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Consulting engineers are appointed by their clients for various reasons. These include the planning, design, development and construction of engineering products, such as buildings or a communication system. When deciding on whom to appoint, CESA (2003b: 2) noted that a client will take note of the names of consulting engineers who

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have been involved in the design of similar projects and who have been recommended by other clients. This implies that clients’ appointments are based on consulting

engineers’ expertise in a specific field of engineering as well as their ability to perform. CESA’s (2003a) observation was supported by Glückler and Armbrüster’s (1976) discussion on experienced-based trust relationships between client and consultant, where clients will tend to transact with trusted consultants. Experience-based trust relationships could be why Gralewska-Vickery (1976: 266) found that consulting engineers need to sustain their relationships with their clients to ensure the continued use of their services through the renewal of work relations in a new engineering project. In their guidelines on client-consulting engineer relationship, Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) (2003a: 1) noted that each prospective project and prospective client have certain unique characteristics. CESA (2003a) also indicated that different clients, or even the same client at a different time, may have different priorities and objectives with respect to specific projects. Therefore, consulting engineers and their clients enter into a contractual agreement prior to the onset of an engineering project. The contractual agreement then enables the engineers to adopt an appropriate frame of mind so that they can apply their knowledge and skills to effectively meet the client’s needs and priorities (CESA: 2003a: 2).

The following discussion will focus on the service delivery requirements of engineering projects and some of the other factors that were identified in the literature. These factors include the geographic location of the project and consulting engineers’ temporary relationships with their clients’ organisations.

4.4.1.1 Service delivery requirements

To enable them to complete a task successfully, consulting engineers need to reach a full and clear understanding of what the client wants. CESA’s (2003b) discussion on the contractual agreement between clients and engineers mentioned that such agreements are set for “each stage of the project”. This implies that a consulting engineer may not necessarily be appointed for the full project, and could only join the project team at a later stage of the project. Evidence in this regard was reported by Du Preez (2008: 179-

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227), where the responding engineers in her study were not involved in all stages of the projects they reported on.

In the discussion on contextual boundaries in section 4.3, three parameters were highlighted within which consultants need to work. Two of these parameters relate to the project time frame and budget. The effect that cost and time have on engineers’ information behaviour was discussed in section 3.4.2.1. In that discussion, as well as the discussion on contractual agreements (section 4.3.1.2), it was indicated that time was a “scarce” resource which was managed as part of the client’s budget. The finding in Du Preez’s (2008: 332) study on the information seeking and needs of consulting engineers endorses this point. She found that consulting engineers did not have the time available to seek for new information and that they regarded the time spent to seek for information as time that was lost to complete the task. Du Preez’s (2008) finding endorses Byström and Järvelin’s (1995: 196) findings when they point out that situational factors, such as time, affect individuals’ interpretation of their information needs. Situational factors, such as the “situation of action”, as it was shown by Savolainen (2012) and discussed by Julien and Michels (2004: 552), are temporal factors that determine the timeframe in which information is needed. Furthermore, as demonstrated by Westbrook (2008: 245), information needs are temporarily sensitive and undergo changes as the individual proceeds from one situation to another. This implies that the specific situation in which consulting engineers need information will determine the information source that is selected and the amount of information that is required to provide in the specific information need.

According to CESA (2003a: 3) there is another contractual agreement which is linked to the agreed time frame and budget agreements. This parameter relates to the “level of effort” that should be expended by consulting engineers at each stage of their projects. The agreed level of effort determines how much time the consulting engineer needs to expend on the project. This includes the time that is required to seek for new

information. Du Preez (2008) also found that consulting engineers confirmed not having the time available to seek for new information. Although none of the previous

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have addressed the effect the “level of effort” requirement has on engineers’ information behaviour, Anderson et al. (2001: 148) and Gerstberger and Allen (1968) reported on engineers’ information behaviour, which they interpreted as being consistent with “Zipf’s principle of least effort”. They found that, according to this principle, where information users seek to minimise the total work that must be expended, engineers tend to rely on oral communication for the transfer of information. Ward (2001: 169) also reported that consulting engineers tend to value informal contacts with colleagues when they

experience time pressures.

When considering CESA’s (2003a: 4) discussion on the responsibilities and liabilities of the consulting engineer, it seems as if the “level of effort” requirement also requires consulting engineers to have some legal knowledge. In their discussion CESA (2003a) advises consulting engineers to ensure that their contracts for engineering services are carefully drawn up and that the scope of services and responsibilities are described in detail. Du Preez (2008: 291) reported on the importance of having a mentor who was “clued up on contract documents” and assisted a consulting engineer when she had to draw up contract documents.

The effect that time and budget have on engineers’ information behaviour was

discussed in Chapter 3, sections 3.3.5.2 and 3.7.1.1. It was indicated that engineers will only spend time reading if the information obtained is of value to their work. It was also reported that time and cost affect engineers’ selection of information sources as well as their perception of the availability and accessibility of the required information.

4.4.1.2 Geographic location of the project

A second contextual aspect of an engineering project that could shape consulting engineers’ information behaviour is the geographic location of the project. For example, Du Preez (2008: 318) reported that the geographic location of an engineering project could affect consulting engineers’ selection of information sources. She reported that different geographic locations determined the use of specific codes of practice, as well as the means that were used to communicate project-related information to team members. For example, the responding consulting engineers in Du Preez’s (2008)

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study, who were managing projects in distant locations, relied more on faxes and digital photographs to communicate and receive site-related information than those engineers reporting on a local project. These findings are supported by Su and Contractor (2011: 1258) and Su, Huang and Contractor (2010: 591) when they reported that face-to-face communication with team members is difficult when consultants are required to travel. The discussion on engineering projects highlighted some elements that could shape the information behaviour of consulting engineers. The first two project-related elements derive from the personal dimension of consulting engineers. That is their subject knowledge and expertise, as well as their ability to perform. The other project-related elements derive from the consulting context. These are the contractual agreements that are signed with clients, the set parameters for the project (i.e. time frame, budget and level of effort). These parameters determine the amount of time the consulting

engineers will spend reading and seeking for new information. Lastly the geographic location of the project affects consulting engineers’ source selection and the preferred means of communication on a project.