gwynn
Structural
- Aug 26, 2007
- 233
This is an issue I run into all of the time, and it always drives me crazy (apologies if parts sound like a rant).
As I've said a few times elsewhere on the forums, roughly half of my time is spent on construction engineering. One of the biggest features of construction engineering is the timeline. Many projects come in within a week of the engineering completion date, some the same day (it's not uncommon to receive sketches of what has been built for approval). In short, time is of the essence.
So, why is it that when we say upfront that we require all of the pertinent information (design drawings, soil reports, hydrological reports etc. - and we specify what we need) that we end up with an unscaled sketch of what the contractor wants to do? Document control.
When I have left four phone messages and sent three emails telling someone I cannot complete the design because I require the rest of the drawings, I expect to receive the drawings not angry phone calls asking me why the project hasn't been finished.
Now don't get me wrong, some clients are great. I'll get everything from design drawings down to the mill certificates up front if I suggest I may need them. Along with a statement listing thier expected needs, what methods they would like to use, what materials and equipment are in thier yard etc. But the way some companies and project managers hoard all information as if thier life depends on it makes everyone's lives more difficult.
I have tried explaining up front what is needed, laying out extra times and costs for not receiving the information soon enough and pointing out how these did happen on previous projects (among other things), but I still get a poorly drawn sketch with little basis in reality from some.
Any ideas on how I can get some of the information misers to hand over thier precious drawinga and reports?
As I've said a few times elsewhere on the forums, roughly half of my time is spent on construction engineering. One of the biggest features of construction engineering is the timeline. Many projects come in within a week of the engineering completion date, some the same day (it's not uncommon to receive sketches of what has been built for approval). In short, time is of the essence.
So, why is it that when we say upfront that we require all of the pertinent information (design drawings, soil reports, hydrological reports etc. - and we specify what we need) that we end up with an unscaled sketch of what the contractor wants to do? Document control.
When I have left four phone messages and sent three emails telling someone I cannot complete the design because I require the rest of the drawings, I expect to receive the drawings not angry phone calls asking me why the project hasn't been finished.
Now don't get me wrong, some clients are great. I'll get everything from design drawings down to the mill certificates up front if I suggest I may need them. Along with a statement listing thier expected needs, what methods they would like to use, what materials and equipment are in thier yard etc. But the way some companies and project managers hoard all information as if thier life depends on it makes everyone's lives more difficult.
I have tried explaining up front what is needed, laying out extra times and costs for not receiving the information soon enough and pointing out how these did happen on previous projects (among other things), but I still get a poorly drawn sketch with little basis in reality from some.
Any ideas on how I can get some of the information misers to hand over thier precious drawinga and reports?