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Tag: small construction tenders

How to Tender for Scaffolding Work

Posted on by John Hudson

Here’s the secret to winning a tender for scaffolding work

Are you curious about how to find and win tenders for scaffolding work? There is a lot that must be understood to find the perfect contract. This also goes into writing a winning tender. Stick around as we cover how to find a tender for scaffolding work and how to win them!

What is a tender for scaffolding work?

If you are completely new to bids and tenders, you may wonder what a tender for scaffolding work is. Simply, it is a contract for work that various suppliers can bid for. The contracting authority is the organisation that requires this particular work. They will accept bids from suppliers and choose the most suitable candidate to deliver the contract. The supplier(s) that are awarded the contract will be chosen through a thorough evaluation process.

Where to find a tender for scaffolding work

Most people will search for a tender via a search engine such as Google. This will bring up almost endless results. You’ll be swamped with websites that can feature scaffolding contracts. However, the tricky part is navigating these results and finding contracts suitable for you. The likelihood is that you’ll be conducting this work locally, in a defined location. So, you’ll be searching for contracts in this particular area. However, when simply using Google, you’ll likely struggle to find work that meets all your specifications.

That is why we recommend using a tender tracking portal, such as ours: Construction Tenders. These portals are designed specifically to make it easier for businesses to find contracts. With our portal, we display key information so users can instantly see if they’re acceptable for a contract. Users can use these filters to search specifically for tenders that are suitable for them.

With Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals, you can streamline the process of finding a tender. Use filters such as location, deadlines, budget, and keywords to find a tender right for you. Through the Construction Tenders portal, it couldn’t be easier to find tenders for scaffolding work. Or could it…

Want to save time looking for tenders for scaffolding work? Try Discover Elite

Sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. Then, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Here are some examples of tenders for scaffolding work found on our portal: 

National Framework Agreement Scaffolding – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Scaffolding Services – London – £2.2million 

Provision of Scaffolding Services at Various Regions – Scotland – Budget: Undisclosed

Scaffolding Framework Agreement – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Scaffolding for Billown Course – International – Budget: Undisclosed

How to win a tender for scaffolding work

Found the perfect scaffolding tender? Now, you’re likely wondering how to win. The good news is that we have some expert tips from seasoned Bid Writers.

1.     Make sure your bid response is clear and concise

You need to ensure your bid is clear and easy to read. The buyer doesn’t want to read loads of waffle. Stick to the point and answer questions as concisely as possible. This will help you stand out for all the right reasons.

2.     Proofread your bid before submission

It is crucial to proofread and edit your bid before submission. If you don’t, you are almost certainly submitting a bid with errors. Your bid needs to be of the highest standard possible to impress the buyer. If it is littered with mistakes, they will see you as unprofessional and lazy. If you don’t put the effort into your bid, they won’t trust you with their contract.

3.     Check your eligibility 

Before you even begin writing and planning your bid, you should thoroughly check your eligibility. You would be surprised how many people choose to bid for a contract they aren’t eligible for. The buyer may ask for the supplier to have a certain accreditation, for example. If you don’t, you won’t be considered, and you essentially waste your time and resources.

4.     Have your bid designed (if permitted)

Sometimes, you can submit a designed bid if the buyer hasn’t given a specified format for the submission. This allows you to showcase your organisation however you wish. We recommend having your bid professionally designed. This way, you can stand out to the buyer.

Still got questions about tenders for scaffolding work? Contact us to speak to one of our experts and learn more about how we can help you.

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 scaffolding 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 for more information about our bid management consultancy services.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs:

How to Win Building Work Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

What do you need to know about building work tenders?

Are you wondering how to win building work tenders for your business? Tendering for contracts can open many doors for your business – but only if you win the work. So, how can you make sure that your business is successful?

This blog will tell you everything you need to know to secure building work tenders for your business.

How do you win building work tenders for your business?

Here are some things you can do to increase your chances of success when bidding on building work tenders:

  1. Include case studies in your tender response

To win building work tenders, you need to show the buyer that your business is most suitable for the contract. To do that, you need to submit 2 – 3 case studies in your bid response, ideally from the last 3 – 5 years.

Case studies should demonstrate your suitability for the work. They should be similar in size and scope to the contract at hand. If they aren’t relevant to what the buyer is looking for, they won’t increase your chances of success.

  1. Be the MEAT

For successful tendering, your business needs to be the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). What does this mean? Well, buyers are looking for the best value for money. They want to choose a supplier that offers the best services for the lowest price.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should price your services low just to win the tender. Pricing your services too low could prevent you from meeting the buyer’s quality standards. Or if you win the contract, you might have to ask for additional funding down the line. Neither of these options will impress the buyer!

Instead, show the buyer that your business can offer an outstanding service for a competitive price. Added value will increase your chances of winning building work tenders for your business.

  1. Provide qualifications

With building work tenders, buyers often want to see evidence of your relevant qualifications and accreditations in your response.

As you already know, accidents can and do happen on building and construction sites. Therefore, it’s crucial that your business is complying with the relevant health and safety standards. The qualifications and accreditations could include:

  • ISO 9001; 14001; 18001
  • BIM
  • SSIP
  • IOSH
  • Constructionline
  • CHAS
  • Subcontractor.

To increase your chances of success, you should be prepared to submit evidence of your qualifications in your tender response.

  1. Prepare your social value responses

To win building work tenders, you need to prepare your social value responses. In tendering, social value has a minimum weighting of 10%, but could potentially hold a weight of up to 30%. The three main components of social value are:

  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Economic.

It’s important you demonstrate your social value clearly and thoroughly to the buyer. For example, how will your business work to reduce waste for the duration of the project?

Social value is particularly important after the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers want to see how your organisation will prevent any risks caused by the virus. So, it’s important to reference this in your bid response.

  1. Study the buyer’s specifications

Our final tip for winning building work tenders is to study the buyer’s specifications. To secure the tender, it’s crucial that you answer the buyer’s questions in detail. Otherwise, you risk including irrelevant information in your response, which won’t do your business any favours.

It’s also important that you consider word counts or page limits set by the buyer. This indicates how much detail the buyer is expecting from you.

Where can you find building work tenders?

Finding building work tenders for your business can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. That’s why we’ve decided to simplify the process for you. With the Construction Tenders portal, sourcing tendering opportunities has never been so easy!

The portal is an opportunity tracking platform where we source all the construction and building tenders throughout the UK. We manually upload them in one convenient place, leaving you to focus on your business.

Other benefits include of subscribing to Construction Tenders include:

  • Receiving daily updates of available tenders, direct to your inbox.
  • Access to all private and public sector opportunities in the UK.
  • The ability to filter building contracts opportunities by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • No reliance on unreliable CPV codes or algorithms. We manually upload each tender making sure that you have access to 100% of building tenders.
  • Access to your own Account Manager. They can answer any questions or queries you may have about the tendering process.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Here are just a few examples of past building work tenders on our Construction Tenders portal:

Medical Records Building Works

NHS South West-Acutes – South West – Budget: £30k

WHC – Minor Building Works

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council – Eastern – Budget: £2.4million

Building Works – General Repairs

London Borough of Islington – London – Budget: £5million

Building Works for Temporary Accommodation for Colaiste Dun An Ri

Cavan and Monaghan Education & Training Board – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

FM Reactive & Planned Maintenance Building Works

North Wales Police – Wales – Budget: Undisclosed

Book a Demo with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. As a client, you’ll receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox when new building tenders are uploaded.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

So, now you know how to win building work tenders for your business. For tendering success, it’s vital that you include relevant case studies, be the MEAT and provide your appropriate qualifications and accreditations. And don’t forget how important it is to prepare your social value responses and study the buyer’s specifications!

If you’ve tried the tips above and still aren’t seeing success, we can help.

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work? 

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning tender response for construction contracts in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help optimise your chances of success. They know what buyers are looking for in your tender response and how to best convey it.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help. We offer:

Upgrade to Discover Elite

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

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

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

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

A Guide to Construction Tenders Online

Posted on by John Hudson

Opportunities for construction tenders online

There are thousands of opportunities for finding construction tenders online. However, it can be hard knowing where to start. We appreciate, all the information out there can be overwhelming. We put this guide together to help you understand construction tenders and the opportunities out there.

