The Competitive Tendering Process — A Client’s View

Abstract

Competitive tendering, particularly for public works, has a long history in the UK. The origins of the practice are reported by Powell (1980, p. 28) to stem from the early 19th century, and basically arose out of dissatisfaction with the existing systems of measure and value, where tradesmen were paid directly by the client for work as it proceeded. Powell, quoting Elsam (1826), writes that: Measurement of completed building work prior to payment caused enormous difficulties and frequent disputes, with the’… distressful, often the ruinous uncertainty of common estimates…’ by measurers who were said to be’… seldom if ever right in their conjectures’. The response of Commissioners reporting on the Public Office of Works in 1812–1813 was to favour competitive tendering asa superior alternative to measure and value.