How You Know When You Need to Hire a Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Firm

Knowing when or how to hire an engineering firm can be tricky the first time around. Asking these questions below can be very helpful to begin your journey. Most engineering firms are open to preliminary discussions, also know as discovery calls. You can begin the discussion by asking yourself and prospective firms these questions.

What is an engineering firm?
An engineering firm is an organization which includes multiple engineers who can be hired for specific projects or kept on retainer. The organization will often include project managers, sales, and general business administration.

Engineering firms generally have specialties which can vary substantially. High-level fields include but are not limited to:

- Civil Engineering – structures and infrastructure
- Mechanical Engineering – mechanical components and systems, machines
- Electrical Engineering – circuits and software
- Chemical Engineering – chemical production and refining

Within the high-level categories an engineering firm will generally have a very specific specialty. For example, among mechanical engineering firms, one may specialize in the system design of heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and plumbing for buildings. Another might specialize in the design of consumer equipment such as lawn mowers. It will always benefit the client to hire an engineering firm that already specializes in their needs. We will learn more below when we discuss how to hire an engineering firm.

Who uses an engineering firm?

Individuals and business alike may hire an engineering firm.

Examples of individuals who might hire an engineering firm:

Entrepreneurs who need help designing a new idea
Homeowners interested in making structural changes to their home

Examples of businesses who would hire an engineering firm:

Manufacturers who either do not have an internal New Product Development team, or have more projects than their team can support

Businesses who do not have manufacturing capabilities but do have a need to develop a new solution for their operating needs

Municipalities who are maintaining or upgrading their infrastructure

When is the right time to hire an engineering firm?

Examples of when a business should hire an engineering firm:

A new project is outside of the expertise of the internal engineering group
We find that businesses often try out their internal resources first. If they do not specialize in the area of need, they may eat up valuable time and dollars when compared to an engineering firm who specializes in the project needs.

The engineering group is under resourced and has a growing back log
Sometimes a businesses needs exceed its current engineering capacity. If a business needs to scale up the engineering team quickly, an engineering firm may be a good fit.

A new product development project is underway but the internal group’s focus is on manufacturing issues. Often businesses have engineering departments, but no one specifically assigned to new product development. The team members of the project will often get pulled off to put out the fires of daily operations. If the business is committed to the project, hiring an engineering firm who can focus exclusively on the objectives will prove more effective and less expensive.


Why should I hire an engineering firm?

Focus
An engineering firm will often have focus that your internal resources simply cannot. The day-to-day meetings, committees, and operations often pull focus from a specific project. An engineering firm will have none of the external draws on resources.

Expertise
An engineering firm that specializes in precisely the type of project at hand will yield the best results. Years of experience and a good process will allow the firm to produce higher quality work for what will likely turn out to be the same or less expense as compared to keeping a project internal.

Staff Hiring
An engineering firm can be hired by the project, by the hour, or by any number of arrangements. There does not have to be a commitment like hiring a new employee, and you do not pay when they not working directly on the project. Hiring an engineering firm gives you the ability to quickly scale your engineering team up, then back down again.

Team
There are many great freelance engineers. These are individuals who sell their engineering services. They can often come at a less expensive price by the hour since their overhead is generally lower. There are some situations where this is acceptable. Alternatively, a firm will have a team. Multiple engineers can discuss and overcome challenges effectively. They can review each other’s work to avoid costly mistakes. Likewise, engineering firms may have multiple disciplines such as mechanical and electrical engineers on staff, or prototyping capabilities. Strong engineering firms may also have a project manager and other resources which help keep projects running successfully on time and on budget.

How do I hire and engineering firm?

Project Scope
The first step of an engineering firm engagement will be a meeting to understand you, and your needs. Only at this point will a firm be able to tell if they can do this project, how much it will cost, and when the work can be completed. Going to your first meeting with an engineering firm with a strong summary that outlines project needs will be very helpful for both the client and the firm. This will also help to understand which type of engineering firm is needed.

Find a firm that specializes in your area of need
With a project summery in hand, one can start by asking around, or performing a Google search. At this point you are looking to build a list of potential engineering firms who already have experience tackling your needs.

Shop multiple engineering firms
Discuss your needs with 2-3 engineering firms. Most firms will engage you for a discovery call to learn about your needs. This will help you to get a sense of which firms have the capabilities you need, which will be more costly, and which just make you feel better.

Protect your intellectual property
We recommend executing a Non-disclosure agreement with each engineering firm prior to disclosing any proprietary details. The firm should have their own standard document for you to review.

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There is no time like the present when it comes to discussing your project needs with an engineering firm. Most firms will be open to provide a free discovery call. Even if you are not sure if you are ready, you would be surprised by what you might learn. By taking advantage of this opportunity, you can learn what information you should have prepared, what a firm’s capabilities are, and what their availability might be.