HOW TO OPTIMIZE

YOUR STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING FIRM’S
SOFTWARE AND
OPERATIONS STACK
Your engineers are the lifeblood of your company, responsible for creating designs that meet both
building code and customer requirements. The time and resource constraints associated with this
complex job make it essential that your engineers have access to the tools and resources they
need to do their best work.

Optimizing your structural engineering firm's software and operations stack ensures you are
well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities in today's competitive market. You can achieve
this by carefully reviewing existing platforms and processes, answering questions like:

Do your systems serve their purpose?

Are they efficient?
Could they benefit from improved integration or automation?

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Why You Should Optimize Your Structural
Engineering Firm’s Software and Operations
Optimizing your structural engineering firm’s software and operations is a must for realizing the full
potential of your firm. Why should optimization be at the top of your priority list?

Reduce Cost
Optimizing reduces unnecessary costs that drain your resources. You can identify
inefficiencies and eliminate them through careful evaluation and analysis of existing
systems, software solutions, and processes. Eliminating inefficiencies leads to fewer
expenses in labor, onboarding, project management, administrative duties, and other areas.

Streamline Workflows
Optimization improves efficiency throughout all areas of the company. By streamlining
workflow processes and cutting out redundancies in existing software, engineers can work
more productively and effectively, which allows them to focus on completing projects both
accurately and on time.

Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Optimization helps comply with industry standards and regulations. Keeping pace with
current trends in the structural engineering field is essential for remaining competitive.
Ensuring your systems and processes are up-to-date significantly reduces the risk of
non-compliance and associated wasted resources.

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Reducing Costs by Increasing Efficiency
Reducing costs while increasing efficiency is paramount in any engineering project. To achieve
this, the team must leverage existing skills to maximize their time and energy. Ways to increase
efficiency include:

1. Retaining Good Engineers

Keeping good engineers is critical and reduces the costs associated with recruiting, hiring
and onboarding new engineers. Additionally, experienced engineers can become more
efficient in their work because they are familiar with the processes and tools used by
their teams. Keeping existing engineers engaged is also important: when employees feel
valued, motivated, and supported within their team, they tend to stay longer and contribute
more value.

2. Maintaining Trusted Vendors

Having trusted vendors to provide reliable and cost-effective solutions saves engineering
teams valuable hours from researching the best options available for each project. For
example, switching to a vendor that offers an all-in-one structural engineering software
package can reduce costs dramatically by eliminating the need to purchase multiple pieces
of software from different vendors.

3. Investing in Robust Software

Investing in sophisticated software helps to maintain efficiency by reducing manual
workloads and automating repetitive tasks, which translates into faster turnaround times
and improved accuracy of work. Furthermore, having a well-trained staff familiar with the
tools allows them to stay ahead of the competition.

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Focus On a Project Niche
Focusing on a particular project niche as an engineering firm can offer numerous benefits. Not only
does it allow you to hone in on and build up your expertise in a certain area, but it helps you
maximize resources and create a portfolio of successful projects quickly.

For example, suppose you specialize in post-tensioned concrete or podium building design.
In that case, your chosen software and design experience can reduce costs associated with a
project while ensuring its success. Additionally, developing expertise within one particular industry
can help boost your reputation among potential clients and help set yourself apart from other
engineering firms still trying to develop their skill sets across multiple sectors.

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4 Benefits of Focus

Focusing on a project niche can have tremendous benefits for your engineering firm as it
allows you to:

1. Develop Your Team

As your team's experience in a particular niche grows, you can be confident that your
engineers will develop the best solutions while achieving maximum efficiency with
minimal resources. This focus allows you to better serve the needs of clients and deliver
superior results on time. It also makes attracting and hiring the right engineers for your
projects, even easier.

2. Leverage Team Knowledge

Limiting your scope to one (or two) specific areas or industries lets you leverage
your team's collective knowledge and create more accurate work with fewer,
more effective tools. This focus allows you to build deeper relationships with other
engineering functions and building trades, often resulting in improved collaboration and
streamlined communication for projects.

