Impact of discounted professional fees on the risk exposure of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorOkonkwo, P. N.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWium, J.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-11T12:13:03Z
dc.date.available2019-10-11T12:13:03Z
dc.date.issued2018-03
dc.descriptionCITATION: Okonkwo, P. N. & Wium, J. 2018. Impact of discounted professional fees on the risk exposure of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africa. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 60(1):10-20, doi:10.17159/2309-8775/2018/v60n1a2.
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: The abolition of mandatory fee scales and the prevalence of lowest-cost bidding for the procurement of consulting services in South Africa have seen engineering services consultants compete based on price for engineering contracts. Discounts benchmarked against ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) professional fees guidelines demanded by clients have resulted in declines in professional fees over the years. The capacity to deliver professional services that are of such high quality that it meets the client's expectation, professional and ethical standards when working at low fees is one of the biggest challenges facing consulting professionals today. This research studied the risks encountered by civil and structural engineering services consultants and the impact of discounted professional fees on their risk exposure. The study included a review of literature, discussions with practising engineers and a questionnaire survey of 23 practising consulting engineers representing small, medium and large consulting engineering firms. A key finding of this study is that discounted fees accentuate several project level risks and create organisational level risks for the consulting engineering professional. The implications of these are discussed, and recommendations for improving the industry put forward.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1021-20192018000100002
dc.description.versionPublisher's version
dc.format.extent11 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationOkonkwo, P. N. & Wium, J. 2018. Impact of discounted professional fees on the risk exposure of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africa. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 60(1):10-20, doi:10.17159/2309-8775/2018/v60n1a2
dc.identifier.issn2309-8775 (online)
dc.identifier.issn1021-2019 (print)
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.17159/2309-8775/2018/v60n1a2
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106629
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherSouth African Institution of Civil Engineering
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain copyright
dc.subjectConsulting engineeren_ZA
dc.subjectEngineering firms -- Procurementen_ZA
dc.subjectFees, Professionalen_ZA
dc.titleImpact of discounted professional fees on the risk exposure of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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