Tips for Effectively Selecting Contractors for Engineering Projects
One of the key elements that determine project success is selecting the right contractor for the job. While it may be tempting to focus on minimizing costs, a better approach is to maximize value and optimize costs. After all, an engineering project is an investment; The best offer is not always the one with the lowest price, but rather the one that offers the greatest return on every dollar spent.
Effective communication is key during the bidding process: if participating contractors clearly understand the project requirements, they will be able to prepare their proposals accordingly. Without adequate specifications, even the most qualified contractors may have difficulty providing an adequate bid. Effective communication is so important to project success that the Project Management Institute dedicates an entire chapter of its Body of Knowledge to the topic.
Before proceeding with a bidding process, it is highly recommended to hire an engineering consultancy or supervision company. They can help you streamline the process while also providing technical guidance and managing correspondence with contractors. Even with a clearly defined project scope, it is normal for contractors to request additional information or clarification.
Bid Leveling: Setting Common Ground for Comparison
Project proposals can only be compared to each other if the contractors quote the same scope of products and services. When submitting a Request for Proposals (RFP), include a scope document that breaks down the work into specific items and where each item is priced individually. This allows proposals to be compared side by side, something that is not possible when each contractor provides a different analysis of the project work.
Creating a detailed project scope is more time consuming at the beginning, but saves much more time later in the process. As proposals can be directly compared with each other, communication becomes more effective during the contractor selection process, reducing the number of clarifications and corrections requested.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) recommends using a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to define project scope. In simple terms, a WBS breaks down project work into a series of levels, where the definition of work becomes more specific for each descending level and specific project items are described at the lowest level. The following is an example:
- A construction project WBS might have a category called Electrical Installations (Level 1).
- This category can be subdivided into sections such as Lighting Installations or Electrical Receptacles (Level 2).
- Specific luminaires are specified in the lighting installations section, as well as the quantities required (Level 3). For example, a list item might be described as: Commercial LED Downlight, 2ft x 4ft, 4000 Lumens, Clear White Light (4100K). This is an item that can be specifically priced by the contractors participating in the bidding.
A list of items divided into categories and subcategories is much easier to understand than a simple list where elements from different construction systems are combined. An engineering consulting firm can help you put together a WBS effectively. With this bidding format, detecting discrepancies is also easier; for example, if five contractors are participating and one of them has a significantly lower price than the other four, it is likely that there has been an error or misinterpretation.
Importance from a technical point of view
When comparing proposals for a project, the opinion of a neutral and qualified third party is highly recommended, with the best recommendation being to hire the services of a consulting or engineering supervision company. This way, each item in the project scope can be evaluated from a financial and technical point of view, ensuring that the price provided by the contractor is reasonable according to the technical specifications. To define what can be considered cheap or expensive in engineering, a certain knowledge of the industry is necessary.
A consultant or engineering firm can also determine whether any item in the project scope is priced too high or too low and then request clarification from the respective contractor. Low prices are only good news if they are reasonable; Unrealistic prices are likely the result of a bidding contractor error. However, these conclusions can only be reached with an in-depth understanding of the different construction systems and the prices that can be expected.
Equipment shipments
In simple terms, submissions can be defined as any information about equipment and materials, provided by a contractor for approval prior to project award. Some of the most common types of submissions include technical cut sheets, factory drawings, and material samples.
The components of the construction system must generally meet a series of requirements and standards. Equipment from trusted manufacturers comes with cut-out technical sheets, which provide a detailed description of the product's characteristics and compliance. However, not all contractors work with the same suppliers, and the contractor selection process may involve comparing equipment from different suppliers for a single item in the project proposal. Although equipment cut sheets are available on the Internet, searching for them can be very tedious when it comes to a large project. For this reason, it is very important that contractors participating in a tender provide cut sheets of all proposed equipment.
Some elements of construction systems that perform critical functions or involve a high degree of complexity cannot be effectively described with textual specifications and general construction plans alone. In these cases, it is recommended to request factory drawings from contractors, providing specific details about how the component will be manufactured or installed. Factory drawings are especially important in projects involving custom components.
On some projects, it may also make sense to request material samples from participating contractors, usually with test results from a qualified laboratory. This is common with concrete, for example, due to its importance to the structural integrity of a building.
Project Plan: Setting the Deadline
Contractors' proposals must clearly define what will be supplied and at what price, but they also need to set deadlines. This provides a baseline so that the project owner can evaluate progress and is also useful for scheduling interim project payments. Successful completion of a project usually involves detailed planning in terms of time, resources and costs.
- Timing: Many project activities follow a logical sequence. For example, roof installation can only proceed if the underlying structure is already built and painters must wait for the walls to be completed. A Gantt chart is the best tool for showing the sequence of project activities and their completion deadlines, and also allows the identification of critical activities that delay the entire project if postponed individually – non-critical activities have idle time and can be delayed up to a certain point. degree without compromising the completion of the project.
- Resources: Engineering projects involve personnel and equipment, and in a well-planned project the contractor knows from the beginning the activities in which these resources will participate at a given time.
- Cost: After a contractor develops a Gantt chart and sets the price for each activity, it is possible to estimate a cost calendar. This gives the client a clear idea of how the project budget will be used over time, allowing payments to be scheduled more effectively.
The Project Management Institute places great emphasis on project planning as it provides a basis against which project progress can be compared in terms of scope, time and cost. When comparing proposals from different contractors, check that deadlines and resource allocation are realistic. A proposal may meet all project requirements in a reasonable time frame, although it may still lack in terms of planning.
Conclusion
When undertaking an engineering project, avoid blindly awarding the work to the contractor with the lowest price. Keep in mind that construction systems must meet a series of standards and there is a limit to how low a specific system can be priced. Also ensure that all bidding contractors provide a detailed project plan, providing details on expected project timelines and resource allocation.
