CHAPTER 4 TECHNICAL REPORT

CHAPTER 4

TECHNICAL REPORT

4.1.1       INTRODUCTION

               A tender is a submission made by a prospective supplier in response to an invitation to tender. It makes an offer for the supply of goods or services, including a price and proposals for how the requirements will be satisfied if these have been requested.

   An invitation to tender provides prospective suppliers with tender documentation setting out the information they need to prepare their offer. It is vital that tender documents are comprehensive and clear if realistic prices are to be obtained, making it more likely that the project will adhere to the budget once the works begin, and reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings, mistakes and claims.

         

Tender documents might include:

·         A letter of invitation to tender.

·         The form of tender (formal acknowledgement that the supplier understands and accepts the terms of conditions of the tender documents).

·         Preliminaries (providing a description of the project, allowing the supplier to assess costs which, while they do not form a part of any of the package of works required by the contract, are required by the method and circumstances of the works, such as general plant, site staff and welfare facilities).

• The form of contract that will be used, contract conditions and any amendments. This might include a model enabling amendment if building information modelling (BIM) is being used, to make a BIM protocol part of the contract documentation.

·         Employer's information requirements if BIM is being used (defining the information that will be required for the development of the project and for the operation of the completed built asset).

·         A tender pricing document (or contract sum analysis on design and build projects). This sets out the way prospective suppliers should breakdown their overall tender price and is effectively an unpriced bill of quantities.

·         A drawing schedule.

·         Design drawings, and perhaps an existing building information model.

·         Specifications.

·         On construction management contracts, tender documentation for trade contracts might include the construction manager's master programme.

Care must be taken to ensure the documents are consistent so as to avoid any opportunity for misinterpretation or ambiguity. Copies of the tender documentation should be kept for records. It can be sensible to send relevant documents direct to sub-contractors named in the tender documents and telling the tendering supplier that this has been done, so they do not have to it themselves.