Stephen Bauld Archives - Tiopepi Construction Blog

Municipalities function by the purchasing cycle

Most of the ongoing activities of a municipality are cyclical in nature, following a regular pattern from year to year. The cyclical pattern of activity…

adminNovember 25, 2025

Commercial Construction

Minor irregularities during the bidding process

Quite frequently during the evaluation of the proposals that have been submitted in relation to an RFP, ambiguities and gaps will be noted in one…

adminNovember 18, 2025

Commercial Construction

Poorly written specifications may force bidders to guess

I have always stated poorly written specifications may force bidders to guess what the customer wants. Public procurement should not be a guessing game. On…

adminNovember 11, 2025

Commercial Construction

Developing proper tender and RFP documents

If rumour is anything to go by, over the years public servants involved in procurement have devised numerous methods to frustrate the competitive procurement process,…

adminNovember 4, 2025

Commercial Construction

A prudent purchaser approach is not always the lowest price

Over the years, I still have people telling me that the lowest price is the most important factor in awarding a construction project. It is…

adminOctober 28, 2025

Commercial Construction

Exclusion clauses in municipal tender terms and conditions

Exclusion clauses of various kinds are often inserted by municipalities into their terms and conditions. Suppliers seek to include comparable provisions in their standard documentation.…

adminOctober 21, 2025

Commercial Construction

Material management skills in the procurement process

Ensuring that the right quality of an item is ordered and delivered may seem a fairly obvious responsibility. However, as a practical matter doing so…

adminOctober 14, 2025

Commercial Construction

Prime objectives of the supplier assessment process

The basic objective of any supplier assessment process is to provide an underpinning for enhancing the quality assurance aspects of the supplier and contractor relationship.…

adminOctober 7, 2025

Commercial Construction

Joint ventures and partnering on major projects

The ideal environment for partnering is where the parties to a contract already have deep and long-term business relationships. Another key prerequisite for a successful…

adminSeptember 30, 2025

Commercial Construction

Benefits and process for the evaluation of RFPs

The aspects for the value-for-money approach are implicit in virtually every evaluation under an RFP. Describing them as part of a separate value-for-money calculation does…

adminSeptember 23, 2025