THE REAL COST OF “CHEAP ENGINEERING”: Lessons from a Decade of Experience in Structural Shielding.

After a decade in the industry, I have seen wonderful projects fail, not because of a lack of vision, but because of prioritizing illusory “savings” in the structural design phase.

“Cheap engineering” is not a saving; it is a deferred risk that comes at a high price:

• Unexpected Cost Overruns: Poor design leads to structural repairs during construction (sometimes 15% to 20% of the initial budget) that could have been avoided with proper rigor.

• Damaged Reputation: A critical observation or, worse, a post-construction failure, erodes the credibility of the entire team: investor, architect, and developer.

• Ethical risk: The biggest lesson is that behind every cost “cut” there is an unanswered question: Was safety compromised and human lives put at risk?

At Riera Engineering, our rigor with ASCE and our ethics are not an expense, they are the insurance policy that protects your capital.

We do not compete on low prices; we compete on proven excellence and long-term profitability.