According to a recent ENR article, if all bidders have experienced estimators and costs of materials and efficiencies of bidders are the same, the variances in bids should be very small. Nevertheless, as of late, bid tabulations are showing significant variances, the explanation offered for these variances are mistakes in bids, missing amendments, takeoffs or subcontractors’ quotes, or the company owners have decided to bid the work at or below cost to keep work coming in or generate cash flow. Qualified bidders are losing projects to bad business managers and poor bidders are ruining the markets for the competent bidders. “What the industry is facing today is complicated by having too many bidders either making mistakes in bides or poorly managing their businesses.”
