What details should be noted when signing a design contract with a design institute?

Is the design fee only 260,000 yuan? It’s not even equal to the value created by one designer in a year. It is estimated to be at most a scheme design, or a feasibility study report, or a project proposal. Now, design firms are unwilling to take on projects with a design fee of less than 10 million yuan

I don’t know which design firm you are negotiating with; from now on, we will subcontract our projects to them. You need to pay attention to two aspects: first, the quality of the design. For this design work, with two people per specialty, the salaries are roughly the same; therefore, you must put extra effort into ensuring quality by communicating more with the designers and contacting them promptly if any issues arise ； Secondly, you need to be sure when making purchases – there’s a risk that the design requirements and the procurement conditions might work against you; if the design specifies procurement terms that only one supplier can meet, then there are likely to be problems. But you must have experts in this field before you dare to make a decision! Of course, a legitimate design firm wouldn’t do such a thing – it would damage its own brand! ! But your meager design fee is probably quite uncertain. It’s just my personal opinion; it doesn’t mean I’ll do it

The design fees are far too low – 200,000 yuan just for one overall layout plan. What can such a small amount of money actually cover? It’s not enough to support your engineering and technical staff properly. These professionals need to have experience, knowledge of relevant standards, and the ability to perform technical calculations; as for everything else, well, it’s up to luck. That boss always thinks the cheaper, the better, but good quality items aren’t cheap.

It’s likely that the design firm capable of taking on such a task isn’t a reputable one. There are standard contract templates available for design contracts; when signing, pay attention to several points: distinguish the different tasks within the design process, define the scope of each specialty, and ensure nothing is overlooked； Payment method ； Number and content of output images ； Drawing delivery time ； Responsibilities of both parties during the design, procurement, construction, handover, and acceptance processes ； Distinguish liability for breach of contract. 　

Thank you for your detailed response. Could you provide more details on the sub-items in the design scope and the scope of each specialty?

You can go ahead and take it; the design fee is calculated proportionally to the project’s investment budget. For a project worth 2 million, a design fee of over 200,000 isn’t high at all. Design institutes specializing in chemical plant construction already have complete sets of drawings, and minor adjustments can be made based on the site conditions and the process requirements. Having many professionals doesn’t necessarily mean greater competence; it’s important to draft contracts carefully to avoid major design changes

It’s better to keep it as a trade secret. The discussions with the design firms focused mainly on the level of detail in the designs; some of the drawings produced by these firms were rather rough, and the owner was required to consult the manuals for more detailed information. This causes quite a headache for the owner during construction.

Just sign this little thing randomly: L

I’ve also encountered situations where designers and suppliers took advantage of the client.