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Tag: Construction Contracts

5 Benefits of eTenders Construction Businesses Should Know About

Posted on by John Hudson

Why are eTenders construction’s best friend?

In construction, eTenders are simply procurement processes which occur entirely online, through online documentation and communication.

In short, a buyer posts details of a construction job online and uploads any documents needed. Relevant suppliers register on an online portal, such as Construction Tenders, to express their interest and download documents. Suppliers can submit bids for the work digitally, without needing to print or post any documentation. Construction bids can be submitted either directly to the buyer via email or via an online portal.

We’ve looked at the benefits and shortfalls of eTendering in general and how to build construction contracts for tender. Now, we’d like to take a sector-specific approach and ask: What are the ramifications of using eTenders in construction bids? And how can the features of eTendering help make a construction bid as strong as possible?

eTenders: Construction’s new normal?

Firstly, you might be thinking: eTendering sounds a lot like ‘normal’ tendering, doesn’t it? You’d be right – these days, eTenders are very much the norm across all industries.

Now, the vast majority of construction tenders are carried out almost entirely online. This includes the Invitation to Tender (ITT) at the start of the process, right through to the final stages of completion. Generally, pen, paper and postage are becoming a thing of the past in tendering. Perhaps the procurement manager will print out tender documentation for their own ease of reading. You can consider formatting bids with print or branding in mind, as our design masterclass on Tender VLE explains. However, design is rarely an important factor in construction bids, where strict formats are stuck to.

Here at Hudson Succeed, the percentage of requests we get for postal submissions is less than 5%. Obviously, this is a small fraction. The majority of our tendering work is carried out online. Because of this, we’re always looking at how to make the process of eTendering more efficient at every stage.

The benefits of eTenders that construction workers should know about:

When it comes to the rise of eTenders, construction is one of the industries that benefit the most. The Government recognised the importance of eTenders in construction as part of their Construction 2025 report, back in 2013. They predicted eTenders would deliver much greater productivity by 2025 and major efficiency gains from the earlier engagement of supply chains. This has certainly come true in recent years.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of an eTender in construction can be defined by how well the procurement process is completed. Also, whether the specification and response accurately reflect the intentions of the contracting parties. All of this is a lot easier with eTenders.

So, how exactly has eTendering revolutionised construction contracts?

  1. It allows for Dynamic Purchasing Systems and online portals.

A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a supply chain list where tenders are published to specific members. A DPS is a completely electronic process.

We’ve streamlined eTendering through our 11 sector-specific tendering portals, including Construction Tenders. Opportunities on our portals can be filtered according to the needs of the user. This makes sure users only see tenders that are relevant to their specific industry and sector. Ultimately, the user avoids having to trawl through irrelevant tenders. The process for buyers is also streamlined, as they can publish competitive opportunities to actively engaged suppliers.

  1. You can collaborate effectively with your team.

Having a secure online platform where tender documents can be distributed, amended and submitted helps streamline the procurement process further. This saves time, money and resources and allows for ongoing collaboration as you create your construction eTender.

The ‘Tasks’ function on our portal allows multiple users to work on a tender simultaneously. You can set tasks for different team members regarding different elements of the tender, such as pricing or quality. You can then view each member’s progress, whenever you need to, and when milestones are hit, you can alert participants.

  1. It allows for clearer, more accessible contracts and terms.

Construction tenders are highly complex. There are often multiple buyers, multi-tier supply chains, and very detailed specifications to think about. With eTenders, constructions bids and proposals are a much clearer and more accessible process, for both buyers and suppliers.

A construction tender is often a very large document. For instance, we’ve talked about the trials of setting out tender rates in construction, which can be a long process. The schedule of rates (SOR) alone may contain 100+ pages, 50+ headings and countless sub-sections and pricing units. eTenders allow construction contractors to use software to properly price their works and boost the chances of effective tender management.

eTendering also allows for early engagement between buyer and supplier and encourages ongoing communication. If something needs to be clarified or negotiated, it can be done so fairly easily. This helps reduces tender cycle times and lowers transactional costs.

Easy and streamlined communication between contractor and sub-contractor is an often-overlooked blessing of eTendering compared to past methods (postage). Good communication is always essential when it comes to multiple companies collaborating effectively!

  1. There’s less room for errors (and more time to fix them…)

Eliminating the need for pen, paper and postage also removes the need for a lot of extraneous physical processes. This, in turn, leaves a lot less room for human error.

Imagine, for instance, you’ve filled out the 100-page SOR document and made a mistake on page 56. Previously, it could have been printed and sealed inside an envelope in time for postage. Now, however, multiple team members can have online access to a digital document, 24 hours a day. This is a lot more likely to be spotted and changed before submission. The eTender can also be checked over and amended right up until the deadline for submission.

In turn, staff members who would be burdened with extraneous jobs can focus on more important tasks. For instance, knowing the ‘scope of works’ is perhaps the most important aspect of the procurement process in construction. eTenders give the buyer more time to define the contract terms, and the supplier more time to understand and negotiate them. Extra time to make the contract and tender documentation more accurate is valuable and will reduce the risk of errors.

If you need any support with construction eTenders, our Hudson Succeed team is happy to help. We can give expert writing support to maximise your success. 

  1. eTenders in construction allow for automation.

eTendering allows for automation which drastically speeds up elements of the tendering process. For instance, the automatic submission of a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). The PAS 91 is the construction industry’s answer to the PQQ. Sites like ConstructionLine can be used to prove you are PAS 91 compliant. Essentially, once suppliers have completed one PAS 91 questionnaire, the same set of standard responses can be used again.

But is automation always the best method?

While moving online has simplified many stages of the tendering process, this comes with a major issue, seen in CPV codes. Automation doesn’t always provide the best outcome. A major downfall with eTendering and online portals is the widespread dependence on CPV codes to source tenders. Up to a third of CPV codes are used inaccurately, causing many businesses to miss relevant tenders.

To avoid this, all opportunities on Construction Tenders are sourced and tagged manually. In this area, it’s clear that humans are still beating robots! 

Get in touch with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today and receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox. The bulletin contains all the relevant construction tenders that we have uploaded that day.

This includes the following sub-sectors:

How to Find & Win Inspection Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Seeing Success with Inspection Tenders; It’s Easier Than You Think 

Inspection tenders are the perfect way to secure a pipeline of work and expand your business. Thousands of businesses use tendering as their regular development strategy. This not only secures work but also helps build lasting relationships with buyers. But the world is continuing to recover from the ongoing effects of COVID. So, shouldn’t there be a decrease in the number of opportunities available?

It would be easy to think there should be a significant reduction in inspection tender opportunities. After all, the economic impact of COVID is hard to ignore. Businesses are facing mass redundancies, budget cuts, and a decrease in productivity. All of this paints quite a bleak picture of tendering for work in the current climate. You may find yourself wondering how it’s possible to secure work when it seems as though business development in the UK has come to a complete standstill.

Well, the good news is there’s really no need to worry. It may surprise you to know there has been a continued steady stream of inspection tenders. Even at the peak of lockdown inspection tenders were still coming through. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have even reported on this. They stated that almost half of SME construction businesses were experiencing an increase in demand as of Autumn 2020.

What does this mean for inspection tenders?

An increase for businesses within the construction sector can only mean good things for inspection tenders. Construction projects and building works involve a large volume of employees, materials and apparatus. This means inspection is arguably one of the most crucial parts of the process. Inspecting a construction project ensures it will progress in terms of health and safety, compliance and quality.

The need for routine inspection is an essential part of construction projects. Working safely and responsibly is more important than ever in a post-COVID world. But don’t worry, there shouldn’t be too much, if any, strain on your existing services. The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has plans which will introduce consistent and concise regulations for construction projects. This will ensure projects will feel comfortable to remain in line with the Government’s everchanging policies and recommendations. This includes social distancing measures which will ensure employers and employees make every effort to comply and stay safe whilst working.

Now it’s just a case of finding the inspection opportunities. As the demand for construction work increases, so will the need for independent assessors. It can certainly be said that now is the time to take your first steps in the procurement world.

How has COVID impacted this?

Unfortunately, many industries have not been so lucky in seeing this increase in opportunities. For businesses in the hospitality and events sectors, they are facing a crisis where they are often forced to change the nature of their business.

In comparison, inspection tenders haven’t really been impacted by COVID. The construction sector is recovering from the economic impact and opportunities are increasing. So, is there anything you should consider when searching for inspection tenders in the current climate?

A Digitally Focused Approach

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that where companies are going to discover new pipelines of work. Many companies have shifted away from face to face meetings and word of mouth when securing new business. Instead, they are moving toward a digital approach, with remote working and online meetings.

For the construction sector, taking a more digitally focused approach to securing work may feel impossible. When the main part of your job is being on-site and inspecting your surroundings, is there really room to incorporate remote working?

Good communication is an essential part of inspecting a site. The ability to verbally communicate what you have witnessed is vital for compliance. This will then be relayed to the project manager and, ultimately, could affect the next steps of the project. As a part of your job, you may have to attend progress meetings. Here you can discuss any reports as an effective way of controlling potential hazards.