Construction tenders are essentially public contract opportunities. In construction, an invitation to tender (ITT) may be issued to procure:

  • Services
  • Goods
  • Works
  • Utilities.

When you’ve been searching for construction tenders online you’ve probably noticed how diverse the opportunities are. Tenders are often published for services including:

  • Roofing
  • Demolition
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical
  • Groundworks
  • Design and build
  • Repairs and maintenance
  • Project management and many more.

What is the process of winning a construction tender?

The construction industry can be quite savvy when it comes to tendering. So, we’ve broken down the process to help you make sense of it.

The standard process is as follows:

  • PAS91 or PQQ

A PAS91 is essentially the construction sector’s answer to a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). This process is simply to shortlist the suppliers who qualify to deliver the contract. Be prepared to provide company details, compliance information and financial information.

  • Invitation to tender

Once you pass this initial stage, the buyer will usually release the invitation to tender. This allows you to respond to the tender and submit a final bid.

An invitation to tender may include:

  • The form of a tender
  • Preliminaries (including pre-construction information and site waste management plan)
  • Contract or contract conditions
  • Employer’s information requirements
  • A tender pricing document
  • A drawing schedule
  • Design drawings
  • Specifications.

  • Clarification

Clarification questions can be asked via the portal the tender will be submitted through.

You can remain anonymous when asking clarification questions, so your competitors don’t know it is you. Staying up to date with answers is important as it could change the way you respond to the bids. Remember to make a note of the clarification deadline as it could be weeks before the final submission date.  

  • Submission 

Once the bid is complete, it’s time to submit it. Your response will include methods, the price for supplying goods/services, and responses to how you meet the requirements. You will often also be required to submit supporting documents such as case studies, policies and procedures.

What to expect when bidding for construction contracts in the UK?

You’ve probably found hundreds of construction tenders online. This is because they are constantly being uploaded. Thanks to the billions of pounds invested in the construction industry across the UK. Recently, more businesses are turning towards tendering as a way of growing their business due to the impact of COVID-19.

Financial standing and health and safety procedures are some examples of what is to be expected in construction contracts.

What to look for in construction bid sites

We still have more information about construction tenders online. What should you be looking for to find the best construction bid site for your organisation? We’ve put together 7 things you should be checking for:

  1. The portal doesn’t rely on CPV codes

Common procurement vocabulary (CPV). An 8-digit code that allows buyers to classify what they are procuring. They are often used incorrectly, leading to extra time being wasted, wading through irrelevant tenders.

  1. The portal manually tracks construction contracts

At Construction Tenders, our opportunity trackers manually search thousands of sources each day. Instead of relying on CPV codes, they read and upload each tender manually, ensuring maximum relevance.

  1. The system focuses on your industry 

Most bid sites source tenders for all industries so there’s a chance you will see opportunities that aren’t irrelevant.  Construction Tenders is dedicated to the construction industry, therefore, cutting out irrelevant information.

  1. Allows for remote working in teams

Remote working has changed the way businesses operate in many ways. Especially since lockdown as most businesses have had to adapt to remote working. Our portal can be accessed anywhere anytime. 

  1. You’re supported by an account manager

You will have a dedicated account manager to offer support and guidance and answer any queries you may have.

  1. You have access to virtual learning

Our Tender VLE service is free and offers your business expert advice about tendering. We offer video masterclasses, fact sheets, blogs and templates to help with the tender process.

  1. You can outsource bid writing if needed

Some people struggle with writing. If you want to win a bid, you need a good writer to help you. We have developed Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division. This service helps 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. Our bid writers are highly experienced with over 60 years of experience collectively and an 87% success rate. We have an extensive range of experience in the construction industry.

We source Construction Tenders on a daily basis from thousands of buyers, across the UK. Our goal is to save you both time and money manually searching for new construction leads. Our clients receive daily alerts when tenders are released. They also have 24hr access to our Construction Tenders portal.

Need help with construction tenders online?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, log in or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Get in touch today to book a free live demo.

Finding Success in Procurement and Tendering in Construction

Posted on by John Hudson

Procurement and tendering in construction: a guide to success

Are you currently in the process of procurement and tendering in construction but don’t know how to be successful? Tendering can be hard especially in the construction industry as it’s such a competitive market. If you’re sitting scratching your head, wondering how is this achievable, we can help you! We’ve put together a guide on how to be successful in procurement and tendering in construction.

The process of procurement and tendering in construction 

Buyers may require a supplier for a contract for a number of reasons including:

  • Supply of goods
  • Works
  • Utilities
  • Services.

The process starts with an invitation to tender (ITT). This will include a letter to invite interested parties to tender. It will include the following:

  • Pre-construction information
  • Contract
  • Tendering pricing document
  • Design drawings
  • Any other specifications.

For buyers that use pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs), they should be completed before the invitation to tender is released. PAS91 is a standardised PQQ in the construction industry.

What’s included in the bid response?

When submitting the bid response for construction contracts in the UK, the buyer is expecting a number of things in your response. These will include:

  • Tender pricing document – supplier’s rates, costs and totals
  • Construction phase plan – outlining how to deal with health and safety procedures
  • Design proposals
  • Programme of works highlighting the order in which tasks will be carried out
  • Any procedures that need to take place during the project
  • Demonstration of capability – what is your methodology?
  • Management organisation
  • Plant and labour resources and how you will source them
  • Examples of contracts you have won in the past
  • References and reviews from other completed projects.

Tips for success in procurement and tendering in construction

Be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

Each bid for construction contracts in the UK will be evaluated in the same way. This is known as MEAT. The buyer is looking to award the contractor who can provide the best value throughout their bid. This doesn’t necessarily mean being the cheapest. You want to provide added value to the building works.

Meet the specifications

If you don’t meet the specification or requirements the buyer is asking for you won’t be successful. The buyer wants someone who can deliver exactly what they are asking for. They want you to back up what you’re saying with evidence and examples. Some examples may include:

  • References from clients
  • Before and after photos of a project
  • Awards and nominations
  • Completed risk assessments.

If the buyer is asking for a 500-word answer for one of the questions writing one paragraph won’t suffice. If they’ve asked for that many words, they are expecting a detailed answer. The buyer wants you to demonstrate why you should in the bid. The more in-depth answer you provide, the better you will score against the evaluation criteria.

Allow yourself plenty of time 

The tendering process is very time-consuming, and people often misjudge that. When bidding for construction tenders, there several things to think about. You may be asked to present a drawing schedule or design drawings as part of your bid. This will take up more time than you think. We advise planning in advance so you can allocate sufficient time for each part of the process. If you rush your bid, it won’t reach its full potential.

Get feedback

If you have been unsuccessful with a bid, you need to know where you went wrong so ask for feedback. It’s important to find out where you lost out on marks and how you can improve for next time. Some examples of where you may have lost marks include:

  • Your pricing wasn’t right
  • You didn’t understand the questions fully
  • You didn’t provide enough case studies
  • Not concise or clear.

Proofread

We can’t stress enough how important it is to check over your work multiple times. It can be easy to make mistakes when you’re working through a long document. But not taking the time to proofread it before submitting it would be a bigger mistake. You will lose marks if you submit a bid that has spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. We suggest asking someone else to check over your work. A second pair of eyes may spot mistakes you missed. Be sure to put plenty of time aside to proofread.

Need help with procurement and tendering in construction?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, login or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Topographical Survey Tenders Explained

Posted on by John Hudson

Topographical survey tenders and how to succeed

Any large-scale planning project will require a topographical surveying tender in order to procure a suitable surveyor. Even if you have submitted tenders in the past, you may have been unsuccessful. We understand that this can be disheartening. However, there are often a few simple improvements that can be made, which increase your chances of success.

The requirements for a topographical survey tender vary depending on the buyer’s needs or the reason for commissioning the survey. For example, they may publish topographical surveying tenders to procure a:

  • Survey to ascertain the boundary of a property
  • 3D mapped survey
  • General land survey
  • Construction project layout.

