Don Short made this blog post on ENR.  We surely have some opinions in 
B-P.

This is a link to the blog post on ENR:
http://enr.construction.com/opinions/blogs/short.asp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=832ab0f3-0236-467c-ab87-123aaea314c2&plckPostId=Blog%3a832ab0f3-0236-467c-ab87-123aaea314c2Post%3a4a78cd7e-2fb4-425b-b594-4aba21f60dba&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Be sure to read the comments below the post.

<<I just finished with a meeting at my local chapter of ASPE. Prior to 
it getting started one of our members remarked on how he was designing 
a project for an engineering firm. I asked if this was free or a paying 
job.

He remarked the payoff would be him getting the job at bid time since 
he was developing the specifications based upon his equipment.

This is not an isolated instance and it occurs on more projects than 
most people would believe.

The suppliers are writing the specifications that give them a 
preference or sole source at bid time.  And guess what, the architects 
and engineers are oblivious to this because they do not know what it 
takes to design the work properly!

Not only are they clueless as to what has been done, but the architects 
and engineers are costing their clients money due to the sole sourcing. 
  It is a sad state of the industry when the architects and engineers 
can’t even subcontract the work to another architect or engineer that 
does know how to design the work.

Oh, by the way…This same member would rather do the “free” design and 
take his chances than bid on a project where the architect or engineer 
did a “cut and paste” job to put something together that was out of 
date or unworkable.>>



Steve Stokowski

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