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What to Expect from Civil Engineering Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Civil engineering tenders and where to find them

Civil engineering tenders are released by a broad range of organisations. Predominantly, they can be expected in the public sector and local councils are often procuring civil engineering works and services.

Civil engineering tenders can cover a broad scope of works and services. Often, they’re split into two broad categories:

  1. Minor Civils and building works

These are typically used for minor works that are small and uncomplex construction projects. This could cover both new and repair and renovation works that are below £500,000 in value. These civil engineering tenders could cover activities and works such as:

  • Footpath and cycleway improvements
  • Flood alleviation and land drainage improvements
  • Environmental improvements
  • Highway improvements
  • Hard landscaping
  • Construction of above and below ground structures
  • Drainage works.

  1. Major and complex works

These typically involve large one-off projects with a value over £500,000. Such civil engineering tenders often cover works such as:

  • Public buildings
  • Bridges
  • Coastal defences
  • Infrastructures such as drainage and flood defences.

RIBA planning and outline

Civil engineering tenders may require you to provide a RIBA Plan of Work outline for a certain stage. For example, this may be required for civil engineering tenders for new housing. This could include but isn’t limited to:

  • A detailed design of the work
  • Technical approvals
  • The main contract bid compliance checking
  • Works compliance and design checking
  • Design risk assessment
  • Full technical design and specification
  • Obtaining technical approval
  • Provision Sums for meetings
  • Project brief table
  • Health and safety.

Framework agreements

Civil engineering tenders can often be found as part of a framework agreement. Framework agreements are multi-supplier agreements often used within the public sector. The length of each framework agreement can vary from a few months to multiple years. Some even offer the possibility of extension. Due to this, securing a place on a framework agreement can be a lucrative opportunity for your business.

Framework agreements are split into different lots. Each lot can either be a specific good, service, work or geographical location. They allow suppliers to apply to be part of a wider contract without needing to supply all areas. The number of suppliers for each lot varies and can be anything from four suppliers for one lot to ten. Suppliers need only apply for the specific lot[s] they specialise in.

Depending on the buyer, suppliers may be able to bid on any or all of the framework lots available. This will be stated within the tender documents and tender specification released by the buyer. If this is an option, a supplier must be able to demonstrate that they’re able to undertake all works. They must have the appropriate capacity and resources to undertake the works across all selected lots. Civil engineering tender lots are typically split into geographical location and project value.

Past experience

Civil engineering tenders will likely require you to provide previous contract examples of work you have completed. They should be similar in complexity and scope and style. You may be asked for up to three examples within the last five years. They are often referred to as case studies and can strengthen your bid. Make sure you keep them relevant and include any challenges you overcame.

The contract will be awarded to the MEAT

As civil engineering tenders are frequent within the public sector, you should aim to be the MEAT. The MEAT stands for the most economically advantageous tender. This means the buyer is looking for a tender that provides the most value for money. A buyer will look at a combination of factors both individually and combined. These can include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

  • Innovation
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time and within budget
  • Technical ability
  • Quality
  • Environmental and sustainable factors.

Social value

Local authorities civil engineering tenders now have a mandatory minimum 10% weighting on social value. It’s an important aspect of any public sector contract. The promises you make in the section can be contractually binding, so it’s not something you should gloss over. Social value is the social, environmental and economic aspects you plan to address during the contract. This could include:

  • COVID-19 recovery
  • Reducing waste
  • Creating new jobs and promoting skills
  • Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions
  • Paying employee National Living Wage to tackle economic inequality
  • The equal opportunities policies you implement.

 Company CVs

Construction contracts in the UK may require you to include detailed CVs of the team members proposed to work on the project. Contractors like to see that your employees are qualified, and you should demonstrate their suitability for the project at hand. Each CV should detail what the specific team member will be responsible for. You could include their:

  • Job title
  • Qualifications and accreditations
  • Experience.

You could include a professional and friendly-looking photo of each team member. This will allow buyers to put a face to a name and is a nice touch. CVs should be focused, as relevant and concise as possible while still being thorough.

Need assistance writing your next civil engineering tenders?

You may not always have the time or resources to write winning civil engineering tenders. If that’s the case, outsourcing it to bid writing specialists can help you secure your next bid.

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate.

They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win your next civil engineering tenders. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect civil engineering tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I source civil engineering tender opportunities?

Sourcing the right civil engineering tenders for your business can take hours out of your day. There are various portals and websites that require different login details and passwords. Keeping track of them all can turn into a full-time job! We have a time-saving tool that can optimise your tendering efforts allowing you time to focus on your business.

Construction Tenders is a portal that hosts all the live construction leads and tendering opportunities within the construction industry. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV codes! Our Opportunity Trackers source and upload exclusive, public and private sector opportunities from across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by keyword, budget, location and more.

