We all know by now that the increase in machine control use and its widespread acceptance has impacted the land surveying industry.  But what impact has machine control had, if any, on the engineering profession?  Are engineers being affected by the increase in machine control use?  The short answer is yes.

Machine control is not causing engineers to lose a major source of revenue, like it is with land surveying, but it is definitely effecting the engineering profession.  The advantages of machine control are apparent to those involved, including owners and developers.  They are starting to understand that utilizing machine control can save a lot of time, effort and therefore money.  They are also starting to realize the advantages of utilizing engineers that design in 3D. 

Many owners have figured out that if the engineers are designing projects in 3D, rather than using the typical 2D design process, there are many advantages.  Not only does this method allow the engineer to easily manipulate the design to try different variations to find the most cost effective design, it also allows the 3D information to be used during the bidding phase and for construction purposes. 

If a project is designed in 3D and the engineers produce a 3D surface model during the design process, they can let contractors know during the bidding phase that the model will be available for use during construction.  This gives the owners the advantage because they are now getting competitive prices from companies that effectively utilize machine control. 

Advanced owners are even offering to provide CAD files and 3D surface models during the bidding process to help contactors determine more accurate quantities.  If the engineer has already created the existing ground surface and the finish grade 3D surface model, why wouldn’t an owner want to make these available for the contractors to use during the bidding phase?  When contractors have more accurate estimates on their quantities, there are fewer unknowns in the bidding phase, and the contractors can generally make their bids more competitive.  It only makes sense from the owner’s point of view that they would want to hire engineers that utilize and design in 3D. 

As owners and developers are learning the advantages of designing in 3D, it will force many engineering companies to look at the 3D design process and to provide 3D information as a deliverable.  Engineers will still have to produce 2D paper plans for review, but owners and contractors will require the 3D deliverables to help save money on the construction phase. 

As 3D designs become a part of the bidding and construction process, engineering companies will be required to review projects from a constructability standpoint.  No longer will they just put out a set of plans that allows the owner to receive all their permits, the design will have to be constructible.  Fortunately for the engineering firms, most of the 3D design software is designed to allow for easy design changes that automatically update all the variables which make it easy to test various iterations of the design and produce more accurate cut fill balances and better designs.  It will also allow the engineers to easily review the projects to see if they are truly constructible. 

In theory, educated owners are willing to pay for more design time and design iterations, knowing that in the end, they will get a better cost for construction of the project.  Many progressive construction companies already do this.  They will take a set of design plans and have a value engineering analysis done on the project and find ways to reduce their costs through better design.  In most cases, the contractors spend their own time and money on producing a better design iteration and then selling the idea back to the owner.  The contractor will usually be able so save money on the more constructible design and in return they offer a portion of the savings back to owner. 

Why wouldn’t the owner be willing to spend more money on engineering if they know it will save them money in construction costs down the road?  In reality what is happening is that owners are trying to minimize their costs from the beginning of the project and they unknowingly start cutting costs during the design process, when they should be taking advantage of engineers and utilizing the 3D design process to save them money in the long run.

In reality, the utilization of machine control has caused a somewhat “backward effect” on construction and the engineering design process.  In the past, a good design would produce competitive bids and in return saved money during the construction phase of a project. 

Now, as the costs of construction skyrocket, contractors are looking for more efficient ways of constructing projects and in many cases they are redesigning projects in order to reduce the cost of construction.  As contractors find ways of saving money by value engineering a project they are actually proving to owners that spending more time and money on the design process can save significant money on construction. 

As more owners and developers realize that they can save significant money by spending more time and energy on the design, they are looking to engineers to produce better and more efficient designs during the design phase.  As part of this, they are also looking to use the design directly in their machine control equipment.  If an owner or contractor can take the design and easily convert it to machine control format, the design not only has value as a design, but is has increased value because it can be used as a tool in the next phase. 

The widespread acceptance of machine control has changed the way projects are now constructed.  Now machine control is changing the way projects are designed.  If engineers and design firms are looking to stay in the design market, they are going to have to change and adapt, just as land surveyors had to do in order to stay involved.

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