The length of time it takes to complete pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) is one of the biggest challenges faced by construction companies when tendering for work, according to the latest survey by Constructionline. The survey, of nearly 900 construction firms, two thirds of which have a turnover of £2 million or less, revealed that more than half (55 per cent) saw PQQs as a major challenge.
A standardised pre-qualification process is the most popular thing that private and public sector clients could do to help firms apply for and win work, with nearly seven in 10 (68 per cent) of those asked saying that this would help. 41 per cent of firms also said receiving more contract details would help, followed by 32 per cent who wanted better advertising of available contracts.
Philip Prince, sales and marketing director at Constructionline, said: “Whilst the pre-qualification process is essential in assessing a firm’s capability of delivering a project on time, to budget, to standard and with minimum fault – the process is made longer and more complex, when contractors spend hours submitting the same information for seemingly identical questions for different, and in some cases, the same client. Perhaps what’s worse is that this could be avoided through use of pre-qualification schemes, and it is surprising that some construction clients do not use these, allowing procurement staff to waste time and money repeating checks.”
