Why Hire an Engineering Consultant? Top 5 Benefits

Facility engineering consulting is a great option to consider for small-to-medium sized manufacturing facilities. Whether or not the facility chooses to support an on-site engineering team, the addition of experienced consultants can add a nonbiased but experienced third party opinion on a range of topics including process improvement, quality control, maintenance and estimating. The top 5 benefits of using an engineering consultant include flexibility, risk reduction, collaboration, expertise and innovation.

1. Flexibility

From a budget standpoint, hiring an engineer consultant makes sense due to the flexible nature of the business arrangement. With flexible agreements, consultants can be used on an ad hoc, as needed basis as opposed to permanent business arrangements. The flexibility offered by consulting teams also vary by schedule and by project, with the capacity for extra hours and flexible schedules to meet strict deadlines due to the availability of a team as opposed an individual. Last minute projects can be completed with more urgency.

2. Risk Reduction

There is less risk and upfront expense to hire a consulting firm than a full-time employee. The average upfront cost of hiring a full-time employee is $4,129 with around 42 days to fill the position, plus training. In contrast, a consulting firm can begin immediately upon contract execution with little to no upfront cost. Using a consulting firm therefore has the potential to save time as well as resources that stretch beyond the result of the engineering project.

3. Collaboration

The skill of hiring a team as opposed to hiring an individual engineer is invaluable. An engineering consulting firm will bring a team of experts to your project to study, design, and improve workflow processes and plant layouts. Consultants will utilize specific members of a team with expertise to match the needs of the project and facility.

4. Expertise

Engineering consultants bring expertise from a variety of industries, facility sizes and project scopes. This background knowledge and experience can be of assistance in every phase from pre-planning to expansion. The benefit of having experienced a wide range of problems – as well as finding solutions to those problems – can be a great source of knowledge and expertise.

5. Innovation

Engineering consultants are autonomous and non-biased when it comes to giving recommendations for improvement. Enlisting the assistance of an outside consulting team can bring invaluable creativity and innovation to any project.

Sources:

How to Decide if You Need an Engineering Consultant (rgbsi.com)

6 Reasons Why Companies Should Hire Engineering Consulting Services (campbellcorp.net)

Top Reasons to Hire Manufacturing Engineering Consulting Services (sphinxworldbiz.com)

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