Frequently Asked Questions

 

Disclaimer: Please take note that this is my opinion and none of the comments below are intended to cause offence and do not point to any professional in particular.

 

Ok, as someone (who is not a contractor / tenderer / sub-contractor / vendor etc.) who has to obtain electronic bills of quantities from professionals, I have to state unequivocally, that I do not understand why all bills of quantities are not available in an electronic format. I understand that those electronic bills may only be available to the contractors who are tendering on the contract, but I believe there should still be electronic bills.

 

Some of the reasons we are given are:

1. Client does not want the electronic bill released.

2. Bill is only released to the tenderers who have purchased the tender document and attended the site inspection.

3. Bill is only released to everyone who attended the site inspection.

4. There are no electronic bills.

5. The consultant does not want his format available for anyone to copy.

6. There are some people who will try to tender on the contract without having purchased the tender documents.

 

My thoughts on these reasons are:

1. Why not? Does the client not realise that the electronic format is easier for redistribution to vendors, suppliers and sub-contractors? It is easier to re-incorporate the prices that are received back and makes it easier to compile prices. If it is easier for the contractor (and by extension, the vendors, suppliers and sub-contractors) to gather the prices, make sense of them and fill in the tender document, then it is probably going to mean that the client will receive better bids.

2. I have no problem with this reason, but in favour of making it easier for us to obtain the electronic bill, it would be great if you would provide us with the name of the person you sent it to at the specific contracting company, so that we can advise our contact at that company, who they need to contact in order for them to provide us with the electronic bill.

3. Please see point 2 above.

4. This is rather difficult to believe as there are various programs (WinQS, Bill, CCS, excel, etc.) which are available for use. Adobe is also used and although not optimal, it is definitely preferred over a scanned file any day.

5. Sorry to say, but most bills are in the same format already, irrespective of who the consultant was that drew it up.

6. So what? If they hand in an electronic copy of the bill or even, a printed out version of the bill, so what? The tender state clearly that only the filled in ORIGINAL tender documents will be accepted as a valid bid. Therefore, any and all bids submitted that are not filled in original tender documents should be void and it shouldn’t affect any of the other tenderers submissions.

 

In conclusion, the reasons we are requesting an electronic bill of quantities are:

 

A. Our subscribers (contractors), who are tendering on this contract (therefore they will purchase the tender documents and attend the site inspection), would like us to upload the bill on our Electronic Pricing System so that they can send it out to their suppliers / vendors / sub-contractors.

B. A vendor / supplier / subcontractor is interested in seeing if anything is on the bill that they supply or do, so that they can supply the contractors who are tendering on this project with prices (this is usually helped by an accompanying site register, so that they know who to submit their prices to…hint hint)

 

This should be a win-win situation for everyone concerned, so please, please be nice and provide electronic BoQ’s (even if it is just to the contractors:)).

 

 

How Project stages are broken down.

 

Over the eight plus years I have worked at L2B I have spoken to many  people who have wanted me to explain,

 

“Where do I ‘fit’ into a Project?”

 

i.e. where would my point of benefit be? How does Leads 2 Business classify Project stages? It makes sense to me that someone would want to know how it works because it helps them find their place in the puzzle.

 

As an introduction, our Projects Department are a wonderful bunch. Generally, if you need anything, the Projects Department is the place you would find it. Often referred to as the ‘crystal ball’ department, they seem to have a knack for sourcing information where others may fail.  This occasionally results in a couple of laughs, but has also included interesting incidents such as receiving phonecalls from subscribers wanting to know which direction the wind is blowing on site in Burkino Faso (which incidentally was sourced and sent to the subscriber).  Simply put, they move mountains to get what is needed. But I digress…

A Project is divided up into different stages where different Companies would get involved. These are broken down on the Leads 2 Business system as follows:

 

Conceptual Phase

Very early stage in the Project :–  This involves the Clients intention, Developers Prosposals, the Feasibility study and Anchor tenants express interest.

 

Procedural Phase

EIA Consultant is appointed :– This encompasses the basic design, EIA process, Geotechnical study, rezoning, licensing, invited list, Expression Of Interest  and Professionals appointment.