Each one is unique to the project at hand. So, you will need to read the tender documents carefully if you’re thinking about applying.

A typographical survey tender will typically detail the following as a bare minimum:

  • The purpose of the survey
  • A plan outlining the area of land to be surveyed
  • Scope of work and specification
  • How the survey will be presented
  • How the survey will be delivered
  • Mobility plan and other practicalities including access and security.

You will likely need to pass a pre-qualification stage to establish that you meet the minimum eligibility criteria. This could be referred to as a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), a PAS91 or selection questionnaire (SQ). You will often need to disclose and attach your company’s:

How is a topographical survey tender evaluated?

A topographical survey tender is typically split into three sections (when tendering in the public sector). These are:

  • Quality

The quality of your response always matters. Buyers will be expecting a high-quality response when tendering for construction contracts in the UK. Persuasion is key here. You should be convincing the contractor that you’re the best surveyor for the job. Demonstrate how you are professional, qualified and able to perform the contract on time and within budget.

  • Price

Pricing your construction bid right is important, and you should keep it realistic. A contractor won’t be best pleased if you quote one price, then go significantly over budget. Don’t try to undercut your competitors, as it may lead to a buyer questioning your legitimacy. You will be expected to include both the direct and indirect costs of the project and your services.

  • Social value

Social value has become an ever-important aspect of tendering. You should consider the environmental, economic and social aspects while performing the contract. Remember that the promises you may at this stage is contractually binding. Buyers will be expecting you to make promises you can keep. These should have the aim of:

  • Creating new jobs and promoting skills
  • Supporting COVID-19 recovery
  • Encouraging economic growth
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Tackling unemployment
  • Reducing environmental impact
  • Levelling up the UK.

The weightings of these sections can vary. However, for public sector contracts, there will be a minimum mandatory weighting of 10% on social value. It’s important to remember that although the price might be weighted more, the quality of your response matters.

When formulating your tender response, you should remember to be:

  • Clear and concise
  • Hit as close to the word or page counts as possible
  • Avoid overly technical jargon
  • Don’t allow the buyer to make any assumptions about your business or anything in your answer. Leaving room for assumptions and allow for the wrong assumptions to be made.

Need assistance when writing your next topographical survey tenders?

If you’re still unsure about how to complete your tender response we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help.

Tender Writing

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

Tender Ready

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

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

Tender Improvement

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

Tender Mentor

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

Where can I find topographical survey tenders for my business?

It’s worth noting that when searching for topographical survey tenders that you should also search for groundworks tenders. This is because topographical survey services may be included within a groundworks framework.

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your busy day. You already have enough on your plate to be trawling through thousands of websites a day looking for tendering opportunities. Keeping track of the various portals, logins and passwords can turn into a full-time job! Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal. It hosts exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities from thousands of websites across the UK. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload unique, public and private sector opportunities. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous topographical survey tenders and groundworks tenders sourced on our portal:

Wavendon SLA Ground Works and Natural Turf Sports Pitch

Milton Keynes Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

CHARM – Groundworks

Accord Housing Association Ltd- West Midlands- Budget: £197,281 

Multi Party Civil/Groundworks Framework for Projects from 100k up to €1m for AIT

Athlone Institute of Technology- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Ballinasloe Flood Relief Scheme Topographical Survey

Office of Public Works (OPW)- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Area 10 A56 Woodcliffe Cutting Topographical Survey

Highways England- North West- Budget: £11,000

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business all unique, public and private sector opportunities. A dedicated Account Manager will be on hand. They can answer any questions you may have about topographical survey tenders or the procurement process in general.

A daily email bulletin will be sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day. Moreover, you will receive discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division. You are also entitled to 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

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

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

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

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

Open Tendering in Construction

Posted on by John Hudson

Open tendering in construction: answering your FAQs

You may be wondering, what open tendering in construction is, and you wouldn’t be the only one. The procurement process, in general, can seem daunting if you’ve never tendered before. This blog will answer some frequently asked questions you may have about open tendering in construction.

What is open tendering in construction?

Open tendering in construction is a tendering procedure used within the public sector. Open tendering allows anyone to submit a tender to supply the goods, works or services that are required.

What is the open tendering procedure in construction?

The open tendering procedure in construction is a very simple, two-stage process:

  1. An ITT is released

A contractor will release their invitation to tender (ITT) when they want to procure something. An interested potential supplier can then respond to the specification with their tender response. Each tender response will be trying to persuade the buyer that they are the best business for the job. Their ITT response will detail how they intend to carry out the work at hand.

  1. The contract is awarded

After evaluating each bidder’s response, the buyer will then award the contract to the most economically advantageous tender. This is known as the MEAT and is the way in which the public sector award contracts. They seek the tenders that will provide the most value for money while performing the contract. MEAT evaluation means that the buyer is evaluating tender responses based on more than just cost. They will also be looking at a range of factors which can include:

  • Quality
  • Cost
  • Technical ability
  • Social value
  • Accessibility
  • Innovation
  • Sustainability
  • Environmental benefits
  • Customer service
  • Ability to deliver on time.

A contractor will note what each tender will be evaluated on within the tender documents and specification. Each aspect can be evaluated by the buyer on its own or combined, depending on the buyer’s needs. Open tendering can also be referred to as a single-stage tender process (discounting the contract award as a stage).

Why is open tendering used in construction?

Open tendering is used in construction in order for a buyer to procure simple goods or services. For more complex and larger projects, a pre-qualification process will likely be used. Pre-qualifications can come in a variety of forms such as pre-qualification questionnaires, selection questionnaires (SQ) or a PAS91.

What are the advantages of open tendering in construction?

Each tendering process has its own benefits and advantages. Open tendering in construction offers the greatest competition and allows smaller businesses to throw their hat in the ring. This encourages innovation and allows a buyer to view a greater range of proposals.

Need assistance when open tendering in construction?

If you’re still unsure about where to start with open tendering in construction, we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four tender writing support packages. They have an 87% success rate and over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or simply need your response proofread before you submit – we can help.

Tender Writing

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

Tender Ready

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

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

Tender Improvement

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

Tender Mentor

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

Where can I find open tendering opportunities in construction?

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

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

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

GB-London: Refurbishment Works – Aston Street

Newlon Housing Trust- London- Budget: £500,000

Whole House Improvements – Beaumont Estate Lancaster

Lancaster City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Rothienorman Kinbroom New Build Housing – 12 Units

Bancon Construction Limited- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

CFT: SE3490532B – Refurbishment of Kelly House Phase 2, UHD

CPD – Construction Health Projects- Northern Ireland- Budget: £400,000

Northfield Park Renovations

Blaby Parish Council- East Midlands- Budget: £60,000

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities in the construction industry.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

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

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

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

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

3 Things to Expect from Refurbishment Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Refurbishment tenders and where to find them

Refurbishment tenders can be confusing if you’ve never tendered for construction contracts before. They are used by both private and public sector buyers when they require refurbishment works. Refurbishment tenders may be used for works in residential buildings, offices, village halls or conference centres to name a few.

The award criteria for refurbishment tenders varies from buyer to buyer as each will have different needs and requirements. An example award criterion for refurbishment tenders may look like:

  • Price 60% 
  • Quality 30% Comprising of:
  1. Method statement, site waste management plan and site setup
  2. Programme and completion timescales
  3. Quality management systems
  4. Health and safety
  5. Sustainability
  6. Company experience and capability
  7. Technical compliance
  8. Commercial compliance.

3 things you can expect from refurbishment tenders

  1. Site visits

Refurbishment tenders often offer an optional or mandatory site visit. This enables a potential supplier to go and view the worksite environment in person. If this is an option, it’s highly encouraged that you attend. This is because site visits can help with your tender response.

They allow you to be able to see the site with your own eyes. You may be able to pick up on something you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. They may even lead you to produce more accurate pricing for your services. Site visits for refurbishment tenders also allow you to gain insight into the buyer.

