Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The clandestine practice of consultants modelling for tender documentation...


For more than a decade I’ve held the belief that an undeclared game was going on between consultants and contractors that was based on and revolved around ‘drawings for construction’.

It went on a bit like this:
Consultants would prepare drawings to tender.
Thanks to CAD, these drawings would number in the hundreds if not thousands for even modest buildings.
The contractor would price with a superficial look over the documents.
(no way could all those sheets be properly assessed).
Once a contract was won and building had started, both sides would comb through the said documents looking for ammunition to gain advantage over the other side.
The contractor would search for discrepancies and excuses for variations, the consultant for proofs that the buildings were properly designed.
Sometime one party won, other times, the other.

Owners lost either way, of course, but owners did not care too much as long as the ‘building bubble’ delivered the numbers at the bottom of the sheet.
Still, it was equilibrium of a sort – with everyone having a chance of landing the jack-pot.

Then, a slight shift happened.
Consultants started using modelling to prepare tender documentation.
Relatively low key, nowhere near the full-blown BIM, but going far enough to ensure that their own vulnerability was dramatically reduced.
Most contractors missed this shift and got caught unaware.
No surprises there.


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  2. Interim Valuation Certificates Negotiate and agree the Final Account figure with the POST-CONTRACT in Dubai, Sharjah,, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, KSA Final Valuation Certificate. Tender documents are prepared and submitted to the Engineer to issue to approved Tenderers.

    Preparation of Interim Valuation Certificates :

    Usually, on a monthly basis, following a site visit to ascertain the progress of Works at site, an Interim Valuation is submitted to enable the Engineer to issue the Interim Payment Certificate.

    Pricing of Variations :

    The contractual entitlement and cost implications, if any, are determined and recommendations made to the Engineer to enable him to obtain approval from the Client and issue the Engineer’s Instructions.

    Nominated Sub-contracts :

    For sections of Works, where the Client is to nominate a Subcontractor, the Tender documents are prepared and submitted to the Engineer to issue to approved Tenderers. On receipt, a detailed review is carried out and our recommendations are given to the Engineer / Client for final decision and appointment.

    Site Progress / Design Team Meetings :

    The Quantity Surveyor will attend the progress meetings as well as the design team meetings.

    Cost Report :

    On a quarterly basis, a Cost Report is submitted which will clearly indicate

    • Work done to-date
    • Outstanding Work
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    • Form of Tender
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    • Anticipated Final Cost

    This Report will enable cost control and facilitate any corrective measures required to ensure that the project costs remains within budget.

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