In brief
- An unusually low board price often means the bidder left out enclosure work, testing or labelling rather than finding a cheaper way to build it.
- Ask every bidder for a device schedule, a feeder test record and a circuit chart before you compare totals.
- Confirm what the contract requires before you accept or reject any board, because variations are handled under its terms.
Contents
A board price covers an enclosure, a set of devices, a schedule of circuits, cable terminations, a test record and a durable chart on the door. A bidder who prices only the box and the breakers will always look cheaper.
What gets left out of a low board price?
Omitted items usually sit outside the board itself, in the work that makes it usable. Common exclusions in a low board bid include:
- The enclosure and its mounting arrangement, including how it fixes to the wall and whether the wall or cabinet needs preparation
- Cable glands, lugs, ferrules and termination materials for every incoming and outgoing feeder
- Earth bar, neutral bar and the link between them, plus the earthing conductor to the building earth
- Cable trays, conduits and the last section of containment between tray and board
- Device schedule, circuit chart and labels, including durable marking that survives heat and dust
- Insulation resistance and polarity checks on each outgoing feeder, with readings written down
- Testing and handover to whoever will operate the building
Ask each bidder to price these lines separately and in writing. A price that cannot be broken down is a price that cannot be compared. For the enclosure itself, ask the project specification and the project engineer what dust and water exposure the site has and what ingress protection and impact rating the enclosure must carry, rather than accepting a general default.
Why does weak circuit identification become a safety problem?
Unlabelled or wrong circuits turn a planned shutdown into a live working risk. When a board has no chart, no feeder labels and no polarity record, the next person to open it cannot know which breaker feeds which final circuit. Fault finding becomes guesswork, and a circuit that is switched off for maintenance may not be the circuit that is actually isolated.
This is why a test record matters as much as the hardware. Insulation resistance readings, continuity of protective conductors and polarity checks belong on paper and stay with the building. General practice for a new board is that every outgoing way is identified and tested before handover, but the project specification and the engineer set the exact tests and the acceptance limits, so confirm them.
A supervisor can check identification without special equipment. Walk the board with the chart in hand, switch each way and confirm the labelled circuit goes off. Where a chart is missing or wrong, record it as a defect and ask for it to be corrected before handover.
How do you catch an unrealistic tender allowance?
Look at what the bidder says the board will be built from and how the work will be proved. Weak cost assumptions show up in the documents, not in the total. Ask for the device schedule, the enclosure type and rating the specification calls for, the feeder list, the test plan and the circuit chart template. A bidder who cannot produce these has not priced the job.
Then check the market directly by obtaining written quotations from suppliers of your choice for the specified devices and enclosure, with lead times, and compare them against the bidder's stated allowance. Where the allowance falls short of the quotations you gather, the gap will surface later as a variation or as substituted parts on site. Decide whether substitution is allowed under the contract before you accept any alternative device.
Ask for test records from a recent board the bidder installed and walk that board. Look for labels, a chart on the door and glanded, terminated cables rather than taped joints. What the last board looks like is the most reliable guide to the next one.
What to do next
Before you award the board package, send every bidder a written request for the device schedule, enclosure rating, feeder list, test plan and chart sample, plus supplier quotations for the main devices that you gather yourself. Compare those documents against the quotations you obtain, not against the totals alone. Then check the contract for what it says about testing, substitution and variations before you accept the lowest price.
Frequently asked questions
Should I reject the lowest distribution board bid in Borama?
Not automatically. Ask the bidder for a device schedule, feeder list, enclosure rating, test plan and circuit chart sample first. If those documents match the specification and the supplier quotations you obtain, the price may be genuine. If they are missing or the device allowance falls short of the written quotes you gather, treat the gap as a risk to price before award.
Who confirms that a new distribution board is safe to use?
The project specification names the tests and the acceptance limits, and the project engineer confirms them. Ask for insulation resistance, polarity and protective conductor continuity results in writing, along with a circuit chart. Ask the local authority having jurisdiction what it requires for the building type, and keep the test record with the building.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Borama and Somaliland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.