Buyer's guide
How to compare MEPF quotations — a normalising checklist for procurement
Three MEPF quotations for the same building rarely price the same building. This checklist normalises them before the totals are compared; the long-form method behind it is in the linked article.
Last reviewed · Reviewed for checklist content, linked standards Authority names, portals, fees and timelines change with state notifications; confirm the live position with the authority before relying on it.
What to check
- Every quotation prices the same scope — build a matrix, mark each line included, excluded or silent
- The same makes for the major plant — name them, and ask for alternatives priced on the specified make
- The same quantity basis on the largest lines — cable, pipe, duct, heads, fittings, panels — measured from drawings
- The same treatment of approvals — who files, who pays the fees
- The same treatment of commissioning and documentation
Documents to request from each bidder
- The priced BOQ line by line, in the same structure
- A separate exclusions and assumptions sheet
- The make list for major plant
- The quantity basis for the five largest lines
- The proposed programme and payment milestones
Technical questions to ask
- What design basis did you price to — loads, hazard class, water demand — and did it come from us or from your own assumption?
- Which items are designed by you, and which are priced to someone else's drawings?
- Where is testing, adjusting and balancing, and integrated commissioning, in your price?
Commercial questions to ask
- Lump sum or item rate, and who carries quantity risk?
- Rate validity and escalation basis
- Variation pricing method
- Defect-liability period and what it covers
- Retention and release conditions
Hidden scope gaps to look for
- Approvals silent
- "Reputed make"
- Quantities from floor area
- Testing and as-builts absent
- Civil interfaces — fire-stopping, core cutting, plinths, trenches — left to others
- Site power, water, scaffolding and storage "by client"
Commissioning documentation to insist on
- The same list from every bidder, priced: test reports with values, integrated tests, as-builts, approvals file, warranties register, O&M manuals
Warranty and AMC terms to review
- Compare defect-liability periods on the same basis — duration and parts cover
- Compare AMC offers on the same asset register and SLA definitions
Safety and compliance issues that matter
- Each bidder's licence covers the electrical scope
- Design standards stated — NBC 2016 Part 4, CEA regulations, IS 732, IS 3043 — not "as per norms"
- Insurance in force for the contract period
How Secured Engineers can help
A quotation review is one of the things Secured Engineers Pvt. Ltd. offers before award: the bids lined up against one BOQ, the gaps priced, and the low number explained or exposed. The article linked below sets out the six-step method in full.