• Technical competence;
  
• managerial ability;
  
• experience on similar projects;
  
• qualified personnel available for the project's duration;
  
• proven performance;
  
• financial stability;
  
• location and/or local knowledge; and
  
• professional independence and integrity.
  

QBS is a proven process for retaining the services of a consulting engineering firm. First, it involves selecting the best consulting engineering firm using a set of qualitative criteria and second, negotiating a fair engineering fee directly related to the scope of services required.

CENS recommends the following procedures for the appointment of a Consulting Engineer firm:


A. Direct Appointment

Many clients, through experience, develop a long-term quality business relationship with one, or more Consulting Engineering firms. Under these circumstances CENS recommends direct appointment of the Client's preferred firm based on known qualifications. The following action steps are recommend:

1. Interview the candidate Consulting Engineer to confirm qualifications, availability of personnel and to discuss the scope of the project and the services required; and

2. Directly appoint the Consulting Engineering firm who the Client has determined is best suited for the project.


B. Formal Selection Process

Where an established working relationship does not exist, clients many wish to assess the capabilities of a number of firms before making a selection. In this case; recommends the following process:

1. Identify a number of candidate firms; use SEARCH mechanism in this website to select qualified N.S. Firms.

2. Request confirmation from those identified of their interest in the project and an outline of their capability to provide the required services.

3. Verify references to confirm past performance.

4. Select a short list of 2-4 firms for further evaluation.

5. Interview or obtain written proposals from each of the short-listed candidates to further examine their qualifications, meet project team members and discuss the scope of the project and the services required.

6. Evaluate and rank the candidate firms the Client feels best suited for the project.

7. Select the highest ranked firm and negotiate the final scope of services, level of effort, and a fair fee and contract. If primary negotiations are unsuccessful, begin negotiations with the second ranked Consulting Engineering firm. When an acceptable contract has been negotiated, notify the other candidates.