Your company is hired by a design-build team to provide geotechnical engineering services for the development of a complex of five, two-story office structures on an undeveloped, wooded site. The design-build team consists of a large contractor and a multi-disciplinary architectural-engineering (A/E) design firm. Neither the contractor nor the architect/engineer firm will retain any financial interest in the project once it is completed and purchased by one of several prospective buyers. You are the geotechnical engineer in charge of the subsurface investigation, testing, engineering analysis, and site preparation and foundation design recommendations. Because of the moderately compressible nature of the subsoils at the site, your recommendation is to support the structures on piles to avoid long-term settlements that would not cause collapse of the structures, but would lead to cracking of floor slabs, some differential movement of the second stories and potential distress (cracking) to the brick masonry and glass exteriors of the buildings. When advised of your recommendations by telephone, the contractor on the design-build team reviews the local building code and questions why they can't support the buildings on shallow spread footings designed on the basis of the allowable soil bearing pressures indicated in that code. When you tell the contractor that excessive settlements will occur over time, the contractor questions if settlements will be excessive during the first year after completion of construction, which is also the warranty period for the project. Your analyses indicate that the settlements in the first year will not be excessive, rather the problems due to settlement will not manifest themselves until several years have elapsed. The contractor requests that you write your report recommending shallow footing foundations designed in accordance with the local building code requirements, since he maintains that the design-build team obligation only extends to the first year following completion of construction. There is a clear implication that you may not get paid for your services if you do not comply with the contractor's request.

What do you do?

2. (Answer the question(s) at the bottom of the particular case study) - What do you do?
4. What are the perceived consequences or risks associated with the decision you made?
   • In your opinion, why (or how) did the benefits of your decision out-weigh the risks?
7. How would you communicate your final decisions to the pertinent parties?
9. What do you think are some potential responses you will receive from those parties, and how would you prepare to handle them?