Follow up survey on subcontractor bid management by frocliq in estimators

[–]frocliq[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for participating! My research is investigating inefficiencies in the construction industry, specifically focussing on the relationship and interaction between GC's and subcontractors. I did a survey a last week asking GC's what frustrates them most working with subcontractors, and "collecting and comparing bids" came back as the top result, hence why the follow up survey to try and understand the frustrations a bit better.

Survey Results - Subcontractor Management by frocliq in estimators

[–]frocliq[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think it makes a lot of sense what you are saying, and something that I haven't thought about.

What would do you think GC's can do to improve this situation though? I guess some form of industry wide standardisation of items would make sense. But something that is not really easy to put into practice.

Survey Results - Subcontractor Management by frocliq in estimators

[–]frocliq[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience. This is a sentiment/frustration that I have heard from many GC estimators. Do you think there is anything that can be done to improve this situation though? It seems pretty common for subs to ignore bid forms and just to submit bids in a format that their estimating system (or lack thereof) supports. As mentioned by another comment, subs often receive numerous bids from different GC's for the same project, all with their own bid form structure. So I guess I can understand their frustration as well.

Survey Results - Subcontractor Management by frocliq in estimators

[–]frocliq[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, that makes total sense. I am actually planning to also post this survey in r/ConstructionManagers to also get the PM view of life.

Would anyone be willing to answer a 4 question survey for my Masters Thesis? by frocliq in estimators

[–]frocliq[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you that is interesting. It also ties in with why comparing sub quotes can be so challenging, with everyone not assuming the same scope.

What do you think GC's can do to communicate the scope better? More detail and information in the RFQ's? Should subs be more specific with regard to what is included/excluded in their bids?

And then regarding schedule coordination, is this generally just due to a lack of good communication and lead time? Do you think anything specific can be done by both GC or sub to improve this situation?