In brief
- A low bid often means the estimator left out a step, not that the crew works faster.
- Ask for the method statement and the name of the person who will actually do each trade task.
- Visit one recent site where the contractor is doing the same trade, wherever that site is, and ask for any test records from it.
Contents
A low bid in Garowe may mean the contractor omitted a step, a material, or a trade skill check. When you review trade skill checks and underbidding risks, ask who will do each task and what method they will use. A bid that names no person and no method has left the skill question open, and the saving can appear later as rework, delay or a variation.
How does a low bid hide missing trade skills?
The mechanism is simple. An estimator prices labour, plant and material for a task they have not planned in detail. A step gets dropped: the backing coat before tiling, the compaction pass before a slab, the sleeve where a pipe crosses a wall. The bid is lower because the work is thinner, not because the crew is faster. Confirm what the project specification says for each element and check the site conditions yourself rather than assuming what any location demands. Where a trade needs certified operatives, such as welding or electrical terminations, ask which certificates the contractor holds and who on the crew holds them. For any trade, general practice is a written method statement that lists the sequence, the tools and the hold points. Ask the contractor to provide one for each trade in the bill. Read the method against the bill of quantities. If the method has fewer steps than the bill implies, you have found the gap. Do not accept a verbal answer. The audit trail is the document and the crew list, not the reputation of the company.
What practical checks can a client or estimator make?
Ask to see the crew actually doing the trade. A sample of completed work tells you more than a folder of certificates, because a certificate proves a course was attended, not that the hands can lay a block or set a level. Visit one recent site where the contractor is doing the same trade, wherever that site is, and walk the work. Ask the foreman to explain the setting out and the checks they made. Confirm with the municipal engineer's office whether the project needs any specific inspection. For structural work, general practice is to hold an inspection before covering up. Ask the contractor for the test records from the sample site: concrete cube results, compaction records or joint test results, as applicable. Where no records exist, ask a laboratory for its rate for the relevant test. Ask two suppliers for written quotes for the materials the low bid claims to cover. Compare the omission levels in the two bids line by line, not just the totals.
How do you close the gap before award?
Name the trade skill gaps in the tender query, not after mobilisation. Send a written clarification to every bidder. Ask for the method statement, the crew names for each trade, and the test records for the proposed supervisor. Give a deadline and compare the answers side by side. Then price the missing items yourself. If a bid lacks the method statement or the records, it is an unverified practical ability claim, and the choice is to reject it or to price the risk into the award. Check what your contract allows before you decide, since some conditions require you to award to the lowest responsive bid. Ask the project engineer which trades need third party testing. Where you lack local records, treat the first inspection as a trial and hold the next stage until it passes.
What to do next
Pick the three largest trades in the bill and send each bidder a written request for the method statement, the crew names and the test records from one recent site where they did the same trade. Set a short deadline. Compare the answers, then price the missing steps and tests into your evaluation before the award, and confirm the testing requirements with the project engineer.
Frequently asked questions
Does a low bid always mean missing trade skills?
No. A low bid can come from an efficient crew, a cheaper material source or a deliberate commercial choice. The check is to compare the method statement and the crew list against the bill. Where the method omits a step the bill implies, the saving is in the work, not in the organisation.
Whose responsibility is it to check crew skills in Garowe?
The client or the appointed supervisor holds the check, because the contractor's records are the evidence and the client is the party with the money at stake. Ask the project engineer and the municipal engineer's office what inspection records the work requires, then require those records in the conditions of contract.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Garowe and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.