solutions.
Other consulting engineers can exploit
the web site, to demonstrate that they can produce more economical
solutions. But more importantly they can use the software to produce
their own designs efficiently and economically. Thus the provider of
such a web site earns income from just about every footing that is
designed.
All the time that a client is on-line,
they are being made aware of other scientific and engineering
services that are available and which can benefit them. Thus they do
not have to wait until government regulations require them to seek
engineering services for building approval. They become aware that
engineers can provide benefit at other times as well.
All calculations and reports completed
on-line should have some disclaimer to the effect:
That
the calculations have been completed, without a structural engineer
having viewed any design drawings, and that it is therefore the
clients responsibility to have the design checked by a suitably
qualified registered engineer, prior to seeking building approval. Or
alternatively to get the designed checked and privately certified at
the same time.
Since the
certification needs to be by an independent party, the web-site can
provide links and recommendations of certifiers.
THE FUTURE
If consulting engineers can make such
sites available, then so can experienced designers with other
qualifications along with computer scientists. But more importantly
so can government regulators. Why would a person seeking building
approval log onto a consulting engineers web site, when they can log
onto a local authorities web site and obtain design and building
approval for one low fee ?
One reason is that the consulting
engineers can be in the market place first, and with private
certification there is little need to go to council. Secondly the
consultants are more likely to produce more economical designs.
Thirdly optimisation of government services would eventually
eliminate local council web sites and provide one national web site
for building approval ensuring uniformity of application of building
codes across the nation, council employees are not going to start
that "ball rolling".
But most importantly is, if the
software is written with proper data validation and error checking
procedures, and is user friendly, and specific to given product types
then the software itself can be certified by regulators.
Once the software is certified, the task of regulators is to ensure
that the certified design calculations and the intended construction
are compatible. This is where consultants remain employed. They are
employed to check compatibility of design calculations and other
design documentation, and provide for the variations, plus they can
provide construction/manufacturing and general project management
services above and beyond number crunching. [The author has
experience of fabricators who submit standard design calculations and
sketches of sheds to council, without any project specific
documentation. Then build a shed that bares no relationship to the
submission. They then have to pay for calculations to prove that what
has been built is structurally adequate, which is a far more
difficult task than design.]
Engineering advise provided on-line,
over the Internet is also easier to charge a fee for, and get paid
for, than that provided over the telephone or in person. That
information provided for a fee however as to compete against that
which is provided free of charge. Thus information provided for a fee
needs to be superior and of greater value than that provided for
free.
The
successful producer of an article sells it for more than it cost him
to make, and that's profit. But the customer buys it only because it
is worth more to him than he pays for it, and that's his profit. No
one can long make a profit producing anything unless the customer
makes a profit using it. [Samuel B. Pettengill]