  1. Health and safety

Health and safety are important aspects of any tender. Buyers want to be reassured that you upkeep and hold best practice while performing a contract. They want to know that both your employees and any general public will be out of harm’s way. They’re also crucial due to the dangerous nature of construction jobs, accidents can happen, after all. Due to this, buyers will ask for a copy of your health and safety policies and regulations for refurbishment tenders. Some examples that are relevant are:

  • Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  • Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  • CDM Regulations 2015
  • Managing Contractors – Health and Safety Executive
  • CHAS
  • SafeContractor
  • ConstructionLine
  • RIDDOR.

  1. Previous contract examples

Refurbishment tenders will likely require you to provide previous contract examples you have completed. They should be similar in complexity and scope and style. You may be asked for up to three examples within the last five years. They are often referred to as case studies and can strengthen your bid.

Depending on the word count, positive testimonials from previous clients will result in gained trust from the buyer. You want to convey and assert yourself to the buyer, demonstrating the quality of your work. A glowing testimonial can also help you gain an edge over your competitors.

Case studies should:

  • Be relevant
  • Detail your experience of a project of a similar scale
  • Include the challenges you encountered and overcame, demonstrating problem-solving skills and flexibility
  • Note whether you completed the contract on time and in budget.

Need assistance writing your next refurbishment tenders?

If writing isn’t your strong suit that’s ok. There’s no denying that contractors for refurbishment tenders care about the quality of your written response. You may not have the resources, time or experience to write a winning response in-house. If that’s the case outsourcing to bid writing experts can help you win your next tender.

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win your next refurbishment tenders. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

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

Tender Mentor

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

Tender Ready

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

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

Tender Improvement

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

Where can I find refurbishment tenders?

Sourcing the right refurbishment tenders for your business can take hours out of your busy day. There are thousands of sites posting multi-sector tendering opportunities daily. Keeping track of various logins, portals and passwords can turn into a full-time job. Luckily for you, we have a time-saving tool that can help simplify and optimise your search.

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

Below are previous refurbishment tenders sourced on our portal:

Central Region Refurbishment Programme Projects

Ministry of Defence- Eastern- Budget: £4,500,000

Flat Roof Refurbishment Works to Scoil Padraig Naofa (Boys NS) & St. Joseph’s (GNS)

Scoil Phadraig Naofa BNS (Mountmellick)- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

GoJ-HCS JGH – Maternity Refurbishment – Builders Work

States of Jersey- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Manipulator refurbishment for the area, WEP and MEP Reference number: 35/09712.30

Sellafield- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Refurbishment of Existing School Building to Provide Community Facilities

Ceide Coast- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A subscription to our Construction Tenders portal offers your business:

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

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

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

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

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

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

Fabrication Tenders in The Public Sector

Posted on by John Hudson

3 advantages of securing fabrication tenders

Fabrication tenders are published by both private and public sector buyers. Fabrication tenders are used within the construction industry to procure fabrication services including metal fabrication and raw material fabrication.

Navigating your way around fabrication tenders can be a tricky business if you’ve never done it before. However, making the effort is worthwhile as securing fabrication tenders can be lucrative for your business.

3 advantages of tendering for work

  1. Guaranteed pay (in the public sector)

One of the biggest advantages of tendering for work in the public sector is that of guaranteed pay. Fabrication suppliers on public tenders benefit from a guarantee of pay if winning a contract. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) must pay contractors within 60-days of invoicing. This is to comply with the Prompt Payment Code, which can give suppliers peace of mind.

Bear in mind that this does not apply to private sector contracts. Private buyers are not bound by the same regulations as public sector organisations.

  1. Gain experience

All construction contracts in the UK will required proof of experience. This is typically done via case studies. In order to progress to larger contracts, you need a bank of experience. Securing work on a framework agreement or Dynamic Purchasing System can secure a steady pipeline of work. These will enable you to carry out contracts, build experience, and allow your business to thrive.

A useful way to structure your case studies is by using the STAR format:

  • Situation – Provide a brief context.
  • Task – The work you faced.
  • Action – What have you done?
  • Results – What were the results?

  1. Sustainability

Securing fabrication tenders can allow you to secure a pipeline of work for your business. Winning a place on a long-term contract can benefit the sustainability of your business. Here at Hudson Succeed, we have helped clients secure upwards of four years of income – from one bid. It’s not surprising that this is an attractive prospect to any business owner.

Find more information and results shared by our previous clients on our testimonials page.

Framework agreements

Framework agreements are commonly used within fabrication tenders. There will sometimes be a Lot within a construction framework agreement for fabrication. Framework agreements are used by buyers to establish multi-supplier agreements whereas other tenders may require a single supplier.

They often benefit SMEs as there are more places available for businesses to supply a good or service. Fabrication tenders on framework agreements run for longer than single supplier contracts. They can be a great way for your business to secure a pipeline of work, allowing your business to grow.

Framework agreements are separated by Lots. This means a supplier doesn’t have to deliver the whole contract. They can apply to the relevant Lot(s) that they specialise in. For example, a large framework for construction work may entail the following Lots:

  • Lot 1 – Joinery
  • Lot 2 – Fabrication
  • Lot 3 – Landscaping
  • Lot 4 – Painting and Decorating
  • Lot 5 – Roofing Works

Lots can also refer to a different geographical location for works such as:

  • Lot 1 – Worcestershire
  • Lot 2 – Herefordshire
  • Lot 3 – Gloucestershire

Depending on the framework agreement and the buyer, you may be able to apply for multiple Lots. If you are able to provide services for multiple Lots, you’ll be required to provide evidential proof of your capabilities. If you are able to apply for multiple Lots, you can usually apply to three, maximum. Just make sure you have the resources to deliver all three if successful.

Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)

Another way you can find fabrication tenders, is as part of a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). A DPS is fairly similar to a framework agreement and is another type of tendering procedure. It is essentially a supply chain list where bidding opportunities are published. Businesses can apply to be a part of the list. If successful in their application, which is usually a PQQ, PAS91 or SQ, they are then able to compete for tenders.

You are able to apply to be a part of a DPS at any point while it is open. Once a potential supplier has passed the initial stage, they will then be given an invitation to tender (ITT). Once a place is secured, when the next fabrication tenders are released, a supplier doesn’t have to redo the PQQ. A supplier is automatically invited to tender. This saves time for both the buyer and supplier.

Need assistance?

We understand that not every business has the resources or time to produce a winning fabrication tender response. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They can help you write a quality response giving you an edge over your competitors. There are four bid writing support services that can help you win your next safety tender.

Tender Ready

Our 4-week, Tender Ready programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. Our Bid Writers work with you to make sure you have everything in place to tender successfully. This option includes:

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

Tender Improvement

Our Tender Improvement package can help if you’re tendering for work and aren’t seeing success from your efforts. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect tender for your business, but don’t have the time to complete a winning response in-house? Don’t give up! You can send it to our Bid Writers and they’ll provide you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll take care of everything for you, even submitting it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve already written a safety tender response and need it double-checked for errors, send it over to us. One of our team will proof it, checking it’s in line with the specification. Our Tender Mentor service can make sure your response is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit.

Where can I find fabrication tenders?

Searching for fabrication tenders can take a large amount of time out of your busy day. There are thousands of sites posting construction leads daily and it can take hours searching through them. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders saves you time when searching for the right fabrication tenders for your business. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload from thousands of sources across the UK. By manually uploading each tender opportunity, you’ll never miss a tender again due to unreliable CPV codes. You are able to filter and search for fabrication tenders by keyword, location, budget and more. This allows you to find the perfect opportunity, fit for your business.

