Case Study Key Issue 1

Question 1

If the total programme only lasted 9 months, when were you engaged?

Answer 1

RLB were engaged in January to undertake Quantity Surveying Services for the client.

Question 2

What were the client’s main drivers?

Answer 2

The client’s main driver was time and ensuring that they were open for the Christmas Trading period. They also had a focus on ensuring that they achieved value for money.

Question 3

Can you define value for money and was it achieved on the project?

Answer 3

Value for money looks at whether the project was delivered whilst meeting the client’s main objectives.

As mentioned previously, this was to ensure that the project was delivered in time for the Christmas trading period, which it was.

Additionally, the client wanted to ensure that the price they received represented value for money. The costings received were benchmarked and confirmed to be at market level.

Question 4

What do you understand by value?

Answer 4

This relates to the benefits brought by a development in relation to the resources needed to achieve/complete it.

Question 5

Why was a D&B selected?

Answer 5

A D&B was selected as the client had a tight programme and a D&B would allow for the overlap of design and construction. This therefore allowed for an earlier commencement on site.

As the contractor had completed a similar scheme for the client previously, they felt like they could benefit from their buildability input into the scheme. This came to a head as they provided input on a temporary works design which saved around £100k from the project value.

Question 6

Were there any amendments to the D&B?

Answer 6

There was a contract amendment in relation to Covid-19.

It stated that mandatory public health measures must be in place and the contractor must alleviate the spread of Covid which would result in sit closure.

Provided that the contractor can prove they complied and the Covid event was outside their control, they can claim for time/expense in relation to material delays and other associated project delays.

It was written that the employer would have the final decision on any discrepancy between the ER’s and CP’s.

The payment terms were also amended from 21 days to 28 days.

Question 7

What was the £/sqft?

Answer 7

Total area of the development was approximately 4,500m2 or 48,000sqft.

The cost was approximately £740/m2 or £69/sqft.

Question 8

Were there any site constraints?

Answer 8

The site was a working environment and therefore deliveries were coming in and out all day.

This was combatted by ensuring that any deliveries to site were made in the morning to keep the access road clear.

Question 9

What procurement route did you decide on to suit the client’s drivers?

Answer 9

Design & Build procurement route.

This was due to the fact that it allowed for earlier commencement on site, as well as buildability input of the contractor.

Question 10

Why would a single stage tender provide competitive tendering and pricing?

Answer 10

This is due to the fact that there are a series of pre selected tenderers that are all competing for the same work. They therefore want to ensure that they provide a competitive price to give them an opportunity to win the work.

Question 11

Why would an extended programme lead to issues on the project?

Answer 11

This is due to the fact that the development would not have been open for the Christmas Trading period and therefore caused distribution problems for the client.

Question 12

How did you agree a contract sum with the Contractor if the design was not complete?

Answer 12

As the design was developing the contractor was providing costed work packages and these were agreed to firm up the contract sum.

Even though the design was not fully complete, the contractor was happy to agree on a firm price as the largest work packages had been reviewed and priced by the sub contractors.

Question 13

Was this a target cost or a fixed price contract?

Answer 13

It was a fixed cost. As the design was progressing the contractor was providing me with costed work packages which I reviewed and provided my commentary. This led to the cost being firmed up and a contract sum agreed.

Question 14

What was the budget?

Answer 14

The budget for the scheme was £3.075m.

Question 15

How progressed was the design when you were engaged and by what point was this complete?

Answer 15

The design was not very progressed at all when we were engaged. Although, within an 8 week period the design had developed to a point that allowed us to agree the contract sum as the biggest packages had been designed.

The design was complete by May and by this point the main work packages had been agreed and let.

Question 16

You mention that option 2 would have allowed for early contractor involvement and buildability input, how much earlier would this have been than option 1?

Answer 16

As the 1st stage tender process for a two stage process would have only been a 2 week period, coupled with a 1 week period for the tender report, this would have meant that a month was saved in comparison to option 1.

With a single stage process, the tender process would have been 5 weeks, with a 2 week period allowed for the tender report.

Question 17

What relevant documents did you produce as part of the tender process?

Answer 17

I assisted in producing the contract conditions, as well as the Employer’s Requirements which contained the drawings and specifications for the project.

Following the tender process I assisted with producing the tender report as well.

Question 18

Were there any other procurement options considered?

