alternative proposals evaluation

[akbari1358]

Hi,
What i'm going to ask may not be related to this engineering forum but any practice or even referring to an specific forum will be appreciated.
During the tender evaluation (bidding stage) of a submarine pipe line project when base and alternative proposal is received from different contractor, it's easy to compare and evaluate the base proposal because it is based on scope of work (SOW) but for alternates it's difficult because the alternative proposals are not based on SOW and there may be different approaches to optimize the scope. Is there any idea or practice regarding alternative proposals evaluation.

 

[pennpiper]

akbari1358,
You cannot compare different bids for the same projects unless ALL the bidders include the equivalent of a SOW (Defining: The finish project, The Scope of Facilities, The scope of Services and the Deliverables).

Push back and make them produce a proper Bid.

Sometimes its possible to do all the right things and still get bad results

 

[LittleInch]

Not really because the alternative proposal is exactly that - an alternative.

The alternative proposal may be something you want to consider and should be written up by the proposer.

Now if this alternative is of interest to you (faster, cheaper) then you could take the alternative and in your own words, devise a SOW and description and send it to everyone else to quote against.

Now especially for things like subsea pipelines, the equipment used by each vendor will be different and hence some solutions will favour certain vessels and their owners and other solutions other vessels.

E.g. some will have weight or tension limits which mean they need to use the next vessel up (more money), but if then can lower the size or weight then a cheaper vessel may be able to be used. Who knows? The alternative may involve schedule to make use of a vessel in a certain area there for another project hence less mobilisation costs ( a huge value for many subsea projects) or it might be that your installation follows on from another one.

Basically you need to look at the alternative proposals, see if they match the overall technical, schedule and CAPEX requirements and what the advantages are and make a judgement as to whether the alternative is better overall or not. Then narrow down the vendors to two or three and give them all a chance to come up with their own alternative proposal within certain limits.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[akbari1358]

Thanks,
We need to revise the SOW based on the best alternate and push the candidates to revise their technical and commercial proposal based on new scope.

 

[bimr]

You may also evaluate the base bids and then award the contract on the base bid evaluation. Following contract award, you may then issue a change order for the alternative if you find it feasible and attractive.