Independent consulting engineering

The paper follows the needs for advancement in industry and commerce from the mid-1600s. The development of the steam engine together with the coal-based technologies for smelting iron provided the basis for the Industrial Revolution. With the Industrial Revolution came the need for quicker means of transport; and the improvement of railways, roads, canals and harbours created the need for the services of those who could design engineering projects and supervise their construction. The progress of the early engineers in the 18th and 19th centuries began the struggle for better recognition in the various engineering professions, and thus the engineering societies and institutions emerged. The need for the general engineering abilities possessed by the early engineers became so demanding at the beginning of the 1800s that they assumed the role of consultants, and so followed the formation of firms of consulting engineers. The paper discusses the formation of organisations representing the interests of the engineering consultant at the beginning of the 20th century, and proceeds by discussing the role of the consulting engineer outside the UK. Finally, the author examines the prospects for British consulting engineers.