The bid package is assembled to seek bids from General Contractors or Trade Contractors in a phase of the project known as “Construction Procurement”. The Canadian Handbook of Practice (CHOP) v3 covers this phase of the project in Chapter 6.5, “Construction Procurement” and industry standard guidance is found in the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) CCDC-23, “a guide to calling bids and awarding construction contracts”. The pre-planning for this phase of the project and additional guidance in the preparation of the bid package are the topics of discussion in this section, providing references to content available elsewhere for further reading on the subject matter.

CHOP Chapter 6.5

At the commencement of preparing to issue a bid package, if the decision hasn’t already been made - a discussion needs to take place with the owner to determine the construction delivery model to be used for the project and whether the pre-qualification of bidders is warranted. Both these topics are discussed in detail in two Practice Resource Committee articles titled, “Methods of Project Delivery”, and “Prequalification of Bidders” and are covered in CHOP v3 in Chapter 4.1, “Types of Design Construction Project Delivery” and “Pre-Qualification of Contractors”.

CHOP Chapter 4.1

The next item of discussion with the owner is the form of construction contract that will be used between the owner and contractor, which will also depend on the construction delivery model chosen for the project. The various forms of contracts are discussed in CHOP v3 under Chapter 4.1, “Types of Construction Contracts” and “Other types of Contracts”.

Once the various elements affecting the contents of the bid package have been determined, the next step in preparing the bid package is determining the method by which it will be delivered to the bidders. The traditional method of advertising the bid in the newspaper and issuing the bid package as printed copy is becoming obsolete with the growing use of online construction procurement platforms such as MERX and Biddingo - two of the better known platforms. The main difference with online construction procurement platforms is that the advertisement and bid documents are issued electronically, and the printing costs are the responsibility of the bidders.

Regardless of the method of project delivery, the contents of a bid package are generally the same, and include:

• Bid Advertisement: printed or electronic format
  
• Instructions to Bidders: often forming part of the specification book
  
• Bid Form: either from the owner or forming part of the specification book
  
• Specification Book: printed or electronic format
  
• Drawing Package: construction documents which can include reference drawings for existing buildings, printed or electronic format
  

Probably the biggest change to the construction procurement phase that will affect the preparation of the bid package has come from the latest edition of the CCDC 2-2020 Stipulated Price Contract, and the removal of non-contractual content that is now found in the CCDC Division 01 specification section. These changes have brought about the need for new Supplementary Conditions and changes to the Division 01 specification sections.
CHOP provides two useful checklists for preparing a bid package at the end of Chapter 6.5, “References”, Appendix A – Checklist – The Bid Package: A List of Information Required, and Appendix B – Checklist - Instructions to Bidders: A List of information to be Provided.