Tighten up tender lists, demand roads firms

Civil engineering contractors are calling on clients to use more rigorous and standard prequalification criteria when choosing bidders for their work.

They want clients to stop picking the cheapest bid, to introduce two stage tendering and to hold discussions with potential tenderers.

The drive, announced this week by the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, aims to give clients value for money while rewarding the more competent contractors. The FCEC wants to see an end to the increasingly haphazard way in which some clients award work.

Surrey County Council, for instance, has resorted to picking civil engineering firms at random for inclusion on its select list of contractors for term maintenance roadworks.

The FCEC said Surrey had invited firms to apply for inclusion on its select list last September for two term maintenance contracts worth about œ1 million per year and had an 'overwhelming' response. It had picked three firms according to its prequalification criteria. But it had been unable to differentiate between an unspecified further number of applicants and had selected four 'at random'.

Jim Turner, FCEC director of external affairs, said: 'We don't think there was necessarily anything sinister about this. But it does dramatically point to the need for a more rational approach to prequalification.'

Turner was speaking at the launch of a discussion document called 'Competition, Quality and Value' which has been produced by a task force headed by Howard Stevens of Alfred McAlpine. It is a follow-up to last year's special report from W S Atkins entitled 'Strategic Issues for UK Civil Engineering' and comes as Highways Agency chief executive Lawrie Haynes announced his commitment to value for money at a roads conference last week.

The FCEC discussion document takes a fresh look at the competitive tendering process and examines ways in which the client can get better value for money than by simply selecting the lowest price. A central recommendation is that 'more rigorous and standard prequalification criteria would result in clients employing contractors more able to fulfil their needs'. It advocates two-stage tendering and encourages client meetings with potential tenderers.

It acknowledges that contractors are often criticised for being under-qualified, aggressive and claims-oriented, ignorant of health and safety issues, weak on quality control, and tolerant of waste and inefficiency.

Howard Stevens said: 'It is not a prescriptive document. It is a first shot by a group of contractors at developing a contractors' view of what needs to be done to improve the competitive tendering process.'