In brief
- A low bid usually means quantities, wastage or delivery were trimmed, not that the bidder buys cheaper.
- Check the schedule line by line against your own quantities before awarding, then fix the gap in the contract.
- Name the delivery point and the responsible party for every haul in the bid document.
Contents
A low bid is rarely won by buying cheaper. It is won by leaving things out of the material schedule. Reviewing material scheduling underbidding risks in Borama means checking the quantities, wastage allowances and delivery responsibilities in the bid line by line against your own take-off. When the schedule is short, the crew waits at the gate while someone finds cement, blocks or rebar at short notice.
What does a thin material schedule actually leave out?
A low bidder trims the same few items each time: quantity, wastage, and who pays to get the material to site. Check the total against your own measured take-off, not against the rate. Concrete, blockwork and plaster carry the most risk because small quantity errors multiply across every wall and slab. Wastage on blocks, cement and rebar is a real cost, and a bid that assumes zero wastage has simply moved that cost to you. Delivery is the third gap. Ask who pays for the lorry from the supplier yard to the plot, who covers a second trip when the load is short, and who pays for cement that hardens while it sits. Confirm storage and travel conditions for the project's own location, because they change how much material survives the trip. Ask the supplier for a written delivery term before you compare bids.
Why do idle crews follow a low material bid?
A short schedule turns into idle labour because the crew cannot start until the next load arrives. One missed delivery stops the blocklayers, then the plasterers behind them, then the tiler after that. On a small plot the daily wage bill keeps running while nothing is built. The knock-on is worse than the missing material: curing windows are missed, joints dry out, and the following trades rush to catch up. Compare that cost against the difference between the low bid and the next one. Often the idle days cost more. Ask the bidder to name the supplier, the route and the fallback for each main material. If the answer is vague, the schedule is vague too. A bidder with no named source cannot promise a delivery date.
How do you catch the gap before you award?
Build your own quantity list first from the drawings, then sit with the bidder's schedule beside it and mark every line that is short. Add wastage at the rate your specification or engineer allows, and write it into the comparison. Require the bidder to state the delivery point, the number of trips and who bears the cost of a short load. Check what the contract allows you to do when a delivery is late, and put the material schedule in as an agreed document rather than a note in the bid. Walk a recent site the bidder finished and ask the storekeeper how often the crew waited for material. Their answer tells you more than any rate.
What to do next
Take your last measured take-off and the lowest bid's schedule, and list every line where the bid is short by quantity, wastage or delivery. Send that list to the bidder and ask for a written revision before you sign. If the revision does not come, obtain supplier quotes for the shortfall, following your own procurement rules, and compare the total.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just add the missing quantities to the contract after award?
You can, but only if the contract lets you vary quantities and prices. Check what your contract allows before you sign, because adding material mid-job often costs more than the bid you rejected.
Should I reject every low bid?
No. A low bid can be genuine if the bidder has a cheaper source or lower overhead. Compare the material schedule line by line first, and only reject when the schedule cannot cover the work.
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.