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Bidding the Work

Buy The Documents
Once you have found a project advertised and determined that you want to bid on it, the next necessary step is to buy a set of Tender Documents.

What you will buy depends on the job - document prices are set to recover the taxpayers' cost to print them. Prices for the Tender Documents will vary depending on the drawings included with the Tender package. The City's Tender package consists of the following documents:
  1. Development Services Division's "Current Year" Contract Tender and Agreement. Cost is $5.
  2. Development Services Division's Contract Specifications "Current year" Edition. Cost is $20.
  3. Contract Drawings - Cost varies depending on the number of drawings in the set (approximately $2 per drawing).
The Contract Tender and Agreement booklet contains the following information:

Section 00100 - Instructions to Tenders: These instructions should be read carefully before you do anything else, as they outline the tendering process, conditions for accepting or rejecting a Tender, safety pre-qualification requirements, and other conditions regarding submission of a Tender.

Section 00200 - Special Provisions: This section provides a summary of the work, preliminary schedule, reference to Geotechnical Reports, information on existing conditions, traffic accommodation requirements, and modifications to the Contract Specifications.

Section 00300 - Form of Tender: This section consists of a Letter of Understanding and Commitment to be signed by the Tenderer that includes schedules for listing subcontractors, supplies, and equipment to be used on the project, force account labour and equipment rates, contractor experience on similar jobs, names of supervisory personnel, summary of costs, and the Unit Price Schedules.

Section 00500 - Agreement: This is the formal agreement between The City and the successful Tenderer.

The Standard Contract Specifications contains the following information:
  1. Section 00700 - General Conditions of the Contract
  2. Section 01000 - General Requirements
  3. Division 2 - Site Work
  4. Division 3 - Concrete
  5. Division 16 - Electrical
  6. Division 20 - Standard Specification Drawings
Another way to have your bid rejected is to put in the Tender something that is not asked for. But there is no need for this to happen. The Unit Price Schedule(s) contained in the Tender documents, together with the specifications, plans, maps, and drawings, describe the how, where and when of the job.

One thing The City cannot do is accept bids based on something that was not asked for in the Tender Form. For instance, if the Tender does not ask for trench de-watering, then do not add that item to the Schedule of Quantities, even if you think it is necessary to do the job.

If you believe you have spotted an error in the Tender Documents, or if you have questions about the work that the Documents do not answer, then put a question or comment in writing and fax it to the person named in the Invitation to Tender.

How is an "Alternate Submission" to be submitted? As noted, Tenders must be submitted as per the Tender Form. Alternatives outside of the Tender must be submitted with the Tender under a separate covering letter in order for The City to consider them in the evaluation of the Tenders.