Riad AlhammoudProject management| LanganAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Dears,
Do you think that it is an ethical / acceptable process if you have a weak contractor in engineering, so your/ consultant's structural engineer proposed to assist the contractor claiming that it is for the project interest but contractually that is contractor's duty.
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Do not think it is unethical per se. It could be considered respectful, responsible, honest and fair, depending on the specific situation.
Agree that it might blur contractual responsibilities and as such be not advisable - this is legal and not ethical concern.
In an agile mindset it seems to be an acceptable or even preferred behavior, a contractor can then be seen as part of the team that has jointly to deliver a product. Would be good if the contract reflects this behavior (e.g. we strive to work in a collaborative way).
Even if not agile, but siloed, the best contractor still might have skill and knowledge gaps (as they are outsiders) and require an adaption/onboarding/coaching phase to perform according to expectations. Saving Changes...
Alok PriyadarshiProject Manager| Tata Consulting Engineers LimitedJamshedpur, Jharkhand, India
Interesting question Riad!!
Our friends has already given answers to your questions. Only thing I add here that such kind of change in responsibility should be addressed properly and need documentation. Sometimes it is difficult to do so but it will definitely help you at end. Saving Changes...
The contractor should make a suggestion to modify the design. You present them to the designer for acceptance. That is the way It is done here.
For responsibility of the engineer, I believe it is not clear.
You should check all insurance. In case of error, what is cover by the contractor insurance or designer insurance, in case of join design error? Saving Changes...
Murthy KotiSenior Project Manager| Zeta GlobalHyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Dear Riad,
Selecting a weak contractor itself looks like having an issue at the time of initial selection. I agree with Collins that the consultant cannot assist and again inspect the contractor's work. It is unethical to assist the contractor. Saving Changes...
MARK A ANNUNZIATA, SrVP/EXPERT CONSULTANCY TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY| ROMAN STRUCTURES, INC WELLINGTON FLDammam, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
Riad/All-
You propose an interesting question, obviously from the point of view of someone other than the Project Manager.
As the Project Manager (Construction) it is your job to:
1) Supervise and oversee the Detailed Engineering and Design (as opposed to the Front End Engineering and Design supplied by the RFP) and examine the work product closely for coordination among trades, coordination within plans, and constructability.
2) The Construction PM "signs off" on all the Engineering, Design, Product Submittals for the Project. He is the "OPC" for this reason: he is the Gatekeeper for his Project.
3) If the PM discovers some weak engineer/engineering data coming to his Project, (unlike what you are told in the PMBOK- Constructors don't have time for "additional Training, etc") It thenPM responsibility to eliminate the bad data or Engineer, and Recruit or Hire a Professional replacement. I have been in this position many times. I received flawed data regarding Major connections on a High Rise Project supplied by my Company. The Solution I chose was to recruit a REAL structural Engineer for my Team. He soon discovered the flaw. We easily (and Cheaply) converted concrete supports to structural steel supports- avoiding the possibility of building collapse under high wind loads.
The only conflict of interest I see in your example is doing nothing. As a PM a failure to correct Bad Engineering would be unethical, morally wrong, and unthinkable in my world.
It all depends on the relationship of the parties. If the engineer is the designer of record (he/she produced the design) and are under contract with the owner of the project, then no - they can not contractually or ethically work directly for the contractor. However, there are alternative contract and project delivery methods where the designers and engineers work directly with the contractor. A design-build project is one example, the designers and engineers work directly for the contractor and they as a time produce the design and the construction. There are other project delivery methods (CM/GC or CMAR) where the owner, designers/engineers and contractors work as a team. It all comes down to the contractual relationship. Saving Changes...
