Three contractors, one tender pack, three numbers. The gap between them is rarely arithmetic. It's how much of the job each one understood before committing to a figure.
That understanding is what we mean by quality tendering, and it's one of Clarks Construction's USPs. We don't price schemes. We understand them, then price what we've understood. We've worked this way since 1976, across three generations of the same family.
We read before we price
A tender pack is assembled by different people at different times - architectural information, structural information, a BoQ or schedule of works, a specification. In theory they describe one building. In practice they often don't.
So every document is read and cross-checked against the others. Not to redesign anything, but to find the point where the drawing says one thing and the build will say another. The door that opens into a duct. The slab level that doesn't match the existing. The detail that's elegant in section and impossible on site.
Most of what we find is undramatic: a detail changed on one drawing and not the other, a finish described one way in the specification and another in the schedule. Individually small. Collectively, the difference between a bid that holds and one that unravels.
We name ambiguity rather than absorbing it
Where something can be clarified, we ask, while the answer is still cheap. Where it can't, we qualify it in writing and record exactly which interpretation we've priced.
And where there's a real risk - the thing that isn't on the drawings but almost certainly will be by the time we're on site - we price it and we tell the client about it. We don't bury it in a provisional sum and hope nobody notices.
A vague bid can't be evaluated. A bid that states its basis can.
We price with the people who'd build it
Not a rate applied to a quantity, but a price from the subcontractor or supplier who would carry out that package, on that site, to that specification. Our own team checks the take-offs behind what comes back, because an under-measured package is a future problem wearing the costume of a competitive one.
We test the programme, not just the price
Can the fabricator genuinely turn the steel around in six weeks, or is that wishful? Is the groundworker free in March, or already committed elsewhere? A programme built on confirmed lead times and real availability is one you can deliver. A programme built on assumptions is a wish list with a Gantt chart attached.
What quality tendering produces
When a tender is built from real prices against interrogated documents, the client gets:
A price that holds, because it was built from real prices against interrogated documents.
Fewer variations, and de-risked works. A lot of variations can be avoided before a spade goes in the ground. Resolving ambiguities at tender stage - rather than months later, at the worst point in the programme and the least competitive price available - takes risk out of the job for everyone.
Faster mobilisation, because the packages are genuinely procured rather than notionally allowed for.
Value engineering worth having. Why a cut roof where a truss roof would do? Why this paving, this door, this build-up? Those questions only occur to someone who has read the drawings. The point isn't to strip the building back - it's to give the client the choice with real numbers attached.
Confidence, for the client, the PQS and the contract administrator.
Why we don't chase the lowest number
The industry has a tendering problem everyone recognises. Most people agree quality matters more than price. Most tenders are still awarded on price. The result is a race to the bottom: price low to win, then recover the margin through variations, claims, and corners quietly cut.
The client pays either way - upfront, through an honest tender, or later through delay, dispute and rework.
Tendering is unpaid and win-or-lose, so quality tendering is a real investment on our side. We're frequently not the cheapest bid, and frequently appointed anyway. It's why clients like Bedford School and Berkhamsted School come back to us project after project.
A price tells you what a contractor thinks the job costs. A quality tender tells you whether they understood it. Only one of those survives contact with the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is quality tendering in construction?
Quality tendering means reading every document in the tender pack, cross-checking them against each other, pricing each package with the subcontractor or supplier who would actually carry it out, and testing the programme against confirmed lead times - rather than applying allowances and estimates. The result is a price that reflects the actual cost of building the project, not a figure designed to win work and be renegotiated later.
Why does quality tendering take more time?
Because it involves real work: reading and cross-checking every drawing and specification, calling subcontractors for live quotes, testing the programme against actual lead times, and identifying and pricing risks before submitting. Contractors are typically given a few weeks to return a tender. Standard tendering uses allowances, which is faster but produces a less accurate - and often misleading - price.
What are the benefits of quality tendering for clients and quantity surveyors?
A price that holds, fewer variations, de-risked works, faster mobilisation, and genuine value engineering. The client receives a price they can trust, backed by real subcontractor quotes, with risks identified and priced upfront rather than hidden in provisional sums.
How does Clarks Construction approach tendering?
We read before we price, name ambiguity rather than absorbing it, price with the subcontractors who would actually build the package, and test the programme against confirmed availability. We identify and price risks before submitting. This approach has delivered cost and programme certainty across more than 100 projects over fifty years, and is why clients like Bedford School and Berkhamsted School return to us project after project.
What accreditations does Clarks Construction hold?
CHAS Elite, ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 45001 (Health and Safety), and membership of the Guild of Master Craftsmen. All independently audited annually.