Discover the compelling advantages why you should work with an engineering consulting firm for your next project.
Industries across the board, including manufacturing, transportation, high-tech and consumer goods sectors, are tackling many critical engineering challenges. From global competition to increasingly stricter quality norms to lack of qualified engineering professionals, companies are struggling to keep up the pace.
In fact, faced with hurdles in growing their businesses, many companies are turning to engineering consulting firms to quickly access specialized skills as well as ensure projects are delivered on time and according to spec. Some businesses are also working with engineering consulting firms for employee training and to get a new perspective on a project.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should hire engineering consultants.
1. ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED SKILLS
Engineering consultant firms have a great deal of engineering knowledge and experience that simply cannot be found in one single employee. In addition, businesses are finding it difficult to recruit engineers and engineering technicians, especially in highly specialized fields, such as mechanical, electrical, software and industrial engineering. The reasons? For one, budget restraints make it impossible to hire full-time employees in a wide array of fields. Also, today’s hot job market means the competition is fierce for engineering experts.
With engineering consultants, companies can quickly tap into specific engineering skills—when needed and for as long as they may be required. Engineering consulting firms often have a proven track records in many different sectors, allowing them to share best practices that have worked with similar projects in the past.
2. CONTROLLING OVERHEAD EXPENSES
Another reason to turn to an engineering consulting firm for temporary staff and expertise needs is the fact that companies only pay for what they need, when they need it. In other words, specificity (in terms of needs and timelines) begets reduced overhead.
While project onboarding is required for engineering consultants, this greatly offsets the costs (and risks!) associated with recruiting a multitude of engineers, training them, keeping them on your payroll, and paying out benefits—even if you do not need them full time. Engineering consultants, on the other hand, only work when there is work to be done. Thanks to the flexibility of engineering firms, companies can ramp up or scale back consultants’ involvement in a project should it change in scope or timing.
3. STAFF FOR PROJECT-BASED INITIATIVES
A company’s internal teams are often already inundated with work. Yet, the competition and customers will not wait so that your employees can benefit from lulls in their workloads to start another mission-critical project.
Engineering consultants with specific skills not only complement those of in-house engineers but also fill skill gaps that may prevent a project from kicking off in the first place or cause untoward delays. Because engineering consulting firms are in business to work on third-party projects and often remunerated based on results, their responsiveness and availability tend to be very high.
4. A FRESH, OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE
Imagination and creativity can dwindle if corporate natives work together for a long period of time or are constantly involved in the same project for months on end.
Engineering consultants, who generally work for many companies and in many industries, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, sparking fresh ideas and providing innovative solutions. Furthermore, an outside professional can point out aspects of a project that employees may not have noticed or simply overlooked. They offer a valuable perspective that others, too close to a project, may not be able to.
5. KEEPING PROJECTS ON TRACK
Employee vacation periods, statutory holidays and extended business travel can wreak havoc on a project’s milestones. Engineering consultants can take over important tasks or parts of a project while internal staff members are away.
This is particularly useful for projects under tight deadlines or part of a larger endeavour that involves other third-party partners. Without the right backup, bottlenecks can generate a ripple effect that negatively impacts all stakeholders. Consultants enable businesses to mitigate these potential problems.
SHOULD YOU HIRE A CONSULTANT FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT ?
Understanding your business’ technical strengths and weaknesses is the first step in determining if you can benefit from engineering consultants. Then, scout out engineering consulting firms with the expertise, approach and experience you believe will be the best fit for your organization.
More and more companies are taking advantage from the value of engineering consulting services for product development and validations. From access to qualified experts to improved efficiency, there are many benefits to working with engineering consultants! Think you have a project that could benefit from outside expertise? Contact Creaform Engineering today.