Assume for the moment that your community needs to accomplish a
“project”; say it is a road, water/sewer plant or lines, master plan,
watershed study, industrial park, or some other capital project.
You need a consulting firm to perform the tasks to successfully
accomplish the project. How,
then, do you hire the engineer? It’s
simple: select the most
qualified engineering firm and negotiate a complete scope of work and a
fair fee. Simple, huh?
Does it require effort? Yes. But
isn’t the success of your project worth it?
If the project doesn’t matter then the qualification of the
engineer doesn’t matter. For projects that matter, the generally accepted process to
select an engineer is referred to as Qualifications-Based Selection, or QBS.
Qualifications-Based Selection means you consider a variety of competing engineering
firms, rank them in the order of qualifications, and negotiate a scope/fee
with the top ranked firm. QBS is required by the federal government in the selection of
design professionals under provisions of the Brooks Law.
The American Public Works Association, which is primarily composed
of public sector officials, endorses QBS and recommends its use in
professional services procurements. The
American Bar Association endorses QBS in their model procurement code.
State agencies endorse QBS (including, DOT, Board of Regents, EPD,
DCA, and Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission).
Both GMA and ACCG have endorsed QBS in procuring professional
services. As you may suspect,
all of the professional societies support QBS.
In
some communities, a city may have an ongoing relationship with an
engineer. If the engineer has
a unique understanding of a particular facility or, for example a
water/sewer system, it is sensible to continue in that relationship.
These relationships are like those with the City Attorney, for
example; you do not go hire a new attorney whenever a new legal issue
arises (while you may if there is a complex issue requiring special
expertise).
QBS
involves a few basic steps:
-
Advertise
the need for an engineer and invite statements of qualifications or
project proposals.
-
Use
a panel (say 3-5 people) to evaluate the qualifications and select 3-5
firms for an interview.
-
On
a single day, interview the short-listed firms for 30-45 minutes to
get a better understanding of their qualifications and the people
assigned to your project. Allow
time for questions and listen carefully to answers.
-
Immediately
after the interview, discuss the merits of the firms and rank them in
order of qualifications.
-
Meet
with the top ranked firm to negotiate the terms of a contract,
including scope of work and fee.
You should devote considerable time to understanding the scope
of work – be sure you know what you want and make sure it is in the
scope of work.
-
If
unable to reach agreement with the top ranked firm, terminate
negotiations in writing and begin negotiations with the second ranked
firm. This gives the community a powerful tool in the negotiations.
What
is not part of QBS? QBS is
not a simple request for a lump sum fee for an ill-defined project.
QBS is not a request for a technical proposal and a lump sum
fee proposal. Why not?
Once price is introduced into the proposal evaluation,
qualifications are frequently discarded and selection is on the basis of
cheap fee. If fee is
considered prior to negotiations with the best-qualified firm, respondents
frequently will reduce the scope of work or use the least experienced and
lowest paid staff to execute the minimum scope of work.
Quality is driven out, and the ultimate goal – a successful
project – is jeopardized.
Time
and again, QBS has proved to be the method that has the highest likelihood
of leading to a successful project. If
you don’t care about a successful project, it doesn’t matter.
If you want a project that is successful and serves your community
effectively for the long term use QBS in selecting your consulting
engineering firm.
(Contact
ACEC/G for materials to assist with QBS at 404-521-2324 or contact Tom
Leslie.)