Below are previous civil engineering tenders sourced on our portal:

Civil Engineering Enabling Works at Holborn, South Shields – to Include Extensive Maritime and Geotechnical Elements

South Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Civil Engineering Works Associated with Water Supply to Group Water Schemes Including Minor Environmental Works in County Donegal

Donegal County Council- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

HCD0118 SC Engineering Services – HCD 0118 Provision of Structural & Civil Engineering Services

Donegal County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Highways & Civil Engineering Materials

Newcastle City Council- North East- budget: Undisclosed

Minor Civil Engineering work for Warwick District

Coventry Council- Solihull – Warwickshire- West Midlands- Budget: £4,000,000

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities across the Construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about civil engineering tenders.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for civil engineering tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable civil engineering tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Road Safety Contracts: What to Expect & Where to Find Them

Posted on by John Hudson

A guide to road safety contracts and where to find them

Road safety contracts are constantly being released and large projects can be worth millions. The majority of road safety contracts are released by the public sector. They allow businesses to maintain and improve roads and transport links across the country.

Road safety contracts are great opportunities for SMEs as the government are actively awarding contracts to small businesses.

Road safety contacts, schemes, funds and grants

There are numerous schemes and grants released by the Department for Transport (DfT), Road Safety Trust and Highways England annually. These contracts can run for years at a time and provide lucrative opportunities for your business.

It isn’t just road safety contracts and schemes being awarded. The Road Safety Trust and Safer Roads Fund (SRF) often provide opportunities for grants and funding. The Road Safety Trust is re-opening their major themed grants programme on 25th February 2021. The objective questions how technology can be used to reduce road offences and improve road safety. Innovative and environmentally sustainable admissions are encouraged.

Highways England are always seeking to improve and repair hundreds of miles of England’s roads. They have a £400 million commitment to a Road Investment Strategy to specifically improve the quality of concrete roads. Most of England’s concrete roads were built in the 1960s and 70s. They have now stretched beyond their original design life, carrying up to 25% more traffic than intended.

Obviously, road safety is of the highest priority when carrying out expansions, repair works and maintenance. Over £10 billion was spent in the public sector on roads in the UK in 2019/20. As the UK’s roads are in constant need of updating, it can be assumed that there is a steady stream of road safety contracts. 

Framework agreements

Road safety contracts will often be in the form of framework agreements and schemes. They are released to procure a range of goods, works and services within construction. Traditionally, a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) will be released. This allows potential suppliers to submit a bid to provide their services. If they meet and pass the minimum eligibility criteria, they will then be sent an invitation to tender (ITT).

For framework agreements, multiple suppliers if successful, are awarded a place on the framework. Any time the buyer has a project, they can release a mini competition to those on the framework. Suppliers don’t have to submit another PQQ and can go straight to their ITT response. This saves both time and money for the supplier and buyer.

Framework agreements often include ‘Lots’. Lots can be a specific service, product or even locations. Some examples of framework lots that cover the supply of activities, materials, plant and labour are:

  • Accident Investigation
  • Land agent services
  • Infrastructure technical design
  • Road lighting
  • Risk assessments
  • Traffic signals
  • Anti-skid systems
  • Traffic regulation Order Drafting services
  • Waste management
  • Traffic surveys
  • Welfare facilities
  • Deliver incident response (rapid response)

Typically, for road safety contracts, potential suppliers can go for up to three lots at a time. Three is also the maximum number of lots that can be award to a supplier on a framework.

MEAT

As with any public sector tender, the construction contract is awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). You must bear in mind that buyers look at more than just cost. The cheapest bid does not win here. The public sector is looking to get the most value for money when accepting a supplier. They will look at certain aspects individually or combined such as:

  • Environmental benefits
  • Quality
  • Innovation
  • Technical ability

Social Value

It’s worth noting that for any public sector contract, there is a mandatory 10% weighting on social value. This means when completing your response for road safety contracts, you have to consider the social, economic and environmental aspects. You must note how your organisation plans to address these, making commitments you can keep.

Within construction bids it is particularly important to note how you will achieve sustainable development. You must demonstrate how you will deliver:

  • Cleaner, more efficient production processes.
  • Reduce environmental impacts.
  • Effectively and sustainably manage waste and encourage recycling.
  • Shift towards works, goods and services with lower impacts.
  • The wellbeing of people and communities.
  • New jobs or skills to tackle economic equality.
  • Support of the recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your road safety contract response will likely need to have focus points on:

  • Quality Management System requirements with a focus on contract management.
  • Scope for innovation
  • Technological solutions
  • Health and safety
  • Equal opportunities
  • Relevant qualifications and accreditations
  • Staff and subcontractors contact information
  • Case studies of past work

Where can I find road safety contracts?

It is important that you are able to find the right road safety contracts for your business. It can take a large chunk out of your day searching hundreds of websites hosting a variety of sector opportunities.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have one central industry-specific portal that manually tracks and uploads relevant construction leads?

