Purchasing a set of pole-building plans (and/or hiring an engineer) is one of the most important decisions a customer can make. The success of any pole building project is made possible by the qualifications and professionalism of a seasoned engineer.

Many people when they seek out plans (or an engineer) for their pole building, seek out the lowest cost for this service, however, this can be counter-productive when looking at the entire scope of the project. You need to look at the overall picture at what the engineering firm is actually providing for you. Bear with me while I explain.

You, the customer, are best served by seeking out a qulified engineer or engineering firm for your pole building project; this is called a QBS (qualification based selection) process.

The qualification criteria for selecting and engineer generally include:

  • Technical competence
  • Experience on similar projects
  • Qualified personnel available for the project’s duration
  • Proven performance
  • Professional integrity

Qualification Based Selection is a proven process for retaining the services of a engineering firm for your pole building.

Let’s look at an example.

A customer has the vision of a pole-building he wants to build, but wants to find pole building plans (and/or hire an engineer) based only on the lowest fee amount. You might say, “This is how many products and services are purchased, why not use this same approach for purchasing my pole building plans (or hiring an engineer)?“.

Well, let’s look at that approach. How would an engineer lower his fees to compete on the basis of lowest fee? Since Time is Money – that engineer would reduce the amount of hours spent on your project.

Here is what some companies (and/or engineers) typically do to meet that kind of “lowest fee” qualification:

  1. They give you “off-the-shelf” generic plans with no specific details (they leave you guessing.)
  2. They do not consider alternative designs that could save you money.
  3. Ignore customization and provide no details to the project at hand.
  4. They select a structural system that is simple to design and draw, so that the least experienced person in the office can perform the work.
  5. And, they only analyze and size the heaviest and largest beams and columns, and then replicate that same design throughout the entire building.

What are the implications of such a design? These strategies potentially lead to substantially higher construction costs. The couple hundred dollars saved by the customer by not hiring the services of a qualified professional engineer ended up costing thousands more during construction and also with a lack of detail on how to get the project built.

So, what has been gained purchasing a set of plans (or engineer) based solely on lowest fee? Nothing. In fact, it is counter-productive!

What is to be learned? When purchasing pole-barn plans or hiring a design engineer, use a Qualified Based Selection process. Go with someone who has the experience and qualifications to get the job done right.

So, what sets us apart? In a nutshell, we don’t just pull an old project “off-the-shelf” and change the name and address on the plans and send it to you. Instead, we provide customized detailed pole building plans for every job that is site-specific and to our customer’s exact specifications.

We pride ourselves in providing the best valued solutions for our customers. Our goal is to provide high-quality professional engineering services to clients who desire excellence, distinction, safety, and value.