Cut Above for Engineering & Architecture
Design and supervision consultancy: architecture, structural, MEP, civil and interiors, delivered in RIBA style stages from feasibility and concept through tender, authority approvals and NOCs, building permits, site supervision, completion certificates and handover, across the UAE's municipal and master developer authorities.
What the system calls things
| Cut Above calls it | You call it | |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | → | Enquiry |
| Opportunity | → | Bid |
| Engagement | → | Project |
| Milestone | → | Stage |
| Time entry | → | Timesheet entry |
| Proposal | → | Fee proposal |
Your pipeline
The work you do
Every job is one of these, and each carries its own defaults and paperwork.
Plans that build themselves
Full design, concept to tender
Day 0 is appointment. The whole design commission in one scaffold for a mid-size building; the stage-by-stage scaffolds exist for commissions sold one stage at a time. Approval gates are wide on purpose: authority turnaround is outside the firm's control and a tight plan here produces false amber flags every week.
5 phases, 10 tasks created for you.
Authority approval submission
Day 0 is the decision to submit. Sold separately as often as it is part of a design appointment. Resubmission is assumed, not treated as an exception.
3 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Monthly site supervision
Day 0 is the start of a supervision month. Repeats for the construction period; billed monthly on resident staff.
1 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Feasibility study
Day 0 is appointment. A go / no-go study for a plot: affection plan and regulations, massing options, area schedule, order-of-magnitude cost and programme. Four weeks for a mid-size plot.
3 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
Concept design stage
Day 0 is the signed appointment. Concept as a stage of its own: brief, site analysis, concept options, the client's sign-off, and a stage report that fixes the design intent before schematic.
3 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
Schematic design stage
Day 0 is concept sign-off. Coordinated plans, sections and elevations across disciplines, the outline specification and a cost plan, the package the authority's preliminary review and the client's budget decision are made on.
3 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
Detailed design & tender documentation
Day 0 is schematic sign-off. The construction-ready set across disciplines, the specifications and the BOQ, coordinated for tender. Twelve to sixteen weeks for a mid-size building; authority submission runs in parallel and has its own scaffold.
4 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
Building permit (Dubai Municipality)
Day 0 is the decision to apply. Consultant submits through the authority portal; comments and resubmission are the norm, not the exception. Civil Defence and utility approvals are prerequisites and run on their own scaffold.
4 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
NOC round, utilities, Civil Defence, RTA
Day 0 is the coordinated design ready for NOCs. Each authority has its own portal, comments and fees; the sequence is set by dependencies (DEWA before the permit, Civil Defence before occupancy).
3 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Tender action & evaluation
Day 0 is tender issue. Four to six weeks on the street, clarifications and addenda, then commercial and technical evaluation and a recommendation the client can act on.
3 phases, 7 tasks created for you.
Construction supervision, mobilisation
Day 0 is the letter of award. Setting up supervision before the contractor mobilises: the resident team, the site office, the procedures and the document control that the monthly supervision scaffold then runs on.
3 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Building completion certificate
Day 0 is practical completion. Final inspections by the authority and Civil Defence, as-built submission, utility connections, and the certificate that lets the owner occupy.
3 phases, 6 tasks created for you.
Interior fit-out design & approval
Day 0 is appointment. Commercial or retail fit-out within an existing building: concept, detailed design, landlord approval, then authority and Civil Defence permits before the contractor can start.
3 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Peer review
Day 0 is documents received. An independent review of another consultant's design against codes, coordination and buildability, with a written report. Time charge against an estimate.
2 phases, 4 tasks created for you.
As-built drawings & handover
Day 0 is practical completion. Record the building as constructed from site markups and surveys; deliver the handover pack the owner and the authority need.
2 phases, 3 tasks created for you.
Condition survey & structural assessment
Day 0 is site access. Visual survey, testing where warranted, and a report with condition ratings and a costed recommendation, often for a purchase, a change of use or a dispute.
3 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Sustainability certification
Day 0 is registration. Al Sa'fat (Dubai), Estidama Pearl (Abu Dhabi) or LEED: credits targeted at design, evidenced through construction, certified at completion.
4 phases, 5 tasks created for you.
Things it watches
- Project stalled, check authority submission
- Tender deadline approaching
- Design stage over budget
- Major award, notify leadership to resource it
- Bid with no movement
- Stage invoice overdue
- New enquiry, bid / no-bid within two days
- Award, appoint the team and confirm PI
- Stage complete: raise the stage invoice
- Task overdue while an approval is pending
- Tender due in five days
- Tender due tomorrow
- Site visit in two days
- Authority submission in a week
- Defects liability period ends in 60 days
Where this fits, and where it does not
Engineering differs most from the other professional services, in two ways. Work is organised by design stage, which milestones handle well. And much of the delivery waits on approvals from outside authorities, whose timing the firm can't control. So the plans in this pack allow generous time between steps, and its automations watch for work that has stalled rather than for deadlines.