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A subscription to our Construction Tenders portal offers your business:

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

Below are previous fabrication tenders sourced on our portal:

A Practical and Convenient 3D Printer for our Laboratory whose Research is Focused on the Fabrication of 3D Regenerative Biomaterial ‘scaffolds’

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

21-01-2021

Chassis Fabrication of Parts

SparkFund- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: £2,000

18-12-2020

Container Freight Station (CFS) Building – Design and Fabrication of Steel Frame Warehouse and Offices Container Freight Station (CFS) Building – Design and Fabrication of Steel Frame Warehouse and Offices

Saint Helena Government- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

26-02-2021

Contract 71 – Metal Works and Fabrications including Repairs 2021 – 2024

North Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: £400,000

10-03-2021

Fabrication & Installation of New Fire Escape at Dolgellau & Barmouth Hospital and Lla

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership-Procurement Services (hosted by Velindre University NHS Trust)- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

01-02-2021

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to our new time-saving tools

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two new packages can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for the right fabrication tenders for your business.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers:

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

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

Drilling Tenders: The Fundamentals

Posted on by John Hudson

Drilling tenders: 4 things to consider

Drilling tenders can be quite a minefield if you have never completed them before. There can be a lot of procurement terminology and acronyms involved. However, tendering for business can offer multiple advantages to your business. Winning tenders can help you gain more experience, allowing your business to grow.

Drilling tenders may be released to procure the following services:

  • Geothermal drilling
  • Drilling Well
  • Drilling Work
  • Offshore Drilling
  • Tender Assist Drilling (TAD) Units
  • Deepwater Drilling.

The typical format of drilling tenders is as follows:

Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)

At the initial stage of drilling tenders, known as the PQQ, you will be asked to provide your company information. Typically, this is comprised of the following eight aspects:

  1. Equality and Diversity
  2. Insurances
  3. Legal Matter and Disputes
  4. Grounds for Mandatory Exclusion
  5. Other Grounds for Exclusion
  6. Economic and Financial Standing
  7. Health and Safety
  8. Quality Assurance and Environmental Management Systems.

The information you provide here is pass or fail. If you meet the minimum eligibility criteria and pass, you will then proceed onto the technical evaluation. Once you have passed this, you will then be given an invitation to tender, known as an the ITT.

Invitation to Tender (ITT)

The technical evaluation for drilling tenders is likely to include your businesses proposed methodology and approach. This could include:

  • Service equipment and software to be used.
  • Support offered in case of technical failure.
  • How technical personnel on the project are trained.
  • Pricing.

You should consider the following when writing your responses to drilling tenders:

  1. Value for Money

Buyers want to see the most value for their money, or taxpayer’s money, depending if they’re public or private sector. Either way, neither wants to see money wasted. They want to get the most bang for their buck. Thus, for a successful drilling tender, you want to present them with the most value for money.

You must proceed with caution though, because pricing can be tricky. Within the public sector, buyers will look to award the most economically advantageous tender. This is known as the MEAT. A buyer will look at a combination of factors throughout your proposal. These can range from accessibility and innovation to environmental considerations and quality.

  1. Weightings

The weightings for construction tenders vary greatly. Some will have a greater weighting on price and less on quality, or visa versa. It ultimately depends on the buyer’s needs. However, despite the weightings, the buyer will care about the quality of your response. Bear in mind the following:

  • Get as close to the word or page count as possible – they’re there for a reason.
  • Keep your responses clear and concise.
  • Be persuasive. Sell your business and justify why you are the best business for the job.
  • Avoid unnecessary and overly technical jargon.
  • Explain everything and don’t leave room for the buyer to make any assumptions.

If you price your services too low to outprice your competitors, it could come back to sting you. Price your drilling tenders too low and a buyer might question the legitimacy of your services. If you present a low-cost bid, then run over budget on the project, a buyer won’t be best pleased. You must take into consideration the direct costs and indirect costs of the project and be realistic. Once you have set your tender rates, you must carry out the work as required.

  1. Experience

Your experience matters when tendering for work. Buyers like to be reassured that those commissioned know what they’re doing and work to a high standard. They want to be encouraged that your business works to and complies with best practice. Within drilling tenders, you may be asked to provide up to three case studies from within the last five years.

These case studies must demonstrate and be tailored to reflect work you have completed that’s similar in scope and calibre. Depending on the required word count, you could include how you overcame any unexpected challenges. This can strengthen your response, allowing you to demonstrate flexibility and problem-solving skills. Both of which are key to any construction project.

  1. Site visits

Do not underestimate the benefits that a site visit can give your tender response. It is strongly recommended that you attend a site visit if possible. They allow you to see the environment you will be working in, if successful. Seeing the site with your own eyes can help you pick up on things you otherwise wouldn’t know about.

Site visits can help you produce better quality responses and may even allow you to give more accurate pricing. You are able to gain insight into the buyer, gathering more information you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Need assistance with your drilling tenders?

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They can help give you an edge over your competitors. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win drilling tenders.

  1. Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect drilling tender, but don’t know where to start – send it our way. Our Bid Writing Team will take care of it for you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll let you know what they need from you and they’ll even submit it on your behalf.

  1. Tender Mentor

Tender Mentor can help if you’ve written a drilling tender response and need it double-checked for errors. Our Bid Writers will check it’s free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit.

  1. Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. Our Bid Writers work with you to make sure you have everything in place to tender successfully. This option includes:

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

  1. Tender Improvement

If you aren’t seeing success from your current drilling tender efforts, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions.

How can I find drilling tenders?

Searching for the right drilling tenders for your business can turn into a bit of a headache. It can turn into a full-time job, spending hours trawling through thousands of tendering websites. Often, they have other industry opportunities and inaccurate CPV codes leading to missed opportunities. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a central portal that hosted industry-specific construction leads?

Enter… Construction Tenders!

Construction Tenders is a time-saving tool that helps you find the perfect drilling tenders for your business. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload construction tenders from thousands of sources across the UK. You are able to search and filter results by budget, keyword, location and more. This allows you to find the right tenders for your business, streamlining the process.

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders will offer your access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities. You will receive a dedicated Account Manager that’s on-hand to answer any questions you may have about drilling tenders. They can help you understand the tendering process if you’ve never tendered before.

You will also receive a daily email bulletin straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded. If that wasn’t enough, you will also receive discounted bid writing support from Hudson Succeed.

Below are previous drilling tenders sourced on our portal:

Cementing Services for Drilling and Completing a Geothermal Well

Eden Geothermal Ltd- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

Contract for Drilling an Abstraction and Separate Re-injection Well

South Tyneside Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Directional Drilling Services and Rental Items for Geothermal Drilling

Eden Geothermal Ltd- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

Morlais Horizontal Directional Drilling Work Package

Menter Môn Cyf- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders. We source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to our new time-saving tools:

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two new packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for the right drilling tenders for your business.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

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

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

7 Things you can Expect in Construction Tenders in the UK

Posted on by John Hudson

Construction Tenders in the UK: 7 things to expect

Construction tenders in the UK are constant. That’s thanks to the billions of pounds that are invested in the construction industry across the UK. The UK government is focused on building the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently more businesses are turning towards tendering as a viable and lucrative way to grow their business. COVID-19 has changed the way many companies do business. Tendering is a contact-free way of growing your business, and you can do it from home. This has led to increased competition, so it’s best to be prepared when writing your response. You want to stand out from the crowd and persuade the buyer that you’re the best company for the job.

7 things you can expect to find in a PAS91 or PQQ for construction tenders in the UK

Below are seven things you can expect to find within the initial stages of construction tenders in the UK. They can often be found within the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) and PAS91 in construction. Below highlights the main areas that will be covered and what questions you can expect to answer. It is predominantly a box-ticking exercise to make sure you pass the minimum criteria for the work at hand.

  1. Supplier identity and contact information

  1. Financial standing

  • Accounts and financial statements
  • Insurance statements and certificates.

  1. Business and professional standing

  • Any criminal convictions.

  1. Health and safety

  • Health and Safety management policies
  • How you obtain health and safety advice
  • Health and safety workforce training
  • Workforce health and safety qualifications
  • RIDDOR
  • Health and safety implementation
  • Risk assessment
  • Suitable workforce welfare facilities
  • Arrangements for co-operation and or-ordination with suppliers and sub-contractors.
  • CDM co-ordinators and designers.

  1. Equal opportunity and diversity policies and procedures

  • Compliance with anti-discrimination legislation.
  • Any findings of unlawful discrimination.
  • How your company ensures equality and diversity within your organisation.
  • Actively promote good practice by eliminating discrimination.