Enter – Construction Tenders!

Our Construction Tenders portal doesn’t rely on inaccurate CPV codes. Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload hundreds of sources daily. You are able to filter the results by keyword, budget, location and more. This saves you a great deal of time so you can focus on running your business.

Here are some previous road safety contracts sourced on our portal:

Area 10 M65 Junction 2 Safety Scheme GPR, Trial Pits, Asbestos and Lighting

Highways England- North West- Budget: £25,000

24-07-2020

C1545 – Staple Lodge Road Local Safety Scheme – West Heath

Birmingham City Council- west Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

30-10-2020

Pavement and Safety Improvement Scheme

Kerry County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

12-10-2020

N56 Four Lane Road – N56 Four Lane Road Safety Improvement Scheme

Donegal County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

06-10-2020

Local Safety Schemes 20/21

Swindon Borough Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

16-12-2020

A subscription with Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access both private and public sector opportunities in the UK.
  • The ability to filter hundreds of road safety contracts by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy every month with our bid experts.

At Construction Tenders, we source opportunities for;

Do you need help writing your road safety contract response?

Do you need some support with construction bids? Our sister company Hudson Succeed offers bid writing services. They have over 60 years of bidding experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re brand new to the tendering process, or you’ve tendered before – they have a service tailored for every need:

  1. A Tender Ready
  2. The Tender Improvement
  3. Tender Writing
  4. Tender Mentor

Building Tenders for SMEs

Posted on by John Hudson

Building Tenders: How to Prepare and Win as an SME

Building tenders aren’t the most traditional route that SMEs take to grow their building businesses. Instead, tradesmen often rely heavily on their reputation, local community, and word of mouth. In fact, a Constructionline survey looked at how construction SMEs expected to grow their business. They found that 75% of respondents expected future opportunities to come from their business’ reputation for producing high-quality work.

If this sounds like you, we think you need to hear this: reputation won’t cut it! If you aren’t utilising building tenders, then you’re missing out on countless opportunities that could grow your SME, right now. Especially when it comes to larger projects or ongoing jobs.

Should I stick to small construction projects as an SME?

No – you’re not too small to pitch for larger jobs. There are big opportunities available for smaller businesses, especially when it comes to frameworks and ‘partnering up.’

In fact, the legal framework of public sector procurement actively encourages free and open competition and value for money. This means there will always be opportunities for businesses of all sizes. The UK government has a target to ensure the growth of SMEs, giving those smaller companies a fair chance at winning building tenders.

Public sector buyers will look for MEAT (The Most Economically Advantageous Tender), regardless of your size. And often, the personal touch of an SME is what clients are looking for. SMEs can specialise in ways that larger firms can’t while maintaining high levels of flexibility. Plenty of larger clients are seeking smaller contractors in their building tenders for these reasons.

Many public sector bodies appoint a framework of contractors to construct a package of projects. This is often on a Design & Build basis, and there will often be design repetition here. So, if your service makes a positive impression, it is likely to be used repeatedly. This is a great way to secure ongoing work for longer periods, often with numerous high-value contract lots.

Larger projects? Ongoing work? What are you waiting for!?

Too many SME’s aren’t utilising building tenders because they don’t understand the process, or don’t think it’s right for them. We’ll explain why that’s not true. Building tenders are absolutely the right route for small businesses in construction.

So, here’s how you can prepare for building tenders and succeed as an SME.

Preparing for building tenders

Preparation is the key to success when tendering for a construction contract in the UK. Once you’re prepared and have the correct information ready, completing your building tender will feel much more straightforward.

Let’s take a look at the common stages of a building tender, and how your SME can prepare for them.

A PAS 91 – What is it?

– The PAS 91 is simply a standardised Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) for construction bids. You must pass this in order for the rest of your tender to be considered. You must provide policies and answer questions regarding;

  1. Quality assurance;
  2. Health and safety;
  3. Environmental considerations;
  4. Equal opportunities & diversity and more.

– Good news – the PAS 91 is designed with SME’s in mind. It simplifies the tendering process in order to encourage more suppliers (particularly SMEs) to apply for work. Overall, it helps buyers identify suitably qualified contractors with less time and resources. It essentially ensures that suppliers fit the minimum standards of a job and helps buyers achieve more sustainable procurement.
– If you are a Constructionline member, you are automatically PAS 91 compliant for some questions, however, you may still need to complete a few sections.

How can I succeed as an SME?

– It helps to be prepared when completing a PAS 91. It’s important that you can attach relevant and up-to-date evidence and accreditations wherever you are prompted to do so. Make sure you have carefully constructed your policies and answers to the cover all the areas mentioned above. Having these common areas pre-prepared will save you a lot of time in the long run. In tender-writing, we call pre-prepared aspects of a tender “boilerplates”. For more information on the dos and don’ts of boilerplates, please watch our free masterclass on Tender VLE.

