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Fees for Peer Review?

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rtpnd

rtpnd

Structural
Jan 19, 2007
9
I'm putting a proposal together for a structural peer review, and am not quite sure how to set my fees. If I was the structural engineer of record, I would likely charge about 3/4% of the total construction cost.

But since I'm not the structural engineer of record, I know my time requirements will be down significantly, as I do not have to produce drawings, do not take on the overall project liability, and will run only a percentage of the calculations I normally would (i.e. check the design of 25-50% of beams and columns, etc.). I'm basically checking for code compliance and constructability issues.

Does anyone have experience in determining fees for a structural peer review?

Thanks!

 
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It's not structural but I do drawing checking.

Very rough rule of thumb is that checking the drawing will take 10-20% as long as creating it in the first place.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
 
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10% of the original design fee is what I have seen people charge in Australia, I have never been involved with it in the US. It is pretty easy to blow that fee if you are not really efficient.

I would agree with kennats range as anything more than 20% of the original design would definately be too much.
 
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Why not just charge an hourly rate? so you don't get stuck with a case where you have to review multiple iterations for a fixed fee.
 
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The scope and the purpose of peer review is necessary before putting any numbers to the table. Who is paying for the peer review?

Is the peer review for code compliance only? constructibility? or specialty items such as base isolators. Is it for the entire contract document or primary structure (gravity/lateral) only?

I agree with about 10% for the whole 9 yards. Less if the scope is reduced.
 
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$1000.00 per pound of material to review.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
 
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do you put it on a scale before you review it?
 
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How can you charge 10% of the design fee if you did not do the design, do not know the design fee, and (even if you did know the design fee) how would you know if the design fee is correct? Hourly sounds like the way to go.
 
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My vote is for hourly I guess.

I charge my officemates $5 to peer review one of their details. Then we go for margaritas.

 
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PEinc,

If the design engineer put in a fixed quotation I think you will have a hard time convincing the client that you couldnt do the same for a peer review. After all one assumes that you would have all the information in front of you as opposed to many design projects that are often in flux.

You can figure out what you would have quoted to design the job and then get 10% of that, divide this by your hourly rate to check that you have given yourself a reasonable timeframe.
 
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PEInc, as csd72 says, estimate how long it would have taken you to do the drawing/pack and estimate 10% of that.

This is real ball park and will depend on a lot of other factors.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
 
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"You can figure out what you would have quoted to design the job and then get 10% of that..."

"This is real ball park and will depend on a lot of other factors."

Sounds like a lot of guessing to me, not to mention time spent guesstimating the initial design cost. I'd do it on an hourly basis.
 
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PEinc,

Welcome to the world of fee quoting, it is always an educated guess, the trick is to err on the side of profit.
 
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PEinc, many places won't accept hourly, they want a total $.

The balancing act between erring on caution and trying to be competitive is challenging.

Once you've done it a few times you get better.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
 
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Find out how much the money source is willing to spend and limit the scope of peer review that you can perform within that budget.

KENAT hit the nail on the head about the balancing act. If you are "guaranteed" this work, err on the side of reasonable profit.
 
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csd72 & KENAT,

I provide lump sum prices for design all the time. However, I determine the scope and finely define the scope of my work in my proposal. If I had someone else's design calcs, I'm sure I could give a lump sum price. If I don't have their calcs, I would lean toward an hourly rate for an unknown scope.
 
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PEinc,

I see what you mean, if they designed every nut and bolt then you have to check every nut and bolt.
 
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rtpnd,

Just out of curiosity, what type of project is it that a peer review is required?? and who mandates that there should be a peer review??
 
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