Design engineers' responsibilities during construction

A dilemma can face design engineers if they have to choose between their perceived and actual responsibilities during construction of the project they designed. This dilemma can be particularly significant for specialized underground construction involving soil-structure interaction. Such construction represents unique and unusual situations in which design, inspection, and construction functions cannot be separated. Two cases in which specialized construction quality control was not provided by the designer of subsurface structures are reviewed. In both cases defective construction was later discovered and the projects were abandoned. The design engineer is placed at risk when the owner does not agree to engage a knowledgeable specialist for quality control of the construction work. The engineer should identify in writing the risks the owner is electing to accept by contracting for a lower level of quality control than, in the engineer’s judgment, is less than prudent for the project.