ABSTRACT
Fee bidding however remains the UK consulting engineer's biggest bone of contention and threat. The construction industry has absorbed 30% increases in labour and material costs with a nominal increase in project costs. Competitive fee bidding is widespread and with fees based on project costs, the end result is fee income some 60% of what ideally it should be. The consequences are potentially stark for R & D, training, investment in technology and recruitment of the calibre of engineer required. This applies in particular to the more specialised items of construction such as containment structures.