  1. Environmental management policy and capability

  • Policy and management of construction-related environmental issues.
  • Arrangements to ensure your environmental management procedures effectively reduce and prevent significant impacts on the environment.
  • Check, review and improve your environmental management performance.

  1. Quality management

  • Policy and organisation for quality management.
  • Procedures to periodically review correct and improve quality performance.

Once you have passed the PQQ or PAS91 stage of construction tenders in the UK, you’ll be given an ITT. ITT stands for an invitation to tender and is the next round of the tendering procedure.

3 things you should include in an ITT for construction tenders in the UK

  1. Relevant accreditations and qualifications

Construction tenders in the UK will ask for proof of your business and employee’s relevant qualifications and accreditations. Construction sites can be hazardous environments, leaving plenty of opportunities for accidents to arise.

You should demonstrate your business is prepared, in keeping with relevant health and safety regulations and best practice. A buyer may ask what relevant accreditations and qualifications you have, asking you to attach proof to your tender documents. These could include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

  • OHSAS 18001:2007
  • CHAS
  • RIDDOR
  • ISO 9001; 14001; 18001; 45001:2018
  • CDM 2015
  • Constructionline
  • Subcontractor
  • SSIP
  • BIM
  • IOSH.

  1. Evidence of your professional capability

Carrying on from relevant accreditations and qualifications, you will need to demonstrate and evidence your professional capability. You can expect to be asked to provide up to three relevant case studies completed within the last five years.

They should be contracts you have completed similar in complexity and scope to the current contract. Positive testimonials from past clients are a bonus. They can help you assert yourself to the buyer of the quality of your services.

Preparing a selection of previous examples of your work can help strengthen your bid. Having a well-prepared bank of evidence can help save time with future submissions too.

When applying for construction tenders in the UK, it’s a good idea to prepare any:

  • CCS reports.
  • National awards and nominations.
  • Fully completed risk assessments and method statements.
  • Site audits and completed reports.
  • Before, during and after photos from previous contracts.
  • The contact information and testimonials from previous satisfied clients.

  1. Social Value

The updated government Construction Playbook has an emphasis on practising sustainable construction to the best of one’s ability. Public sector construction tenders in the UK have a mandatory minimum weighting of 10% on social value. Buyers want to see how your business will give back during the course of the contract.

Social value has an emphasis on the economic, social and environmental aspects within the community and across the UK. Your sustainable development goals should maximise social values such as:

  • COVID-19 recovery.
  • Environmental considerations such as reducing waste and encouraging recycling, practising sustainable construction.
  • Promoting and creating new skills and jobs, tackling unemployment.
  • The equal opportunity and diversity policies you implement.

Need assistance?

We understand that the tendering process can be quite confusing. If you’re feeling a little perplexed about bidding for construction contracts UK we can help.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% bid success rate. They have over 60 years of collective experience and are well versed in writing construction tender responses. They offer four levels of bid writing support that can cater to your bid writing response needs.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect construction tender for your business but don’t know where to start? You can send the specification over to our Bid Writers and they’ll take care of it all for you. They’ll write the response and even submit it on your behalf! They’ll also provide a full Tender Writing breakdown. This allows you time to focus on the more important things.

Tender Mentor

Our Tender Mentor service can make sure your response is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit. Our Bid Writers will proofread your response, checking it’s in line with the specification.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for businesses who have never tendered for work before. This programme works with you, ensuring you have everything in place to tender successfully. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant who can help your business grow.

Tender Improvement

Have you been tendering for work, but aren’t seeing any success? Our Tender Improvement package can help. During the course of the programme, our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and supporting documents. They’ll provide you with guidance and improve literature where necessary.

Where can I find construction tenders in the UK?

Searching for the right construction tenders for your business can turn into a full-time job. We know this because that’s what our Opportunity Trackers do here at Hudson Discover!

 Thousands of websites across the UK post various opportunities for your business using unreliable CPV codes. If you’re solely relying on them, you could be missing out on the perfect opportunity for your organisation.

Our Opportunity Trackers manually scour and source construction leads from thousands of sources across the UK. They then upload them to our Construction Tenders portal. You are able to filter the results by budget, location, keyword and more. This streamlines the process, allowing you to find the perfect construction tendering opportunity.

Below are past construction tenders in the UK sourced on our portal: 

Building Repair Works Pertaining to The External Fabric of Seacombe Ferry Terminal & Spaceport Building 2020

Merseytravel- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

05-03-2021

Disabled Facilities Grant Property Extension (Great Row Grove)

Stoke-on-Trent City Council- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

03-03-2021

External Works

North Star Housing Group LTD- North East- Budget: £2,700,000

02-03-2021

Retender External Door Replacement – St Stephens and St Bartholomew’s

North Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

08-03-2021

Tipperary County Council – Extension & Refurbishment Works to Traveller Accommodation at No. 4, Wallers Lot, Cashel, Co. Tipperary

Tipperary County Council- Budget: Undisclosed

05-03-2021

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, public and private sector construction bids from across the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about construction tenders in the UK.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy each month with our Bid Experts.

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

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

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time

Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering opportunities – even when you’re busy! Our two upgraded packages can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness. They are the ultimate time-saving tools that can help your business search and apply for construction tenders in the UK.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

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

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

Steel Work Tenders: 6 Tips for Success

Posted on by John Hudson

Steel Work Tenders in the Public Sector

Steel work tenders can help your steel company secure a pipeline of construction contracts. There are buyers in both the public and private sectors. Within the public sector, local councils are often commissioning steel work tenders and services. Such services could range from a multitude of buildings including residential, educational and commercial.

Steel work tenders can be released by buyers to procure:

  • Primary Framing
  • Secondary Framing
  • Structural steel work
  • Maintenance painting of steel work
  • Steel work for major projects.

6 tips to succeed when writing your responses for steel work tenders

  1. Plan

You should always plan your response for steel work tenders. Adequate planning can help you avoid any silly errors such as misjudging deadlines, formats and word counts.

Remember to note down all the important dates listed in the tender specification, these are likely to include:

  1. Attend on-site visits 

Site visits can be a great opportunity to strengthen your written responses. It’s strongly advised that you undertake a site visit where possible. Attending one may help you gain an insight into the buyer and help you achieve more accurate pricing.

They also allow prospective suppliers to see the environment they will be working in. This allows you to see things with your own eyes. You might just pick up on something that you otherwise wouldn’t be aware of.

  1. Demonstrate value for money

Steel work tenders in the public sector will award responses that produce the best value for money. Public sector contracts will be looking to award the Most Economically Advantageous Tender, known as the MEAT. The MEAT means the buyer is looking at more than just price. It is important to note that the cheapest bid does not always win.

You should price your services sensibly. Under-pricing your services won’t give you an edge over your competitors in this case. In the most commonly used tendering procedures, negotiating isn’t permitted further down the line. Some steel work tenders will put a larger weighting on price than quality, and visa versa. However, to ensure value for money, you should consider the following, for example:

  • Quality costs and benefits of products
  • Any additional economic benefit that may result from your project
  • Energy and water management
  • Full costs associated with transport and delivery
  • Insurance
  • Maintenance
  • After sale support
  • Waste disposal and reduction of waste
  • Sustainability
  • Supply chain management
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • The costs and benefits to society as a whole.

  1. Don’t gloss over social value

It’s essential for any successful bid, that your business considers the social economic and environmental impacts of fulfilling the contract. Social value now has a mandatory minimum weighting of 10% within government contracts.

It is not something that should be glossed over or treated as an afterthought. The government takes this part seriously and wants to see you making commitments that you can keep. There are qualifications that are relevant for this, such as ISO 14001.

The social value model has the aim of:

  • Encouraging economic growth.
  • Tackling economic and diversity inequality.
  • Creating new jobs.
  • Tackling climate change.