Converting to a digital method of communication is likely to be vital as we shift towards a post-COVID world. Businesses are being encouraged to work and keep relationships remote where possible. This not only boasts practical advantages but also environmental benefits.

So, face to face meetings are on the decrease. What better time to start expanding your business and client base through tendering for work?

What are the benefits of securing work through tendering?

It’s all well and good saying now is the perfect time to secure inspection tenders. But should we really be focusing more on this method of securing work?

A straight-forward enough question, right? And the straightforward answer is yes.

At present, it’s so important to continue business as usual to the best of your ability. With more and more people working remotely it is vital that businesses continue developing their business strategies. Tendering is the perfect opportunity to grow your business.

The advantages include:

  • Developing new relationships with clients,
  • Gaining invaluable experience with both public and private buyers
  • Securing a steady stream of work
  • Building your pipeline
  • Having the ability to work remotely and avoid face-to-face meetings

With that being said, it can be a daunting experience when attempting to secure inspection tenders for the first time.

Here are 5 top tips for first-time tenderers:

  1. Think of your advantages: It can often feel as though buyers want bigger businesses with more tendering experience. However, this is not the case. Make sure you remind yourself of your business’ unique selling points and advantages over competitors.
  2. SME’s are not at a disadvantage: similarly, if you are a smaller enterprise, this is not an automatic disadvantage. The government are currently aiming to spend £1 in every £3 with SME’s. Private buyers may also be looking to establish relationships with smaller businesses.
  3. Build a pipeline of work- it may be tempting to delve into the tendering world and want to secure the opportunities which are in the here and now. Reactive work is on the increase but having a pipeline is vital when tendering. When one project comes to an end, make sure you have another following this. Don’t wait for the project to finish before seeking your next stream of work.
  4. Have a checklist– there is a range of factors you need to consider when looking at tenders. Do you have the minimum financial threshold? Can you successfully deliver the work? Do you have relevant experience? Make sure you have a checklist tailored to your business. This will ultimately save you from wasting time and effort with tenders that are not right for you.
  5. Framework agreements– if you do not have a lot of contract examples or experience, framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems (DPS) are the perfect way to build this experience. These contracts tend to be over a longer period and have multiple providers. Not only does this increase your chances of success, but it also helps build that all-important pipeline.

How do I find Inspection Tenders?

Now you know the benefits of tendering, the next stage is sourcing these tenders. Due to the large volume of inspection tenders from a variety of buyers, it will feel impossible to know where to start. Websites and platforms dedicated to tendering are the best way to go when looking for tenders. Here you will have access to a range of opportunities.

Unfortunately, not all tendering sites are created equal. Some platforms offer more perks and support than others.

Here are some things to consider when looking to discover tenders:

  1. Don’t rely on CPV codes or algorithms
  2. Make sure you can search by keywords, locations, and budget
  3. The site should manually keyword tenders
  4. It should specify in your sector
  5. You receive daily updates so you don’t miss out on an opportunity

Luckily for you Construction Tenders provides all this and much more! Our opportunity trackers source tenders from 1000’s of sites. They upload all available tenders manually too. You don’t need to worry about CPV codes sending irrelevant tenders. You also won’t miss out on tenders due to incorrect coding. Daily alerts are sent straight to your inbox, giving you details of the newest tenders uploaded within your sector.

Our aim is to save you time and money.

How do I secure Inspection Tenders?

Once you’ve discovered your perfect tender, how do you succeed in securing a construction contract?

Our big writing division, Hudson Succeed, can help here.

We support businesses who are:

  • New to tendering
  • Struggling to see success from their tendering efforts
  • Requiring assistance from expert bid writers through ad-hoc support for important construction bids.

Our team hold an 87% bid success rate. Last year alone, they secured direct contract wins totalling over £300million for our clients.

Here are some examples of the services we offer:

Find Inspection Opportunities with Construction Tenders

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a free live demo of Construction Tenders. Our clients benefit from access to all public and private sector opportunities. They also receive a daily bulletin straight to their inbox with all the recent tenders and construction leads which have been sourced that day. And don’t worry about CPV codes or algorithms! Our opportunity trackers keyword every opportunity manually.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Contact us today and allow us to help you grow your business with Construction Tenders.

What Really Matters in Commercial Building Tenders?

Posted on by John Hudson

How to Focus Your Commercial Building Tender on What Matters

What is a commercial building tender?

Commercial building tenders are the most common way in which buyers find suppliers to construct buildings for commercial purposes. The term covers a wide range of building projects that are, quite often, large contracts. For instance, a commercial building tender could seek suppliers to construct office towers, warehouses, or shopping centres.

Put simply, a buyer will go to the external market with a commercial building tender. This could be part of a specification for building a new leisure centre. This buyer then collects, analyses and nominate bids from suppliers, and the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) wins.

What are the best practices when writing commercial building tenders?

Writing commercial building tenders requires a lot of industry-specific knowledge and skill. Large construction contracts, like commercial building tenders, often involve multiple suppliers operating collaboratively under a framework agreement. Watch our free Tender VLE masterclass on Framework Agreements for more information on how this works. Commercial building work itself is highly technical and costly, therefore the tender needs to be exhaustive. In order to respond effectively to the tender specifications, you need in-depth knowledge of the regulations and legislative examples.

Read our advice on the best practices for general bid writing and creating a water-tight argument for your business. We also have a successful bid writing division, Hudson Succeed. If your business needs to outsource the writing and submission of technical tenders, or simply needs advice, get in touch.

This blog will focus on, arguably, the most important aspect of your commercial building tender. This is its social value, i.e. how you consider the wider community impact of the project. We’ll explain why demonstrating social value can make a BIG difference in whether or not you win a bid.

Public opinion on commercial building tenders

Despite the breadth of commercial building, it is a less recognised sub-sector of construction.

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) reported that the British public underestimates the importance of commercial building tenders. When quizzed on what they think is the most important element of the construction industry, the public emphasised roadwork. Roadwork is the defining sub-sector of construction in the public imagination. Significantly, roadwork also came top when the public was asked where the government should spend more money in construction.

However, roadwork accounts for a relatively small proportion of activity compared to commercial building, educational building and leisure construction projects.

Why does public perception matter?

Well, firstly, it’s important that the construction industry – and those who make policy decisions – take public opinion into consideration. To do this more effectively, they need to know where the public lacks understanding of construction and correct these misconceptions. Otherwise, much-needed budgets for commercial building tenders could be slashed due to misconception. In short – more budget for commercial building tenders, please, not roadworks!

Also, commercial builds can often get a negative reception when they are made public. A commercial building tender for a large warehouse nearby could upset local people if they’re worried about the natural landscape. Opinions could change, however, if the build provided social value by hiring locally and offering work experience to young people.

An example of this is seen as plans to build a 12,500-capacity Gateshead Arena on Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s quayside has caused pushback. Some residents have complained over the obtrusive design of a hotel proposed in the plan. The project, however, is planning to work with local partners and add over 1,000 jobs to the regional economy. Ultimately, this will make the area more attractive to residents, visitors and investors.

Public tensions make it especially important to emphasise positive social value in your commercial building tenders. Getting the local community on your side is a great way to increase funding and your chances of winning.

Where exactly can social value come into a commercial building tender?

Social value has become a much more prominent aspect of commercial building tenders in recent years.

Demonstrating social value in construction bids is essentially detailing the contribution your work will make to society and local communities. This can be boiled down to the following:

  • reducing inequality;
  • promoting wellbeing;
  • decreasing the impact on the environment.

With each aspect of social value, there’s a variety of ways to prove how you can positively impact the local community. For example, will you employ local people? Great. This can demonstrate social value in each of the following ways:

  • It could create fiscal saving for the Government if these people were previously unemployed.
  • You could improve these people’s livelihoods and future prospects.
  • It could increase public health by reducing dependence on public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns.
  • It could positively impact local education if you have apprentices in your supply chain.
  • You could boost local trade if your procurement process prioritises local suppliers.

See? You can showcase social value in a multitude of ways in commercial building tenders, once you know what to consider!

Make sure to always use figures to back up your claims. How many local people will you employ, in how many miles radius of the site? It’s important to be realistic and specific with any assertions in your commercial building tender. Watch our free Tender VLE masterclass, Evidence is Key, for more insight on adding evidence to your tender.

Why does social value matter more in commercial building tenders?

It’s particularly beneficial to consider social value when pitching for a commercial building tender rather than, say, excavation tenders.

Why? Well, in short, commercial builds create public spaces. Once completed, most commercial projects will see large public footfall in their lifetime, whether this is staff or customers. For instance, commercial builds like leisure centres and local shopping centres will form community ‘hubs’. Lots of people use them and they can become a regular part of local life. (This extends to pubs, bars, even bingo halls!)

Therefore, the winning suppliers of commercial building tenders will often end up having indirect, yet significant, impacts on local life. It’s very important to consider the bigger picture and wider community carefully when tendering for commercial work.

Using social value to improve public opinion in a commercial building tender doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a good example that does so simply and effectively.

  • Willmott Dixon’s build of The Evolution Centre at Oaklands College in St Albans. The site team emphasised Willmott Dixon’s ambition to be net zero carbon by 2030. To do this, they created electrical connections to the grid. This meant diesel generators were not needed for the tower crane, site and welfare facilities. The project also publicised its use of local community wood recycling to ensure any surplus timber was reused rather than wasted.

