3rd November 2006, 02:44 PM
From Gumbo:
Personally, I am all for detailed Specifications, and that is what we generally do. In fact, the preparation of detailed Specs (and tying them in to a proper contract) is, in my view, one of the key purposes of having a Consultant in the first place.
From Troll:
I don't like the insurance idea, but there is another approach, which we always adopt. Our tenders are always issued with a Bill of Quantities. The Tenderer has to price items that can reasonably be priced, and is tied to the rates/figures in their Tender. However, items where a quantity cannot reasonably be identified are given as 'provisional' items, where either a sum of money is specified or a provisional quantity is specified, and the Tenderer is asked to provide a rate.
Under this approach, a cost is included in the price for all of the 'guestimate' items, so the client never gets asked to pay for something they had not expected to. However, the successful tenderer ends up getting paid for what they actually do, not for a guess. Equally importantly, all tenderers are placed on an equal footing - prices no longer vary according to the differences in people's guesswork, but instead according to how much they would charge for the same piece of work.
A smart consultant will usually ensure that the total amount of money in the provisional items is towards the top end of the likely out-turn cost. That way, the overall out-turn price for the job is likely to be less than the total budget, rather than more, and that is usually popular with clients.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
Quote:quote:In that case can we have decent briefs please. Some of the s*** ive had to tender against its like you have to imagine what the job might be and then budget against that Grrrrrrrr.From Voice of Reason:
Quote:quote:and while we're at it, can we put an end to consultants issuing tenders which ask for a price based on a trench plan (if you are lucky), with no detailed specification, or even just a letter just saying please quote for 30 trenches each 2m wide without even a location map, and say 'and the winning tenderer will be supplied with the DBA, geophysics and site investigation data'. How are people supposed to assess the correct professional price without even the basic background data. Lazy, lazy, lazy, and signals contempt for contractors. And they wonder why we don't like consultants.Lots of tenders that don't involve a consultant at all are sent out on the basis of a curator's brief alone, and that usually gives even less information than is listed above.
Personally, I am all for detailed Specifications, and that is what we generally do. In fact, the preparation of detailed Specs (and tying them in to a proper contract) is, in my view, one of the key purposes of having a Consultant in the first place.
From Troll:
Quote:quote:Old chesnut I know but, what about insurance against those "variables"? A fully informed contractor can make a reasonable guesstimate but no more.That is a good argument against guide prices, to be sure.
I don't like the insurance idea, but there is another approach, which we always adopt. Our tenders are always issued with a Bill of Quantities. The Tenderer has to price items that can reasonably be priced, and is tied to the rates/figures in their Tender. However, items where a quantity cannot reasonably be identified are given as 'provisional' items, where either a sum of money is specified or a provisional quantity is specified, and the Tenderer is asked to provide a rate.
Under this approach, a cost is included in the price for all of the 'guestimate' items, so the client never gets asked to pay for something they had not expected to. However, the successful tenderer ends up getting paid for what they actually do, not for a guess. Equally importantly, all tenderers are placed on an equal footing - prices no longer vary according to the differences in people's guesswork, but instead according to how much they would charge for the same piece of work.
A smart consultant will usually ensure that the total amount of money in the provisional items is towards the top end of the likely out-turn cost. That way, the overall out-turn price for the job is likely to be less than the total budget, rather than more, and that is usually popular with clients.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished