How do you check crew allocation claims in Qardho?

A crew list in a tender is a claim, not evidence. Crew allocation competency risks begin when a bid names bricklayers, carpenters, steel fixers and a foreman, but nothing shows that those people exist as a team, that they have worked together, or that the bidder controls them rather than borrowing them for the bid. Check the claim before you sign, not after the first pour.

What does a crew list in a Qardho bid actually prove?

A bidder may list more crews than it employs, on the assumption that labour can be gathered after award. Ask for the gang as a table: each name, the trade, the years on that trade, the recent projects the person worked on, and who directed the work there. Then ask the same question of the site engineer, not the office. Labour can move between towns along the main roads, so a crew named for a Qardho start date may be committed elsewhere; ask the bidder to state in writing where each named person will be on your mobilisation date. If the answer is vague, treat the crew as unverified capability and price your supervision accordingly. Confirm the trades you need against the project specification with your engineer. Ask the relevant local authority whether any licensing or registration applies to the works.

How do unbalanced labor resources show up on site?

The work stalls in one trade while another trade stands idle. A balanced crew has the right number of people in each trade for the sequence of work: excavation and blinding, then steel fixing, formwork, concrete, then blockwork and finishes. An unbalanced allocation puts three masons and one steel fixer on a job that needs the reverse, so the masons wait and the programme slips. Watch for these signs throughout mobilisation and the early works:

• The same foreman is listed on more than one active site.
• Plant and tools arrive for trades that are not working yet.
• Gang sizes change daily with no explanation in the site diary.
• One trade finishes late and the next gang is already demobilised.

Ask for the daily labour return, signed by the supervisor, and compare it with the programme.

How do you test the claim before the contract is signed?

Make the bidder show evidence, not assurances. Walk a recent site with the same foreman and ask the workers there who directs them and how long they have worked under that person. Ask your engineer and the laboratory which trades the project's specification treats as risk trades, and which records the laboratory can produce for the named workers on those trades. Ask the laboratory directly which tests it can run for your project and at what rate, rather than accepting a bidder's summary. Then tie the crew to the contract: named supervisors, minimum gang numbers per trade, and the notice required before any named person is replaced. Check what your contract allows on replacements and on payment, and take advice before withholding anything. During mobilisation, keep a signed attendance and labour return for each day.

What to do next

Before you sign, send the bidder one page: name every supervisor and gang member, state the trade and the site they will leave, and attach the recent projects where that crew worked as a unit. Ask your engineer to walk one of those projects with you and to confirm the named people were there. Hold the signed page with the contract.