– When bidding for building tenders, in particular, you can assume that the buyer will always require certain information from you. Some preparation can therefore be done before you even find the building tender. For instance, how do you plan to minimise health and safety risks on the building site? This will always be an aspect of any building tender. Having a pre-prepared health and safety response will save you time. You can then focus this valuable time elsewhere in your building tender.

– However, be careful when it comes to creating boilerplates and copy and pasting content. There are areas where this won’t suffice, when the content must be up to date and purposeful. This is especially important now as your health and safety response, for instance, must consider the management of coronavirus. Government advice and regulations on coronavirus are continually changing and updating. You may need to continually adjust aspects of the build to ensure you comply with the most recent advice. For instance, managing staff schedules differently, or reducing delivery frequencies to the build site.

A method statement – What is it?

– This is where you explain and answer questions on how you plan to deliver your services. You must detail how you will meet the buyer’s requirements. Think of this as your chance to sell your services in the best light possible. It’s a detailed section of the tender: you need to consider every aspect of the job and how you fit the bill.

– As part of these method statements, you may need to submit supporting documentation, such as policies, procedures, and accreditations. You may also need to provide the qualifications and certifications of your staff to prove their competency.

How can I succeed as an SME?

– You should not make false claims in your method statements. Some or all of the content could become legally binding once you win the contract, so it’s important to be honest and realistic. So, how can you prove your value as an SME when you’re up against boastful statistics from larger companies?

– This is where a good reputation can come into play. Do you have all the relevant TrustMarks for your trade? Showing the buyer that you adhere to government standards can bolster your building tender and prove your reliability.

– Branding is another way in which you can utilise your reputation as an SME. Watch our free masterclass on branding on Tender VLE and make sure you’re presenting your business effectively.

A pricing schedule – What is it?

– You will have to complete a pricing schedule as part of your tender response. Make sure you price your services competitively without making a loss.

How can I succeed as an SME?

– Most buyers have preferred contract forms – for example, Durham County Council may only use NEC4 contracts. You can use this to your advantage by researching which contract forms buyers use. Bid for those with which you already have experience where possible. You can then use this as a selling point in your building tender.

Further support

Even if you’re highly prepared, you may lack the corporate literature or writing skills to tackle building tenders or you may be at capacity with your existing team. In addition, there are so many benefits to having a friend critically review your bid before submission, ensuring responses are directly answering the criteria. It’s imperative that a tender represents your business in the best possible light with no room for error. A quality SME can often be overlooked purely because it lacks a quality submission on paper. This can be highly frustrating. Especially when you know you have the capabilities to complete a contract in practice. Investing in building tenders via professional bid writing is a great method of growing your SME.

Need support?

If you want support with building tenders to grow your business, contact the Hudson Helpline. Our experts can give you bespoke advice regarding any queries you may have.

If you aren’t sure where to start with building tenders, we can support you through every step of the process. Our professional bid writers at Hudson Succeed can transform the way buyers view your business. They will ensure you’re putting your best foot forward in every bid. We have four support packages to help you win any building tender that is right for you. With an 87% success rate, our team can help you to win big and small building tenders, in any form. Contact us today to learn more about the options available to you.

If you simply need help finding building tenders, our Construction Tenders portal can solve this for you.

What are the benefits of using Construction Tenders?

– We are an industry-specific portal and we source both public and private sector opportunities across the UK.

– Our opportunity trackers search numerous portals every day. They then upload all new public and private construction tenders to our site and send them directly to you. You’ll receive all the current building tenders, directly to your inbox. These tenders have been manually sourced by real people – not CPV codes, which are often inaccurate. This guarantees accuracy and relevancy when using the portal, saving you valuable time.

– Multiple users can access the portal to make remote working with your team easier and more effective. You can access our popular ‘Tasks’ function in the portal. Important tasks can be split up and assigned to different members of your team as you form your tender. For instance, one team member may be assigned to focus on pricing, and another to quality, and so on. All of this can be tracked and evaluated succinctly as you form your tender remotely.

Below are previous building tenders sourced on our portal:

SSE Substation Building Construction – Carfax Close, Swindon

Swindon Borough Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

Thames Water Tenders £18m Building Construction Work Contract

Thames Water- London- Budget: £17,900,000

UK-London: Building Construction Work

Hyde Housing Association- London- Budget: £2,000,000,000

York Global Initiative for Safe Autonomy Building Construction

University of York- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: £10,000,000

General Building Construction Framework Civils

Dublin Bus / Bus Atha Cliath- International- Budget: Undisclosed

See how our improved methods of tendering can win you building tenders and grow your business. Book a free live demo today.

