Problem Instructions for the Learner Purpose: Bidding documentation typically includes requirements for the bidders that must be met if the bid is to be accepted by the client as responsive. For example, a bid must be submitted at the appointed place no later than the appointed hour, or it would automatically be rejected and returned unopened to the bidder. Therefore, some requirements as to responsiveness are clearly defined and unambiguous, but other requirementsdeviations from, or reservations to, the bidding documentation may be minor and of little consequence. Alternatively, they could be of considerable significance and important enough to call into question whether a bid was really responsive and whether it should be considered further or rejected. A material deviation or reservation would be one that In some way affected, substantially, the scope, quality, or performance of the works Limited in a substantial way or inconsistent with the bidding documentation, the client's rights, or the bidder's obligation under the contract The rectification of which would affect, unfairly, the competitive position of other bidders who had presented substantially responsive bids This can be an area of judgment, and the purpose of this activity is to encourage the participants to exercise their judgment in some hypothetical, but frequently occurring, examples relating to responsiveness. Level of Difficulty: Moderate Working Time: Plenary session: 40 minutes Background: Bids for a major work have been received. All but one bid was submitted at the appointed place and not later than the appointed time. The bids were opened publicly in the presence of the bidders, and the amounts of the bids were read out and recorded, as recommended to ensure that the bidding process was transparent. Thereafter started the second phase of the process, namely checking the bids for responsiveness. The bids declared responsive would thereafter be subject to an arithmetical check, and the process would then proceed to evaluation. Assignment: You are charged with accepting bids and checking them for responsiveness. What would be your decision in the following scenarios in which the bids received have reservations or deviations that at first sight appear to make the bid unresponsive? Would you reject the bids immediately, or would you recommend that they be considered further in the evaluation process? 1. A bidder submits a bid five minutes after the appointed hour and after the bids that were received in time had been read out. The bidder claimed to have been delayed in a massive traffic jam that could not have been foreseen. The traffic jam was subsequently confirmed on the radio and in the press. 2. A bid is conditional on the bidder receiving an advance payment greater than that stipulated in the contract documentation. 3. A bid is conditional on a lengthening of the period allowed in the contract for completion of the work. 4. A bidder does not accept full responsibility for liabilities stipulated in the contract documentation, for example risks to third parties or risks to nearby structures. 5. A bidder requires a modification of, or a limit to, the amounts that would be recovered under the contract for late completion of the works. 6. A bidder proposes a change in the standards or codes of practice, defined in the contract documents, relating to material, workmanship, or design. 7. A bidder proposes to use subcontractors that do not meet prespecified requirements. 8. A bid is not signed. 9. There is no bid security. 10. A bidder submits a bid subject to price adjustment whereas fixed-price bids were called for. 11. A bidder has a serious qualification to the procedure for settling disputes. 12. A bidder proposes a time phasing of the work that would not conform to prescribed critical dates (milestones) in the overall construction program.