The Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild appreciates international expertise and open dialog, that is why we reached out to partners from various countries to learn their approaches to quality assessment and pricing of consulting engineering services.

Our British counterparts provided one of detailed responses that enables us to familiarize ourselves with the U.K. practice and compare it to the Ukrainian experience in the context of large-scale reconstruction.

The British approach is clear: they assess not only documentation but also the consulting engineer’s influence on the entire process:

• Were they able to mitigate risks?
  • Were the budget and timeline predicted realistically?
  • the decisions help avoid disputes?
  • Were the recommendations put in practice?

The remuneration depends on the project complexity, level of liability and risks. The lowest price approach is not prioritized even in public projects. The Procurement Act 2023 legislated the principle of best value, not the lowest price.

Ukraine possesses a strong base for recovery. We are currently moving toward a system where the consulting engineer’s functions are not limited to monitoring and construction supervision but it is actively involved in affecting the risks, timelines, budget, and stability of the project from commencement to completion, i.e.:

• helps mitigate financial risks;
  • ensures transparent and fair contract delivery;
  • prevents delays and unjustified expenses;
  • bears responsibility for stability and predictability of the project implementation.

Another issue is the services pricing. It often depends on the “lowest price” while the U.K. experience demonstrates that the balance of price, project’s complexity and real benefit for the outcome is more important.

ICEG is of a positive opinion of British approaches, namely:
✔ focus on long-term value instead of one-time saving;
✔ fee depends on risk and complexity level;
✔ mandatory continuing professional development;
✔ consultant’s integration in the project management system.

Simultaneously, any model needs adaptation to national conditions. Today they are large-scale recovery, international financing, higher risks, and reform of legislation.

When the consulting engineer is only limited to monitoring and oversight, it is not sufficient for effective mitigation of risks as they can grow. Instead, when it is integrated in the value management system, projects become more predictable, transparent, and sustainable.

Therefore, ICEG specialists keep analyzing foreign best practices and compare them with the Ukrainian reality. We are very grateful to our international partners for the provided responses and expertise.

This is just a beginning of a big work – we are forming a quality reconstruction system and strong future of Ukraine together. Keep up with our next publications.