Within your steel work tenders response, you should note how your business is:

  • Supporting COVID-19 recovery.
  • Providing skills and development training, supporting the local community and long term unemployed.
  • Sustainably sourcing.
  • Considering environmental issues and helping to fight climate change.
  • Upholding equal opportunity and diversity policies. 

  1. A high-quality written response

The quality of your written response for steel work tenders is always going to matter. Buyers expect a strong written response, even if there is a larger weighting on price. Your written response is what can help separate you from your competitors.

Your written response is should be persuasive to the buyer. Why should they pick your business? Why are you the best business for the job? What do you offer that your competitors don’t? Sell yourself and your company to the buyer and give them a reason to pick you.

Remember to keep your response clear and concise, writing as close to the word count as possible. Avoid rambling on with overly technical jargon.

  1. Provide evidence

Make sure that you have relevant past experiences that you can evidence in your response.

You will likely be required to provide up to three case studies of previous contracts you have carried out. They should be similar in calibre, scope, scale and tailored to demonstrate your abilities. They should be contracts that you have completed within the last five years.

Need help writing your next steel work tenders?

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% bid success rate. They have over 60 years of collective experience and are well versed in writing construction industry tender responses. They offer four levels of bid writing support.

Tender Ready

The Tender Ready 4-week programme is designed for businesses who are completely new to tendering. Our Bid Writers will work with you to ensure you have everything you need to produce a winning bid.

Tender Improvement

Our Tender Improvement package can help if you aren’t seeing success from your current tendering efforts. Our Bid Team will assess your previous steel work tender responses and tender documents. They’ll then give you guidance and feedback, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect steel work tenders for your business, why not send it over to our team? They’ll provide you with a full Tender Writing breakdown, letting you know what they need from you. Our Bid Writers will take care of everything for you – they’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Our Tender Mentor service can make sure your response is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit. One of our Bid Writers will proofread your response, checking it’s in line with the specification.

How can I find the right steel work tenders for my business?

Use a sector specific portal

Finding the right steel work tenders for your business is half the battle. Often tender websites host tenders across multiple sectors and industries which are updated daily. It can take a large amount of time out of your day trying to find suitable tenders. Relying on CPV codes can result in missed opportunities. This is because they are often mislabelled, meaning you could be missing out on the right tenders for your company.

You should use a sector-specific portal to save you time when searching for your next steel work tenders. One that uses keyword tracking and provides good customer service is a plus. Construction Tenders focuses on opportunities in construction. Our Opportunity Trackers manually source contracts for clients who can then filter the results by keyword, location, budget and more.

Below are previous steel work tenders sourced on our portal:

Civil Ground Works & Site Preparation, Including Structural Steel Works and Relocation of Site Offices

Mayo County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Gable Grade11* Listed Prep & Repainting High Level Steel Work

Manchester City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Mezzanine Steel Works for The Zepher Building Harwell Science & Innovation Campus

Satellite Applications Catapult Limited- South East- Budget: £50,000

Whiffens Avenue, Chatham – Primary Steel Works – Secured Project

Medway Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders. We source opportunities for services including;

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • A team of Opportunity Trackers sourcing steel work tenders from thousands of websites.
  • Access to unique, private and public construction bids from across the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions or queries you may have about steel work tenders.
  • The ability to filter search results by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • A daily email bulletin notifying you of all relevant construction leads uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy each month with our Bid Experts.

Want to save even more time?

Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering opportunities – even when you’re busy! Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for steel work tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

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

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

Cable Laying Tenders: The Fundamentals

Posted on by John Hudson

How to succeed with cable laying tenders

Cable laying tenders can seem daunting if you have never completed one before. Those who have tendered for construction contracts in the UK before know what a minefield it can be. Cable laying tenders are often released by businesses that are looking for the supply, replacement, and installation of cables. They could be required for residential properties, office buildings or hospitals to name a few.

COVID-19 has led to a steep increase in businesses across the board turning to tendering to secure a pipeline of work. While social distancing is still in play, tendering allows you to grow your business without the need for face-to-face meetings.

There are multiple benefits for choosing tendering as a route for your business to go down. Bidding for cable laying tenders in the public sector, there can offer multiple advantages. For example, if successful, you are guaranteed pay due to the regulations public sector organisations are bound by. The Prompt Payment Code must be adhered to which can give businesses a steady form of income. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the private sector is not bound by these rules.

Open tendering procedure

More often than not, cable laying tenders will be an open tendering procedure. An open tendering procedure is often used within the public sector. It’s a process that’s commonly used as it is fairly straightforward.

ITT

Typically, a buyer will release an invitation to tender, known as an ITT. In an open tendering procedure, when an ITT is released, any prospective suppler can respond. Each supplier should aim to convey and persuade the buyer that they are the best business for the job.

MEAT

Once all bids have been submitted, the buyer reviews all the responses and will make their decision. The tender will then be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, known as the MEAT. A buyer will have evaluated both the price and quality of each of the cable laying tenders. For MEAT, the buyer is looking at more than just price. It’s important to note the cheapest bid does not always win. A buyer assesses multiple aspects of a bid, this could include the following:

  • Environmental factors
  • Accessibility
  • Quality management
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Innovation
  • Technical Ability
  • Experience.

Experience

Demonstrating that you have relevant experience is important for all cable laying tenders. Buyers will want to know that you are experienced and will be able to deliver the contract. Most contacts will require you to include past case studies of completed works of similar scope. If you have completed works in a similar geographical location, that’s a plus.

Often, three previous case studies within the last five years are required. You want to make sure that when providing your examples, that you keep them relevant to the specification. Case studies should demonstrate your business’ capabilities. Some tenders may ask for testimonials and the contact information of past clients.

The word count will suggest the amount of detail you should go into. It may be worth including how you overcame any unexpected logistical challenges, if any. This will exhibit your problem-solving skills and flexibility that are constantly needed within the construction industry.

Site Visits

The construction industry often offers the chance for prospective suppliers to complete a site visit. This should be detailed within the specification or tender documentation. If this is the case, it’s strongly encouraged that you undertake a site visit where possible.

Site visits allow prospective buyers to actually see the environment that they will be working in, if successful. They are a great opportunity to strengthen your cable laying tenders. They may be able to help you achieve more accurate pricing, better quality responses and gain insight into the buyer. This is a chance to gather more information that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Buyers care about the quality of your writing

Buyers care about the quality of your written response. They have high expectations that will be met by suppliers that have a strong written response. Even if the quality response is weighted less than the price, it’s still important to score well. That is what could distinguish you from your competitors.

Your response should be clear and concise showing attention to detail. However, it should not leave room for the buyer to make assumptions, nor should it ramble on with technical jargon. You want to respond to questions as close to the word or page counts as possible. The buyer included them for a reason. If they give 500 words for a response, a couple of sentences simply will not suffice.

If writing isn’t your strong suit – we can help.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They have an 87% success rate and are well versed in writing construction bids. Whether you’ve never tendered before or aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, they offer four levels of support.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect cable laying tenders for your business, why not send it over to our team? We know how busy you can be while running a business. You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning bid in-house. Our Bid Team will provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and will even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready offers a 4-week programme that’s perfectly designed for businesses who are completely new to tendering. Hudson Succeed’s Bid Writers work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. This includes creating a bid library and a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders.

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help if you aren’t seeing success from your current responses for cable laying tenders. Our Bid Writers will look over your past submissions and supporting documents. They’ll then give you feedback and guidance on how to improve on future submissions.

Tender Mentor 

Tender Mentor can double-check your bid response for errors before you submit. Our Bid Writers will proofread, checking for any grammatical or spelling mistakes and ensure it’s in line with the specification.

Where can I find cable laying tenders?

Now you know how to get the most out of your cable laying tenders. Now, you may be wondering where to find them.

You likely don’t have the spare time to trawl the internet looking for the right opportunity for your business. Luckily for you, our Construction Tenders portal can help. We source construction leads from thousands of sources daily. Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload them meaning no more missed opportunities due to unreliable CPV codes.

Searches can be filtered by budget, location, keyword and more – streamlining the process. A subscription to Construction Tenders includes a dedicated Account Manager. They can answer any questions or queries you may have about cable laying tenders or the bidding process in general. You’ll even get a daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded.