Future prospects for commercial building tenders

It’s an uncertain time for business, as we find ourselves in national lockdown again heading towards 2021. One thing is truer now, more than ever, for commercial building tenders. Companies that prioritise local economic and social value are in the best stead to see investment and continue operating successfully.

You will see increased success with this in mind.

Looking forward, the CITB’s Construction Skills Network (CSN) sees a bounce back in commercial construction growth. It predicts an annual average growth rate of 1.2% until 2023, with the number employed rising over the period. It also forecasts new construction activity in London to expand by an annual average of 2.1%. New commercial building will play a part.

So, are you looking to secure commercial building tenders right now? If so, we can increase your chances of finding relevant tenders with our sector-specific portal, Construction Tenders. Our Opportunity Trackers ensure much higher accuracy than CPV codes used on other portals.

And if you need help writing a commercial building tender, we have 4 levels of support to fit your needs.

Get in touch with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. As a client, you’ll receive a daily bulletin straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded. The bulletin contains all the relevant construction leads that we have sourced that day.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Contact us today and allow us to help you grow your business with Construction Tenders.

A Guide to Finding the Best Construction Bid Sites

Posted on by John Hudson

How to Choose the Best Construction Bid Site for Your Business 

Using the best construction bid sites is a vital step in finding relevant tenders and growing your business.

You might be wondering, what is tendering? And why is it important to the construction sector? You’re not alone – many construction businesses miss out on construction leads simply by not utilising the tendering process. In short, tendering is the most common way in which a buyer finds the most appropriate supplier for goods or services. Including tendering in your business strategy allows you to secure contracts from buyers you may never have connected with otherwise. This is invaluable when it comes to growing your business sustainably.

If you’re new to tendering, finding the best construction bid site can seem like a daunting task. What exactly should you be looking out for, anyway? When you search ‘best construction bid sites’ in Google, the results can be overwhelming. Plenty of sites will provide you with reams of opportunities from countless buyers. Job done! Right? Not quite.

You’ll often find yourself wading through tenders with requirements that don’t suit your business in the slightest. Finding a construction bid site with tenders that are specific to your business can become a stressful and fruitless process. Unless you know exactly where to look!

What to Look for In Construction Bid Sites?

What should you be looking out for to find the best construction bid site for your business? We’ve created a quick and comprehensive guide so you can rest assured that you’re looking in the right place: 

Here are the top 7 things you should look for to find the best construction bid site and secure relevant contracts:

  1. The portal doesn’t rely on CPVs.

There’s a fundamental problem with the way most construction bid sites source tenders for businesses – CPV codes.

CPV stands for Common Procurement Vocabulary. A CPV code is an 8-digit code which allows buyers to classify what they are procuring in a succinct way. In theory, suppliers should be able to use CPV codes to source perfect business opportunities quickly and effectively.

Sound too easy to you? You’re right. In practice, this doesn’t happen.

Studies show that close to 30% of CPV codes are tagged inaccurately. It’s easy to make a mistake when tagging a tender with a complex 8-digit code. Many buyers also don’t understand the requirements of CPV codes and so they use them incorrectly, or not at all.

So, what does this mean for your business? Well, this is particularly harmful in a sector as varied as construction with such a broad range of sub-sectors. On most construction bid sites, clients are not finding all of the tenders that are relevant to their specific services. Even if you’re searching via relevant CPV codes, you’re missing out on countless contracts that could grow your business.

For example, imagine an Architecture firm registers to a portal that tracks tenders via CPV codes. To use the portal effectively, the firm would need someone in their team with a comprehensive understanding of CPV codes. Even then, up to 30% of the results they come across could be tagged incorrectly. They could end up trawling through tenders for contracts such as the supply of bedding plants or website development services. Obviously, these tenders would be completely irrelevant to the Architecture firm’s services. This ultimately defeats the purpose of a tracking portal which should save you time when sourcing new business opportunities.

  1. The portal uses manual tracking.

The best way around the shortfalls of CPV codes? Manual keyword tracking.

At Construction Tenders, we don’t rely on CPV codes to source tenders for our clients. Instead, our dedicated team of Opportunity Trackers manually search thousands of sources every day. They read the requirements of every buyer and manually tag each tender with the correct industry-driven keywords. This avoids the problem of sub-sectors being mislabelled with the wrong CPV code. It also eliminates the need for someone in your firm to comprehensively understand CPV codes. We handle all of that for you.

When you sign up to Construction Tenders, you can simply enter the keywords that best describe your services. Search these keywords and you’ll be able to access relevant opportunities instantly. It’s that easy. Every tender you see on our portal is manually tracked, and therefore relevant to the services you offer. No exceptions.

Ultimately, our manual tracking saves you countless hours of searching through irrelevant tenders and gives you instant results.

  1. The system focuses on your industry.

Most bid sites source tenders for all industries so there’s always a high chance of seeing irrelevant opportunities. You could find plenty of tenders for video production, but this is no good if you’re a roofer.

With Construction Tenders, every opportunity is sector-specific. Our focused approach is the most effective way to provide you with relevant tenders.

Our Opportunity Trackers source specific opportunities for a range sub-sectors, including:

  • Refurbishment
  • Building Works
  • Civil Engineering
  • Surveying
  • Demolition
  • Masonry, and many more.

  1. It allows for remote working in teams.

Remote working has changed the way businesses operate in a lot of ways. Tendering remotely is a lot easier when you have access to a portal which allows you to work in teams.

We’ve designed our tendering portal specifically to make remote working easier. Our portal allows you to give multiple colleagues access to your business account. Each colleague can then assign tasks and add tenders to their favourites page.

  1. You’re supported by an account manager.

If your business is new to tendering, we understand that you might need some extra support. With the right support, scouring the web for the best construction bids becomes a much less daunting task.

Via access to an account manager, you will always have on-hand advice and guidance to help you find relevant opportunities. You might waste time applying for a tender that isn’t right for you or that you’re unable to carry out. You might miss opportunities that are perfect for your business by questioning your ability to win a bid. This can all form a stressful process.

But it doesn’t have to be.

With our Construction Tenders portal, you will be assigned a dedicated account manager throughout your subscription. It’s their job to answer any questions you might have, regarding tendering, while using the portal.

An account manager will support you in a range of ways;

  • Maximising the way you use our tendering portal;
  • Advice around tendering and procurement;
  • Connecting you to other Hudson support services;
  • Queries around a bid that you require support with;
  • Alerting you when exclusive opportunities are published that are perfect for your business, and;
  • Ensuring you receive an email alert when new, relevant tenders, are uploaded.

Clients can always contact their dedicated account manager by phone or email, at any time throughout their subscription. This means you’ll always have a solid understanding of where you stand throughout the tendering process.

  1. You have access to virtual learning.

Great! You’ve found the best construction bid site and, consequently, the perfect contract to bolster your business. You now see that the buyer has asked for a technical and in-depth response. Bids can sometimes require over 10,000 word responses with stringent requirements. Even if you have time to do this – which, let’s be honest, who does? – can you show why you’re irrefutably the best business for the job? Do you know how to write a winning bid?

If not, don’t worry. We’ve created Tender VLE specifically to eliminate the confusion around tendering and procurement. Tender VLE is a free service which gives your business expert advice on the ins and outs of tendering. Through video masterclasses, fact sheets, blogs and templates, you’ll learn how to create a winning tender and secure the best contracts.

  1. You can outsource bid writing if needed.

Some people just aren’t natural-born writers. A good bid writer can transform the way buyers view your business – and give you exponential results.

We have developed Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division, to carry our clients through the bidding process every step of the way. Our team are exceptional Bid Writers who assist businesses in multiple sectors to write compelling and technical narratives. With the help of Hudson Succeed, countless construction sector companies have grown their businesses effectively. The team holds an 87% bid success rate and are trusted by over 700 businesses, globally.

How do I get started?

If you’re looking to secure construction contracts UK, Construction Tenders can save you countless time and money that you’d spend manually searching. You’ll instead gain new business opportunities that are specifically relevant to you. Unlike other construction bid sites, we’ve humanised tendering at every level – from manual tracking to account management. This high level of attention to detail secures the best results for your business.

You will receive daily alerts when tenders are released for services in your sector as well as 24-hour access to our Construction Tenders portal. Book a free live demo of the portal today and see how the portal can help your business grow with construction leads. You’ll see all of the current opportunities available and understand how the system will work for your business.

Below are previous construction bids sourced on our portal:

Fender Pile Replacement Works

Fenland District Council- Eastern- Budget: £90,000

Dunnikier Business Units, Kirkcaldy – Steelworks, Roof and Wall Cladding Works Package

Fife Council- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Communal Floor Replacement

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Asbestos Removal Services

Yorkshire and Humber Police Procurement (Y&HPP)- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: £1,500,000

Roofing Repairs (Framework)

Nottingham City Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

We source tenders for services including:

What Does Tendering Mean to the Construction Sector?

Posted on by John Hudson

What is tendering in construction?

