Scale Fees & the Rise Of Computers

Was the abolition of the ACE ‘Scale Fees’ the catalyst for the use of modern design technology for Structural Engineers?

In comparison with the origins of the profession, it would appear that the least experienced, and often unqualified engineers, are undertaking designs utilising computer software to solve complex problems leaving the more experienced engineer to manage the business aspects of the company. 

With the Governments’ initiative to introduce Building Information Modeling (BIM) throughout the industry, are the days of the Chartered Engineer numbered?

Creative destruction, sometimes known as Schumpeter's Gale, describes the way in which new economic development arises from the diminution of some prior economic order by a reconfiguration of previous beliefs and systems. In 1987, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) banned the use of the ‘Scale Fees’ after they ruled they were uncompetitive and did not reflect that computers and information technology made engineers more competitive. The consequence of introducing competitive fee bidding is estimated to have reduced the average consultancy fee by approximately 50%. Subsequently, in order to stay competitive and provide ‘added value’, there has been a need to provide a service at a competitive cost but without compromise to the underlying philosophy of the industry Institute's charters.

In the modern design office, there is a move by some, away from the experienced, senior engineer undertaking designs with this role now being carried out by a technician with computer software. Modern computer programs with their graphical interface and powerful analysis abilities allow a simple interface in which to ‘model’ buildings and the environment allowing easier ‘access’ by less qualified employees.The subsequent reduction in the overhead costs of salaries has reintroduced a monetary based competitive advantage as opposed to technical competence.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London and received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as:

‘the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns.’

Much discussion is undertaken within the industry’s’ journals and forums over concerns regarding the improper use of computers and in particular their use by inexperienced staff with a recurring theme being “a good computer program does not make a good engineer, only a good engineer should use a good computer program”.

Should engineers protect themselves from the belief that computers are the replacement of ACE Scale fees in respect of economical benefits?