Engineering Question
What Is an Engineering Design Firm?
An engineering design firm is a licensed consulting practice that designs building systems and produces construction documents, rather than installing the work.
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Michael K. Frempong, PE, LEED AP BD+C
President & Principal Engineer, BEED Engineering
Michael K. Frempong is a professional engineer and LEED AP BD+C accredited professional with over 20 years of experience in consulting engineering. As President & Principal Engineer at BEED Engineering, he leads the firm’s MEP design and consulting work for laboratory, healthcare, industrial, data center, education, commercial, municipal, and other building projects throughout Central Florida and the Treasure Coast.
View BEED team profileQuick Answer
An engineering design firm is a consulting engineering practice that designs building systems and documents that design for permitting and construction. On commercial projects, that usually means mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design produced by licensed engineers. The firm is not the contractor. It produces the drawings and specifications the contractor builds from.
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What an engineering design firm is
An engineering design firm is a professional practice hired to design building systems and produce the documents needed to permit and construct them. In commercial work, that firm is often an MEP engineering practice covering mechanical, electrical, and plumbing.
The firm’s work product is design, not installation:
- Basis of design and system selection
- Load calculations and equipment sizing
- Coordinated construction drawings
- Specifications
- Signed and sealed documents for permitting
- Construction-phase review
See What are engineering design services? for the scope of that work.
How this differs from other project roles
| Role | What they typically do |
|---|---|
| Architect | Building form, program, occupancy, architectural code path |
| Engineering design firm | Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and related building systems |
| Contractor | Procurement, installation, and construction means and methods |
| Equipment vendor | Product selection for a specific manufacturer |
Those roles overlap on design-build projects. Even then, sealed engineering documents still have to be produced by a licensed engineer.
What “consulting engineer” means
A consulting engineer is hired by the owner or architect to represent the building’s performance requirements. That is different from a vendor who proposes equipment. Consulting engineering includes coordination with architecture and structure, not only a one-line equipment schedule.
Related reading: What is MEP engineering? and How do you choose an MEP engineering firm?.
When owners hire a design engineering firm
Typical reasons:
- A commercial building permit requires sealed MEP drawings
- A renovation changes HVAC capacity, electrical service, or plumbing infrastructure
- The project has healthcare, laboratory, or other specialty systems
- The owner needs a coordinated set rather than separate contractor layouts
BEED Engineering is a design engineering firm based in Palm Bay, serving Brevard County, the Treasure Coast, and Central Florida.
Common Questions
Is an engineering design firm the same as an architect?
No. The architect establishes building form, program, and the architectural code path. The engineering design firm designs the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems inside that building.
Does the engineering firm also build the systems?
Not in a conventional consulting arrangement. BEED designs and documents the systems. A contractor installs them. Construction administration is engineering support during installation, not contracting.
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Related Questions
What Are Engineering Design Services?
Engineering design services are the calculations, coordinated drawings, specifications, and sealed documents an engineering firm produces for a building project.
What Is MEP Engineering?
MEP engineering is the coordinated design of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems that make a building usable, safe, and efficient.
How Do You Choose an MEP Engineering Firm?
Choose an MEP engineering firm based on relevant project experience, local code familiarity, coordination ability, and how clearly the firm defines scope—not just the lowest fee.
Related BEED Services
Service
Engineering Design Services
Licensed engineering design: calculations, coordinated construction documents, and sealed drawings for building projects.
Service
MEP Engineering
Coordinated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering for commercial, healthcare, education, and institutional buildings.
Service
Engineering Services
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, commissioning, and building systems consulting for commercial and institutional projects.
Related Locations
Local Presence
BEED Engineering — Based in Palm Bay, Serving Central Florida
BEED Engineering is an MBE professional consulting engineering firm providing building mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering design and consulting services. We are based in Palm Bay, Central Florida. BEED Engineering is a firm you can trust to get the job done.
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