Tendering is a vital business development strategy for most construction firms. Why? Because tendering is an effective way of securing new contracts from buyers you may not have had access previously to or even be aware of.

So, what is tendering? As in all industries, tendering is an approach that is ultimately deemed to be the fairest way of procuring works, goods and services. The tendering process, however, can vary slightly depending on your industry sector. It is normally a formal process, aimed at procuring the most economically advantageous option.

In order to secure the work, businesses have to demonstrate why they are the most appropriate supplier for the construction contract. You must answer the buyer’s specification and evidence how you will meet the criteria of the contract.

What is the process?

Pre-qualifying stages

Initially, buyers may request that suppliers complete and submit a PAS-91. This method of pre-qualifying suppliers is becoming increasingly popular in the construction sector. It was developed by the British Standards Institute to save suppliers time filling out multiple types of PQQs.

In a nutshell, the PAS-91 takes the same ‘what have you done’ approach as the PQQ. The main purpose is to ensure that suppliers who bid for the contract, have the capability to deliver the services/goods if successful.

Requests

Depending on the contract, the buyer can ask for this information by publishing various different requests. For example, buyers can publish:

  • An RFQ (request for quote)
  • An RFP (request for proposal)
  • or an RFI (request for information) and more besides.

If buyers require more than just a quote, they will divide their evaluation weighting into pricing and quality. For example, the buyer may mark the tender responses based on 60% price and a 40% quality. We have also seen this the other way around in a variety of different ratios.

When quality is required, this means that the buyer is assessing your written responses to their questions. They may also request to see three previous, relevant, contract examples and potentially turnover evidence in the form of accounts.

Evaluation

Once you have completed the tender and submitted your bid, the buyer will then evaluate the submissions against the specification.

The highest-scoring supplier will be awarded the contract and the work will commence on the contract start date. 

Why do businesses tender for work?  

Securing contracts through tendering is a proactive approach to your business development strategy. When asking yourself, ‘what is tendering in construction?’ the answer is simply, being practical about growing your business.

It’s great when you get inbound leads through marketing or word-of-mouth. However, to really grow your business sustainably, you need to invest in self-generation.

Tendering opens up a new world of possibilities. If you’re a smaller business, relying on word-of-mouth, imagine the difference that securing a construction contract with the council could make to your pipeline of work. You can secure long-term, 10+ year contracts with local authorities and know that the work is guaranteed for the future.

As well as this, the Prompt Payment Code means that you are guaranteed to be paid on time. All too often we hear of businesses who have been caught in difficult situations when clients miss payments. The Prompt Payment Code means that government authorities have 30 days to pay invoices. 

What if you’re an SME? 

If you’re an SME business and you’re asking yourself ‘what is tendering in construction?’ you can think of it as a way of opening doors.

We have been supporting businesses with their tendering efforts for almost two decades. In this time, we have realised that SMEs are often under the impression that they are too small to tender.

Under this impression, you could potentially be losing out on multiple opportunities for business growth.

In terms of government construction contracts, the UK government has a target to spend every £1 in £3 with SMEs. This means that public sector buyers want to award contracts to SMEs in order to meet this target.

Of course, there will be contracts that are simply too big for SME businesses to deliver. However, for businesses that are new to tendering, we always recommend starting small and working your way up. It is likely that with smaller contracts, you won’t be competing against the “big players”. They will be bidding for the larger projects. By building a portfolio of contracts, you are preparing your business for winning big construction bids in the future.

Where do I find tendering opportunities in construction? 

By simply Googling ‘Construction Tenders’ you will be confronted with a plethora of platforms who will source these opportunities.

However, if you’re looking to save time when sourcing these tenders, you should be aware of issues with CPV codes.

CPV codes (or common procurement vocabulary) are how buyers categorise their tenders. In theory, each industry has its own code and buyers simply select the service with the correct code when publishing a tendering opportunity.

However, when we conducted research, we found that a third of tenders were tagged with incorrect codes. The problem is that these opportunity tracking platforms rely on algorithms to collect their data and the algorithms track CPV codes.

That’s why our Construction Tenders platform is different. We don’t rely on codes or algorithms to source our tenders. We have a dedicated team of Opportunity Trackers who manually search thousands of sources, daily. They read the buyer’s requirements and tag each tender with industry-driven keywords.

What does this mean for you?

When signing up to Construction Tenders, you will simply be able to enter the keywords that represent your services and instantly find construction leads. The tenders you see will be relevant to your service offering and ultimately, this will save countless hours, searching through hundreds of irrelevant contracts.

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Provision of Scaffolding to Weetwood, Wooler

Advance Northumberland Limited- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Minor Works Framework Agreement Daresbury Laboratory & UK Astronomy Technology Centre

UK Shared Business Services Limited- South West- Budget: £9,500,000

Mechanical Upgrade Works at Ballyheada N.S.

Ballyheada National School- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Freemans Park B Block Campus Mechanical Works

Leicester College- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Flat Roof Replacement & Parapet Repairs at Clacton Police Station

7 Forces Procurement- Eastern- Budget: £380,000

We source tenders for services including;

Book a free live demo of the portal to see the current opportunities and see how the system can help your business.

How do I win?

When you find the perfect contract, it’s easy to get excited and imagine winning the tender. Then, you look at the requirements and see that the buyer has asked for quality responses totalling 10,000+ words. How will you complete this to a high-standard whilst delivering your current contracts?

That’s why we developed our sister company, Hudson Succeed. This is our bid writing division. Our Bid Writers have vast experience supporting construction businesses with their tendering efforts. The team proudly holds an 87% bid success rate and they are trusted by over 700 businesses, globally.

Get in touch with the team for a free consultation. Our consultants will be happy to discuss your current tendering strategy or how to get started with your first bid. Call 0203 051 2217 or email hi@tenderconsultants.co.uk.

Shovel-ready projects & the £1.3 billion investment

Posted on by John Hudson

Shovel-ready projects receive a £900 million investment

Shovel-ready projects will account for over £900 million of the Government’s £1.3 billion investment in homes, infrastructure and jobs. £360 million will be used to build 26,000 new homes. Overall, the funds are predicted to deliver up to 45,000 homes and create up to 85,000 jobs. The work will also help to upgrade skills and infrastructure, contributing to building a greener economic recovery.

What is it?

The Housing Secretary, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick, announced the nearly £1.3 billion investment earlier this month (August). The project will see the build and implementation of vital infrastructure across England.

Over 300 projects throughout the country have been told that they will be receiving a share of the £900 million. This is being referred to as the ‘Getting Building Fund’. The fund was announced by the Prime Minister in June as the COVID recovery plans stepped into action.

The Housing Secretary said:

“As we get Britain building, we are also laying the foundations for a green economic recovery by investing in vital infrastructure for local communities, creating jobs and building environmentally-friendly homes with a huge £1.3 billion investment announced today.

This Government is determined to level up all parts of the country and this funding will not only give a much-needed boost to our economic recovery, it will help build the good quality, affordable homes the country needs.”

What is the goal of the projects?

Not only focussed around infrastructure, the shovel-ready projects are also in aid of boosting the economy as we recover from the pandemic. Whilst creating around 85,000 jobs, the projects offer a chance to boost skills in the construction industry.

Creating a greener England is also one of the main aims of the work. It is expected that the new infrastructure will reduce around 65 million kilograms of CO2 emissions across the country.

The successful projects

Some of the 300 successful shovel-ready projects include;

  • Mayfield Park in Greater Manchester. They were granted £23 million for the first phase for the development of commercial space. The project is predicted to open 3,200 jobs and attract around 1 million visitors per year.
  • The National Brownfield Land Institute was granted £14.88 million. The project aims to create a leader in sustainable construction to drive levelling up across the region.
  • Support for a high-speed railway station in Thanet, Kent. The project was funded £12 million and aims to improve transport infrastructure in the area, as well as creating 800 jobs.
  • A total of 21 projects in the North East have been granted a combined £64 million. These projects include the Gateshead Quays convention centre and the development of a new business park. These schemes are expected to create over 4,200 jobs and safeguard a further 3,500.

In total, the successful shovel-ready projects are expected to deliver;

  • 85,000 jobs;
  • 1 million sqm of commercial space;
  • 45,000 homes;
  • Almost 1 million sqm of the public realm or green space (improved or created).

Developing 26,000 new homes

The government has also confirmed a further £360 million investment in Mayoral Combined Authority areas. This investment will help to develop 26,000 homes, whilst protecting greenfield sites.

Additionally, another £8million of funding has been confirmed for brownfield sites. The funding will speed up the build of new homes on these sites. These leaves £40million of funding remaining, for which the Government is now inviting ambitious bids from Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Green Homes grant scheme & required accreditations

The new Green Homes grant scheme will see the government offer £2billion of funding. This will fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements for over 600,000 homes.

However, please be aware that tradespeople must register for a TrustMark accreditation in order to take part in the scheme.

The Business and Energy Secretary, Rt Hon Alok Sharma said:

“Green home improvements will save people money on their energy bills, help to cut carbon emissions, and create new work for many thousands of builders, plumbers and other tradespeople.

Our TrustMark scheme will guarantee that building work is completed to a high standard by accredited tradespeople, ensuring consumers are fully protected.”

