During the tendering period, it is very common for the invited bidders to raise queries or clarifications if the information received in the tender documents is open to interpretation or is not clear. This will enable the project owner and the team who have prepared the tender documents to respond to those queries. All queries and responses to those queries will be distributed and shared with all bidders. Should the response result in an addendum to the contract documents, then this will be formally issued to all bidders. All queries, responses to queries, and addenda will become part of the contract agreement with the successful bidder.
Using Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) like PMWeb this process will be managed similar to the many other project management processes managed during the project life cycle stages. PMWeb custom form builder will be used to create the bid query form to capture all those queries where each bidder will be given temporary access rights during the tender period to access PMWeb and submit the query. The bidder will only have access to the “Query” field plus the subject and company fields. The bid query number and date will be automatically generated for the specific project. All other fields will be restricted and the bidder cannot edit. The response field will be completed by the engineering consultant.
Upon completion of the query submission detail, the contractor will select the submit button on the workflow tab. This will ensure that the query is automatically transmitted to the assigned project owner team responsible for responding to queries.
The response for the queries will be sent to all bidders as a log showing the query and the response to the queries made. The report will be created using the PMWeb BI reporting tool.
The consolidated list of queries and responses to queries will be emailed to all bidders using the notification option in PMWeb. This will enable sending an email with the consolidated list of queries and response report as a PDF attachment to all bidders. PMWeb will automatically record the notification details using the Notification tab of the RFI.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and control services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, and Telecommunication and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA and London Business School, London, UK.