What does a contracting engineer do?
Contracting engineers oversee the actual construction on the ground and work in conjunction with consulting engineers. They ensure that all aspects of the construction project under their responsibility – from ground works to final finishes – are completed within cost and time constraints and to client specification.
Once plans have been drawn up and approved by the client, an engineering contractor uses their professional expertise to organise human and material resources on site, and ensure the project runs to time and budget and is safe to work on. Sometimes, contractors will put together a design and build a team themselves.
Typical tasks include turning a designer’s plans into construction reality by actually building the project, liaising and working jointly with the design team to implement refinements, making judgements and solving problems, scheduling work, providing appropriate plans for construction and ensuring quality of workmanship.