TENDERING PROCEDURE

The FIDIC Conditions of Contract envisage that a contractor will be selected by the Employer following competitive tendering.

FIDIC has published a document entitled 'Tendering Procedure' which presents a systematic approach to the selection of tenderers and the obtaining and evaluating of tenders. It is intended to assist the Employer/Engineer to receive sound competitive tenders with a minimum of qualifications and formulated so that they can be quickly and efficiently assessed. At tile same time, every effort has been made to provide the opportunity and incentive for contractors to respond easily to invitations to tender for projects they are well qualified to implement.

Experience has shown that, for major projects and those involving international tendering, prequalification of tenderers is desirable since it enable the Employer/Engineer to establish. In advance the competence of the firms subsequently invited to tender. It also ensures that invitations are addressed to leading companies who would not necessarily participate in open or unrestricted tendering. Such unrestricted tendering does not always facilitate appropriate competition because the number of tenderers may be so great as to make the odds against tendering successfully unacceplable.

Additionally, prequalification has the advantage of reducing the inflationary effect which must arise where firms incur unproductive expense in submitting a large number of tenders in the knowledge that a high proportion of these must be unsuccessful.

A flowchart illustrating the recommended procedures for the prequalification of tenderers, for obtaining tenders and for opening and evaluation of tenders is reproduced on subsequent pages.

The documents issued to tenderers (the Tender documents) normally comprise Condition of Contract, Specifications, Drawings, Bill of Quantities and form of Tender, together with Instructions to Tenderers. All except Instructions to Tenderers become Contract documents on award of Contract. It is usual to send the Tender document to tenderers under cover of latter, which should be limited to identifying the documents and giving the recipient an invitation to tender.

Conditions of Contract

The Conditions of Contract will consist of Part I and Part II of the Red Book. The Conditions set out the legal/contractual arrangements that will apply to the Contract. The principles and the method to be followed in their preparation are described in a later chapter of this Guide,

Specification

The Specifications will define the scope and the technical requirements of the Contract. The quality of materials and the standards of workmanship to be provided by the Contractor must be clearly desirable, together with the extent, if any, to which the Contractor will be responsible for the design of the permanent works. Details must be included of samples to be provided and tests to be carried out by the Contractor during the course of the Contract. Any limitations on the Contractor's freedom of choice in the order, timing or methods of executing the work or sections of the works must be clearly set out and any restrictions in his use of the site of the works, such as the provision of access or space for other contractors, must be given.

o assess accurately, in conjunction with t f work included in the Contract. Only et of drawings so fully detailed that the work cessary. On most contracts supplementary d estimated quantities of work to be executed ent form of contract, although that does not he Bill of Quantities provided that the scope of ined.

I a number of tenderers, that the tenders erms and conditions and presented in a

Drawings

The Drawings must be in sufficient detail to enable tenderers t he Specification and the Bill of Quantities, the nature and scope o rarely is it possible to provide, at tender stage, a complete s can be executed without any further drawings becoming ne drawings will be issued after award as work proceed.

Bill of Quantities

The Bill of Quantities is a list of items giving descriptions an under the Contract. The Red Book assumes a remeasurem preclude the inclusion of a number of lump sum items in t work to be covered by each lump sum item is adequately def The Tender

t is highly desirable when inviting competitive offers from received should be based as far as possible on equal t