3. Reduce Costs
Narrowing the scope of your project niche will help reduce costs by minimizing the type of
structural engineering software you use, reducing the necessary training, and maybe even
some discounts on licenses.

4. Win More Business

Creating a robust library of case studies or reference clients within your niche allows
potential collaborators to see exactly how you approach similar problems. A deep
understanding of a particular problem space makes it easier to apply your knowledge and
skill set to future projects.

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Hiring and Retaining Structural Engineers
Hiring and retaining structural engineers is not an easy task. Structural engineering is a demanding
field that requires specialized knowledge and skills in order to design and build the complex
structures that are used every day. As such, it’s not unusual for engineers to look for more
challenging or rewarding work after a few years with the same employer.

In fact, engineer turnover is a real challenge in this industry, with high rates of burnout and
headhunting common. Research shows that 37% of structural engineers leave their positions
within two years (see chart below). This frequent turnover is difficult for employers attempting to
build a successful and stable engineering team.

Retaining structural engineers is a challenge for any firm looking to keep their projects on track
and maintain a high level of productivity. By investing in strategies that help retain engineers,
companies can save money in the long run by avoiding costly project delays, in addition to
recruiting and training costs.

SPK and Associates estimate that hiring a new engineer can cost up to $280,000 for a role that
pays $100,000 per year. This shows how much money can be saved by retaining your employees.

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Retention Strategies
There are several ways to effectively hire and retain structural engineers that can have lasting
benefits for your business.

When hiring structural engineers, it’s critical to look beyond a candidate’s

qualifications or portfolio; you should also look for qualities like problem-solving skills,
leadership ability, communication skills, and personal ambition.

Given the high turnover rate of engineers, you should develop retention policies
that incorporate recognition and development opportunities, such as providing
access to career-building seminars/conferences as well as possible promotions.
Additionally, formal recognition in front of peers and supervisors in addition to
monetary and general reward incentives can bolster the retention rate for your firm.

Structural engineering is an ever-evolving field so investing in continuing education

is critical for existing and new staff. This can include workshops, conferences,
or certificate programs to help them stay updated on the latest industry trends.

Encouraging work-life balance, hybrid work schedules and a vacation-friendly work

culture can also help with retention. It is well-known how overworked engineering
teams can be and that there is often pressure to avoid taking time off to
complete projects. This atmosphere leads to burnout and job dissatisfaction.

Finally, create an environment where engineers feel supported and valued. You could
offer mentorship programs, opportunities for all team members to voice input on
critical decisions, and substantial resources for your engineers to succeed

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Hire the Right Engineers
Structural engineering requires a depth of experience and reliability other fields don't have to
deal with. When hiring for this field, you must ensure your company has the best people to
develop safe, code compliant projects, keep to budgets, and finish with the highest degree of
efficiency and integrity.

While all of the technical requirements of a new employee are important, making sure that
someone is a good fit for your company culture is also a necessary consideration. Whether hiring
someone who has just graduated college or an engineer with years of experience, ensuring they
are a fit your company and team is crucial. Emphasizing diversity and inclusion when looking for
candidates is also important; having a diverse team allows for new perspectives and ideas which
can be brought into the workplace and lead to better results. Diversity also resonates strongly with
younger generations of talent entering the workforce, which helps in recruiting talent.

It's also necessary to ensure you have enough people on board with sufficient skill sets to
complete upcoming projects. Additionally, it's critical to stay ahead of your people needs when
it comes to upcoming projects. Often, hiring and onboarding times are not factored into
these proposals, creating a situation where added pressure could lead employees to search for
other opportunities.

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Training
When it comes to training, several key aspects
should be addressed:

To ensure their success, engineers must receive

comprehensive onboarding. This should include
an overview of competency, performance,
and responsibilities. It’s also important to
provide ongoing training throughout their
employment so they can stay up to date with
code compliance, building materials, trends,
and more.

In addition to general knowledge, software

tools are critical for engineers as their use can
encompass a large portion of daily activities and
project work. Robust software, ample resources,
and professional training opportunities such as
online or customized in-person courses make
up a well-rounded training plan.

