The roles of engineering consultants in the southern African power sector .
Date
2014-08-25
Authors
Moodley, Dinesh Pithambaram.
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Historically, a main theme behind the roles of engineering consultants has been
the constant adaptation to the progressive requirements of their clients. It
therefore stands that the roles of engineering consultants require constant reevaluation
to ensure that they are up to date with clients’ needs today. This study,
based in the context of southern African power systems, aims to identify and
evaluate the key roles required from engineering consultants. An online and paper
survey was presented to clients, of engineering consultants, to evaluate the extent
to which they have; currently, and intend to use, the services of engineering
consultants in key roles. The study statistically compared the current and intended
uses of 22 roles using the technique of depended t-tests and non-parametric
related tests. These tests revealed statistically significant positive differences
between the current and intended uses of consultants in all roles, each of which
indicated greater intended future use. The study found that while the traditional
roles, like specialist ability and accountability, were not being threatened, roles
which were considered new to the field were growing at a higher rate. In addition,
while clients indicated higher overall use of consultants in future, public sector
clients revealed higher use than private clients. In summary, advisory and
technical roles remain key for clients in the short term, however, staff issues such
as retention and training are growing concerns for clients which need to be
addressed by consultants. The trend reveals engineering consultants requiring the
establishment of a more holistic, customer oriented approach to serving client
needs.
Description
MBA 2013
Keywords
Consulting engineers, Energy industries .