Below are past cable laying tenders we’ve sourced on our portal:

Excavation, Cable Laying and Reinstatement

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks- Northern Ireland- Budget: £36,500,000

Supply and Install New Cables at Solihull Hospital

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Data Cabling and Extra Low Voltage Control Cabling

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Pressurise HV Cables

South Tees Site Company- North East- Budget: £45,000

Replacement of Electrical Cabling at the NORA Mainland Tankfarm, Tarbert, Co. Kerry

National Oil Reserves Agency- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Cable Pulling Services

Hastoe HA- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Supply of Inline Cable Joint

Iarnród Eireann-Irish Rail- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders. We source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two packages can save you even more time when searching for cable laying tenders. The Ultimate Time Saver and Become and Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers:

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

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

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

Structural Engineering Consultancy Tenders: 5 Things to Include

Posted on by John Hudson

Structural engineering consultancy tenders and how to write them

Structural engineering consultancy tenders can have advantages for your business. If tendering within the public sector, it can result in guaranteed pay, securing a pipeline of work for your business.

Structural engineering consultancy tenders may be looking to fulfil contracts such as:

  • Monitoring the quality of construction from a structural perspective.
  • Reviewing designed portions of the structure for compliance with the assigned parameters.
  • Co-ordinating and reviewing design elements with other members of the design team. This could include external stakeholders to obtain necessary licences and approvals relating to the works.
  • Reviewing design and calculations where appropriate.
  • Co-ordinating site investigation works as required.

The typical tendering procedure

PQQ

The standard criteria for selection within structural engineering consultancy tenders starts off as a PQQ. A PQQ is a pre-qualification questionnaire where you will have to detail your business’s:

  • Company information.
  • Confirmation of insurance.
  • Proof of financial stability and availability to undertake the project.
  • Health and Safety
  • Environmental policy.
  • Equal opportunities and diversity policy.

ITT

If your business is successful, you will then be sent an invitation to tender (ITT). This will include your quality and price response.

5 things to include in your structural engineering consultancy tenders

1. Overall project cost and fees

Buyers will always consider the rates of your services as part of the evaluation process. Each tender is different depending on the buyer’s needs. This means some tenders put more weighting on price over quality.

Pricing describes the cost of the contract, so you should submit your best price for the project. However, don’t try and outprice yourself or undercut your competitors by being the cheapest. It’s not profitable to submit a low price and then go significantly over budget.

Even if the price is not the main focus of a tender, public sector organisations will award the contract to the MEAT. The MEAT is the most economically advantageous tender. This is when your response is evaluated on other aspects than just price. It’s important to note that the cheapest bid does not win. Buyers may assess the MEAT by looking at the following examples:

  • Quality
  • Innovation
  • Technical ability
  • Environmental benefits
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time

2. Project methodology and management

Within your ITT, you will need to provide the details of your prosed structure of the management and resources. This must include the supervision and demonstrate your ability to provide suitable and sufficient resources for a successful project. You must demonstrate management structures, lines of authority, reporting and your depth capacity to undertake the project.

Within structural engineering consultancy tenders, a good way to do this is via the RIBA stages. RIBA stands for the Royal Institute of British Architecture. Their Plan of Work contains the definitive model for the design and construction process of buildings. It has seven stages:

0. Strategic definition

1. Preparation and Briefing

2. Concept Design

3. Spatial Coordination

4. Technical Design

5. Manufacturing and Construction

6. Handover

7. Use

3. Risk assessment

A risk assessment is usually included within an ITT. It needs to include an understanding of specific challenges and risks of the project. It could go hand in hand with your businesses health and safety policies. As with any construction project, a buyer wants to optimise the health and safety of their staff and customers.

You must be in compliance with the current legislations and provide evidence. Examples of what policies that you could have in place for structural engineering consultancy tenders are:

  1. RIDDOR
  2. CHAS
  3. ISO 9001; 14001; 45001
  4. BS5750
  5. Constructionline
  6. SSIP

4. Past case studies

Construction contracts will require you to evidence past case studies of completed works of similar scope. Buyers want to see how successful you have been in the past when fulfilling similar contracts. You want to make sure that these case studies are tailored to projects of similar complexity.

You’ll likely be asked to detail 3 examples that have been completed within the last five years. Each example should be tailored, fitting and compelling with the specification. Testimonials from satisfied clients always reflect well on you. Depending on the buyer, you may have to provide their contact information so they can check you’re telling the truth.

Make sure your case studies are:

  1. Thorough
  2. Detailed
  3. Well-developed
  4. Backed up with evidence
  5. Showcase your company’s abilities
  6. Include how you overcame unexpected challenges and how you adapted, showing flexibility and problem-solving abilities.

5. CV’s

Structural engineering consultancy tenders will often ask for CVs of the employees who will work on the contract. You may also need to provide the details of any subcontractors you will be using too. The CVs must demonstrate that the staff are capable of providing a high quality of service. They will need to include their experience, ability and suitability and any relevant qualifications.

You could include a smart but friendly photo of each member on their CVs against a neutral background. This will allow buyers to put faces to names and is a nice added touch. CVs should be relevant, focused and as concise as possible while still being thorough.

Need assistance?

If writing isn’t your strong suit, not to worry – our sister company, Hudson Succeed, can help. They have an 87% success rate and over 60 years of collective bid writing experience.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and want someone to double-check for errors, then Tender Mentor is for you. One of our Bid Writers will look over it and proofread for any grammatical or spelling mistakes. They’ll check it’s in line with the specification before you submit the bid.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect tender for your business, but don’t know where to start? Why don’t you send it our way? Our Bid Team will take care of it all for you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll let you know what they need from you and even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Improvement

If you’ve already been tendering for work, but aren’t seeing success, our Tender Improvement programme can help. Our Bid Writers will look over your supporting documents and past submissions. They’ll then give you feedback and guidance on how to improve.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. It includes a 12-month subscription to a sector-specific portal of your choice.

Where can I find structural engineering consultancy tenders?

Not everyone has the time to scour hundreds of websites a day trying to find the right tendering opportunity.

Luckily for you, our Construction Tenders portal can help. We don’t rely on CPV codes that can result in missed opportunities as they’re often used incorrectly. Our Opportunity Trackers manually trawl and source construction leads from thousands of websites daily. You are able to filter the results via location, budget, keyword and more. This saves you hours, allowing you to focus on the important things.

Below are some past structural engineering consultancy tenders we have sourced on our portal:

Tralee Northern Relief Road Structural Engineering Consultancy Services

Kerry County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Civil & Structural Engineering Consultancy Services for Carpark Works at GRETB Adult and Further Education and Training Centre, Athenry, Co. Galway

Galway Roscommon Education & Training Board- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Civil and Structural Engineering Consultancy and Ancillary Certifier Services for Social Housing projects in Co. Kildare

Cluid Housing Association- International- Budget: Undisclosed

GBC DAB Structural Engineering Consultancy Services

SE Shared Services- South East- Budget: £120,000

St. Paul’s School – Civil & Structural Engineering Consultancy Services-Single Storey Extension at Beech Hill, Montenotte, Cork T23 P529.

St. Paul’s School (Montenotte) – International- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders can offer your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector structural engineering opportunities from across the UK.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writing division.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any of your structural engineering tender questions and queries.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new structural engineering consultancy tenders are uploaded.

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Discover Elite can save you even more time when searching for structural engineering consultancy tenders. Our two upgraded packages can help you identify tenders, even when you’re busy.

The Ultimate Time Saver and Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can help improve your competitor awareness. You’ll have a dedicated Account Manager that will consider whether tendering opportunities are right for your business. This will help to improve your bid success rate, by going after the right contracts.

The Ultimate Time Saver package can offer your business:

  • An on-hand dedicated Account Manager and weekly phone calls to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • A tender breakdown of a maximum of five bids per month.
  • Annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This is a great option if your business overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics, for example.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

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

Contact us today to find out how we can help you grow your business with Construction Tenders.