Finally, it’s important to emphasize the value

of teamwork and collaboration between
engineers. For example, attending regular
meetings or workshops that explore team
dynamics and effective communication can help
everyone work together better. Engineering
teams are prone to communication and tribal
knowledge issues, so taking steps to help
everyone work together better is vital.

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Engineering Software Tools and Support
When it comes to engineering, the software vendor, and tools they provide can make or break
your projects.

Begin by ensuring your chosen software suite offers easy-to-use tools for your specific
project needs. A good toolset could include 3D modeling, robust analysis capabilities, cutting edge
simulation and optimization routines, BIM integration, and other features necessary for efficient
project execution from start to finish. These tools should also be able to handle multiple projects
within one software suite in order to reduce learning curves and mental switching costs.

In addition to effective tools, it is essential to have access to reliable support, such as vendor
customer support and technical assistance, as well as industry resources, such as The Institution of
Structural Engineers, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers,
and so on, that can provide guidance and best practices when complex issues arise.

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Optimizing Your Toolkit
Optimizing your engineering toolkit can be a great way to improve efficiency, reduce costs,
and maximize the effectiveness of your engineering team. When rationalizing your tools and
processes, consider what you need in terms of software and support staff. You should make sure
that you have the right tools for the job; those that are most suited for your engineering team and
their projects. Additionally, your engineering team should be able to request and obtain timely
assistance for any technical software issues that may arise.

Inventory what you have

Accurately inventorying the software you own can help you manage your licenses and
ensure you don’t have duplicate software for similar tasks. You should thoroughly assess
your software, how it was purchased, and what associated licenses are in place.
Here’s how:

Start by making a list of all the software in use at your organization - or potentially on
any employee devices. Use a spreadsheet to list, including important details such as:

Survey your engineering team to find out what they're using.

Review accounting systems or credit card statements to uncover potentially

overlooked software subscriptions or purchases.

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 You can also request reports from your IT department or software vendor to get a
complete picture of what software is owned and in use.

This information will help you easily identify which licenses are necessary and which
are superfluous. In some cases, you may even discover software that’s no longer in use but
still takes up valuable resources and wastes money on license renewals or maintenance.
Once you've completed the list, keep it current with regular audits to ensure accuracy and
compliance with licensing regulations.

Evaluating the List

Now that you know what you have, you can evaluate whether a specific software is what your
team needs. Consider the following and note opportunities to right-size your software:

Interoperability
Can one primary structural engineering software suite work across multiple types
of projects?? Can one software suite support 90% of the projects you have?

License Count
Do you have the correct number of licenses? Does your software vendor provide usage
stats that allow you to make decisions about increasing (or decreasing) license count.

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DID YOU KNOW?
RISA is a powerful, versatile
software suite allowing teams to
design projects quickly and
efficiently. More than 60% of
structural engineers confidently use
RISA within their workflows due to
its support of a wide-range of use
cases with a high degree of
integrity and support. With RISA,
users can easily integrate the
building, foundation and connection
design into one seamless and fully
documented workflow.
2023 © RISA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Product Fit
Does the software meet the needs for your
current, and, more importantly, future projects?
Consider upcoming project types and design
trends such as podium structures, cold-formed
steel, and post-tensioned concrete. Does your
software work for at least 90% of your projects?
Effective Hardware
Do your engineers have the right kind of
laptop, desktop, and peripheral hardware?
Sometimes the simplest additions (like a second
or third screen) can vastly improve efficiency.
Training
Does your team have a majority software
preference? Are they all equally confident using
the same software? Does your software vendor
provide loads of training options, including
online and offline training?
Support
Does the software have a robust support
program? Is the support you receive for this
software valuable beyond basic software
support - meaning can they help with complex
engineering questions rather than just a simple
installation issue? Is their support responsive?
Accuracy
Do you TRUST the data? Are the calculations
and design methodologies transparent?
PAGE 13
Manage Your Billing, Hours, and Receivables
To ensure that your engineers have the right software and time to learn it, you need to be
constantly tracking their time and billing. This will enable you to optimize the number of billable
hours available so they don’t waste time learning while working on a project.

