Engineering projects are now growing in numbers, thanks to competition pushing companies for more efficiency and several mergers and acquisitions. With the rising number of projects along the way, companies are also aiming for cost efficiency.

Furthermore, just because an engineering design is cost-efficient, it doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed environmentally friendly. As a result, project owners and managers should consider meeting the environmental requirements for their projects, especially during their early design phases.

If you strive for project completion without issues, you should incorporate environmental planning into your engineering projects. Here are the usual pitfalls and hands-on recommendations for that seamless integration and project completion.

Pitfalls

1. Overlooked environmental requirements can stall or limit production.
2. To meet environmental requirements, costly operating conditions may be needed, leading to a driven-down return on investment.
3. Issues may be subject to citations and fines if not resolved quickly.
4. If a comprehensive design rework is required, it can add costs and time.
5. Incompatible equipment that might have been already purchased and set up can incur restocking fees or warrant recycling or disposal.

Recommendations

1. Encourage non-environmental personnel to include day-to-day responsibilities (equipment readings, site inspections) in their standard duties.
2. Draft a business case to ensure upper management understands and supports the environmental compliance professionals’ role in the early phases of project planning.
3. Upskill your team with relevant, practical knowledge to identify the tradeoffs of long-term operational costs against short-term capital costs.