Pricing documentation for contractors' estimators: Establishing a more effective approach

This thesis concerns the effectiveness of pricing documents used during competitive construction tendering from the perspective of the contractors' estimator. The aims of the research are: To identify, the effectiveness of current practice by understanding the processes that are currently adopted by the industry, the problems encountered, their frequency and extent and to evaluate the consequential impacts upon both the contractor and client To formulate solutions to reduce the frequency and extent of the problems identified so pricing documentation is more useful to the contractors' estimator. The research compares the requirements of the contractors' estimator with the format and quality of pricing documentation they receive. The findings suggest that, from the perspective of the contractor's estimator (the end user of pricing documentation), current documentation is not effective. Current methods adopted by the industry may have a detrimental affect on the pricing process by increasing the measurement workload, causing ambiguity, increasing the level of price and quantification risk, increasing cost (through duplication of the measurement task and priced risk), reducing its accuracy and increasing the likelihood of post-tender dispute. As central coordinator of the pricing process the main contractor is exposed to the majority of this price and quantification risk. The client is also exposed to increased cost and price risk. The findings also suggest that solutions could be implemented to reduce the frequency and extent of the problems identified. This thesis addresses a number of key issues: It brings attention to those involved in the preparation of pricing documentation how its format alters the effectiveness of the pricing process. It also proposes a number of changes in the format of pricing documentation that could be adopted to reduce the frequency and extent of problems identified It presents a comprehensive methodology based on the triangulation approach which could be utilised to propose improvements in outsourcing documentation at other times, in other building industries or other industries where pricing documentation is adopted.