MEP Bid Evaluation Sheet: Technical and Commercial Scoring Template

A bid evaluation sheet scores every MEP bidder on the same technical criteria and then compares prices only among bidders who qualify. This template has four parts: pass-or-fail gates, a weighted technical score, a commercial normalisation checklist and a clarification log. Fill the technical part before opening any price, and sign it.

How the sheet works

The Department of Expenditure's Manual for Procurement of Works (second edition, 2025) is a public-sector document, but its logic is useful to a private owner. It makes least-cost selection, the L1 among technically responsive bids, the default for routine works, and allows quality-and-cost based selection for complex or critical ones. It also says marking should not rely on the subjective opinion of the evaluating panel: two evaluators should reach close to the same score from the same bid.

The sheet follows that sequence. Gates first, because a bid that fails one is not scored. Technical score second, on the evidence in the bid. Commercial comparison last, on prices brought to the same scope. Keep the three apart in your file and in the order of work.

If you decide to combine quality and price into one score instead, the sheet needs one more line: the weights. The manual's worked example gives cost 80 per cent and technical 20 per cent and says the technical weight should never be more than 30 per cent. A hospital or pharma package, where a failed qualification test costs months, may justify more weight on quality than a warehouse does. Whatever you pick, write it in the tender before anyone prices.

Part A: gates (pass or fail)

A gate is a yes-or-no question. One failure and the bid is not evaluated further, unless you have agreed in writing to a clarification.

Part B: technical score

Score each line from 0 to its maximum, using a rubric you write before bids arrive. The weights below are a starting point; change them to suit the package and fix them in the tender.

Set a minimum technical score before opening prices, say 70 out of 100, and drop bidders below it. Two scorers working independently, then reconciling, remove most personal bias. The manual has the marking criteria discussed with bidders at a pre-bid meeting and expects any change that follows to be formally recommended, not made informally. Do the same: publish the rubric, take questions, and re-issue it to everyone if it changes.

Part C: commercial normalisation

Prices are only comparable when they cover the same work. Build a normalised price for each bidder, then compare.

• Quantities. Everyone prices your BOQ quantities. If a bidder changed quantities or added lines, restate to your BOQ.
• Exclusions. List every exclusion and cost it from the other bids' rates. A bidder excluding cabling, painting of pipework or testing has not saved money.
• Provisional and PC sums. Compare like with like. A large provisional sum can hide real cost.
• Taxes. Keep prices exclusive of GST in every bid, then apply the rate once.
• Price variation. Fixed price or escalation clause? Our note on price escalation in MEP quotes shows how copper and steel clauses change the real figure.
• Payment, retention and warranty. An advance, a lower retention or a short defects period each has a cost. Convert the difference to a number or a note.
• Abnormally low rates. Ask for a rate breakdown. The government manual advises against a fixed percentage below the estimate that is deemed abnormal, and says that drawings and specifications should be prepared with enough care to protect against it.

Our MEP quotation comparison calculator lays out the same comparison in a form you can fill, and the note on turnkey scope gaps lists where bids most often differ.

Part D: clarification and decision log

1. Clarification number, date, bidder and the item.
2. Question asked, in writing, copied to all bidders if it changes scope.
3. Answer received and date.
4. Effect on score or normalised price.
5. Final ranking, who signed, and the reason if the recommended bidder is not the lowest evaluated price.

If the recommendation is not the lowest evaluated bid, write the reason in the log in plain words. A later dispute is easier to answer from a signed page than from memory.

How Secured Engineers helps

We design MEP in-house and file Fire NOC, CEIG and DISCOM net-metering in-house, so we can read a bid for what it leaves out. MEPF and solar can sit under one contract, which changes how scope gaps show up between trades. We work from offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, with 535+ projects across 18+ states and 89.77% repeat clients. Our turnkey EPC page describes how we package the trades.

To use this sheet on live bids, send the tender documents and the quotations through the RFQ page and we will compare them against your drawings and tell you what differs. You can also WhatsApp us or call +91 70099 85817. If we are one of the bidders, we will say so.