Tender Response

Tender Response introduces the prospective lead appointed parties and task teams / appointed parties (delivery team) to the project and sets out how they should respond to the requirements as established by the appointing party in the invitation to the tender stage. The prospective lead appointed parties will complete a series of activities on behalf of the delivery team and respond appropriately. This stage is broken down into a series of activities that will need to be completed in accordance with clause 5.3 of I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:

Nominate individuals to undertake the information management function

At this stage, the prospective lead appointed party shall have regard to the information management throughout the appointment by nominating who will undertake the information management function on their behalf. In the scenario where a lead appointed party will outsource the information management function, a scope of services must be established.

By doing this, the prospective lead appointed party will take into consideration the appointing party’s EIR, the tasks and responsibilities for the appointed / third party, the authority that will be delegated to the appointed / third party, the competency that the individuals undertaking the function will need, and the probity arrangements if potential conflicts of interest may arise[1]. This activity should be carried out during the tender response.

Establish the delivery team’s (pre-appointment) BIM execution plan

In response to the appointing party’s EIR, the prospective lead appointed party shall establish the delivery team’s (pre-appointment) BIM execution plan (BIM execution plan) to be included within the tender response. This should be a collaborative effort between the lead appointed party and prospective appointed parties, so it demonstrates how the delivery team will meet the information requirements and not just the lead appointed party.

Several considerations in the completion of the pre-appointment BIM execution plan include: the proposed names and professional CVs of individuals undertaking the information management function, the delivery team’s information delivery strategy, the proposed federation strategy that is to be adopted, the delivery team’s high-level responsibility matrix for each element of the information model with associated key deliverables, any proposed additions or amendments to the project’s information production methods and procedures that the delivery team require, any proposed additions or amendments to the project’s information standard, and a proposed schedule of software (including versions), hardware and IT infrastructure the delivery team intend to adopt[1].

A pre-appointment BIM execution plan template may be provided by the appointing party and should be included within the invitation to tender documentation. This activity should be carried out when any of the appointed parties are known.

Assess task team capability and capacity

All prospective task teams / appointed parties who have been approached by a prospective lead appointed party to undertake the information management function shall undertake an assessment of their own capability and capacity to deliver information in accordance with the appointing party’s EIR and the delivery team’s proposed (pre-appointment) BIM execution plan.

By doing this, all task team member shall assess their own capability and capacity to manage information and produce information and the availability of IT within the task team[1]. It is important that this is carried out accurately and that evidence is provided if necessary. This activity should be carried out before or during the preparation of the tender response.

Establish the delivery team’s capability and capacity

Once the task team's capability and capacity have been fully assessed, the prospective lead appointed party shall aggregate the assessments and provide a summary of the delivery team’s capability to manage and produce information and its capacity for timely delivery of the information. This activity should be carried out before or during the preparation of the tender response.

Establish the proposed delivery team’s mobilisation plan

The summary of the delivery team’s capability and capacity should allow the prospective lead appointed party to establish the delivery team’s mobilisation plan that will be initiated and implemented during mobilisation (5.5). This will inform the appointing party of the approach to information management mobilisation, as well as forming the mobilisation phase plan that will take place after the appointment by the lead appointed party.

Key considerations of the mobilisation plan include: testing and documenting proposed information production methods and procedures, testing the information exchanges between task teams, testing the information delivery to the appointing party, configuring and testing the project’s CDE, configuring and testing the delivery team’s (distributed) CDE and its connectivity to the project CDE (if applicable), procurement and implementation of additional software, hardware and IT infrastructure, developing additional shared resources to be used by the delivery team, developing and delivering education (knowledge required) to delivery team members, developing and delivering training (skills required) to delivery team members, recruiting additional members of the delivery team to achieve the required capacity, and supporting individuals and organisations that join the delivery team during the appointment[1]. This activity should be carried out during the preparation of the tender response.

Establish the delivery team’s risk register

If there are any risks from the delivery team with regard to the timely delivery of information, the prospective lead appointed party shall establish a risk register in accordance with the EIR and how the delivery team intend to manage the risks.

Before drafting a risk register, the lead appointed party shall consider all risks associated with the following: any assumptions the delivery team has made in relation to the appointing party’s EIR, meeting the appointing party’s project information delivery milestones, the contents of the project’s information protocol, achieving the proposed information delivery strategy, adopting the project’s information standard and information production methods and procedures, inclusion (or non-inclusion) of proposed amendments to the project’s information standard, and the mobilisation of the delivery team to achieve the required capability and capacity[1]. This activity should be carried out during the preparation of the tender response.

Compile the delivery team’s tender response

Lastly, the prospective lead appointed party shall compile the delivery team’s tender response, which contains the following: pre-appointment BIM execution plan, capability and capacity assessment summary, mobilisation plan, and information delivery risk assessment[1]. This activity should be carried out during the preparation of the tender response.

Summary

At this stage, the prospective lead appointed party should have nominated one or more individuals to undertake the Information Management Function.

This will provide the appointing party with a clear response to their information requirements and allow them to evaluate the delivery team and the proposals in a logical manner.

[1] Organisation and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) - Information management using building information modelling - Part 2: Delivery phase of the assets (I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:2018)