How Much "Design" Responsibility May the Engineer of Record Pass on to the Contractor and Others Working Under Him or Her?
Where is the line to be drawn? Each situation is different depending on the project and the disciplines involved. There are no standards to follow. The best advice may have come from the Missouri court that ruled in the Kansas City Hyatt collapse. They made it quite clear that in matters involving engineering expertise and matters concerning why an engineer is required to have a license to practice, it is improper to delegate that responsibility to others, particularly those not licensed as engineers. If responsibility is delegated to another engineer down the line, the engineer of record should be satisfied as to his or her qualifications. Be wary of a practice that relies too heavily on delegated responsibilities.

Taking on Construction Management
There are as many variations of construction management as there are firms in the business. CM has been generally not contemplated as an assignment for the engineer. It entails a much deeper involvement in the construction process and a degree of participation in the means, methods, techniques etc. and/or safety precautions. These are not functions for which the engineer has been ordinarily trained nor are they associated with his or her license. They may also be considered beyond the protection of his or her professional liability policy. Engineers who feel they are qualified to carry out these responsibilities should give careful consideration to obtaining a special endorsement on their policy to cover these responsibilities.

Many Events Tied to the Date of Substantial Completion
Depending on the specific contract language many events are keyed to the date of substantial completion. Some are: various statutes of limitation, many guarantees, a reduction in retainage, the correction period, when the owner may occupy the project, when the owner assumes responsibility among other things for operations, safety, maintenance and security. If the owner fails to occupy the project for economic or other reasons not the fault of the designer, then that date is considered the date when the structure was capable of occupation for its intended use.

The Unquestioned Value of Site Visits
Today, structural engineers know that site visits are crucial construction phase services that help clarify and interpret the design for the contractor. More importantly, site visits are opportunities to correct construction errors, defects, and design oversights that might otherwise go undetected. Therefore, a current axiom in the profession is "more sites visits equate to fewer claims;" has been proven numerous times in hundreds of court cases. Engineering firms should develop a policy for appropriate construction phase services. Specifically, structural engineers should include adequate construction phase services as part of their scope of services to confirm that the design intent is properly executed, thereby minimizing design and construction inconsistencies.

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