Off all the leading professions, consulting engineers are a special breed.
They combine two different attributes and bridge two different worlds. They are the professionals of our time who need both a head and a heart for business and engineering.
It is the skillful blend of these qualities that makes consulting engineers the driving force behind so much change and innovation in the stormwater industry. The engineering sides requires exacting details and standards, with the rigorous application of both. The business side requires imagination – to explore problems, spot opportunities and find the right solution.
At SPEL Stormwater we’re privileged to work with hundreds of consulting engineers, and their contribution to every project enables us to do our job. They add enormous value far beyond the design and build process, with three call-out attributes.
Applying engineering solutions to solve problems.
Engineering knowledge and its application underpins our industry’s power to change and improve the environment. This knowledge doesn’t just ensure infrastructure works as designed, it also provides justified assurance of the final product’s performance and safety.
Making collaboration and ownership a core component
Many factors contribute to successful project engagement, but what really stands out is collaboration. Few environments require such close collaboration and coordination as a stormwater construction site. At the heart of this are the consultant engineers, working with project managers, architects, builders and contractors.Their attention to detail, ownership ownership of the outcome and recognised ‘senior position’ helps ensure an uninterrupted project flow.
The adage that ‘your network is your net worth’ is especially true for consulting engineers who build strong relationships based on their passion and central collaborative role in projects.
Managing and reducing complexity to deliver better outcomes.
Undoubtedly, some professions are better at coping with complexity than others. Engineers are clearly one of them. On any given day, a consulting engineer is juggling multiple projects while continuing to make improvements as and when they’re identified – all to a strict time schedule.
As a young engineer Herbert Hoover, later becoming the 31st president of the United States, wrote “It is a great profession. That is the engineer’s high privilege”. With one of the world’s greatest water infrastructure projects named after him, Herbert accurately represents our engineer – with a head and a heart for both business and engineering.