Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
scoPe oF Work
The.most.important.document.in.securing.a.consultant.is.the.scope.of.work,.which.
provides. some. guarantee. of. attaining. the. expected. outcome. when. evaluating. the.
consultant..The.scope.of.work.should.include.a.description.of.the.needs.or.project,.
the.company's.expectations,.any.unusual.challenges.for.the.consultant,.a.timeline.for.
completion.of.the.project,.the.provision.of.a.detailed.inancial.estimate.for.complet-
ing.the.project,.and.the.expected.outputs.from.the.effort.such.as.reports,.data,.results.
of.testing,.or.other.speciied.outcomes..The.methods.and.action.plan.should.be.part.
of.the.response.to.the.scope.of.work,.as.well.as.the.resources,.manpower,.and.spe-
cialized.equipment.needed.to.complete.the.requirements.of.the.scope.of.work.
The.consultant.submitting.a.proposal.for.the.scope.of.work.might.beneit.from.a.
visit.to.the.site.to.consider.the.problem.prior.to.providing.a.response.to.the.scope.of.
work..Be.careful.of.proposals.that.appear.overly.optimistic.or.overreaching,.quote.
extremely.low.bids.or.unrealistic.timelines,.contain.conlicts.of.interest.or.hard-sell.
approaches,.minimize.or.maximize.potential.technical.or.legal.problems,.or.contain.
unsound.approaches.to.solving.the.problem.
Although. a. verbal. agreement. may. seem. ine,. it. is. recommended. that. a. written.
agreement. that. spells. out. how. much. the. service. is. going. to. cost. or. the. maximum.
number.of.hours.that.the.company.will.support.be.included.in.the.signed.contract..
The. company. should. provide. a. scope. of. work. that. sets. out. the. steps. that. will. be.
followed.in.order.to.solve. the.problem..It.is.appropriate. to.include,. in.this.written.
document,.the.output.expectations.from.the.process..A.minimum.output.would.be.
a. written. report,. but. the. company. may. not. want. to. pay. for. this.. If. not,. a. verbal.
report.would.be.the.output.in.the.agreement..All.expected.outputs.should.be.part.of.
this.agreement..This.may.include.drawings,.step-by-step.procedures,.and.follow-up..
The. company. needs. to. obtain. all. the. information. required. to. solve. your. problem,.
based. on. the. consultant's. recommendations.. The. company. may. have. to. construct,.
implement,.or.redesign.equipment,.processes,.or.procedures..Unless.some.sort.of.a.
protective.clause.is.contained.within.the.agreement,.there.is.no.guarantee.that.the.
consultant's.recommendations.will.ix.the.problem..If.a.guarantee.is.desired,.expect.
to.pay.more.because.the.consultant.will.be.responsible.for.the.implementation.of.his.
or.her.recommendations.
If. the. process. of. using. a. consultant. is. to. work,. it. must. be. in. full. cooperation.
with.the.company;.thus,.the.consultant.can.fail.if.he.or.she.is.not.an.integral.part.of.
the. company's. team.. For. this. reason. it. is. important. to. provide. all. the. information.
needed..Clearly.deine.the.problem..Set.objectives..Agree.on.realistic.requirements..
Get. a. clear. and. complete. proposal. from. the. consultant.. Review. the. progress. from.
time.to.time,.and.stay.within.the.scope.of.the.problem..The.consultant.can.only.be.
as.effective.as.the.company.allows.him.or.her.to.be..The.company.must.do.its.part.to.
ensure.success..Make.sure.that.a.cost-beneit.analysis.is.performed.before.pursuing.
a.consultant..Agree.on.costs.and.fees.prior.to.starting.
The.consultant.is.not.a.friend..The.company.has.hired.him.or.her.based.on.an.eval-
uation.that.this.is.the.best.person.to.help.solve.the.problem.that.the.company.cannot.
solve,.does.not.have.time.to.solve,.or.does.not.have.the.resources.to.solve..The.con-
sultant.should.deine.the.problem,.analyze.the.problem,.and.make.recommendations.