Households on low incomes can receive vouchers which will cover 100% of the cost of their home improvements. This support carries a maximum of £10,000.

Are you looking for new construction projects?

Does your  business need to secure new construction contracts in the UK? We know that the opportunity tracking process can be time-consuming. There are numerous tendering portals available to you that can make the process more efficient. However, when we conducted research, we found that over a third of the opportunities on these portals were tagged with incorrect CPV codes.

In a nutshell, CPV (common procurement vocabulary) is how the algorithms on these portals find and identify tenders. The problem is that buyers don’t always know which CPV codes to use when publishing tendering opportunities.

We decided to eradicate this process altogether. When we developed Construction Tenders, we decided not to rely on CPV or to leave decisions at the mercy of computers. Our team of Opportunity Trackers manually searches thousands of sources every day. They identify new opportunities in the construction sector and upload them to one central system. They then tag the tenders with industry-specific keywords. This means that all the tenders you see are relevant to your business. No more searching and scrolling through endless, irrelevant contracts.

But don’t just take our word for it. Book a free live demo and trial the system for yourself. The demo will allow you to access the system, see the current opportunities and understand how the portal can help your business.

We source tenders for services including;

Refurbishment Tenders

Do you need bid writing support for a construction tender?

We understand how important the process of tendering is to the construction industry. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, houses our five dedicated bid writing services. The Succeed team has vast experience with writing and winning construction bids. They proudly hold an 87% bid success rate and are trusted by over 700 businesses globally.

Each service was created to ensure that the team can support businesses of varying sizes with different levels of tendering experience.

For example, the Tender Ready package was designed to support those who are new to tendering. During the service, our bid writers will work with you to develop the corporate literature you will need when you begin tendering for work. Not only that, but our Bid Designers will also ensure that your documents are professionally branded and stand out from your competition. They will then help you to identify the right tendering opportunities for your business. Then, they will offer to write your first bid on your behalf or guide you through two.

Tender Writing is the perfect ad-hoc solution if you require support with a one-off bid. The team will write your tender responses, attach the required documents and then submit the bid on your behalf. They will work with you to respond to any technical questions to ensure that your bid showcases your business in the best light.

Tender Improvement was developed to help you see success from your tendering efforts. During this service, our consultants will assess your previous tender responses and identify any areas of improvement. They will also assess your corporate literature and either create or re-develop any necessary documents. Once this is complete, the team can either write your next bid or guide you through two.

Further support  

For further support or more information about how we can help your construction business grow with a steady supply of construction leads please get in touch. Our team will be happy to take you on a tour through our Construction Tenders portal or discuss your tendering strategy in more detail.

The North London Heat and Power Project

Posted on by John Hudson

The £600million North London Heat and Power Project 

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has called for bids to develop a world-class Energy Recovery Facility (ERF). The work comes as part of the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) to modernise Edmonton EcoPark.

The government originally granted development consent for the project in 2017, with work consisting of a new energy recovery plant to replace the incinerator which has been in place for almost 50 years. During this time, the park has diverted over 21 tonnes of waste from going to landfill.

The impact of the project will have the same carbon impact as removing 110,000 cars off the road each year.

For workers in the construction industry, this contract offers an array of opportunities due to the various services required.

The Chair of the NLWA, Councillor Clyde Loakes, said: “The procurement of the ERF is our biggest contract to date and marks a crucial step forward in delivering this nationally significant infrastructure project for our two million residents.

“In the first phase of construction we’re also investing £100m in flagship recycling facilities which are vital for boosting North London’s recycling rates.”

What does the contract involve?

The modernisation work will take place over the next 10 years. The project is to develop a sustainable waste hub, involving substantial investment in state-of-the-art recycling facilities.

The North London Heat and Power Project requires the construction of an Energy Recovery Facility. The successful supplier will be responsible for all risk for;

  • Design;
  • Engineering;
  • Procurement;
  • Construction;
  • Commissioning;
  • Testing;
  • And operator training.

The new development will utilise the most up-to-date technology to control emissions. This means that the facility will be capable of using 60% less than the current limits for nitrogen oxides.

The site will have the capacity to treat up to 700,000 tonnes of household waste every year. The radius will cover the boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

The process

The project is divided into four stages.

Stage 1 – The preparatory works which are due to end in 2021.

Stage 2 – The building works which will continue until 2023.

Stage 3 – The Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) construction and commissioning. This work is due to begin in 2023 and end in 2025

Stage 4 – Post-ERF works consisting of the decommissioning and demolition of the existing facility. This stage is due to begin in 2027 and finish in 2031.

Creating jobs

The NLWA has committed to boosting local employment by 25%. Throughout the development, the project will provide approximately 100 apprenticeships. At least 90 of these opportunities will be directly associated with the Energy Recovery Facility.

NLHPP’s Programme Director, David Cullen, has claimed: “Overall, the construction of the NLHPP will generate 2,500 jobs.

“We’re working with the constituent boroughs of the NLWA and education providers to ensure that job opportunities and wider project benefits reach the local community where they are most needed.”

Why is the project important?

The facility will be part of NLWA’s efforts to raise awareness of the need for waste reduction and improvements to recycling. The North London Heat and Power Project forms the wider plan which includes Low Plastic Zones, clothing swaps and the London Upcycling Show.

The new development will be crucial to managing non-recyclable waste in the area sustainably. When the project is complete, the ERF will ensure that increasing waste levels can be managed responsibly for years to come. For the first time ever, residents will be allowed to bring their household waste to the EcoPark. The items will then be processed through the facility, lowering the usage of landfill sites.

Overall, the NLHPP project will see the development of;

  • The Energy Recovery Facility;
  • A Resource Recovery Facility;
  • A Reuse and Recycle Centre;
  • And EcoPark House which will include a visitor and education centre.

Finding construction opportunities

Are you looking for new construction contracts to help your business grow? Our Construction Tenders portal is dedicated to your industry.

Construction Tenders is our opportunity tracking portal. We know that opportunity tracking for tenders is a full-time job because we have a team who is solely responsible for this every day. They source new contract opportunities from thousands of sites to ensure that you never miss out.

Once the tenders have been sourced, they are then uploaded to our portal and categorised with industry-led keywords. This allows you to log into the system, select the services you provide and instantly find all the relevant opportunities. You can also filter the results by location, budget and sector.

Below are previous heat and power tenders sourced on our portal:

GB-Colchester: Planned Renewal of Heating Systems

Colchester Borough Council- Eastern- Budget: £1,000,000

CAT1 Gas Works: Heating Upgrade Works – Rosary College, Armagh Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12

Rosary College (Crumlin)- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Emergency heating works to Mary Queen of Ireland

Mary Queen of Ireland National School (Toberburr)- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Upgrade of LV Panels at Solihull Hospital

Sunderland City Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Heating Installation and Associated Works

South Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Book a free live demo of our portal. The demo will allow you to access the system, see the current tenders and understand how the portal can help your business with construction leads.

We source tenders for services including;

Construction sector bid writing services

Once you have sourced the perfect tendering opportunity, you may need support with writing the bid. Bid writing requires a set of specialist skills, not to mention time and resources.

Our team at sister company, Hudson Succeed, have experience with writing and winning tenders in the construction sector. They have been helping business to see success from their tendering efforts for almost two decades and they support over 700 businesses globally. The team proudly holds a bid success rate of 87%, so you can rest assured that your bid is in safe hands.

No matter the size of your organisation or experience with tendering, Hudson Succeed can support you with your construction bids. The team offer five dedicated bid writing services;

  • Tender Writing: A fully managed bid writing service. The team will handle everything from writing your tender responses to submitting the final bid.
  • Tender Ready: A full preparation service for businesses who are new to tendering. This service involves the creation and branding of your corporate literature, support to find your first tender opportunity and the option of a bid writing service or guide and review support.
  • Tender Improvement: The perfect solution for increasing your success rate. During this service, our consultants will assess your previous tender submissions and advise on areas of improvement.
  • Tender Mentor: An expert second pair of eyes. This is the perfect final stage before submitting the bid. Let our experts review your responses and provide guidance to ensure you submit an error-free bid.

Call or email the team for a free consultation.

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme – Protecting workers in Construction

Posted on by John Hudson

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme – Everything you need to know

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme was announced by Chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak. The aim of the scheme is to protect workers in the construction industry as the UK begins to rebuild itself and emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Andy Mitchell said: “This is a great example of what we can achieve when we work collaboratively with government and we look forward to continuing in this spirit when the proposals and recommendations of our broader Roadmap to Recovery are published. In the meantime, we will work with our members and industry stakeholders to encourage the scheme’s use and success.”

How will the scheme work?

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme is due to launch, formally, later this month. The scheme will be in the form of an online portal that will work to protect those who work in the construction industry. The portal will do this in the following ways;

  • Advertising vacancies

Companies can use the portal to advertise open vacancies and employ workers that may be at risk of redundancy.

  • Help construction projects

The portal will help to place at-risk workers on construction projects to prevent a loss of talent in the sector.

  • Inter-trading with talent

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme system will also allow businesses to “loan” workers to other companies who can utilise their skills.

  • Transfer workers into construction

The system will aim to help workers from different industries to transfer to the construction sector. This means that workers who have lost jobs, or who are at risk of being made redundant, will have a route into a new career.

