For at least 10 years, about smalle...

For at least 10 years, about smaller engineering firms that provide specialty design services have advocated the use of multiprime agreements rather than being set in the position of subcontractor to the prime design firm.
They claim that possessors could save money by using separate contracts for each technical area (eg civil, mechanical, electrical, structural). Savings, they say, would ensue to the owner, and the specialty firms would fare better economically, if they were not required to pay part of their pay to the prime professional.
The Engineer's Joint Contract