Pre-Construction

Once a design has been agreed and appropriate planning permissions agreed you will be able to begin further detailed specifications of the work to be undertaken. This will evolve into a schedule of works which can be used to select appropriate contractors through a competitive tendering process as outlined below:

Funder’s requirements concerning the procurement and tender process and the demonstration of value for money will have to be addressed at this stage, particularly if the project is a large one and requires a Europe wide tender process.

Tenders ideally should contain a full package of drawings and a written specification plus a Quantity Surveyors' Bill of Quantities and Health and Safety requirements.

It is usual for 3 or 4 Contractors acceptable to the project client and funders / investors to be asked to bid. Ideally, contractors should be chosen who can do the work and have worked on similar projects and with similar organisations in the past.

Fees are due to the Quantity Surveyor (QS), Engineers and to the Architect at this point. Some investors insist on having representatives at the official opening of Tenders and most will want to receive the Tender report which is usually prepared by the QS to the client on all the returned Tenders with a recommendation on whether to proceed with a Contractor. This is usually followed by a negotiation on the Contract Sum with the selected Contractor. This takes place between the QS and Architect to look at any outstanding details or provisional sums in the tender.