What you’ll learn By the end of this article, you will understand: how to estimate incoming water demand at feasibility stage the difference between a directly mains-fed system and a stored-and-boosted system how occupancy and sanitary fittings can be used to estimate cold-water storage how loading units can be used to estimate diversified demand why the chosen water-supply arrangement can significantly change the instantaneous demand placed on the external network what infor

How much gas does a building need? When we start looking at the incoming services to a building, one of the first things we may need to establish is how much gas the building is likely to require. This will normally happen fairly early in a project, often at feasibility stage, when we are trying to understand what services are already available and whether they are suitable for what we want to do. I tend to look at these problems using three questions: What are we trying to e

Here’s the article in brief, so you can decide if you’d like to read it in full…… Referrals and repeat clients are valuable, but r elying entirely on them can leave an engineering consultancy exposed. Projects may be postponed, key contacts may leave and established clients may have no suitable work available. Proactive business development creates additional opportunities alongside existing relationships. It involves identifying suitable organisations, contacting relevant pe

A prospective client can recognise your qualifications, understand your experience and believe you are technically capable, yet still hesitate to appoint you. They may be unsure whether you will meet their deadlines, explain problems clearly or give advice that serves their interests. Appointing an engineering firm involves relying on judgement the client may not be equipped to check personally. They need confidence in the people doing the work, particularly when information

Most of my working life has been spent in engineering, construction and the built environment. Winning work was part of running my own consultancy, alongside delivering projects, managing capacity and looking after clients. I know what it feels like to be busy with today’s work while wondering where the next appointment will come from. I also know how easily business development can slip down the list when a project needs your attention. That is why I’m writing these articles