Is Your Project Too Small for an Engineer? Common Misconceptions, Part 1

If you set out to build a new industrial facility costing hundreds of millions of dollars, you would certainly have an engineering firm as part of your project team. Right? But for smaller projects at existing facilities, project managers often ask themselves if it is necessary to have an engineer involved.

The question I would encourage you to ask yourself is not, “Do I have to have an engineer to do this project?” but instead, “Can I get any value out of having an engineer involved in my project?” In this and future blogs, I explore three common misconceptions that cause project managers to lose out on the value of working with an engineer:

• Is Your Project Too Small for an Engineer?
• Can My Contractor Handle the Engineering?
• Can My Equipment Vendor Provide the Engineering?

Misconception #1: My Project Is Too Small for an Engineer 

Engineering is often viewed as an unnecessary expense on projects that are perceived as “too small” or “not complex enough” to involve an engineering firm. “Small” and/or “simple” projects often have tight budgets and the fear is getting a high paid consultant involved will just make things more complicated and expensive.

The first problem with this misconception is that it’s talking in absolute terms about something that is relative. “Too small,” “too simple,” or “too expensive” imply that there are some thresholds above or below which a decision should be obvious. But these terms – size, complexity, expensive – are all relative terms. A good engineer will discuss your project with you to understand what you need and scale their proposed scope of work accordingly, thus ensuring you receive maximum value.

Something else to consider when talking about “expensive” is the 1-10-100 rule for quality. If you are not familiar with this concept, the rule basically says if an issue costs $1 to prevent, it costs $10 to correct, and it costs $100 if the issue is not corrected and a failure results. Some descriptions go on to add that it costs $1000 in lost business due to a damaged reputation. 

The 1-10-100-1000 Rule

For years I’ve shared this same concept with my clients. It costs $1 to fix an issue on paper (in design), $10 to fix it in the shop (prior to shipment), $100 to fix it in the field (during construction), and $1000 if not corrected and you have to live with that operational deficiency for an extended period of time. Having a trusted engineer involved helps make sure as many issues as possible are identified and resolved as early as possible (at the lowest cost), no matter the size or complexity of the project.

SIDE NOTE:  Generally speaking, $5000 will get you about a week’s worth of an engineer’s time. For a small project, 40 engineering hours can go a long way to help identify issues and work out details, resulting in a quicker installation with minimal rework and less down time. How much does one hour of down time cost your facility?

Sometimes a few drawings, simple letter specifications, or a brief scope of work document is all it takes to prevent a compromised installation or a delayed start up. Not all engineers believe they get paid by the pound for their deliverables!

A Few Words About Price and Value

Consulting engineers are often perceived as being expensive, particularly when specialized skills or experience are required. That may make engineering services seem like a significant upfront expense. However, engineering frequently represents a relatively small portion of total project costs compared to equipment, materials, and construction.

If you consider the full life cycle of a project, including operation and maintenance, the initial engineering investment becomes an even smaller part of the overall cost. Yet the decisions made during engineering can have a lasting impact on how efficiently, safely, and reliably the facility or equipment operates.

When you consider how much influence that relatively small investment can have on the long-term performance and value of a project, engineering starts to look like a tremendous bargain!

Continue Reading the Series

In Part 2: Can My Contractor Handle the Engineering?, explore why relying on a contractor to fill engineering gaps can create unexpected costs and project risks.

You can also read Part 3: Can My Equipment Vendor Provide the Engineering?, which looks at the limitations of vendor-provided engineering and the importance of coordinating the complete project.

Additional Resource

For a closer look at these common misconceptions and how they can affect project costs, download our white paper,

3 Misconceptions That Are Costing You Money.

About the Author

Chris Giusto is National Director of Combustible Dust Safety at Hallam-ICS and has over 20 years of mechanical and process engineering experience in a variety of industries. He’s spent nearly his entire career working with combustible dust hazards and designing NFPA-compliant equipment and systems. With additional expertise in dust collection system evaluation and design, he and his team bring a comprehensive approach to practical solutions for improving safety and meeting NFPA requirements.

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About Hallam-ICS

Hallam-ICS is an engineering and automation company that designs MEP systems for facilities and plants, engineers control and automation solutions, and ensures safety and regulatory compliance through arc flash studies, commissioning, and validation. Our offices are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, North Carolina, Texas and California and our projects take us world-wide.