Get in Touch

The construction industry has a wide range of building tenders on offer. If you need support in your tendering efforts, contact us today. Sign up to Construction Tenders and receive a daily construction leads bulletin of relevant tenders straight to your inbox.

This includes the following:

Bricklaying Tenders & Advice for SMEs

Posted on by John Hudson

How to Win Bricklaying Tenders as the Construction Industry ‘Bounces Back’ 

Bricklaying tenders are a gateway for growing your brickwork business. But is now a good time to grow as an SME, as we head into another National Lockdown?

At first glance, you may not think so. Coronavirus and lockdown restrictions had a significant impact on businesses in the construction industry earlier this year. In March, major construction projects ground to a halt across the country.

The fallout from these mass shutdowns continues to have an impact on the construction industry. As we enter a second National Lockdown, you’re probably wondering, will history repeat itself?

It’s understandable to be concerned about what the future of bricklaying looks like in 2020. What do the latest government restrictions mean for your sector? And how can you secure bricklaying tenders that are right for your business during a second National Lockdown?

Well, we’ve checked the stats with your bricklaying business in mind. Now is as good a time as any to win bricklaying tenders and grow your business. Here’s why – and how to do it.

What is the construction ‘bounce-back’?

Many industries are still in sharp decline due to coronavirus. It can feel like there’s nothing but bad news for businesses at the moment. But this simply isn’t true – the construction industry is back in growth-mode.

It’s been coined the construction ‘bounce-back’ as the industry, quite literally, rebuilds itself.

This summer, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) reported that almost 50% of SME builders were enjoying an uptick in demand. This state-of-trade survey also specified that 40% expected their workload to increase further in Autumn.

Did this increase happen? In short – yes! Let’s look at this in more detail.

To measure the construction bounce-back, we can look at the PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) of the construction industry. This index summarises economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors and shows whether market conditions are expanding or contracting. Ultimately, the PMI provides information about current and future business conditions to companies, analysts, and investors.

The Construction PMI in the UK shows the industry has bounced back and is operating at above-average levels:

  • As reported by the IHS Markit/CIPS UK, the UK Construction PMI hit 53.1 in October 2020. This comes after a 12-year average of 51.11 between 2008 and 2020, and an all-time low of 8.20 in April of 2020.
  • Construction companies report feeling optimistic towards their prospects for the next 12 months. In fact, business optimism has hit a 3-year high in the construction industry. As Markit Economics reported, there are high-hopes for economic recovery and an overall reduction in COVID-19 disruption going into 2021.
  • As the construction industry avoids shutdown during the second National Lockdown, business optimism is set to remain high for the sector. Build UK announced that the latest government restrictions will have no direct impact on their business or trading. Operations across all Build UK sites remain fully open to support the construction industry.
  • New orders in the construction sector are also seeing their highest increase since December 2015. This is largely due to delayed projects that were halted earlier in the year amid the initial COVID-19 crisis.

What does this all mean for bricklaying tenders?

All of this is good news for bricklayers. But it gets better:

Housebuilding was the best-performing area of all construction activity in October 2020, scoring a PMI of 62.4. You don’t need to be a consultant to see that’s a great figure. The speed of recovery for housebuilding has eased only slightly since September 2020. This means the bounce-back is showing very little signs of slowing as of November 2020.

This revival is due to pent up demand from stalled or cancelled projects. The boost also stems in part from the fact that housing market conditions have improved in recent months.

As these projects spring into action, they bring a surge of opportunities. Now is the time to source bricklaying tenders and grow your business.

How do I find bricklaying tenders during the bounce-back?

New opportunities in the sector are set to steadily increase as we enter 2021. So, how should you set about finding construction contracts effectively?

Make sure you’re using a portal that is specific to your industry. This will save you countless time trawling through irrelevant results when you could be growing your business.

Signing up to our Construction Tenders portal provides you with a service that is tailored to your needs from day one. Our opportunity trackers (humans, not robots!) manually search the latest bricklaying tender opportunities every day so you don’t have to. This means every result you see is specific to your sector and relevant to the services you offer. You’ll receive updates straight to your inbox.

Opportunities for bricklaying tenders may include:

  • Masonry and bricklaying work
  • Programme and Project Management
  • Renovation Works
  • Grout packers
  • Building and Maintenance Services
  • Training
  • Bricklaying health and safety consultancy

If you have any questions, your dedicated account manager will always be on hand to answer them.

How do I secure the perfect bricklaying tender?

Have you already found a bricklaying tender perfect for your organisation? Do you want to increase your chances of securing the tenders that are right for your business once you’ve found them?

There is a lot to consider when writing a bricklaying tender, especially now.

A key aspect of construction bids in today’s climate is the effective management of coronavirus. Many buyers will expect this to be considered within tender responses, especially now national restrictions are in place again. You must plan how you will analyse risks and communicate risk management strategies to your workforce.

