Application Activities
Observing Contractor Selection
While contractor selection procedures are well documented in AIA publications, architectural observation and judgment is a necessary component in choosing the right company for the job.
Set up a meeting to interview one of the senior members of your firm about your firm’s contractor selection and negotiation process. Look for answers to questions such as these:
- Is this contractor selection approach typical for your firm, or are different strategies used for different kinds of clients and projects?
- Does the process unfold smoothly, or are there bumps in the road?
- When does the discussion about the mode of contractor selection take place?
- Are any other options for project delivery considered, or is the choice obvious?
- Now, arrange to sit in on a meeting where contractor selection will take place. Write a narrative summarizing the selection process. Was it the same as your original interview revealed? Why or why not?
Prepare a report summarizing your observations on the process and its overall effectiveness.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Activity # 2 Beginner
Learning from AIA Bidding Documents
AIA documents provide a detailed generally accepted procedure for contractor selection with which all entrants should become familiar.
Obtain copies of the following AIA documents associated with the bidding process and, with a highlighter or pen in hand to jot margin notes, review them for consistency with the concepts presented in the narrative.
- A305ª, Contractor’s Qualification Statement
- A310ª, Bid Bond
- A501ª/AGC 325, Recommended Guide for
- Competitive Bidding Procedures and Contract Awards for Building Construction
- G612ª, Owner’s Instructions to the Architect Regarding the Construction Contract
- A701ª, Instructions to Bidders
Next, take a look at file copies of as many of these documents as you can that have been utilized for a project that your firm has recently completed. Write a summary of what you find answering the following questions:
- Which documents were utilized?
- Were there any changes that your firm has made in following standard bidding and contract negotiation procedures as detailed in the documents and described in the narrative?
- What was the purpose behind those changes, and did they positively or negatively affect the outcome of the bidding process in terms of minimizing your firm’s liability or the overall success of the project?
Write a report summarizing your conclusions of your review of the documents. Be sure to note any potential pitfalls, problems or challenges you feel a project manager should be aware of, based on your analysis of both the documents and the file copies.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Activity # 3 Beginner
Project Delivery Approaches
Every project will exhibit its own characteristics and challenges and it is important to become as familiar as possible with as many examples and you can.
For this exercise, gather information about completed building projects or projects in progress from several of your firm’s supervisors and project managers. Choose at least three projects, (preferably using three different project delivery methods, if possible) and, record information about how contractors were selected for each, using the following suggestions as a basis for your research:
- Identify the strategies used to select contractors for each project.
- Characteristics of the projects associated with each project delivery method, including project type, size, complexity, and client experience.
- Find out what you can about the bidding and negotiation processes. For example, find out how many bidders there were, what they bid, and which contractor was selected.
- How did the bids compare to the original estimates?
- Try to determine how the selection process set the stage for the successful completion of the project or for subsequent difficulties.
- Would the project outcome have been dramatically different if another mode of delivery had been used?
- Did any ethical dilemmas arise? Any issues of legal liability?
- What did your firm do well in the process? Did the firm do anything questionable or worth rethinking?
Write a report summarizing your review of the three case studies. Create a chart or matrix for quick reference for your later use.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Completion of Bid Forms for a Project
With the help of the project manager in your firm, find a set of drawings that were issued for bid, completed bid forms, and any addenda that were issued in your firm’s archives. Do not review the addenda or forms just yet.
With the bid drawings you found as the basis, complete your own set of bid forms for the project. Review the drawings carefully and decide what, if anything you should include in an addendum to be issued to the bidders.
Compare what you have to what was done for the original project. Make any necessary adjustments to what you have prepared.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Attendance at a Pre-Bid Meeting
Prior to contractor selection, potential bidders may attend a pre-bid conference to ask specific questions about the project. Their perspectives are useful in gauging their concern about the procedures that will involve them in considering their bids.
Arrange to attend a pre-bid meeting in your area and take notes on the proceedings.
- What kinds of questions come up?
- How do the participants behave?
- Do they appear to use their questions to posture and jockey for advantage, or do they simply want to get their questions clarified?
- Does the process appear to follow to the steps, suggestions, and requirements described in the narrative of this chapter?
- If the process strays from what is described in this chapter, does it put the project and the participants at risk?
Write a memo to the individual conducting the pre-bid meeting summarizing your observations and outlining five questions asked by the contractors with your proposed responses. Include recommendations on how to make the next meeting for a similar project better.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Activity # 6 Advanced
Attendance at a Public Bid Opening
After all of the proceedings have been put into place and the bidding contractors have proposed their bids, the bid opening brings the process to an abrupt, and hopefully productive, conclusion. Obviously, stakes can be high, so the procedures must be carefully followed.
Attend a public bid opening in your area and take notes on the proceedings. Be sure to arrive 30 to 60 minutes early so you see the process from start to finish.
- How many people arrived early? How early did they arrive?
- Were any questions asked?
- How did the bidders behave?
- Was the opening what you expected? How did it differ and why?
After the meeting concludes be sure to observe any side conversations amongst both the high and low bidders. Prepare a report that summarizes your observations. Include overall comments from the bidders and any obvious reasons for their comments. Also include aspects of the bid opening that were handled well and which were not. Make any recommendations for improvement.
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
Activity #7 Advanced
TO RE-BID OR NOT TO RE-BID?
Scenario:
The Village of Green Acres is considering rejecting all three bids it received for the design of a new library. All the bids were unexpectedly high; one was within the original $3.3 to $3.5 million expected cost range of the project. Shortly after the bid opening, Village representatives met with each of the contractors to discuss why the bids were so high. Later, the second lowest bidder sent a letter to the Village suggesting how significant cost savings might be achieved using alternative methods of construction. On the basis of this advice, the Village has decided to lower its estimate of project costs to $3 to $3.2 million and advertise for a second round of bidding. The lowest bidder objects and threatens to file suit against the Village, seeking an injunction to halt the re-bid and to have the project awarded to him on the basis of the original bids.
Assignment:
Prepare two memorandums: One to the project manager and one to the client answering the following questions. Be sure to shape each message appropriately for the intended recipient.
- Does the lowest bidder have a reasonable case or not? Justify your answer contractually and legally.
- Does the Village have the right to follow its planned course of action?
- Are the contractors being treated fairly? Explain the ethical issues involved referring to appropriate AIA and NCARB documents.
- What is the architect’s potential exposure to liability in this case?
Share your work with a supervisor or IDP mentor and make any necessary changes.