The foundations

The foundations of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme are based on a tried and tested model. A similar scheme has been used previously to safeguard workers in the aerospace and automotive industries.

The Chief Executive for the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, Hannah Vickers said: “This is a proven solution with a strong track-record in other sectors, cross-industry support and pledges from our leading employers. It is vital we keep the skills in our sector to avoid a talent drain and is the only way we will be able to ramp-up activity to lead the recovery of the wider economy and deliver growth through new buildings and infrastructure.”

Funding for the scheme has been secured until the end of the financial year. The platform will be free for any organisation to use.

Finding construction contracts

Are you currently looking for construction contracts in your field? Our Construction Tenders portal takes the headache out of the sourcing process.

Finding new contract opportunities is a full-time job. We know because we have a dedicated team who do this daily to ensure your business never misses a construction lead.

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

West Thames College – M & E Services Tender

West Thames College- London- Budget: Undisclosed

UPVC Guttering, Soffits, Fascias and Accessories

Luton Council- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Replacement or Repair of Existing Over Door Canopies

Raven Housing Trust Limited- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

Quick Quote – Ronaldsway Airport Fire Station Slipway Refurbishment

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Quick Quote – Castletown Harbour – Light Column Replacement

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Book a free live demo to tour the system and see how the portal can help your construction business.

We source tenders for services including;

Building construction contracts for tender

Posted on by John Hudson

Building construction contracts for tender

In 2018, the construction industry contributed to 6% of the UK economy. However, in March 2020, there was a large decline in outputs due to Covid-19. There was a 6.2% decrease in new work – the largest monthly fall since records were created in 2010. Now that construction work is up and running again, you can rest assured that there will be more 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 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).

Tendering

Now that we’ve understood the popular forms of contract, let’s look at how to tender for them. Within the documentation for building construction contracts for tender, you will probably find the following:

  • A PAS 91.

The construction industry’s answer to a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. Your method statements and pricing will not be evaluated if you don’t pass this stage. Unless you have SSIP certifications like Constructionline, CHAS or Safecontractor or ISO/OHSAS accreditations, you’ll have to provide policies and answer questions on the following subjects:

  • Quality assurance;
  • Health and Safety;
  • Environmental considerations;
  • Equal opportunities and diversity.

Make sure you pay attention to detail here. It is imperative that you attach relevant evidence and accreditations where prompted.

  • 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 resource, 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.

Further support

Still got more questions? Why not contact the Hudson helpline. Our experts can provide you with bespoke advice about queries you have about your construction bids.

If you’re interested in building construction contracts for tender but don’t know where to start, look no further. At Hudson Succeed, we have five support packages to help you in your tendering efforts. Our team has an 87% success rate and can help you with any tender, of any size or form. Contact them today to find out more about your options.

Or if you need help finding building construction contracts for tender, Construction Tenders from Hudson Discover could be your answer. We don’t use CPV codes – we use real people to give you reliability and accuracy. Our opportunity trackers scour numerous portals every day and upload new public and private construction contracts in the UK directly to our site. It’s never been easier to source new business opportunities. Click here to contact the team and access your free demo of our time-saving tool.

Get in Touch with Construction Tenders:

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox, containing all relevant small construction tenders uploaded that day.

Below are previous building construction contracts sourced on our portal:

45210000-2 Building Construction Work

St. Macartan’s National School- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Construction Framework Agreement

Grwp Llandrillo Menai- Wales- Budget: £10,000,000

CREWW Research Facility Building Construction

University of Exeter- Eastern- Budget: £6,200,000

Dynamic Purchasing System for Building Construction, Design and Build Construction, Demountable (Temporary) Buildings, Asbestos Removal and Demolition

Shropshire Council- South West- Budget: £625,000,000

National Train Control Centre (NTCC) – Building Construction

Iarnrod Eireann-Irish Rail- International- Budget: Undisclosed

This includes the following:

Further Support

The industry has a wide range of building tenders on offer. If you need support in your tendering efforts, contact us today.

Insulation Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Insulation Tenders – 6 Things to Consider

Insulation is one of the most efficient means of providing energy savings to buildings. This includes homes, business premises or community centres. According to the Energy Saving Trust, the average three-bedroom semi-detached house could save £310 on energy bills with proper loft and cavity wall insulation.

In recent years, insulation has been a central feature of the increasing public awareness of the need to conserve heat and energy. Rising energy prices and climate change will continue to be major considerations in for any construction project.

To encourage the installation of insulation, the government launched the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme in 2013. The scheme requires large gas and electricity suppliers to cover all or part of the cost of energy-efficiency measures, including insulation. Under the Home Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO), obligated suppliers must provide measures which improve the ability of household to heat domestic homes. This includes actions that result in heating savings. For example, the replacement or repair of a boiler, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

The scheme has led to an increase in public spending in the sector. Meaning installers have a golden opportunity to take on more jobs and increase revenue by securing insulation tenders.

The ECO

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government energy efficiency scheme in Great Britain. It aims to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. Since the ECO was launched in January 2013, 2.3 million energy efficiency measures have been installed in approximately 1.8m homes. This is helping to;

  • Reduce people’s energy bills;
  • Make homes more energy-efficient;
  • Save carbon;
  • and make our energy system more resilient.

The latest scheme facilitated by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, ECO3, was launched in December 2018 and will run until 31 March 2022. With the transition from ECO2 to ECO3, there has been a big shift in focus from replacing older heating systems to insulating homes as much as possible. This is in an effort to reduce the carbon tonnes used in the UK. This has led to an increase in insulation tenders available via the UK procurement system.

The government are focusing the entire scheme to support low income, vulnerable and fuel poor households. Increasing the proportion of the scheme that can be delivered under local authority flexible eligibility to 25%. Meaning insulation tenders are being regularly circulated by local authorities and housing associations.

Almost all forms of insulation are covered under the ECO scheme, including:

  • Cavity wall insulation;
  • Gas boiler replacement;
  • Loft insulation;
  • Damp proofing;
  • Solid wall insulation.

The Association of the Conservation of Energy (ACE) estimates up to 33,000 people are currently delivering ECO and the Green Deal. However, the latest government statistics show that the number of home insulation measures carried out this year under ECO are 50% below target.

There are over 7 million homes requiring solid wall insulation, over 5 million homes requiring cavity wall insulation and 7 million homes with inadequate loft insulation. Meaning there are and will continue to be insulation tender opportunities for construction firms of all sizes as a result. Due to this major shortfall on expectations, public spending will look toward trusted, accredited and experienced suppliers to guarantee progress toward these goals.

Within ECO3, the government will support a greater diversity of products and installations by allowing up to 10% of a supplier’s obligation to be met through innovation. They will allow and encourage suppliers to do this under two options: Demonstration Actions and Innovation Score Uplifts. Meaning suppliers will be more likely to see success in their insulation tenders by describing innovative processes in their response to qualitative questions.

As governmental environmental commitments increase – specific environmental questions will appear in the tendering process across all sectors. However, for construction bids, including insulation tenders, this may dominate the qualitative side. Therefore, suppliers must incorporate sustainable practices and methods into their service delivery, in order to be considered by buyers.

Top tip:

When applying for insulation tenders, it is essential to evidence your claims and ensure they are measurable. This must be in solid facts and figures. There is little value in providing vague or airy statements without the ability to demonstrate this to buyers. Evidencing such features will present your business as having transparency and integrity.

Why not evidence your capacity by attaining industry certification and accreditation.

National Insulation Association (NIA)

The NIA represents the insulation industry within the UK. Members vary from manufactures to system designers, to installers of insulation solutions to homes and business premises. Becoming part of such an organisation demonstrates to buyers your company’s commitment to maintaining and raising standards within the insulation industry. The NIA can present:

  • A competitive advantage over other suppliers;
  • Access to education and training opportunities;
  • Access to industry events and conferences;
  • Access to innovations and new developments;
  • Networking opportunities which could expand your capacity.

Membership to such an accredited association will add to your CV. It will place your organisation above competitors, on a pedestal alongside other industry leaders.

British Standards & Thermal Insulation

Perhaps you could consider attaining some relevant industry accreditations, such as:

  • BS5250: 1989 – Control of condensation in buildings;
  • BS8000: Part 8: 1994 – Code of practice for plasterboard partitions and dry linings;
  • BS8212: Part 1: 1995 – Code of practice for dry lining and partitioning using gypsum plasterboard.

Passivhaus

It is beneficial for construction companies to consider Passivhaus, particularly those who specialise in insulation. Passivhaus certification is highly regarded by procurement buyers seeking environmentally-friendly construction businesses. The key here is that Passivhaus is more economical to implement during a building design phase. It can be potentially more costly to refurbish a space later on, in line with this standard.

Passivhaus is a rigorous, voluntary house-building standard. It focusses on energy efficiency and reducing the energy needed to run a comfortable home. Passivhaus was born not only out of a desire to build more energy-efficient homes but to reduce the amount of energy needed. They also work to minimise the ecological footprint that house-building leaves. The result of Passivhaus building is low impact homes that save the owners money.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Passive House is insulation. Buildings which can be certified as Passivhaus can range in size and scope. They are designed to be so efficient that the need for internal heating is negligible. This means that the building does not lose heat. So much so, that rooms maintain pleasant ambient air temperature within the space. 

