What is a Construction Consultant?
Construction Consultants come in many forms and typically offer their services regarding a particular specialty in the contracting industry. A very experienced contractor may call on a consultant in the construction of a radiology lab at a new hospital or to assist in estimating cost and scheduling for a project outside his particular area of expertise.
I have consulted with architects and design professionals dealing with new concrete structures being built in a harsh climate where a more than normal corrosion environment exist. In such a case steps are taken to provide for monitoring equipment, wiring, anodes, rectifiers and a host of other specialized items to be included and installed in the normal construction process. As the structure ages, special monitoring equipment installed will alert engineers to corrosion cell activity on the steel reinforcing in the concrete. This allows for a small amount of Direct Current to be applied to the concrete which will stop corrosion cell formation and add service life to a structure that would otherwise require repair and see a reduction in useful life without this protection.
As the construction industry responds to new techniques and innovative designs including LEED Credits Construction (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) the demand for construction consultants will continue to rise. Only the very large construction companies are able to have all disciplines on staff and even then a specialty job would probably be well served to use a consultant for High tech specialty work. In most cases the Architect, Structural Engineer or a design-build group will recognize the need for a consultant early on and bring that person on board long before the construction specification is ever written. Often a consultants recommendations are included in a specification and provisions are made for that consultant to become involved in actual construction, training of install personnel and testing of a system or product as the construction takes place years later. http://www.StableCrete.com
A construction consultant is someone who is hired to assess and advise on structural issues. These consultants are experts in construction, with a degree in engineering or a related field. They usually have several years of experience in construction, and are familiar with all aspects of the construction trade. Most work for consulting firms, but they may also work for legal firms, government agencies, or as individual contractors. Construction consultants do many different things. Some assist companies with administration tasks; they make sure everything is running smoothly, and on time, so that the site owner and managers can concentrate on other business matters. A construction consultant may be hired to keep a project running on budget, and handle any problems that may appear. This may also mean working as an in-between for the owner of the site and the construction crew. Project planning is another job that a construction consultant firm may be hired to do. The company would assis
