How were you appointed?
Through a professional services framework contract
How does a professional services framework work?
- The framework contains a list of pre-approved consultants that are able to undertake various types of construction consultancy work without having to submit separate tenders each time
- This makes the process more efficient and enables collaborative working relationships to develop
How did you establish the design requirements?
I met with the client on site to discuss the work required and then subsequently attended a meeting with the client to record the full brief in writing
Who were the stakeholders and how did you identify them?
- The stakeholders were the client, the end-user, the professional services team, the neighbours and the community as a whole
- These were identified by discussing with the client who had an interest in the outcome of the project
What did you consider during your desktop study?
- Extent of site
- Access to site
- Photographs of site/building condition
- Site use
- Existing plans/drawings
- Date of construction
- Construction methods
- Listings / conservation area
- Ground investigations
- Historic maps
- Local Authority records
What did you include in your feasibility study?
- Summary of brief
- Legal/statutory approvals (e.g. building control approval and scheduled monument consent)
- Alternative outline design proposals, including recommendations
- Outline schedule of work
- Budget estimate
- Estimated project programme
At which RIBA stage would you complete a feasibility study?
Stage 1 - Preparation and Brief
What is involved at the other RIBA stages?
- Stage 0 - Strategic Definition
- Stage 1 - Preparation and Brief
- Stage 2 - Concept Design
- Stage 3 - Developed Design
- Stage 4 - Technical Design
- Stage 5 - Construction
- Stage 6 - Handover and Close Out
- Stage 7 - In Use
How did you establish the programme?
By breaking down the different tasks and trades required to complete the works and making an assessment based on past experience of projects of a similar nature
How did you put together the budget estimate?
An outline schedule of work was completed and each item was priced with a QS based on current unit rates and experience from previous projects
As you were the designer, what level of PII did you have?
I am covered by my company’s PI insurance, which meets the RICS minimum level of indemnity required based on the company’s turnover, as well as the requirements of the professional services framework I was appointed under
Tell me about the budget reallocations.
- Just after tender stage, the client had identified another property that would be more suited to the end-user and required less work
- As such, the budget for this project was reallocated and spent elsewhere
- The building remains vacant, however I believe the client decided to undertake the dry rot works and is looking to sell the property instead
You say if you had more time you could have taken a more holistic approach. How would this have helped matters?
More time would have allowed me to sit down with the client and potentially identify the works required, the timescales involved and whether there were any other properties in their ownership that would offer a more suitable alternative before designs were developed and tenders issued
How did you appoint the M&E designers?
They were appointed directly by my company, with their services being covered in my company’s own fee and with a back-to-back agreement in place, reflecting the terms of my company’s own appointment (e.g. level of PII, payment terms, exclusions etc.)
Who took liability for the M&E designers?
My company were responsible for the delivery and content of the M&E submission
How did you ensure the M&E designers were competent?
The appointment was based on previous working relationships with the client, so they had already been vetted by my company’s supply-chain management team and fee rates had been agreed under the professional services framework
Why did you choose JCT MW?
- The works involved were not complex in nature and did not require the need for more detailed mechanisms available under other contracts, such as sectional completion, named sub-contractors, bill of quantities and more detailed extensions of time provisions
- The client was also familiar with this form of contract and was their procurement departments preferred choice as well
What alternative contracts could you have used and why did you not use them?
NEC3 EC Short Contract may have also been suitable, however this form was less familiar with the client and their procurement team had already identified their desire to proceed with JCT MW based on consistency with other similar projects
How would your tender differ if you used an NEC form of contract?
The contract terminology and mechanisms would need to be identified and changed to match the provisions in the NEC form, including all preliminary information contained within the Works Information, request for an activity schedule and programme (which are integral to NEC contracts) and formation of a risk register instead of provisional sums
What procurement options did you advise on?
On this project, this was something that was decided by the client’s in-house procurement department
Considering the time constraints, would any other procurement options have been more suitable for this project?
Using a pre-approved contractor that would have been called off a framework based on the estimated project cost may have allowed more time in the design stage without going through the lengthy tender process, however the client wanted a more competitive value by opening the opportunity to local contractors
How did you decide on which contractors to tender to?
There were no contractors chosen prior to tendering, as a single-stage open tendering procedure was used
What is the difference between the different tendering procedures?
- Single-stage tendering - invitation to tender documents are issued to a number of competing clients who are all given the chance to bid for the project based on identical tender documentation
- Two-stage tendering - concept designs are issued to bidding contractors and the preferred contractor is chosen based on the quality of their bid, the quality of their team, their preliminaries prices and OH&P allowances. The preferred contractor then joins the design team and works with the professional team to complete the design before presenting a bid for the works
- Negotiated tendering - effectively a single-stage tender but with a single contractor who returns an initial price, which is then negotiated with the client’s professional team
What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-tendering?
Advantages:
- Reduces tendering costs through reduction in paper, printing and postage costs
- Less environmentally demanding
- Avoids the need for double or triple entry of the same information
- Ability to track and limit time of tender opening
- Collation of tender queries in one place
Disadvantages:
- Some contractors may be unfamiliar with this process
- Technology requirements may restrict participation