Passivhaus is important to the construction sector because more heat-efficient buildings means less CO2. For one building alone – this makes a difference. For larger housing contracts and frameworks – the cumulative CO2 saving is more significant. Designing houses to this standard makes sense, both financially and environmentally.

Insulation Tenders

Insulation tenders, much like most construction sector tenders commonly follow a two-stage tendering process. These two stages are known as the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.

PQQ

The PQQ is a series of questions you will need to answer regarding;

  • Your level of experience;
  • Ability to complete the works successfully;
  • and financial stability.

Your answers to this first part of the bid will enable the client to decide if you can deliver the quality standards they require.

The PQQ is a standard form which you will come across regularly when responding to insulation tenders (and more widely).

The purpose of the PQQ is to reduce the number of bidders to just those who can deliver the project. This saves the client a lot of time and cost. It also reduces competition for you. Your bid is only in competition against a few other suppliers for the required works.

Invitation to Tender

If your bid is shortlisted, you will receive an invitation to tender (also known as an ‘ITT’).

Insulation tenders often include the following information:

  • Letter of Invitation
  • Invitation to Tender document
  • Form of Tender
  • Preliminaries
  • Details on the Form of Contract and Contract Conditions
  • Specifications
  • Design Drawings
  • Tender Pricing Document
  • Associated Appendices

The ITT stage is your opportunity to demonstrate your company’s capability and capacity to deliver the required works.

Pushing forward

If you are dedicated to a construction contract, then investigating which public sector contracts and frameworks are suitable for you to apply for is certainly an advisable place to start.

Remember, when tendering in the public sector, buyers will need to prove they’re spending public money reasonably. Consequently, you will need to be prepared to evidence the following:

Get in touch with Construction Tenders

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily bulletin straight to your inbox. The bulletin contains all the relevant small, and larger, construction leads that we have uploaded that day. Our Opportunity Trackers manually trawl thousands of websites across the UK, uploading relevant construction tenders. You can filter the results by budget, location, keyword and more.

Below are some insulation tenders sourced on our portal:

Cladding and Insulation Removal and Replacement 

Citizen- West Midlands- Budget: £250,000

Responsive Repairs – Insulation & Extraction 

North Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

External Wall Insulation Pilot Scheme

Northumberland County Council- North East- Budget: £75,000

Kirriemuir ACF –Façade – External Wall Insulation System

Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association- Scotland- Budget: £17,000

Noise Insulation Contract for Roads Investment Strategy 2

Highways England- Unspecified- Budget: £9,300,000

This includes the following:

The construction industry has a wide range of health and safety tenders on offer. If you need support in your tendering efforts, contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next structural engineering tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs:

 

Glass Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

All you need to know about glass tenders

Are you wondering where to begin with bidding for glass tenders? Look no further. In this blog, we have prepared an introduction to tendering for these contracts and our tips for approaching your response.

Glass tenders could be seeking to procure a variety of services:

  • Window replacements;
  • Window installation;
  • Supply of glass windows/panels;
  • Automatic door installation.

Those advertising for public glass tenders could be councils, universities or housing associations. Private tenders could be from a wide range of organisations and could require glass services on any type of building all across the country.

Glass tenders may appear in a variety of contract formats. They could be:

  • Single supplier contracts. The most economically advantageous tender will see success and have total oversight and responsibility for the scope of the requirements.
  • Framework agreements. These contracts result in an approved supplier list with multiple successful tenderers. Suppliers may then be asked to “call off” for works, undergoing another competition to win certain jobs.
  • Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS). Similar to framework agreements, these run for extended periods of time. But suppliers can be added to the system as soon as they are approved, unlike after the deadline of a framework agreement. You will then be called off for certain works.

Glass tender documentation

By and large, the makeup of the tender documentation for glass tenders will remain standardised across buyers and contract types within the construction industry. Glass tenders may include:

A PAS 91

This is a standardised Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) for construction bids which is used nationally. You will usually have to complete these instead of another type of PQQ.

These ensure that buyers engage companies which are safe and ethical – particularly important in the construction industry.

PAS 91s have the same structure every time: hence being standardised. The following sections feature in a PAS 91:

  • Company structure and details;
    • Financial data;
    • Insurances;
    • Environmental management;
    • Quality management;
    • Equal opportunities and diversity;
    • Project-specific questions.

If this sounds like your worst nightmare – don’t worry. Firstly, because there are accreditations you can possess which exempt you from certain sections of a PAS 91. For example:

  • ISO 14001 exempts you from answering the Environmental Management section;
    • ISO 9001 exempts you from answering the Quality Management section;
    • CHAS or OHASAS 18001 exempts you from answering the Health and Safety section;
    • Constructionline Gold exempts you from the majority of questions asked.

Constructionline Bronze and Silver will exempt you from some sections too. It’s worth looking into obtaining these accreditations as it will streamline your bidding for glass tenders.

Secondly, our team at Hudson Succeed can help you if the idea of a PAS 91 fills you with dread. We can take it off your hands!

Method statements

It is likely that you will have to respond to some method statements as part of glass tender responses. These will appear further down in the tender documentation. These method statements may cover the following subjects:

  • Service delivery plan. How will you deliver the requirements within the specification? What equipment and resources will you use? How long will you allocate to each task?
    • Contract mobilisation. Buyers might want to know your processes for how you will ensure that the contract is ready to commence on the stipulated date. Activities to complete here may entail:
      • Any necessary recruitment;
      • Additional training;
      • Ordering of equipment and/or materials;
      • Internal and external meetings;

It may be beneficial here to include a mobilisation plan – either a table within the response document or a Gantt chart as an appendix. This shows the timescales within which you will complete the tasks to be ready for the contract commencement date.

  • Your staff. Here, it may be applicable to list your proposed project team, as well as their experience and qualifications. Staff development may also be relevant in this question. Points to cover could include what training staff must undergo – both induction and ongoing.
    • Health and Safety. Such questions may cover risk management, approach to Health and Safety or live site management. These types of questions are seeking to ascertain how you maintain and promote Health and Safety at the sites you work at. Think training, risk assessments, Health and Safety policies and suitably qualified Site Managers.
    • Quality assurance. Achieving zero defects, maintaining a skilled workforce, obtaining high-standard materials, monitoring your supply chain. These factors all contribute to delivering a high-quality service and you may have to demonstrate how you provide this calibre of service.
    • Environmental considerations. How do you minimise the impact of your service on the environment? This may be your approach to vehicle use, your choice of suppliers or recycling initiatives, to name a few.

A pricing schedule

Glass tenders will certainly include a pricing schedule. Your success will be determined by a combination of your pricing and method statement scores. It’s important to think carefully about your pricing to ensure that you fill in all fields with appropriate rates. Don’t insert figures that are so low you’ll be making a loss but do price your services competitively to give yourself the best chance at success.

Hudson Succeed’s tips

We’ve included a handy little guide here to advise you when bidding for construction contracts. Here are some things we suggest you consider when preparing your response:

1. Get specific.

This is easier said than done. What this means in practice is:

  • Naming things – people responsible for tasks, systems used, frequencies of tasks. This could be the brand of glass you’ll use or its specific properties and features. The more specific you are, the more concrete your proposals and therefore the more confidence you instil in the buyer.
  • Drilling down on procedures and approaches. Assume that the buyer knows nothing about how you go about delivering your service. Because they don’t. Spell things out for them and ensure that you’ve described processes in full that flows logically. Their only experience of your provision is your responses, so these need to be carefully crafted.

You’ll know that your industry has many regulations and best practice guidelines to adhere to. Demonstrate how you adhere to these where appropriate, mentioning specific actions or processes which ensure compliance.

2. Evidence, evidence, evidence.

As part of the PAS 91, you will have to attach various policies if you are not exempt from answering certain sections. Even if you do, we recommend that you refer to written policies and procedures throughout your method statements and attach them as evidence. When you centre your points in the method statements around your company documentation, you strengthen your response. Think of what you can attach to enhance the quality of your method statements. To get you started, we’ve come up with a few examples:

  • A Health and Safety Policy;
  • A sample risk assessment or RAMS;
  • A Gantt chart – to support a question about mobilisation;
  • A Quality Assurance Policy;
  • An Environmental Policy.

3. Break down the question.

In the construction industry, often a question will be asked about an overarching theme such as “risk” or “defects”. It’s important to break this down into sections. This enables you to ensure you cover everything the buyer may want to know on this subject.

Another benefit of breaking down the question is it keeps you on topic and gives you direction. Creating subheadings when responding to method statements focuses your content and stops you from going on a tangent. This will maximise your quality score as well as tailoring responses to the buyer’s requirements.

It’s also easy to identify where other members of your team could feed into the response. Breaking down the question will highlight knowledge gaps – capitalise upon other team members’ expertise to fill these and enhance your method statements.

Get in Touch: 

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox, containing all relevant small construction tenders uploaded that day. We source construction tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. Filter the result by location, keyword, budget and more. This saves you even more time when looking for tendering opportunities for your business. 

