Earth Dynamics Poolscapes Inc.
“WHY START WITH A PLAN”
MEASURING DIFFERENCES
In today’s outdoor environment construction world all too often people hire inexperience under the guise of receiving a good price.
“Experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you paid for”
The purpose of putting together your plans and specifications is to allow you to establish uniform standards, which should apply to estimated pricing. When you put those plans out for bid what should be happening is an intelligible deciphering for the requirements by those solicited and their responses for a commitment to pricing for the work described. If you are receiving wide variables in pricing estimates from your returned quotations, it would be wise to evaluate those responses and determine the origin for those differences.
By asking the question; are the plans and specifications clear and concise enough to derive a good understanding for the requirements? If the answer is yes to this (as we believe it is) then the next question is: do those providing quotations possess the required knowledge for constructing the plans as called out?
The key here is the required knowledge, one must understand the information provided in order to commit to a firm price for constructing the plans or one must deviate from that plan and concoct a new meaning.
When large differences result in pricing by those you have solicited after the issuance of a clear and concise bid package, you are left with only two meanings; a.) They have deviated from the plan directions detailed and gravitated toward a preferred practice. or b.) They don’t understand the plans well enough to build them as described.
In either case, the results negate the purpose of the plans in the first place by eliminating the possibilities for you to conclude a fair comparison. The value in the plans is weighed in the effectiveness at corralling the variable approaches by the solicited participants into a committed defined work scope. Only in this way can you derive a meaningful comparative conclusion as to any fair value.
There will always be differences in understandings but, it is in those differences that a reflection of intent is often exhibited for the approaches and application to the work scope. In the conveyance of competence for these required understandings, be sure to view the layers beneath these quotations in that of the representations reflected in the exhibits organizing a complete itemized, categorical estimate.
In attaining a great plan for comparative analysis, you’ll make those potential performers responsible for providing proposals that are fully accountable. By becoming familiar with the nuts and bolts and the processes in applying performers to those requirements you will become aware of the depth of understanding that is necessary to reach satisfactory completion.
Additionally, if you make all potential performers accountable to your plans and your specifications you’ll have a more factual result for comparison.
Whatever technology or manufacturer you may ultimately gravitate toward isn’t important at this stage. What is most important is to narrow the field of selection by eliminating those unqualified and incapable. If solicitors can’t follow your instruction on a plan, then a greater potential exists that their performances would also be inclined to be redefined.
Apple for Apples shouldn’t deviate when you are assessing comparative quantifications. The submissions of quotations for your considerations should stick to the plans and specifications so that you have a yardstick in which to evaluate each potential performer as being equal.
If you are interested in entertaining alternate suggestions, then those suggestions should be submitted as an alternate performance introduced as “Value Engineering Suggestions” aimed at lowering costs, not confusing the process.
Use an identical format to solicit bids and insist on receiving back the requested information per that form. Evaluate the validity of each proposal by the values projected for each category. View the individual line items and make sure that the complete “Billing of Quantities” is committed to fully.
Only in this way can you separate fact from fiction, knowledge from hype and arrive at a fair picture for the level of commitment being made for the work required.
What we are providing in this instruction are the benefits of a developed weighted knowledge. This knowledge is anchored upon rock solid historical evidence attained over many years of estimating the costs for performances. In this generational span of time and while performing such duties, we have been immersed in the dissection of thousands of designs, estimates and construction projects. In all cases developing an understanding for the planned intentions required an appreciation for the importance of detailed accountability through the expression of a straight forward easily digestible format.
We are hopeful that you too will become the beneficiary of such disciplines by demanding an adherence to your plans and specifications and the “Billing of Quantities” as a basis for comparative analysis.
If such an approach to your construction project prevails and you would like assistance in developing your individual specifications together with a definitive plan for bidding purposes please contact us @ (916) 630-7665.
Best Regards,