To manage your billing, hours, and receivables effectively, consider using dedicated software
solutions that can help you track total billable hours per day or week for each engineer.

Minimize Learning Curves

Every time a new engineer comes on board or must learn a new system, it costs time
and money, and billable time is compromised. Minimizing the learning curve reduces overhead
expenses and improves your firm's efficiency. Ways to minimize learning curves include:

Establish Clear Procedures and Expectations:

Having well-defined standard operating procedures (SOPs) can help keep
employees on track while getting used to a new tool or process. By having
comprehensive SOPs in place, you can ensure everyone understands their
responsibilities and how workflows should be carried out. Additionally, it gives
team members a point of reference if there are any questions or issues.

Simplify Processes
When processes are overly complex, it slows down learning and
increases frustration. By breaking down the process into smaller tasks and
creating easy-to-follow guidelines, your team can quickly get up to speed on
tools—which goes a long way in retaining engineers!

Minimize Software Solutions:

Switching between different software platforms can take time and effort. By choosing
a single vendor with an integrated approach to the engineering design process
(like RISA), your team can quickly get up-to-speed and even accelerate your
project timelines.

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Solid Time Tracking Software

Engineers need to be able to track their hours and any tasks they have completed to accurately
report their time for billing purposes and for accurate completion of projects. Solid time tracking
software allows engineers to easily log and monitor time with simple documentation that other
team members or clients can use. This improves team collaboration as well.

Good time tracking software gives engineers the ability to customize their workflow, allowing
them to set more specific and accurate deadlines. With detailed project information available
at-a-glance, it is easier for engineers to track their progress and meet those deadlines. Because of
this added visibility, teams can better allocate resources for each task or project so that work can
be completed on schedule and higher quality projects delivered in less time.

Bill Them Properly and On Time

Good billing practices and the appropriate use of the collections process can be critical
components to the success of any business. Effective billing processes ensure customers are
charged correctly, payment terms are clear, and that cash flow is maintained on an ongoing basis.

To begin with, it’s important to create accurate invoices in a timely manner that outline the services
provided and corresponding costs. Payment terms should also be clearly articulated so customers
understand when payment is due; this will help reduce confusion and decrease the chances of
delinquency down the road. Additionally, especially for businesses that offer recurring services or
bill clients monthly, consider sending out friendly reminders once an invoice reaches its due date
to further encourage prompt payments from clients.

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The Collections Process

However, despite these efforts, there’s always the potential that some customers may not pay
on time. This is where having an appropriate collections process in play can be invaluable.
Depending on your business model and the terms you’ve agreed to with customers, a collections
process can involve anything from sending out additional invoices or late payment notices,
placing follow-up phone calls or emails, to taking legal action if necessary.

Having a solid understanding of when and how to apply the various processes involved with
collecting payment can be key to reducing customer delinquency and preserving cash flow.
Being firm yet respectful of customers’ needs is essential during this process, but it’s also
important to collect payment, and that is where a customer portal can be invaluable.

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 DID YOU KNOW?

With RISA's Customer Portal, you can easily manage your billing
information and pay your annual renewal in just a few clicks. You'll
also be able to manage users and their usage so that you can
always be sure that your company owns the correct number
of licenses. This robust, online platform even allows users to explore
new products through 10-day trials, and when ready purchase the
software they need to get their projects done.

Conclusion
By reviewing tools and processes, you can ensure that you are using the best applications for
each task and streamlining where possible. This leads to improved employee morale, greater
productivity, reduced costs, better project delivery, and higher profits.

Ultimately, by investing in the right technology and resources for your firm’s specific needs, you
can create a profitable operational strategy that boosts overall performance. So don't let another
day go by without giving your structural engineering firm’s software and operations stack the
attention it deserves - start optimizing today!

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ABOUT RISA
RISA delivers a suite of integrated software design solutions and technical
support services that allow structural engineers to innovate with
confidence, secure in the safety and efficiency of their designs.

Visit us at www.risa.com to learn more.

27442 Portola Parkway

Suite 200
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
949 951 5815
info@risa.com