6th November 2006, 09:37 AM
Speaking as a consultant, our company rarely if ever issues tenders asking for fixed, lump-sum prices. We structure things in a way (see my previous posts) that allows comparison of tenders on a level playing field, eliminates comparison on the basis of the different guesses made by contractors about the amount of archaeology present, and covers the un-estimatable items (so far as possible) using provisional sums or provisional quantities.
That approach requires quite a bit of additional hard thinking when writing the spec, but it does largely address the risks to both contractor and client.
Personally, I think that fixed prices are silly for most archaeological purposes.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
That approach requires quite a bit of additional hard thinking when writing the spec, but it does largely address the risks to both contractor and client.
Personally, I think that fixed prices are silly for most archaeological purposes.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished