Pre-Construction

Tender stage support for Main Contractors

Choosing to engage the support of a team of skilled Quantity Surveyors / Estimators before construction commences (at tender stage) is the best way to ensure that you are accurately pricing projects and are considering all risks and opportunities that may affect its outcome.

Preparation and planning is vital in ensuring that your business successfully wins new work, successfully delivers on promises and earns a reputation for quality, accuracy and professionalism. 

AG Surveying supports Main Contractors in all pre-construction preparations. We possess a strong track record in helping our clients win work, with tenders that impress end clients in their thoroughness and accuracy. 

Our approach is tailored to your specific requirements; we can build a support package based on how you would like us to approach tender estimation and management. 

Feasibility Cost Advice

AG Surveying will undertake feasibility studies and complete cost modelling exercises to help inform decision making and ultimately guide the strategic direction of a project.

Typical feasibility exercises conducted by a Quantity Surveyor are as follows:

  • Determine Client Requirements
  • Develop Business Case Appraisals for feasible options including review of Project Risks and Project Budget
  • Recommend option that best delivers Client Requirements
  • Undertake Site Appraisals

Our experienced team of Quantity Surveyors will look at initial project budget and cash flow forecasts to assess the viability of the project and recommend adjustments before it moves to RIBA Stage 2. Particularly for large and complex projects, this process is essential in ensuring optimum project development and in minimising design-alteration delays.

Tender Management & Estimating

AG Surveying provides a turnkey solution to tender estimation and management, as well as the option to pick and choose which specific elements we support you with.

Listed below are the key actions within the Tender Management and Estimating stage that we typically support with:

  • Organise and chair key review meetings, including Kick Off, Mid Bid Review and Sign Off.
  • Compose Tender Action Plans and Programmes with consideration of any site restraints, ensuring that appropriate time is allowed within the programme.
  • Attend site inspections/visits.
  • Send detailed enquiries out to reputable sub-contractors, including clear instructions on exactly what we would like them to price as well as contractual conditions they must operate within.
  • We have the ability to self-price works using our own database of proven subcontractor rates to save time / money.
  • We can compile a full set of preliminaries, identifying risks and making necessary allowances.
  • We can assist with operational input into tenders, e.g. scoping out temporary works, logistics plans, welfare layouts and programmes of works.
  • Once the tender is completed, we will set up and chair a tender adjudication meeting to review documents and address any queries.

Pricing Schedules

AG Surveying can compose both measured and non-measured Pricing Schedules for subcontractor tendering, ensuring the most accurate approach is taken at each stage. Our clients decide how they’d like us to tender each package, particularly with regards to the amount of time and detail they would like us to put into this part of the tender process. The more time we put into a tender, the more accurate it will be, however we appreciate that clients often prefer to keep tender costs lean and take on an element of risk with their costs.

When subcontractors are overloaded or taking time to come back to you with detailed breakdowns, the support of a skilled team of Quantity Surveyors could encourage subcontractors to both return and price, and return a more accurate price by taking off quantities for their tender.

Of course in an ideal world, we would ensure that subcontractors have the appropriate amount of time to prepare their most competitive quotations.

Contract Review

Our team can conduct a Contract Review at tender stage to highlight concerns or risks.

Key areas we can focus on are

  • Payment terms
  • Insurances
  • Design responsibilities
  • Collateral warranty requirements
  • Amendments to standard forms of contract
  • Order of precedence of documents that form part of the contract

Programme

Our team can build a programme of works in Microsoft Project, capturing all tasks from designs, procurement, key milestones, and the works themselves.

(Example programme.)