b'TENDER RESULTS & TRANSPARENCY The importance of fair and open bidding in construction Think back to 2019. While it was onlycontractors. Recently, we have observedadjust to the marketplace or know who five years ago, the world operated verya growing trend where public owners oryour competitors are. So, youre going differently: consumers shopped fortheir consultants delay releasing initial bidin blind.groceries by entering brick-and-mortarresults and final award information. ThisBENEFITS TO CONTRACTORSstores, employees worked in busyincrease in secrecy or intentional lack ofTender information provides information office buildings and construction tendertransparency undermines trust in to the stakeholders about the level of openings were regularly conducted inthe procurement process and interest in the project, the number of person, with contractors showing updiscourages competition. bidders that participated and an early in the owners office at bid deadline toAccording to Les Maksymowicz, managerindication of who may get awarded the sit in while each package was opened,of construction information & news atwork. As such, easily accessible and security confirmed and base bid andWCA, hes seen a steady decline in bidtransparent tender results can provide any alternate prices read out loud to theresults over the last five years. a number of benefits to contractors, contractors present. including enhanced competition But much has changed since COVID-19We do our very best to get thatand increased confidence in the catapulted companies to conductinformation to our members, he says,procurement process.business remotely and rely on electronicexplaining that the association follows upAccording to Suzanne Bird, bid messaging. With the constructionin order to post tender results, but has hadopportunity document & construction industry adjusting to the ease andissues securing the information. services specialist in the purchasing popularity of electronic bid submissions,Rick Mostert, president of FC WoodWorksdivision at the City of Winnipeg, the in-person opening process has beenInc., is all too familiar with the lack ofconsistently publishing tender results abandoned; however, the fundamentalopenness when it comes to tender results. quickly is an advantage to the public requirement to share bid results remains. Its not just the ownersits theowner as well as the bidders.WCAs director of stakeholdercontractors, Mostert explains. No onesBy releasing the unevaluated bid engagement and advocacy Darrylgetting out information anymore, likeresults within a few minutes of a tender Harrison states that this shift in industrywhos bidding and what the bids are like,closing, it allows the bidders to know norm is having adverse effects onso you have no idea as a company how towhere they rank in the pricing. Though 36 BUILD MANITOBAwinnipegconstruction.ca'