
When it comes to time to gather costs for any type of engineering study, whether small or large, whether sole sourced or competitively bid, it is always a good idea to prepare a Request For Proposal (“RFP”) document.
An RFP is better than a verbal phone call to a consultant describing what you want. Its better than a cursory email outlining what you want. In many cases the RFP doesn’t need to be a complex document; however RFP’s are appreciated by everyone involved.
The RFP doesn’t need to be complicated
From an owner’s perspective, preparing an RFP gives the opportunity to collect the thoughts on the scope of study needed, on the deliverables required, and on the timing. The RFP will outline this for the consultants and simultaneously help the owner’s team to get on the same page themselves. The RFP is the opportunity for the owner to tell the consultants exactly what they are looking for in the study and specifically what they want to see in the proposal.
From a consultant’s perspective, receiving an RFP is preferred since having a detailed scope of work laid out means they don’t need to guess the scope when preparing their cost estimate. It will be clear to the consultant what work is “in scope” and if ultimately extra services are required then “out-of-scope” work can be defended. An RFP also gives the consultant some reassurance that the owner has put consideration into exactly what they want them to do.
What to include in the RFP
The RFP that is sent to bidding consultants should contain (at a minimum) the items listed below. A sole sourced study can have a scaled back RFP but some of these key items should be maintained. Much of this RFP information can be a single template document that will be modified if different scopes of work will be sent to different consultants (e.g. tailings design, pit geotechnical, groundwater, feasibility study, etc.).
-
Project Introduction (a high level overview of the project and the Owner).
-
Table of Responsibilities for the Study (if other consultants are being involved in different areas).
-
Scope of Work (for this Proposal), and highlight any specific exclusions from the scope.
-
Additional Requirements (update meetings, monthly reports, timesheets, documentation, etc.)
-
Schedule (the timing for the proposal, job award date, study kickoff, and completion date).
-
Instructions to the Bidder (e.g. what information should be provided in each proposal and in what format).
-
Other (the legal rights of the Owner, confidentiality statement, how proposals will be evaluated, etc.).
Specifying format makes it easier to compare proposals
If a company is competitively bidding the study, it can be easier to compare multiple proposals if certain parts are presented in the exact same format. Usually different consulting firms have their own proposal format, which is fine, however certain sections of the proposal should be made easily comparable.
The RFP can request that each proposal should contain (at a minimum):
-
Confirmation of the scope of work based on the RFP, which may be more detailed than the RFP itself.
-
List of exclusions.
-
List of final deliverables.
-
Proposed Study Manager, resume and relevant study management experience.
-
Proposed team members, organizational structure by areas of responsibility, and resumes.
-
Cost estimate on a not-to-exceed basis for each area, subdivided by team member, hours and unit rates ,and possibly in a specific table format.
-
A fee table for the various job classifications that would be applied to out-of-scope additional man hours.
-
All indirect costs, administrative costs, indicating mark-ups (if any).
-
Miscellaneous disbursements (i.e., airfares, hotel, vehicles) and indicate if there are mark-ups.
-
Detailed study schedule to completion.
-
Payment schedule.
-
Specify if there are any potential conflicts of interest with other projects.
Conclusion