BUT given a choice going for the consultant with the lowest hourly rate can be a big mistake, in all probability they will take much longer to complete the task than a consultant charging more per hour. It's much safer to award fixed price contracts to consultants, payable only on SATISFACTORY completion. Be cautious, much like software vendors, consultants may promise the earth but be unable to deliver, ask for references, CV's or to view their previous work etc.....
I'm surprised there's much of a market in FEA consultancy, most people do it inhouse as it's the only way to get good quality and improved processes. After all, most of the real expense is getting the supporting test data and using it to validate the model. It's in the consultant's interest to do the acceptable bare minimum amount of correlation, whereas internally the Test group will be doing everything in their power to make sure that the FE guys use that expensive data properly (guess which side of the fence I've been on for most of my life).
Coupled with the problem that you need the answer NOW, and the consultant lacks the same sense of urgency, I wouldn't mind betting most external FEA projects leave a slightly bitter taste.
I agree, the productivity of a good FEA guy can easily be 4 times that of an average one, and the bad ones are just a black hole.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
John
Agreed, although I believe the consultancy divisions of some of the major FE software houses work on £70-£80/hour.
Greg
I have also been on both sides of the fence. The good guys who can be 4 times as productive could also be consultants. Some may even value their reputation and want to show that they can produce fast accurate and cost effective solutions, and not just do the bare minimum.
I think if you view the consultant as a commodity you will probably find one with the lowest rates and just get the bare minimum. FEA that is wrong is worthless no matter how low the rate. I'd rather pay more and get it right first time.
I agree with most of what has been said however your question asked Contract rate in the title and Consultant in the text. These two are really different animals! a contractor is more likely to be willing to work along side you and not just give you what they think you want. Also the rate for a contractor(£40-50) is less than a full Consultant firm(£70-80ish) and usually the result is better in my experience.
