Chapter 15

Closing the Bid

Objectives• Upon completion of this chapter,

you will be able to:– Describe the estimate summary

process– Describe items that are addressed in

the bid process– Identify the three main objectives of a

pre-bid review meeting

Objectives (cont’d.)– Explain how the contractor’s risk on a

project is identified and how the risk factor influences the bid markup

– Distinguish a unit-price bid from a lump-sum bid and describe the additional requirements of a unit-price bid

– Outline the tasks that should be addressed following a bid submission

Objectives (cont’d.)– Finalize estimates using manual

methods for both unit-price and lump-sum bids

– Use Excel spreadsheets to close an estimate and bid

– Use the MC2 ICE software to close an estimate and bid

Introduction• Last stages of the estimate

– Estimate prices are summarized– Bid components are assembled – Bid documents are submitted

• Bid summary sheet – Gathers all of constituent estimate

prices– Distinguishes items that have to be

priced

In Advance of the Bid-Closing

• Contract bid is compiled in stages:– Advance stage: concluded at least

two workdays before bid-closing – Review stage– Closing stage

• Many estimators prepare a checklist – Ensures all needs are taken care of

The Bid Form • Includes:

– Project name and address– Owner and contractor identity– Description of work– List of bid documents and agenda– Bid price and project duration– Specified period for bid to be open– Signatures, time, date, and place of bid

The Bid Form (cont’d.)• Additional bid form information:

– List of unit prices for pricing changes– Alternative prices– Separate prices– Allowances– Bid security– Bid conditions

The Bid Form (cont’d.)• Unit prices:

– Used for pricing added or deleted work

• Alternative prices (alternates): – Quoted for proposed specification changes

• Separate prices:– Bidders are required to state prices of

specific items separately from the base bid• Several reasons

The Bid Form (cont’d.)• Allowances:

– Stipulated sum of money to be expended on a specific work item• Cash allowances and contingency sums

• Bid security:– Guarantees contractor will enter into

a contract and furnish contract bonds• Bid bonds and Consent of Surety

The Bid Form (cont’d.)• Bid conditions listed on the bid

forms– Bidder expresses agreement by

signing or sealing the bid– Many shift risk factor from owner to

contractor• Should be highlighted and brought to the

attention of company management

The Pre-Bid Review• Objectives:

– Ensure there are no obvious omissions from the bid

– Consider ways of improving bid price competitiveness

– Consider an appropriate fee for the project

• Topics in need of consideration:– Bid markup and need for bid clarifications

The Closing• Important considerations:

– Staffing the bid-closing• Varies according to project size

– Telephones and fax machines• Ensure clarity

– Subtrade conditions• Evaluate consequences of acceptance

The Closing (cont’d.)– Naming subcontractors

• Final list may not be available until moments before submission

– Bid breakdown• Basis for evaluating monthly progress

payments• Prices include profit and overhead amounts

– Computerized bid-closing• Perform all necessary calculations and

price compilations

Unit-Price Bids• Total amount paid to contractor

– Depends on quantity of work completed

• Schedule of Prices– Primary bid document

• Unit-price recap– Reflects items on bid Schedule of

Prices

Unit-Price Bids (cont’d.)• The summary

– Overheads and project fee are distributed against recap prices • Achieved with wide spreadsheets

• The unit-price bid form– Last stage in unit-price bid

• Unit prices are inserted against each work item listed on Schedule of Prices bid form

Unit-Price Bids (cont’d.)• Unbalanced bids

– Quantities of items containing overheads and fees decrease and quantity of other work increases• Contractor is left with considerably less

payment for overheads and fee than expected

– Contract documents may state unbalanced bids will be disqualified

After the Bid• Items that need to be attended to:

– Tabulate the bid results– Compile the bid documents– Return bid documents– Store bid documents– Compile and store the estimate file– Handle subcontractors– Post-bid review

The Estimate–Cost Control Cycle

• Bid estimate – Primary resource in project cost control– Circular in nature

• Cost control process– Pursued on a project-by-project basis

• Budget is set up• Cost are allocated to items• Reports are generated

Examples• Summary Example 1—House

– Refer to Figure 15.10

• Summary Example 2—Office/Warehouse Building– Refer to Figure 15.11

• Pricing Subcontractors Using MC2 ICE Software– Refer to Figures 15.13 and 15.14

Examples (cont’d.)• Estimate Summary Using MC2 ICE

Software– Refer to Figures 15.15 and 15.16

• Printing Reports Using MC2 ICE Software– Refer to Figure 15.17 and 15.18

Summary• Last stages in completing an

estimate and submitting a bid– Requires careful planning and

organization• Most contractors use a standard format

– A number of tasks follow the bid submission• Summarizing and preparing bids can be

done manually or via computer