Engineering Design: Using expertise and communication to solve problems.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: ENGINEERING

Engineering is a simple word for a huge, complex process. At its core, engineering is functional design; how will a thing be built, how will it operate, and how will it interact with the environment and people that use it? In Alaska, engineering is often associated with natural resource extraction (oil, natural gas, minerals) or public projects (roads, runways, parks, or marine infrastructure). No matter the project, there are similarities to the design process--before a shovel ever touches ground or a single board is nailed in place, Alaska's engineers are hard at work making sure that Alaska's entire infrastructure is well-built, reliable, and safe.

Engineers Don't 'Bid'

In 1972, the United States adopted the Brooks Act, also known as the Selection of Architects and Engineers statute, which requires that the US Federal Government select engineers and architects based entirely on their competency, qualifications, and experience, rather than price. Traditionally in a bidding scenario, a specific scope of work is evaluated by contractors, who then offer their best price to complete the scope of work. R&M Consultants CEO Len Story says, "We work on qualification-based selection projects pretty much exclusively. For qualifications-based [work] we put together project proposals and submit those to our clients, and they select us based on our intellectual value and our experience. There's no price involved at all. For us, the word 'bidding' is a no-go." He explains that in this way, the public gets the greatest value for their public projects. "It provides the most value to the public by getting the most qualified individual or team to do them." Story continues, "Our team is very qualified for a lot of projects, but we're not the most qualified for every project, and it's good to have that variety of individuals and expertise out there to select from."

Tom Looney, PE, is the managing principal and vice president at Coffman Engineers; he says, "[Selecting an engineer] is kind of like selecting a doctor. It's not just about the money. You need to rely on somebody who's got the experience and qualifications to get the work done the way you want it to get done, and then you talk about price." About half of Coffman's work is on private industry projects, which are not regulated by the same laws, and government or public projects make up the other half. He says, "There are times when the number one issue for a client is dollars, and we may or may not be the least expensive firm, if you look at that upfront; if you look at the overall cost of using our company for a project, because of our efficiencies and production of work, we believe that we're very competitive when you look at the total cost of using us."

Michael Baker International Anchorage Office Executive and Vice President Shawn Snisarenko, PE, says the company likes participating in qualifications-based selection "because we think we can compete with anybody." He continues that currently...