 

Design Phase

This involves the detailed design of the project including the Bill of Quantities.

 

Tender Phase

This involves the project going out to Tender, whether public, private and the negotiations involved.

 

Awarded Phase

The Main Contractor, Subcontractors and Suppliers are awarded.  There is potential that there is a delay between the award and the commencement of the project.

 

Underway Phase

The Main Contractor is on site and Construction is underway.

 

Complete Phase

The Project has reached completion.

 

So now the picture becomes a little clearer. You can see who is involved in the different stages and plan how you would like to contact them and when to market your services or products.   For a more detailed description of where the different fields are involved and where your points of benefit are you can click here.
Feel free to contact us should you have any questions.  We are happy to answer them and to assist.  You can mail Support@L2B.co.za or call 086 083 6337.

 

 

 

 

 

A story of how bidding used to work

 

Early Monday morning I walk into my office. On my desk are three bound documents, I shake my head in disbelief. Right on cue, my boss walks in the door. I point at the documents and ask: “I wasn’t aware of any other tenders for this month?” He replies: “We received them Saturday morning, they close in a week, 9 days and 14 days respectively, I want the prices back for all three in four days’ time.” He walks into his office and closes the door. I am left alone by my desk, feeling like I am about to be suffocated.

 

Four days! Only four days! Do I look like a miracle worker?!

 

I shake my head, roll my shoulders and try to calm down. There is no time for histrionics right now, I have to get these tenders out and priced back to my boss in four days. First thing I do is look at the tenders to ascertain the areas where the work will take place. Ok, two of them I can send to the same vendors for prices as they are in close proximity, this will cut my work by a third. Feeling a little bit better, I start typing up the cover letters for each tender. Once complete and printed, I take the first tender document and remove the fasteners holding the tender document together (luckily the two tenders that are close together, I can unbind. Unfortunately, the last tender I will have to copy each page of the bill and they will probably have that blinking black line obscuring the item numbers. Ugh!). I start sorting the pages of the bill into the different trades I need to send to; of course some of the pages will be required for different trades as well. I then grab our vendor list and start looking for vendors in the required area. Once I have compiled the necessary list of every vendor I will be sending to, I realise that due to the project being rural, I am going to have to fax almost every vendor, as there is only one that has an email address. Great! Just great!

 

I look at the clock; it is 11:10 am. There is enough time to at least fax a few before I am supposed to go to lunch, although it looked like it was going to be a sandwich eaten on the go. With a heavy sigh, I pick up the different piles and trudge over to the fax machine. The light blinks, indicating that I need to replace the ink cartridge, I grunt. Now, I have to go find a replacement cartridge, as the stupid fax won’t work until I have replaced the cartridge. Some days, I really hate my job! I open the supply cabinet, rummage through the piles and finally spot the cartridge right in the back. I cut open the package and cross back to the fax, trying to remember the steps in replacing the cartridge, wishing for the millionth time that we could get an upgraded fax/printer machine. I finally wrangle the old cartridge out and insert the new one. Ok, time to fax. I grab the first pile, position the papers and pick up my list of vendors; I enter the first number and press send. The first two pages go through with no issue, the third page never emerges and the fax starts emitting a high pitched shriek, with lights flashing. Page jam, fantastic. I open the machine compartment, do a scan of the areas where the paper can be stuck and see at least three pages in different locations. I grab the first one and pull it out quite smoothly, the second one I can’t get hold, so I take a pair of tweezers from my handbag and finally manage to get it out. I reach for the third one, manage a good grip and start pulling, it won’t budge. Grimacing, I reset my foot, take the page in a two-handed grip and yank with all my might.

 

Chaos erupts! It’s like the machine is possessed. It’s spewing paper everywhere and then a black rain joins in coating everything in ink, including me. I try to fight my way to the machine, guarding my face with my hands, finally getting to the power cord and reach to push the power button…I wake up in a cold sweat, bolting upright, gasping for breath. I shakily reach up to push my hair off my sweating face. It’s only a nightmare, it’s not real. I exhale and feeling calm again, turn onto my side and close my eyes. Thank goodness I subscribe to Leads 2 Quotes.