The Coolidge examiner., 1930-09-12
COMPETITIVE BIDDING AMONG ENGINEERS

Of late there has been an increasing tendency on the
part of municipal officials the country call for
competitive bids for engineering services contemplated
public Improvement work., says Charles Ulrich engi
and lawyer edtorialy in the August issue of Pro-
fessional Engineer, just published.
"The latest CALI continues Mr.. Ulrich, for such
petitive bidding from Phoenix, Arizona. 1t may
however, be said to the credit of Phoenix engineers that
they not only dscountenanced such the part
of the city officials but also succeeded in convincing them
of the unfarness and Indebtedness procedure
with result we informed that the city officials will
select engineering firm contemplated and
pay the usual fee charged by such firm for its engineering
services.
Competitive bidding for engineering services involves
the ethics of the profession Ethics in its broad
stitues code of professional obligations 1t the moral
foundation of the profession lays down the professional
rules of conduct only between engineers but also
between engineers and their clients and between en-
g1neers and the general public.
SIN competitive bidding for engineering services on
public improvement work. all three of aforesaid parties
concerned Strictly speaking the principle of compet
tive bidding possible only under specification that tine
bidding capable of definite The extent of
engineering services rendered any project depends
largely the training experience, judgment initiative
and foresight of the individual engineer. AS eng
have these qualifications to the degree their
subject specification capable defn
ite measurement under competitive bidding Competitive
bidding under these circumstances Immediately the
question of the ethical status of the bidder toward his fell
low engineers his prospective client the interest the
general public.
when engineer enters into competitive bidding for
engineering services is almost evidence that he is
going bid less than the usual fee charged by him for the
service in question: otherwise he would probably not
the competition for he knows that the engineer submit
ting the lowest bid is most likely get the work The
minute he reduces his fee he undermining the fee sched
ue of his fellow engineers Furthermore, he knows that
he cannot afford to give the degree of his
client under the fee bid that he would were he getting
his usual fee for the work Consequently his client will
be the loser The harm does stop here reaches
out to the general public The public indirectly most
vitality interested in the type of engineer selected for public
Improvement work 1t must through taxation raise the
funds required to finance the improvement is
FORE interested in seeing that the Improvement work is
done in the best and most economical If such
Improvement work is not properly engineered due
lack of proper compensation for the necessary engineering
services the public will be the loser From no angle can
where competitive bidding for engineering services
is ethical the part of the engineer entering into such
competition fair the general public interested in the
improvement to be done.
W is refreshing indeed to know that the Arizona engi-
have not yet N to repudate the moral and pro-
fessiona obligations they assumed entering profess
sion of engineering