Print this page The Bid Process
T. E. McLaughlin, PE
Course Outline
This four hour online course discusses the bidding process, including details of specifications and components used for government projects and a variety of private industries. Examples from several state departments of transportation, industry groups, and component manufacturers are used in this course, but it is applicable to any industry, state or local government, or region by considering local/state laws, regulations, and procedures. Methods of bid analysis are reviewed briefly to give the student a perspective of the entire process and illustrate how a procurement agency would view the conclusion of the process. The course is limited to a review and analysis of the bidding process, and excludes legal details which may be specific to the industry or agency, contract document generation, and execution of contract documents.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Understand the bid process and objectives;
- Be able to complete a successful “request for proposals;”
- Be knowledgeable of the details required to procure a finished product;
- Be aware of the types of information suppliers and contractors are looking for during bid and proposal preparation;
- Be more aware of the consequences of a poorly-prepared bid package;
- Be able to recognize gaps of information in a bid request or “RFP;”
- Understand why and how prequalification of bidders is desirable and/or necessary;
- Be aware of bid and proposal irregularities;
- Understand the correlation between specifications and bid results;
- Understand the importance of complete specifications and how to provide them;
- Be able to perform a cursory analysis of bidding results in order to quickly separate the “shotgun” proposals from the serious bids; and
- Be able to provide a more detailed analysis of bid results for reporting to the owner or contracting agency. .
Intended Audience
This course is intended for anyone involved in the bidding or procurement process including architects, engineers [all disciplines], contracting officers, and technical staff producing bid documents.
Benefit for Attendee
Attendees of this course will be able to sucessfully manage and produce procurement and bid documents which avoid entangling the contracting agency or owner in expensive, no-win situations.
Course Introduction
An entity such as a government agency or private corporation will always require materials and services from outside sources in order for it to operate and produce finished products. It is this procurement process which will be reviewed and explained in detail to provide an understanding of the standard practices and details necessary to generate specifications and descriptions of the desired finished product so successful and competetive bids and/or “requests for proposals” may be obtained.
Course Content
The course content is contained in the following PDF file:
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Course Summary
The following seven items are reviewed and discussed in detail:
1. General review of the overall bidding process; prequalification of bidders.
2. Setting up the Scope of Work & RFP/RFQ.
3. When are detailed item-specific specifications required?
4. How do bid items and specifications interact?
5. Drawings vs. specifications - are there conflicts?
6. Working with “canned” standard specifications.
7. Review and analysis of bids.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
