Running an architectural firm requires a range of domain experts as permanent employees.

Permanent Employees:

– Hiring and Retaining Talent: Recruiting, managing, and retaining the right talent is a complex challenge.

– Performance Management: Evaluating efficiency, ensuring quality, meeting deadlines, and maintaining follow-ups are intricate tasks.

– Job Security: Ensuring job continuity can be problematic, as employees may resist changes that affect their positions.

– Productivity Issues: Employee productivity often declines over time, while their demands tend to increase.

Impact on Management:

– Resource Allocation: A significant amount of top management’s time is spent dealing with employee issues rather than focusing on client management.

– Consequences: This shift in focus can lead to various losses, including financial costs, diminished quality, damaged reputation, and overall disruption to business operations.

• Architects often struggle with MEPF (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection) design due to their primary background in civil engineering. Given the complexity of MEPF engineering, architects typically collaborate with specialized MEPF consultants.
• Managing an MEPF consulting firm is also challenging. Most MEPF firms are owner-managed, with the owner’s expertise often limited to a single area such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, or fire safety. As a result, these firms either hire permanent employees with expertise in each domain or outsource parts of the work.
• MEPF firms might face financial constraints that can affect their operations. Equipment suppliers may exploit these weaknesses by offering free design services or commissions to promote their brands.
• In the absence of domain experts, MEPF firms might reuse old designs and documents for new tenders, expecting system integrators to make necessary adjustments to fit site conditions.
• Commercial arrangements with clients often stipulate that the MEPF firm’s fee is a percentage of the final contract value, typically between 2% and 5%. To maximize their fee, firms may specify more expensive brands and materials than necessary or overload devices and equipment.
• Overall, achieving genuine output from MEPF consultants can be challenging. To address these issues, many architectural or owner firms now employ peer review consultants and cost consultants.

• Cost consultants are appointed because they often have extensive experience working with MEPF architects and consultants. They understand both the direct and indirect revenue models of these consultants and recognize patterns that can affect project costs.
• Cost consultants know what to review and how to conduct these reviews effectively. They help ensure that MEPF consultants reduce costs to a reasonable level without compromising the project’s objectives and requirements.
• When MEPF consultants are aware that a cost consultant is involved in verifying costs, they are more likely to consider cost efficiency in their designs.