Three questions to ask any engineering partner

If you are an architect or builder, you probably spend more time than you want acting as a translator between different engineers.

One email about structure.

Another thread about MEP.

A separate attachment for energy.

Everyone is working hard. You are the one stitching it together before the city ever sees it.

There are a lot of ways to evaluate an engineering partner, but in our experience three questions will tell you most of what you need to know about how the relationship will feel once live projects are involved.

This is not a script to push people into choosing Spacial. It is a simple checklist you can use with whoever is on the other side of the call, including us.

The questions are:

How do you coordinate structural, MEP, and energy so I am not the middleperson?
How fast can you realistically deliver stamped sets and what does your QA process look like?
How do you use AI in your internal process?

Here is what to listen for, and how we answer each one at Spacial.

1. How do you coordinate structural, MEP, and energy so I am not the middleperson?

If you are forwarding comments back and forth between three engineering firms, you are doing free project management on top of your actual job.

A good partner should be able to describe, in simple language, how structural, MEP, and energy talk to each other inside their workflow instead of through your inbox.

What to listen for

You want to hear:

That there is one point of contact who sees the whole set, not just one discipline.
That structural, MEP, and energy teams share the same backgrounds and assumptions.
That there is a clear way they resolve conflicts between disciplines before they land on your desk.

If the answer sounds like “we send you separate files and you put them together,” that means you are still the coordinator.

How Spacial answers

At Spacial, all the disciplines we support run through one coordinated workflow.

We start from the same architectural backgrounds across structural, MEP partners, and energy.
Our internal tools and AI helpers flag conflicts where structure and systems want to occupy the same space.
A single Spacial team member is responsible for pulling everything into one coherent story before it goes back to you.

You still see what is happening. You still make design calls. You do not have to referee three separate engineering threads just to get to a permit-ready set.

2. How fast can you realistically deliver stamped sets and what does your QA process look like?

Speed matters. So does honesty about speed.

Anyone can say “we are fast.” The useful part is what they consider a typical timeline, what assumptions that requires, and how they keep quality from falling apart when the schedule gets tight.

What to listen for

Good answers usually include:

A range, not a single magic number, with context about project type and jurisdiction.
A clear description of who reviews what before the stamp is applied.
Specific checkpoints where they look for coordination issues, missing information, or common mistakes.

If the answer is vague or jumps straight to marketing slogans, you do not actually know what you are buying.

How Spacial answers

Our goal at Spacial is to be fast enough to keep production builders and busy architects moving, without pretending that stamps appear out of thin air.

On a typical single family production project, we can often turn permit-ready stamped structural sets around in a timeframe that works with standard residential schedules, as long as architectural backgrounds are stable and scope is clear. More complex or custom work takes longer, and we say that up front.

Quality assurance is not a single step at the end.

Our internal checks look for missing sheets, inconsistent notes, and structural or energy assumptions that do not match the plans.
AI helps surface repeat issues and anomalies across projects so engineers can focus on actual judgment.
Licensed engineers review and approve the final set before anything is stamped or sent.

If scope changes or new information appears late, we reset expectations rather than pretending nothing is different. It is better to have one honest conversation about timing than to quietly rush something that does not deserve a stamp yet.

3. How do you use AI in your internal process?

AI is everywhere in the headlines. The question that matters is how, exactly, a partner uses it on real work.

You are not just buying output. You are buying judgment and responsibility.

What to listen for

Strong answers tend to sound like this:

AI is used to assist with pattern recognition, checks, and tedious tasks.
Engineers stay in charge of decisions and signatures.
There is a clear boundary between what the model suggests and what the human accepts or rejects.

If the answer is a list of product names with no description of how they fit into day to day work, assume the impact is very small.

How Spacial answers

At Spacial, we treat AI like a sharp assistant inside the workflow, not an invisible reviewer at the end.

Our systems help:

Scan architectural drawings and engineering models for conflicts and oddities.
Highlight city specific requirements that are easy to miss when people are moving quickly.
Keep track of standard comments and patterns so we can address them earlier on new projects.

AI does not sign anything. It does not replace engineers.

Licensed professionals review what the system surfaces, make the decisions they are comfortable stamping, and remain accountable for the final set. That balance is important to us and to the architects, builders, and reviewers who rely on our work.

What to consider on your next call

You are not looking for a perfect script. You are looking for clarity, repeatable process, and a level of responsibility that matches the work.

At Spacial, we build our answers around those three themes on purpose. We want to be the partner who keeps architects and builders out of the coordination swamp and sends reviewers a set they can actually trust.

If you want to see how that looks on real projects, we are always happy to walk through our process in more detail.

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