Answer 18

There weren’t really any other procurement options that were considered. Construction management or management contracting could have been considered as they would have allowed for an earlier start on site, although this would have meant that there was no cost certainty on the project.

Question 19

How does a two stage approach differ to that of a single stage and negotiated approach?

Answer 19

With a single stage approach, the contractors provide a firm competitive price following the tender process.

Following the first stage on a two stage process the successful contractor is appointed under a PCSA. This is based on the quality of their bid, people, prelims, OH&P, fees and a basic construction cost.

They will then enter the second stage with the aim of developing the design and providing buildability input to hopefully firm up a cost for the works.

Question 20

When would the programme have been delayed until, with the Single stage approach?

Answer 20

Completion would have been achieved in December with the Single Stage approach.

Question 21

When would the programme have been delayed until, with the Two stage approach?

Answer 21

Completion would have been achieved in November with a Two stage approach.

Question 22

You mentioned that the two stage tendering process would have extended the programme. Why is this?

Answer 22

In comparison to the negotiated approach, this was due to the fact that there was an additional month associated with producing tender documents, the tender period and tender analysis.

Question 23

Why may a negotiated approach not present best value for money and what could you do to combat this?

Answer 23

This is due to the fact that a negotiated approach is anti competitive and therefore the contractor could possibly look to increase their costs.

In order to combat this, I requested that an open book approach was adopted and three quotations for each work package were received.

I benchmarked the costs returned against our in house cost data.

Question 24

How do you ensure competitiveness through the negotiated tender approach?

Answer 24

I adopted an open book approach and requested 3 quotations for each work package.

The costs were benchmarked to ensure they were at market value.

Question 25

What was discussed during the series of commercial meetings that were set up with the contractor team?

Answer 25

I reviewed the work packages that were returned by the contractor and provided commentary on those costs.

Any queries/disagreements were brought up in these meetings with the aim of resolving and agreeing a fixed contract sum.

For example, I reviewed the work package for the welfare unit which had whiterock on all walls. This was deemed to no longer be required and I brought this up in the meeting. It was omitted.

Question 26

When did the negotiated approach allow for start on site?

Answer 26

The negotiated approach allowed work to start on site in March.

Question 27

What do you mean by complete tender process and why was this not required with a negotiated approach?

Answer 27

By complete tender process I mean issuing tender information to selected capable tenderers and then reviewing the information returned, comparing against each other.

This was not required under a negotiated approach as the contractor was pre selected.

Question 28

Were you involved with the prior project with the client and contractor, and did it go successfully?

Answer 28

I wasn’t involved in the prior project, although I believe it went well.

The client was happy to work with the contractor again and therefore I would further assume that it had gone well.

Question 29

What are the additional fees that would have been associated with a two stage tender?

Answer 29

These are fees associated with the Pre Construction Services Agreement.

Question 30

Is there anything that could have been done to deem options 1 and 2 feasible to the client?

Answer 30

For them to be deemed feasible, the client would have needed to engage with the design team earlier to provide enough time for the tender package/process to be completed.

Question 31

Was there any incentive for the contractor to ensure they got the extension complete for October?

Answer 31

There was no incentive for the contractor, they wanted to ensure it was completed as a means of maintaining a relationship with the client.

Question 32

How did you confirm that October completion would be achievable with Option 3?

Answer 32

This was ultimately discussed with the contractor in depth, and they confirmed that the completion date of October would be achievable.

Question 33

Can you elaborate on some unforeseen circumstances that could lead to delay?

Answer 33

At the time, covid 19 and the issues of reduced labour could have played a part.

Material shortages could also have played a part due to covid and Brexit.

Other factors that may have been taken into account are adverse weather.

Question 34

You mention that alternative advice may have been given had you been given more time. Can you advise what this advice may have been?

Answer 34

The advice I would have given would have been to adopt a two stage tendering approach as the scheme benefitted from the buildability input of the contractor.

Question 35

You mention making design packages available to the contractor once they were complete. Was this not a D&B, therefore was the contractor not developing the design?

Answer 35

Yes, by that I mean the packages were developed by the contractor’s design team and made available for them to take to the market to price.

Question 36

Did the contractor return 3 quotations for each work package?

Answer 36

Yes, the contractor returned 3 quotations for each work package.

Question 37

What would you have done if the contractor was only able to provide 1 quotation?

