The Finese of Reality Bidding

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Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1416 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2013 - 08:06 am:    130807 THE FINESE OF REALITY BIDDING by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Cincinnati, Ohio You know we all are so bound up in producing good design, quality documentation, reasonable and compliant materials and systems, that we lose sight of some other aspects of our projects. Like bidding. Now drawings and specifications certainly are the basis of good bidding. If these are done in a reasonable good manner, it will cause reasonably good bids. Where amiss, they produce “Swiss cheese” bids, replete with unfilled holes that the manufacturers, suppliers and contractors fill with pure conjectures-- both reasonable and unreasonable [i.e., those with cost implications!] In the latter case, the proverbial “playing field” is slanted or warped unfairly. To maintain the equality established in the documentation, and to be expected in the fabrication and construction, we need to ensure the bidding is truly a process of fair competition. The following are some thoughts to aid this process: • Don’t bid before noon [bidders need time to take final sub-bids and do the math]; Also, not good to bid on lunch hour; 2pm is a good time [use 2:01 to give bidders false illusion of “extra time”.] OK, try 7:30AM and see what you get besides ugly stares! • Don’t bid on Monday, Friday or the day before or after a holiday as bidders need to be AWAKE, ATTUNED, up to the work, not distracted, alert and sharp [pun on their pencil points!] Thursday [golf day] isn’t the greatest either. • Don’t take bids in a highly congested area that inhibits late arrivals-- nor in remote, hard-to-find venues. • Pay attention to weather forecast and adjust bid due date [by addendum] if necessary • Don’t issue addendum within seven [7] days of due date. • Receive bids where parking is readily available • Don’t receive bid in areas of one-way streets • Do not provide “curb side” receipt of bids • Stamp all bids as received with electric time stamp, correctly calibrated! • Close door of room where bids are received at exact time on stamp and as advertised • Ignore crying, wailing, cursing and death threats [chances are their bid is high anyway] • Don’t bid on cloudy and inclement days if at all possible. • Be careful bidding under nimbo-cumulus clouds [i.e., gloomy days- gloomy weather effects mood of bidders] • Adjust time and location so sun is not shining on entrance to building • Provide verbal signage [a person who knows the way] or signs correctly leading obviously to receipt room • Ensure no lolly-gagging, loitering or misc. conversations in bid room • Those receiving bids should leave by door other than entrance to building used by bidders • Have representative of owner in bid room—especially for public projects; hopefully unarmed will suffice • Do not permit simple throwing of bids into the room [to beat time deadline]; and use one door for in and out if possible; don’t allow bids just to be dropped on table or counter • Ensure an austere and distraction-free path and room [which impact bidders]; on first floor • Bids which are illegible, in foreign language[s] or invisible ink shall be deemed irregular and impermissible. • Bids must be complete, enclosed and sealed in whatever form/method submitted [bidders responsibility]-- do not allow completion or revision of bid in bid room with numbers received on cell phone while bid is enroute. • Oh yes, if any bidder asks for some RFI or Change Order forms, you might take extra precautions. • If any bidder you had problems with on another project bids, check bid for ticking or other symptoms of “t Now understand even strict adherence to these guidelines will not guarantee perfect, on budget bidding and may very well produce some other quirky, human but quite irritating “situations”. Be prepared! David J. Wyatt, CDT Senior Member Username: david_j_wyatt_cdt Post Number: 11 Registered: 03-2011 Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2013 - 08:44 am:    Ralph, I appreciate your intentions to help bidders as much as possible. Not very many people think about them, but you have certainly thought it through. For public procurement, the bidding requirements and procedures are fairly uniform throughout the state where I do most of my work. There's not much we can do to make sure it is not cloudy on the day bids are to be received. I am sure you meant this to be comic relief. For private-sector bidding, most of my projects are by invitation and I see more and more electronic submittal of bids. It is convenient for several reasons. It reduces the stress on the bidders, it makes better use of their time, and some of the uncertainties that your guidelines warn against are no longer factors. In addition, it is easy to track exactly when bids are received. I do wonder why the sun shining on the building entrance is a negative factor. Can you explain that? Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1417 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2013 - 10:40 am:    David, nice to hear from-- thanks. No doubt we would have to collect an entirely new list for more up-to-date submittal of bids. We are still gathering glitches that occur by happen- stance or by intention; not sure we really have made GOOD progress and not conceived new demons. stay tuned! Sun shining on the main entrance makes it tough for bleary-eyed bidders to distinguish where they may/should enter the building, costly them added seconds to deliver the bids on time