Who needs site-structural engineering?
Site-structural problems have to potential to impact a variety of stakeholders who may be part of the design and construction team or third parties. As a result, multiple types of stakeholders can benefit from site-structural engineering services:
- Owners and Developers: Owners and developers face substantial financial risks when undertaking an urban construction project. Site-structural problems are a large source of these risks. Therefore, managing these risks through site-structural engineering can provide a large return on investment by reducing both the cost and risk associated with construction.
- Design Professionals: Begining as early as feasibility studies, or at least the geotechnical exploration, opportunities will arise during the design process to manage site-structural risk. Most architects and engineers do not have expertise in site-structural engineering, particularly the facets related to construction methods and temporary works. Bringing a site-structural specialist onto the design team can allow these opportunities to control cost and reduce risk to be exploited.
- Contractors: The detailed design and implementation of site-structural measures are typically assigned to the general contractor or specialty contractors. The scope of site-structural engineering for complex urban projects can exceed the in-house engineering capabilities of most contractors.
- Abutters: Owner and tenants of adjacent properties can benefit by retaining site-structural specialists to help them manage risk from adjacent construction.