Answer 37

I would have looked at adopting QS first principles and pricing the work myself on a line by line basis.

Alternatively, I could have looked at going to the market and obtaining a price for the works.

Question 38

When choosing to negotiate the preferred contractor that the client has worked with before, how did the costs between this project and their previous development differ? How could you compare two projects of differing sizes to know if the client is receiving value for money?

Answer 38

I am unaware of the previous project costs, although I could have compared them on the basis of a cost per m2. This would have provided a comparison.

Question 39

Where was the source of the benchmarked data?

Answer 39

My companies in house cost database, called Pulse.

Question 40

Was producing draft programmes outside your scope of service, and if so, did you request additional fees?

Answer 40

I did not produce the draft programme, I simply advised on tendering timeframes for the project which allowed the EA to forecast the completion date for projects.

This was within my scope of competence as QS’s regularly provide advice on appropriate tendering strategies.

Question 41

With key issue number one, why wasn’t reducing the tender period considered through the two stage tender process? I.E reduce the number of weeks of negotiated sum?

Answer 41

This was due to the fact that the client wanted a fixed cost prior to starting on site. Therefore, the proposed option was the quickest possibility for the two stage process.

Question 42

Looking at cost provided the works cost circa £740/m2, would you say this was reasonable for the works required? How would you demonstrate to the client that this is value for money?

Answer 42

Yes, I would advise that this was reasonable for the work required. The costs were benchmarked against prior projects and the rates were confirmed to be in line with market value.

Due to the volatility of the market, the rate of £740/m2 was slightly inflated from previous years. Although, this was to be expected with the increase in material prices across the industry.

Question 43

When considering option 1, the single stage tender, what procurement strategy would have best suit the client’s main drivers?

Answer 43

As the design would have been complete, a traditional procurement route would have suited the client’s drivers. This would have also led to competitive process and a competitive price.

Question 44

What buildability input could a contractor provide when building a warehouse type building?

Answer 44

With reference to this project, the contractor provided buildability input in relation to a section of temporary works.

The original proposal was to remove the external face of the existing development and provide a temporary wall internally. Although, the contractor suggested amending the foundation design and steelwork connections which allowed for existing wall to remain.

Question 45

With a more developed design but the same time constraints, what option would you have recommended to the contractor? Are there any other considerations that could have been made?

Answer 45

A two stage approach may have been considered as this would still have allowed for the overlap of design and construction. However, it would have depended on the level of development as the tender process and analysis ultimately extends the project length.

An alternative consideration could have been negotiating the final cost whilst starting on site. Although, the client wanted a fixed cost prior to starting.

Question 46

Is there anything you would have done differently on this project?

Answer 46

I would request that I had full visibility of the packages the contractor sent to the sub contractor to ensure that the information stated within the tendering package was correct.

Question 47

What is the difference between single stage tender and two stage tender in term of programming? Why is there such difference?

Answer 47

The difference between the two is that the design would be fully developed prior to tendering under a single stage. With a two stage process the 1st stage commences whilst the design is being developed.

Ultimately, it is a difference of around 5 weeks.

Question 48

What would you do if the contractor stands firm on their quotation despite of series of commercial meetings?

Answer 48

At first, I would aim to resolve the disagreement through negotiation, but if this is not possible then advise a senior member of staff to see if they can resolve it.

If this was not successful, then I would advise the client of my position and advise them that this is what I deem to be a reasonable cost. The decision will ultimately be up to the client to agree.

Question 49

Can ‘cost reimbursement’ be an alternative? Why did not you suggest so?

Answer 49

This was not considered as an option as the client wanted cost certainty and a cost reimbursement contract would not provide cost certainty until the end of the project.

Question 50

What would be the alternative if the client engages earlier with their consultants?

Answer 50

I would have suggested a two stage approach as the client can benefit from the buildability input of the contractor.

Question 51

The programme was 9 months with construction commencing in month 3, how did you prepare the initial budget?

Answer 51

This was based on the early stage design information, and using m2 rates from previous projects/BCIS to produce an order of cost estimate and essentially a budget estimate.

Question 52

How was the budget monitored as works & design progressed?

Answer 52

As the level of design developed the contractor sent out the design information to sub contractors who priced the work.

Therefore, as the design progressed we arrived at a firm cost as we had received costing back from the contractor.