TENDERING
The
concept of traditional competitive tendering is to present you
with comparable prices obtained from a number of different contractors.
This is achieved by the design team, acting on behalf of you.
They will send all competing contractors identical information
needed. They include bills of Quantities, Drawings, Schedules
and specifications on which they can base their tenders.
A
system of open tendering may be used in which any firm wishing
to compete is allowed to submit a tender. The danger in this system
is that if anyone is allowed to join the competition, it is less
likely that they will be of equal standing and reusability. A
system of closed or selected tendering is often prepared and in
this system your architect will prepare a list of contractors
who will be invited to tender. As a rule the invited firms are
known to your architect or to your quantity surveyor or they may
be selected from contractors who respond to an advertisement in
the press.
The
number of firms who should be invited to tender is a matter of
opinion, but some architects set the figure between four and eight
depending on the size and the type of job. In preparing the list
of tenders, it is important to ensure as far as possible that
they are capable of undertaking the work to the required standards
and time scale.
The
architect will on a project of any importance prepare his list
of tenders about 3 months before the work is due to commence on
site. This is because a number of processes are involved and they
each take time to complete. Your architect will ask you about
your opinion, a check has to be made that all the firms in list
wish to tender and the documents have to be assembled and dispatched.
The contractors need time to prepare their tenders. All the submitted
tenders have to be analyzed and the successful contractor will
require time to prepare for standing work on site.
Sufficient
time must be allowed for contractors to prepare the tenders. Generally
it will take at least about four weeks unless the project is a
very small-uncomplicated one. With selective tendering it is a
good practice to award the contract to the firm who submits the
lowest tender.