National restrictions impact how construction sites operate. Always refer to the latest government guidance when planning your bricklaying tender response. You may need to consider:

  • Planning your approach in advance
  • Strategically reducing delivery frequencies
  • Minimising contact between people
  • Managing staff schedules differently.

Our Hudson Succeed division provides writing support and professional consultation to help you maximise your chances of success. Our dedicated team of bid writers have extensive experience delivering excellent tenders with an 87% success rate.

Whether you are tendering for the first time or have tendered before, we have a service suitable for you. We tailor each service to your needs through the following tender packages:

Get in touch with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. Clients receive a daily bulletin with construction leads straight to their inbox when new tenders are uploaded. The bulletin contains all the relevant construction opportunities that we have sourced that day.

Below are previous bricklaying tenders sourced on our portal:

Early Market Engagement Questionnaire – Environmental Improvement Works

Believe housing- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

31-07-2020

Environmental Facilities Work To 187 Properties Oakridge Sketty, Swansea

City and County of Swansea- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

17-07-2020

Construction of a replacement retaining wall – Belmont, Dreemskerry Road, Maughold

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

25-06-2020

Boundary Wall – Clare Court (v2)

Stroud District Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

08-07-2020

Take Down and Rebuild Defective Retaining Wall at Parwich Primary School, The Square, Parwich, Ashbourne

Derbyshire County Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

11-06-2020

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

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Building Maintenance Contracts for Tender

Posted on by John Hudson

Building Maintenance Contracts for Tender

There’s a sure-fire chance that if you live, work or own a building of some kind that it will need maintenance to some degree, regardless of whether your building is an old property in need of a major refurbishment or a brand-new build.

Fortunately, the public sector does too – leading to thousands of building maintenance contracts for tender going live each day. This is where you come in.

So, what can we do?

Typical building maintenance contracts for tender will cover, say, a council’s domestic or commercial properties. Both come with their own unique considerations, which are more than likely going to be reflected across the tender questions.

Councils may put out to tender for the likes of:

Not all public sector buyers are the same

Public sector procurement may follow the same guidelines – namely the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 – however buyers differ, and as such there can be a massive variety of contracts to choose from. Buyers can break different maintenance trades down into individual contracts and tenders or as large, overarching contracts or frameworks.

Larger contracts, usually covering many trades are typically released as frameworks, hereby a proportion of the top scoring tenders will be added to the buyer’s approved suppliers list. Thereafter, they are contacted on a call-off basis, where the top scorer is called first, the second called afterwards and so on.

Larger opportunities

Some larger contracts may be split into lots, in which you can bid for the separate services under the same contract. This is often great news for smaller firms or those who simply wish to cherry pick the services they wish to deliver – as such, you could opt to deliver gas servicing and painting and decorating for a local council as part of a much larger maintenance package.

Make sure it’s worth bidding for

Once you’ve found an opportunity that you’re interested in, it’s time to make a bid/no bid decision. Important things to consider when you’re interested in a bidding maintenance contract for tender is whether you:

  1. Meet the minimum financial criteria and stability to bid
  2. Can feasibly deliver the maintenance across the geographical area
  3. Satisfy any other minimum eligibility criteria

Sometimes, buyers will require as a minimum, certain accreditations to be held by yourselves or your subcontractors to be eligible to bid – this has included the likes of GasSafe, NICEIC and even ISO accreditations, such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.

Building construction contracts for tender

Most tenders in the construction industry will name the form of contract under which you will operate within the tender documentation. Hitting the ‘control’ and ‘f’ keys will help you to discover which one will most likely be used.

Upon successfully tendering for a building construction contract, you will have to sign it and adhere to it. It’s important therefore to have a working knowledge of the types of contract you may have to undertake.

Contract notices

A contract notice provides information about building construction contracts for tender. In short, this is an advertisement for current tenders and therefore upcoming contracts. These are published on OJEU, and you can utilise the Government’s Contracts Finder tool to search for building construction contracts for tender. This is one of hundreds of websites where notices are published. Details often include:

  • Type of contract
  • Approximate/estimated value
  • Contract duration
  • Any lot-specific information.

Similarly, a prior information notice (PIN) flags up any upcoming procurement runs. PINs let potential bidders know that they can expect the release of a tender typically within the coming 12 months. This process is optional – it merely serves to accelerate the tender timetables, as bidders have had advance notice of a tender’s release.

It’s worth keeping an eye on contract notices and PINs so that you can be sure you’re ready for when desirable building construction contracts for tender are released.

Standard forms of contract

Everyone knows a contract sets out the relationship and expectations between two parties. Critically, building construction contracts for tender outline the allocation of risk and price. Contracts will make the most sense when read alongside certain tender documents such as terms and conditions, and/or the specification.

