Procurement and Tendering Flashcards
What is procurement?
The process of obtaining all goods and services required to complete a construction project
What are the main factors that determine the chosen procurement route?
The client’s priorities:
- Time
- Cost
- Quality
- Risk
- Sustainability
What procurement routes are there?
- Traditional
- Design & Build
- Construction Management
- Management Contracting
What is traditional procurement?
Design is separated from construction:
- Client appoints consultants to fully design the project
- Contractors tender on the fully developed design
- Winning contractor constructs the project
What are the key advantages of traditional procurement?
- COST: Client has cost certainty before construction starts
- QUALITY: Client maintains control of design
- Bids easier to compare
What are the key disadvantages of traditional procurement?
- TIME: Longer project duration as no overlap of design & construction
- QUALITY: Contractor cannot provide buildability input
- RISK: Client retains design risk
When might traditional procurement be used?
- TIME not client priority
- COST CERTAINTY is client priority
- QUALITY: Client wants to maintain control of the design (has specific or detailed design requirements)
- RISK: Client happy to take the design risk
What is design & build procurement?
Client appoints a contractor to design and build the project in line with their requirements
What are the key advantages of design & build procurement?
- TIME: shorter project duration by overlapping design & construction
- QUALITY: Contractor can provide buildability input
- RISK: Contractor takes design and construction risk
What are the key disadvantages of design & build procurement?
- COST: Contractors will likely include D&B risk in their tender returns
- QUALITY: Client has less control over design, design only as good as their requirements
- Bids more difficult to compare
When might design & build procurement be used?
- TIME is client priority
- QUALITY: On large, complex projects where contractor’s buildability input is required
- QUALITY: Retaining control of design not client priority
- RISK: Client wants to minimise their risk exposure
What are the differences between traditional and design and build procurement?
- TIME: D&B usually has shorter project durations
- COST: D&B tender returns usually include a risk premium
- QUALITY: In traditional, client maintains control of design, but there is no contractor buildability input (unless there is CDP)
- RISK: Contractor takes design and construction risk in D&B
What additional insurances might be needed under a D&B contract?
PII to cover the contractor’s design responsibility
What are employer’s requirements (ERs)?
- Documents produced by the client that set out their project requirements, on which the design and construction of the works will be based
- May include drawings, specifications, programme, pricing document format e.g. for CSA, scope of services
- Typically found on D&B projects, or a traditional contract where the contactor has a CDP
What are contractor’s proposals (CPs)?
- Contractor’s response to the ERs, setting out their proposals for designing and constructing the project
- May include drawings, specifications, programme, pricing document e.g. CSA & tender price
- Typically found on D&B projects, or a traditional contract where the contactor has a CDP
Which procurement route poses the least risk to the employer?
D&B because the contractor takes risk for the design as well as construction
Why does the employer usually pay a premium for design & build procurement at tender stage?
The contractor usually includes an allowance in their tender return for taking on the design risk
Under design and build, who executes the design for the contractor?
Either:
- Contractor’s in-house design team
- Contractor appoints external consultants
- Employer’s design team is novated to the contractor
What is construction management?
- Client places individual contracts each of the trade contractors, who are managed by a construction manager who supervises the works and coordinates the design team
- Construction Manager has no contractual link with any of the trade contractors or design team
- Although the trade contracts are coordinated by the Construction Manager, contractually they are the client’s risk
What are the key advantages of construction management?
- TIME: shorter project duration by overlapping design & construction
- COST: may be lower due to direct contracts with trade contractors
- QUALITY: Construction Manager can provide buildability input
What are the key disadvantages of construction management?
- COST: No cost certainty until the last trade package is bought
- RISK: Client carries (almost) all risk - requires an experienced and proactive client
When might construction management be used?
- TIME is client priority
- COST CERTAINTY not client priority
- QUALITY: Construction Manager’s buildability input required (large, complex projects)
- RISK: Employer is experienced and proactive
Which procurement route poses the most risk to the employer?
Construction management - client takes on all the risk (including design, programme, performance of the trade contractors) except for the quality of construction
(client places individual contracts with each trade contractor which are the client’s risk, CM carries no risk except professional negligence)
What is management contracting?
- Client appoints a Management Contractor to manage the entire building process who in turn appoints trade contractors to carry out the construction works
- Management Contractor has a direct contractual relationship with the trade contractors and is responsible for the overall construction works
- Client reimburses Management Contractor for prime cost of trade contracts plus a fee (usually a percentage)
What are the key advantages of management contracting?
- TIME: shorter project duration by overlapping design & construction
- COST: trade packages bought competitively
- QUALITY: Management Contractor can provide buildability input
What are the key disadvantages of management contracting?
- COST: No cost certainty until the last trade package is bought
- COST: Can disincentivise the Management Contractor to minimise costs
- Requires an experienced and proactive client
When might management contracting be used?
- TIME is client priority
- COST CERTAINTY: not client priority
- QUALITY: Management Contractor’s buildability input is required (large, complex project)
- Employer is experienced and proactive
What are the key differences between CM and MC?
CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS:
- CM: client directly appoints the trade contractors to execute the works
- MC: client appoints a management contractor who in turn appoints the trade contractors
.
RISK:
- CM: Construction Manager has no risk except professional negligence
- MC: Management Contractor takes on risk for programme, performance of trade contractors, quality of construction
What is a framework agreement?
- An agreement that allows the client to invite tenders from suppliers of goods and services to be carried out over a period of time (typically 4 years max.) on a call-off basis as and when required
- Key advantage: Reduces procurement timescales and risk
- Key disadvantage: Bidders will invest time and money to be awarded onto a framework and then potentially not receive any work through them
What’s the difference between a framework agreement and a contract?
Framework agreement is focused around being an approved supplier for a period of time, whereas a contract is more project-specific with a scope of works and value
What is project partnering?
- Partnering encourages collaboration, openness and trust between parties to a contract
- Most commonly used on large, long-term or high-risk contracts
- Can be for a one-off project, or can be a long-term relationship over many projects (e.g. framework agreement)
Key advantage: likelihood of conflict reduced
Key disadvantage: difficult to find a strong partner with the same objective, ethics, attitudes etc
What is tendering?
The process of inviting bids from contractors to complete construction works
What is the difference between procurement and tendering?
Procurement is the process of obtaining all goods and services required to complete a construction project
Tendering is the process of inviting bids from contractors to complete construction works
What are the 3 main tendering options for construction projects?
- Single stage tender
- Two stage tender
- Negotiated tender
What is single stage tendering?
- Tender documents are issued to the competing contractors to obtain prices for the whole construction works
- Often issued at Stage 4 so the tendering contractors receive the most detailed information to base their bid on
- The preferred contractor is awarded the contract
What are the key advantages of single stage tendering?
- COST: Competitive (no S2 negotiations)
- COST CERTAINTY: lump sum (no S2 cost increase)
- Simpler process
What are the key disadvantages of single stage tendering?
- TIME: Slower as design usually completed to RIBA Stage 4, then tenderers need time to review and accurately price this detailed information
- COST: As its competitive, tenderers could take risks in their pricing to win the works which can cause problems later on
- COST: Contractor submits their price but you don’t see the prices they received from subcontractors
- QUALITY: Contractor cannot provide buildability input