How do bid arithmetic errors distort Bosaso tenders?

A distorted tender total can look complete on the cover page while the arithmetic, quantities and unit assumptions behind it do not hold together. In Bosaso, bid arithmetic skills gaps let a bidder copy a total from an old sheet, miss an extension error or leave an item unpriced. The client then compares totals that are not measuring the same work. Check the priced bill of quantities, not the summary page.

What do bid arithmetic skills gaps in Bosaso look like?

A gap shows up as a total that cannot be rebuilt from the items. Ask for the priced bill of quantities with quantities, unit rates, extensions and the carried total for each section. A bidder who cannot reproduce those figures from the same sheet has a gap somewhere in the chain.

The usual failures are simple. A rate is entered against the wrong unit, so cubic metres are priced as square metres. An extension is multiplied by hand and the error is carried into the section total. A provisional sum is added twice, or left out of the grand total. A page is missing from the copy submitted, and the total still appears. None of this requires a dishonest bidder. It requires a bidder without a checking routine.

Underbid items often reveal the same gap. Priced at a fraction of the materials they need, they force the bidder to recover the difference later through a variation or by reducing what is built. The test for the client is whether every item in the bill has a quantity, a rate and an extension that can be traced.

How does weak arithmetic turn into workmanship defects?

When a distorted total wins the tender, the site pays for the error. A bidder who has under-priced an item has three routes: absorb the loss, ask for a variation, or reduce the work. The first two are visible and can be managed. The third is not, and it is where defects start.

Concrete cover can be trimmed to save steel. A mix can be weakened to save cement. A curing period can be cut to save time. Steps may be skipped because the priced activity never covered them. Confirm cover, mix and curing requirements against the project specification or the engineer before you accept a method statement. The defect appears months later as cracking, spalling or a leak, long after the arithmetic error that caused it.

This is why bid review and site supervision belong together. A tender total that cannot be rebuilt is a warning about what will happen on site. Ask the successful bidder to walk through the three largest items and explain the quantity, the rate and the method behind each. A bidder who can do that is less likely to cut corners later.

How do you test arithmetic before award?

Set a checking routine before opening the bids, and apply it to every bidder in the same way. The routine needs to be written into the tender documents so bidders know what will be asked.

• Request the priced bill of quantities in editable form, with formulas visible where possible.
• Recalculate extensions and totals from the rates and quantities, not from the summary page.
• List every item with no rate or no quantity, and ask the bidder to price it in writing.
• Ask for the source of each rate used for materials, and check it against a written supplier quote.
• Compare the priced quantities against the drawings, and ask about any difference.

Where a figure is needed that the documents do not give, ask the office issuing the tender documents which records it holds and how to request them, or put the question to the project engineer in writing. Do not accept a verbal explanation of a total. Ask for it in a signed arithmetic correction sheet, dated and attached to the bid.

What to do next

Take the lowest bid you have received and rebuild its total from the first line to the last, using only the rates and quantities on the sheet. Note every item you cannot trace. Send that list to the bidder and ask for a written priced response before you compare totals again.