We have listed here the most popular building construction contracts for tender within the UK:

  • JCT (The Joint Contracts Tribunal)

JCT forms of contract are the most commonly found within the sector. It is a limited company which produces contracts and other supporting documentation, such as sub-contracts and forms of tender. JCT contracts cover the construction of all buildings, including but not limited to:

  • Standard and intermediate building contracts
  • Minor and major works contracts
  • Design and build contracts.

  • Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)

The CIOB developed the Complex Projects Contract in 2013, but it was renamed to the Time and Cost Management Contract in 2015. Its primary aim is to organise time management in complex construction and engineering projects. Buyers may use this contract because it caters for BIM. This contract form entails close collaboration between multiple parties involved in the project. This is because of the contract’s aim to mitigate time and cost risk. Ultimately, this contract pushes for early completions of complex projects.

  • FIDIC (Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseil)

This is a membership organisation with a suite of contracts at its disposal for works in:

  • Construction
  • Design and build
  • Turnkey projects.

The organisation’s primary aim is to promote the strategic goals of the construction industry. The contract forms here are internationally recognised, as you may have guessed from the French name.

  • NEC (The New Engineering Contract)

NEC4, the latest version of the NEC suite of contracts, became available in June 2017. NEC contracts have been available for over 20 years, and thus NEC4 is the culmination of feedback from the use of the contracts in practice. The NEC4 contract aims to streamline:

  • Contract administration
  • Risk management
  • Key terminology.

There are various changes between the NEC3 and the NEC4 contracts. These changes all have the purpose of promoting and facilitating collaboration between all parties.

There will be other forms of building construction contracts for tender, but these are far less commonly used.

Bespoke contracts

Some companies, usually private sector organisations, will use bespoke contracts which are written specifically for the project at hand. These are riskier than signing standard forms of contract and tend not to cover as many eventualities. As the contractor, you normally have little choice about the contract you sign. As such, it’s worth considering which formats of building construction contracts for tender you are willing to bid for.

CIC BIM Protocol

CIC BIM Protocol is an additional legal agreement that can be added to construction contracts, suitable for all Level 2 BIM projects. Its main purpose is to establish obligations, limitations and liabilities which support Level 2 BIM construction projects.

Components

But which documents might these types of contracts contain? Possibly all, or a combination of, the following:

  • Article of agreement and conditions of contract (what needs completing)
  • Drawings
  • Bills of quantities
  • Schedules of work
  • Specification(s)
  • Adjustments schedule (any changes agreed following the tender process)
  • An information release schedule
  • A model enabling amendment and/or BIM protocol (for BIM projects).

So, we can bid – what now?

Tender exercises of this nature will either follow the open or closed procedure. The former allows you to jump straight into the tender questions, often submitted with a pricing schedule and a selection questionnaire.

The latter however follows a strict two-stage process, in which potential bidders are vetted through a pre-qualification or selection questionnaire, which evaluates you on a basis of what you have done previously that is relevant to the contract you’re bidding for.

These are usually marked as pass/fail, rather than the scoring system in the latter invitation to tender (ITT) exercise.

The PAS-91

Being an area of construction, it’s entirely possible that the pre-qualification stage for a maintenance contract could entail the completion of a PAS-91, or “Publicly Available Specification 91”. These are becoming increasingly common in the construction sector, working as standardised, elongated PQQ.

The workloads associated with completing PAS-91s will vary depending on the accreditations you hold, which in turn will exempt you from completing certain sections. Should you be fortunate to hold Constructionline – particularly gold level – you should be in good stead to avoid most sections. See our lowdown on PAS-91s here.

The ITT exercise

Should you pass the selection questionnaire stage, it’s now a matter of explaining and selling your approach to delivering maintenance across the building(s) the client requires. As is standard practice for writing any bid, first make sure you have:

  • Read the specification, and as such understand what the client needs you to deliver on
  • Broken down each question and cross-referenced these with the specification
  • Have the time and resources to complete the questions fully.

The specification is often a good idea as to what the client is looking for in each response, and as such it’s worth breaking down your responses to cover the relevant information in the specification to cover as many marks as possible.

Themes and why…

Not only that, but the specification – and indeed the question sets – is a great way to break down the theme of a bid. The ‘theme’ of a bid, in this case, hints to certain areas where buyers may have had issues in the past. As such may award or prefer tenders that reference this point – we’re all human after all. Simple giveaways of themes can include:

  • Multiple questions regarding a specific subject (e.g. out of hours service)
  • Disproportionate weighting to certain sections
  • Extensive coverage in the specification.

By ascertaining the theme of the bid, you can then start to identify how you can appeal to the buyer’s needs and create a positive impression – a happy evaluator is likely to be a more generous one.

