I like to bake, and I think structural engineering is a lot like baking. Stay with me for this wild metaphor. Both have phases that must be completed in order, and each phase requires different tasks and a varying amount of work.
Let’s talk brownies (one of my favorite sweet treats). Once you’ve decided to bake brownies, you think through the process. Who are you baking for, and what do they like?
How much time do you have, what ingredients are on-hand and what ingredients require a grocery trip?
Those answers guide more decisions: homemade or box mix? Add-ins – none, nuts, icing, peanut butter? Then, finally, there’s a FLURRY of activity mixing + measuring.
And then it’s calm. Once the pan goes into the oven the hard work is done. Is your baking project completely out-of-sight, out-of-mind? No. You’re thinking about it, you’re checking in on it and you’re ready to make adjustments if it’s not progressing as expected. But really, your involvement is MUCH LESS than the phase before.
When it comes out of the oven, all that’s left are some finishing touches and then the brownies are ready to enjoy!. Those brownies followed the plan and they’ll dazzle the end users (aka hungry family members) all on their own.
Structural engineering:
- Follows a phased process (check)
- Starts with thoughtful reflection on who it’s for + their needs (check)
- Is front-loaded with activity (check) with less involvement on the backend (check)
- About 75% of structural engineering project work happens during the design phases, and only 25% of work occurs from the start of the bidding phase to project completion and owner occupancy
- Dazzles on its own (check)
See? We got there.
Now that we understand when the work is done, let’s chat about what value you can unleash from your structural engineer at every phase. We love to be included early so that we can make the contributions you’d expect from a true partner. By maintaining the same team throughout the project, whether we’re heavy in design or nearing completion of a project, you’re working with the person who has the background knowledge to move through challenges +/or modifications efficiently.
How design + construction professionals talk about the phases can differ a little – here’s our approach from the structural engineer point of view.
For a structural engineer, at least at Schaefer, a project could last an hour or a year.
We thrive on project diversity.
For whatever project we’re working on our goal is to understand the goals + constraints, and to bring a collaborative approach that enhances the project + its impact on the community. Playing the role of partner (with the same engineer across phases) also creates opportunities for structural engineers to find efficiencies, solve challenges and make other contributions to a project that you may not expect. Never settle for the convenience brownie when you can have the gourmet. Let’s chat about your next project (early).
