Civil Engineering Project Management (4th Edition)

54 Civil Engineering Project Management
number or quantity of each item and its unit of measure, the rate per unit of
quantity quoted by the tenderer, and the consequent total price for that item.
This permits re-measure according to the actual quantity done under each
item. Some bills contain many hundreds of items, classified by trade or according
to a standard method of measurement; other bills contain a less number
of items (see Chapter 15). A schedule of prices may comprise a series of lump
sums or it may call for rates only, but can list provisional quantities which are
estimated, that is, uncertain. They would be used, for instance, for a contract
for sinking boreholes, items being provided for boring in stages of depth, the
total depth to which any hole has to be sunk not being known in advance.
Tender and appendices
The tender sets out the formal wording which comprises the tenderer’s offer
to undertake the contract, the tenderer having to enter the sum price he offers.
The appendices to tender will contain other matters defining the contract
terms and which the tenderer confirms he accepts in making his offer, such as
time for completion of the works, damages for failure to complete on time,
minimum amount of insurances, completion of bond, etc. There may be other
matters concerning the basis of his offer he is required to supply, such as currency
exchange rates (for international contracts) or sources of materials.
The contract drawings
These should provide as complete a picture as possible of all the works to be
built. The more complete the contract drawings are, the more accurately the
contractor can price the work, and the less likelihood there is that variations
and extra payments will be necessary. However, it is not necessary at tender
stage to provide every detailed drawing that will ultimately be required (such
as all concrete reinforcement drawings) so long as the contract drawings provided
to tenderers show quite clearly what is required.
On small jobs all the foregoing documents may be combined in one volume;
but on most jobs at least two and sometimes three or more volumes will be
necessary. A tenderer is usually sent a second copy of the instructions to tenderers,
bill of quantities, tender and appendices, so that he can keep one copy
of what he has bid.
5.4 Bond, insurance, etc.
When preparing contract documents a number of matters of contractual importance
must be considered. These will usually be dependant on the employer’s
preferences or any regulations under which he must operate, the type of work
involved and the financial liabilities arising out of the work. Some of these