Tender Services
Takeoffs, bills of quantities, and tender documentation from someone who has priced this work and carried the risk when it was wrong.
Measured takeoffs from tender drawings and specifications, bill of quantities preparation, tender document compilation, and pricing support for mechanical and electrical packages.
I've priced M&E work from both sides: as a contractor pricing to win, and as a director carrying the consequences when a bill missed something. That experience is the difference between a list of quantities and a bill you can stand behind on return day.
Most clients use this as estimating overflow. When tenders bunch up and your estimator is the bottleneck, I take the measurement and bill production off their desk so their time goes on pricing rather than counting.
What I produce
Material takeoffs
Measured quantities from tender drawings, itemised by system, level, and zone, with a traceable audit trail back to the drawing.
Bill of Quantities preparation
Structured, priceable Excel bills in your template or a clean standard format, ready for rates.
Tender document compilation
Clarifications, assumptions and exclusions registers, and submission documents that protect your price.
Pricing support
Supplier and subcontractor RFQs, quote comparisons, and sanity checks on labour allowances.
Subcontract package preparation
Scope splits and package documents for sub-letting parts of the works, with the interfaces defined.
What usually gets missed
The plant never sinks an M&E tender; everyone remembers the chiller. What sinks tenders are the quiet lines: containment sundries and fixings, the valve and ancillary packages around equipment, insulation and identification, condensate, access panels, builder's work, water treatment, commissioning, testing, and attendances. After 24 years of pricing and delivering this work, those are the lines I go looking for.
Every bill goes out with an assumptions and exclusions register attached, stating what was measured, what was inferred, and what was excluded and why. When the post-tender questions come, the answers are already written down.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need to get started?
The full tender issue (drawings, specifications, employer's requirements, preliminaries) plus your return date and preferred bill format. I'll confirm scope and price for the takeoff itself before starting.
Do you price the bill or just measure it?
Either. Most contractors keep pricing in-house and use me for measurement and bill structure, which is where the time goes. Where you want more, I can obtain supplier quotes, populate labour allowances for your review, and flag lines that look like risk.
Can you work to my tender deadline?
Tell me the return date up front and I'll tell you honestly whether it's achievable before either of us commits. A rushed takeoff is worse than a declined one.
What format are bills delivered in?
Excel, structured by system and by level or zone, so the bill can be priced, checked, and later used for procurement. Your existing template if you have one.
How is tender confidentiality handled?
Tender information is commercially sensitive and treated that way. I'll sign an NDA on request, and I will never work both sides of the same tender.
Related services
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