Below are some previous glass tenders that we’ve sourced on our portal:

Disposal of Double-Glazing Glass and Associated Products

East Riding of Yorkshire- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

09-12-2020

Replacement of the Glass Frontage of the Guildhall, Chard

Chard Town Council- South West- Budget: £60,000

01-12-2020

Supply of Automotive Glass to the UK Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Operational Support Vehicle Programme (OSVP)- South West- Budget: £1,600,000

04-12-2020

Supply of Glass and Glazing Sundries

Derbyshire County Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

12-02-2021

The Supply of Ballistic Glass Replacement Units to NATO STANAG 4659 Levels

Defence Forces Ireland- International- Budget: £750,000

05-02-2021

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next structural engineering tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs:

 

Government Construction Contracts

Posted on by John Hudson

Winning Government Construction Contracts

Over the years, construction has continued to be the largest public sector expenditure by volume and value. Almost 16% of UK construction spend is by the public sector. Budgets bidsfor government construction contracts are vast, meaning there is an opportunity for business of all sizes. There are several reasons for this. The UK government is keen to encourage Small, Medium Enterprises into government supply chains in order to improve value for money within the public sector.

Although tendering for government construction contracts is highly regulated, the advantage is that no matter how small your business, there is always an opportunity to supply the government. Their remit extends across all major areas of the UK construction sector.

Additionally, the government has to be transparent in the way they are spending public money. This means there are no grey areas during both the tendering process and any time spent under contract.

Most Economically Advantageous Tender

Nearly every government construction bid will be evaluated in the same method. This is known as ‘MEAT‘ and it stands for: Most Economically Advantageous Tender. 

What this means, is the client is looking for a contractor who can provide the best value throughout their bid. Therefore, this gives the best chance of delivering a successful project.

It is important you don’t misunderstand what this means for your bid. Being economically advantageous does not necessarily mean ‘cheapest’.

Do not make the mistake of deliberately pricing low-cost bids in an effort to win. This will result in you risking two outcomes:

  • You may end up completing the project at a loss, meaning you lose money instead of making it!
  • Annoying your clients by either failing to meet quality standards or having to request additional funding later on or, at worst – breaking contract and/or getting thrown off-site!

Instead, you should write your bid to demonstrate clearly and concisely how you will deliver an outstanding service to the client:

  1. Completing the construction to meet the client’s specifications.
  2. Provide a quality construction team who can safely deliver the works.
  3. Provide added value to the construction works.

Let’s break this down… 

1. Meeting Specifications

When bid writing for a construction sector tender you should clearly demonstrate how you will deliver the required works:

  1. Show the client you know how to will meet the needs of the works.
  2. Give examples of your track record achieving similar specifications.
  3. Provide references and testimonials for each example where possible.

2. Provide a quality construction team who can safely deliver the works.

Demonstrate in your bid that the team delivering these works have the capability and experience to guarantee a successful project. This can include:

  1. CVs
  2. Summary introductions to team members
  3. Provision of qualification documents
  4. Examples of previous projects
  5. Examples of track record working together with the Client and or contract partners

The key point to remember is you need to provide confidence to the client that your team know what they’re doing and will deliver the project successfully

As part of your bid, you may be invited to interview before the award stage. This is a chance to introduce key people to the client and let them showcase their expertise, providing confidence in them, and your bid.

3. Provide added value to the construction works

This is an important (and often forgotten) part of your bid. Writing about how you can provide added value to the construction contract is a big part of being economically advantageous. What you can offer will vary from bid to bid, but examples of what it can include are:

  1. Planning works to minimise project costs e.g. ordering materials in bulk to save cost and well before they’re needed to prevent delays.
  2. Reducing (or removing altogether) waste from your site by repurposing it. E.g. turning waste wood into outside seating for a local benefactor.
  3. Investment in the Client’s customers e.g. employing local people or subcontractors to deliver the works?
  4. Upskilling the communities where you work with work placements/skills workshops etc.
  5. Increasing quality of life for local residents by providing free to access events and resources. Examples of this include coffee mornings for local elderly residents, hosting soup kitchens for rough sleepers or donations to local food banks.

Types of Government Construction Contracts

Typical with most government construction contracts, opportunities are subject to a legal framework, in the interests of promoting fair, transparent competition and value for money. Contract opportunities can come in the form of:

Standard, direct, winner-takes-all contracts, in which one supplier will be appointed to deliver the specification. An example of such a government construction contract currently available to tender is:

  • Contract Title: South Ferriby, Skinners Lane Car Park Resurfacing
  • Buyer: North Lincolnshire Council
  • Contract Length: 2 months
  • Value: £10,000

Framework agreements, in which multiple approved suppliers are utilised, often on an ad-hoc, call-off basis. An example of government construction framework currently out to tender is:

  • Contract Title: London and Quadrant Housing Trust – Paving Products Framework 2020 – 2024
  • Buyer: L&Q Construction
  • Contract Length: 4 years
  • Value: £6,000,000

Dynamic purchasing systems (DPS), with extended deadlines so you can apply at any time, with workstreams following similar to that of framework agreements. An example of a current government construction DPS out to tender is:

  • DPS Title: DPS for the Supply, Delivery and Maintenance of Leakage and Data Logging Equipment
  • Buyer: NI Water and its Subsidiaries
  • Contract Length: Ongoing until 2028
  • Value: £5,000,000

Regardless of its form, opportunities can substantially increase turnover and profits, allowing your business to develop further.

HS2

Getting involved in public sector construction can reap awards, as this sector often represents numerous high-value contract lots. Perhaps the most well-known ongoing opportunity for the procurement of government construction contracts is HS2. HS2, or High Speed 2, is a landmark project proposed by the government, which began in 2009. The project involves the design and construction of brand-new high-speed railway tracks and stations. They will connect Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London. HS2 is the biggest project of its kind in Europe and continues to provide numerous opportunities to secure government construction contracts.

Despite the issues and rather significant financial stumbles surrounding HS2, the project will be running long-term. As of 11 February, prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the full project will be followed through. Getting on board could very well be profitable for your business.

Here’s why:

  • HS2 contract opportunities are in full supply for large businesses and SMEs alike. HS2 place particular focus on making project work more accessible for small or medium-sized enterprises. This is a unique opportunity to build contract experience on a national, government framework. This can typically be challenging and inaccessible for SMEs.
  • The tier system HS2 ltd uses for procurement means a fairer opportunity to tender for projects. Bidders can apply as a Tier 1 direct supplier for high-value opportunities. Contractors who gain work as a Tier 1 contractor are required to advertise relevant supply chain opportunities, which benefits SMEs. This amounts to thousands of government construction contract supply chain opportunities.
  • HS2 contract experience will be invaluable for demonstrating experience in future tenders. Showing a clear commitment to UK infrastructure.

Where to Find Government Construction Contracts

Government construction contracts can be found in several places. There are quite literally thousands of procurement portals. Knowing where to find tenders that suit your service offering can be impossible.

Tender tracking can consume your businesses, time, resource and money. Which is why Hudson has developed Construction Tenders. A product designed to help you source and secure new construction leads for your business via the public procurement process.

How does it work?

Hudson’s Construction Tenders portal is constantly updated with the latest large and small construction tenders. The portal allows you to filter through new tenders by simply entering keywords, locations, sectors and budgets.

These filters allow you to tailor the portal so that it becomes completely bespoke to your service offering. This feature is particularly relevant to small construction tenders, enabling you to filter works based on value and scope of works. Ensuring only suitable opportunities are presented to you and your business.

Once the tenders have been sourced, our team upload each tender manually. They then tag the tenders with relevant keywords that match the opportunity. This means that our clients can simply enter their keywords (i.e. small construction bids) into the search field and instantly see all the live tenders in their industry.

Get in touch

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily bulletin straight to your inbox, containing all relevant small construction tenders uploaded that day. 

Below are previous government construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Effective Transition from Children’s to Adult’s Mental Health Services

Local Government Association- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Engagement Strategy for Settlements (OxCam Arc)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government- London- Budget: £50,000

Chester Street Car Park – Fencing Alterations and Fall Prevention System Installation

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Charter for ROV Survey of Offshore Infrastructure

Scottish Government- Scotland- Budget: £10,000

Provision of Home to School Transport between Ulverston and Grange Over Sands

Cumbria County Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Our Opportunity Trackers upload government construction contracts from multiple websites across the UK. You’re able to filter the results by location, budget, keyword and more. This can help save you even more time when tendering for government construction contracts.

This includes the following: 

If you would like to have a free demo of our live tendering site, to see the construction tenders we have currently, please do not hesitate to contact our Hudson Discover team who will start your free trial today.

We’ve Rebranded! New Construction Tenders logo

Posted on by John Hudson

Our parent company, Hudson, is going through a complete rebrand and so here at Construction Tenders, we have a new look, too!

You can check out our new logos and colour palette below:

construction tenders logo

   construction tenders logo (grey)

   

We hope you like it, we know we do!

 

Remember you can keep up to date with all the latest small construction contracts from around the UK by becoming a subscriber today.

Get in Touch with Construction Tenders:

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily bulletin straight to your inbox, containing all relevant small construction leads uploaded that day.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next structural engineering tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs: