Medical Practice Management · September/October 2003

78

documents properly describe it, you are allowed to accept

whatever bidder you wish, regardless of the submitted

price. Typically, in public bidding, you are required to

take the lowest bid submitted.

The advantage of competitive bidding is multi-

faceted. If there are several "equal" contractors in your

town, by allowing them all to bid, you do not alienate any

particular one by keeping them from the process. Typically,

in competitive bidding, you get the lowest price for the

work described in the documents. It is important if you go

through a competitive bidding process that you have a

high-quality, comprehensive set of bidding documents.

The objective is to describe the project in as much detail

as possible to decrease the opportunities for the contrac-

tors to request changes later for elements that are not ad-

equately described.

Figure 4.

. . . the more complete your bidding and

construction documents are, the less

higher quality of product. The process can be smoother

opportunity the contractor has to . . . feel

with less acrimony.

entitled to additional compensation for any

The disadvantage of negotiating is that the cost tends

to run a little bit higher than it would for a competitively

change that you request.

bid job, and you do not get a true reading in the mar-

ketplace of the value of your project.

The disadvantage of competitive bidding is that you

Regardless, either approach can get you a fine re-

get a price from a contractor for a scope. Because the con-

sult at an appropriate price. The direction you choose is

tractor had to put that price together in a competitive at-

typically a function of the quality of contractors in your

mosphere, he or she may feel entitled to additional

locality and your comfort level of one delivery approach

compensation for any change that you request. Again, the

versus another.

more complete your bidding and construction documents

are, the less opportunity the contractor has to do this.

CONSTR UCTION OPTION 2:

Negotiation

DESIG N-B U I LD

The other approach aside from competitive bidding

In this situation, you as the owner have an agree-

is negotiation. In this particular situation, you select the

ment with a single company who promises to design and

general contractor with whom you wish to work. You

build your project. The architect and the contractor both

identify this early (if you are doing this, it is advantageous

work for the design-builder (Fig. 4).

to have them involved with the architect early on in the pro-

With this form of project deliver y the owner still

ject). You request that the general contractor administer

makes the decisions on quantity. The architect still makes

your project in your interest. You are assured of the qual-

the quality decisions, and the contactor makes the cost

ity and reputation that that contractor brings to the pro-

decisions. In this case, however, both the architect and

ject. At the same time, you can request that that contractor

contractor work for the design-builder.

receive competitive bids from his subcontractors and ma-

terials groups to help control cost and keep them down as

The advantage of design-build is that it

much as possible.

gives the owner one point of contact to the

development team . . .

The advantage of negotiation typically is

that you get cost controls in place earlier in

The advantage of the design-build approach is that

your project and you get a higher quality of

it gives the owner one point of contact to the develop-

product . . .

ment team: the design-builder. Any disagreements be-

tween the architect and the contractor do not come through

to the owner but are resolved at the design-builder level.

The advantage of negotiation typically is that you get

Another advantage of this approach is that frequently the

cost controls in place earlier in your project and you a get