You should consider:

  • Method statements

Most buyers will want to understand your approach to delivering your services and their requirements. As such, you may have to respond to questions asking about:

  • Your proposed resourcing – qualifications, experience and training of staff
  • Your proposed approach and how this complies with the specification and/or industry regulations
  • Mobilisation – how you intend to ensure that the contract is ready to commence on the buyer’s stipulated date
  • How you comply with certain legislation/regulations
  • Quality assurance – such as minimising defects
  • How you minimise environmental impacts
  • Health and safety and/or risk management
  • Social value – how you can contribute to the social and economic wellbeing of the local community.

As part of these method statements, you may be asked to (or choose to) submit supporting documentation. This could be policies, procedures, accreditations, or CVs for your staff members. If there is a question about resources, it’s possible you’ll also have to attach copies of staff’s qualifications/certifications to prove their competency.

Tender documentation may often state the importance of the claims you make in your method statements. Some or all of the content could be inserted into the contract and therefore form legally binding commitments. It’s important to bear this in mind when creating your responses. However, this shouldn’t mean that you scrimp on demonstrating your ability to provide added value and deliver the services.

  • A pricing schedule

You will have to complete a pricing schedule as part of your tender response. Make sure you price your services competitively without making a loss.

Those releasing building construction contracts for tender will be similar to other public procurement buyers. Organisations could include:

  • Councils
  • Housing associations
  • NHS Trusts or CCGs.

Most buyers will have preferred contract forms – so for example, Durham County Council may only use NEC4 contracts. It might be worth considering which contract forms buyers use and bid for those with which you already have experience where possible.

Managing your resources

For any construction contract – there is a very high chance a buyer is going to want to you to demonstrate how you manage your resources. Questions can vary and can cover the likes of:

  • Staff allocation
  • Managing planned preventative maintenance schedules
  • Contract delivery teams
  • Resources and managing across the local area.

It’s best here, if you have one, to talk about any workflow management software you may have, which allows you to allocate staff based on certain criteria, such as proximity and skillset. Always consider also how you prioritise certain jobs, and the policies and procedures in place to ensure continuity in the event of peaks and troughs in workload.

Buyers will be looking for organisations who can demonstrate their ability to allocate resources effectively and efficiently, with the systems in place to manage multiple properties (in the case of social housing contracts), across difficult geography.

Health and safety

You are likely to score higher marks with formally recognised health and safety accreditations or management systems, for example, ISO 45001:2018, OHSAS 18001:2007, CHAS or SafeContractor. A formally recognised body will instil confidence in a buyer, and as such lead to higher marks.

Regardless, you are often required to answer health and safety questions regarding the likes of:

  • Operative health and safety competency and training
  • Risk assessments, method statements and safe systems of work
  • Ensuring staff and resident/building user safety out of hours
  • Compliance with statutory requirements and legislation, and how this is maintained.

Health and safety responses follow best practice, and as such reference to ISO 45001:2018 standards, for example, will be a good place to start. Areas of recent interest, especially following the introduction of the said ISO include considering employee mental health and a culture of behavioural health and safety across an organisation – not just a top-down approach.

Staff competence

Buyers, naturally, will want reassurance that the engineers conducting PPM for their gas boilers, for example, are being serviced by competent staff, recognised and registered with appropriate bodies, such as GasSafe. As such, training and competence questions may ask how your organisation:

  • Monitors and records staff training and accreditations
  • Ensures compliance with the latest legislation and best practice
  • Promotes staff retention and development.

Appointment process

Another area of consideration may be your approach to managing appointments. This could easily link to questions regarding resource management, with typical question areas including:

  • How do you monitor appointment times?
  • How do you mitigate no-access appointment?
  • How do we enable flexibility regarding appointments, around the needs of the customer?

The best approach here is to consider how you put the residents/building users in control of the appointment process, in a manner that is most convenient for them. Customer service is something that clients value, and even some statistics to back up your responses, such as customer satisfaction rates, will be good to put down here.

How can we help?

If you want to take out all of the hard work of sourcing building maintenance contracts for tender, why don’t you leave it to us by signing up to Construction Tenders.

Construction Tenders is your one-stop-shop for all your tendering needs. Updated by our opportunity trackers daily, the portal will allow you to filter down through the hundreds of tenders uploaded each day to identify the ones most relevant to your business, with refining fields from budget, to scope, to location.

Below are some building maintenance contracts sourced on our portal:

General Building Maintenance Work

Nottingham City Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Maintenance and Cleaning Services

Herefordshire Council- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Maintenance of Council Owned Buildings

Copeland Borough Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Maintenance of Building Maintenance Units, Roof Top Safety and Fall Arrest Systems

Procurement and Logistics Service- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of a General Building Maintenance Service

Northumbria Police- North East- Budget: £250,000

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Further Support

Alternatively, if you’ve found an opportunity already, why not check out our Tender Writing services, in which we can work with you and produce a winning submission from scratch. If you’ve already written your construction bid and would like a second pair of eyes, try our Tender Mentor service.

Contact us today to see how we can help you grow your business.