I sound really old but there is a basic bidding knowledge that is missing in today’s construction industry! IT USED TO BE: Contractors relied upon estimators and their bid managers that would not blindly accept the goofy low subcontractor’s bid. They knew there was a problem. Contractors had estimators and bid managers on staff that [...]
Construction firms are the most optimistic companies in the world. They bid on projects and enter into construction contracts where conflict is inherent and the terms are loaded against them. The commercial terms of the contract can consume page after page of small print. These pages should be reviewed carefully prior to submitting the bid [...]
Perhaps the title on this one should be the Competitive Advantage Everyone Needs. In the previous blogs on this subject the responders mentioned innovation and better ideas by the contractors. If they have one, keeping it secret was one option. The thing is, cheating on the specified materials and workmanship is not a competitive advantage. [...]
My recent blog on The Competitive Advantage Nobody Needs generated some interesting responses on ENR.com. There were some very insightful comments, even from the one responder that thinks everybody is a crook in the construction industry. Bidders that short circuit the specifications are taking something of value from the owner of the project. In the [...]
Bid amounts can be evaluated and verified in a straightforward manner – provided the evaluator has prepared their own comprehensive estimate on the project. Contractors and subcontractors, if they don’t already, should do this on every bid they submit. Owners, developers, architects and engineers should do this too. It is simple and can be done [...]
Expecting a contractor to spend time and resources to produce a free budget estimate is wrong! Just recently, I helped a client rebid a project that originally bid the end of January. In January the plans were only 60% complete and the bid form forced the contractors to honor their quote for 180 days by [...]
The gulf coast, from Pensacola to New Orleans, is experiencing something of a boom compared to the rest of the country. As mentioned for Biloxi, Mississippi, FEMA and stimulus funded projects are making this part of the country a good time construction experience. However, nobody seems to think this will be a lasting stimulus. The [...]
Estimators need to compile all the data that they can about every job that they bid. This data needs to include the internal items such as: equipment labor subcontractors materials overhead profit You also need to track the external variables like: number of bidders who bid the project ranking of the bidders variances between the [...]
