Project management : The tender
Robert Merry is an independent Stone Consultant and Project Manger who also runs training courses on project management. In this series he sets out some guiding principles for successful estimating and project management. He begins by discussing: The Tender
A detailed, clear and precise estimate, or tender, is pivotal to the success of any project.
The tender sets out a framework from which valuations can be created, progress mapped and detailed programmes written.
Producing a tender can be a time consuming affair.
The documents received from the builder or main contractor – bill of quantities, tender drawings, specification (M40 internal, H51 external) and finishes schedule – all contribute to the tender.
However, they often contain conflicts because they are not always compiled at the same times by the same professionals.
Typically, from the architect’s drawings, a surveyor (either the builder’s or someone from a separate firm of quantity surveyors) draws up the bill of quantities. The specification, stipulating how to fix the stone and with what, is written from a standard template adapted for the project by a member of the architectural team.
Lastly there is the finishes schedule, an ever moving target created by the designer in consultation with a client who is paying for all these professional services so they can change their mind. (Often the architect and designer are from the same organisation but are not necessarily the same person.)
The information in the bill of quantities may not match what’s on the drawings or, indeed, the specification of how to fix the stone. In any case, it has probably all changed since the tenders were sent out because a new finishes schedule has been produced.
And, inevitably, it has to be submitted by 12-noon on Friday and it only arrived on Wednesday!
So what to do? Screaming out load with frustration is useful, though colleagues may object.
My advice: read all of it and make notes as you go. Price the bill of quantities, because the builder needs to be able to compare you with other tenders on a like-for-like basis. If none of it makes sense, call the builder’s estimator and ask him or her what they want you to price. (This is also a great opportunity to start to build a relationship with the estimator so they will send you other projects to torture you with in the future.)
Clarify in your tender what you have included and what you have left out. Refer to the drawings by number and revision. Be clear about what you will provide and what you expect the builder to provide on site – called attendances. There may well be a list in the tender documents if you look closely.
Bill of quantity + drawings + specification + finishes schedule = the tender / estimate.
And when all this is successfully negotiated and costed I would advise you to add preliminary costs and a programme… but more of this in the October issue of Natural Stone Specialist.