December 1, 2009

Procurement

B.C. Construction Association launches electronic bidding system

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

VANCOUVER

An electronic bidding system developed by the B.C. Construction Association (BCCA) has been used for the first time in British Columbia to close two construction projects.

“The system was real handy and far more streamlined than we had expected,” said Brad Sellars, project manager with Houle Electric.

“The system eliminated the last minute rush and the stress of the last hour.

“There are definitely benefits and disadvantages as to how it was set up, but it was a good experience and I would do it again.”

Two projects at the Richmond Hospital for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority were closed successfully through the EBS for mechanical and electrical contractors. Sellars said Houle Electric submitted bids for electrical work on both projects.

“I found it took a lot of the leg work out of making phone calls to find out who else was bidding,” he said.

The new internet-based system was built by the BCCA in 24 months and was designed around the existing rules of the Bid Depository System.

“Just like the former version of the bid depository, there was no room for deals behind the scenes or shopping the price,” said Sellars.

The system is designed to increase fairness and transparency for contractors and owners.

It provides public access to all bidders and allows the BCCA to communicate with all users on-line, in order to clarify the scope of work and other bidding matters. 

As the general contractor, Smith Brothers and Wilson received and reviewed bids on these two construction projects.

The bids for both jobs were simple lump-sum contracts.

Project estimator Dave Quon said that under the current Bid Depository system, the electrical and mechanical bids are submitted on closing day, which creates a last minute scramble.

“We got the pricing from the e-bidding system two days in advance,” said Quon.

“An example of one of the things that helped us out was we were able to pull out a bid that was too low. We had the time to pull out the bid, one day before closing.” 

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