Building Connected

Precon SOP: Building Connected

Building Connected is the platform utilized to solicit bidders and store, maintain and organize bids during the bidding process. This SOP specifically defines the use of Building Connected as it pertains to the standard bidding process

1.      Create the project in Building Connected once you get word that it will come to bid

a.          Projects -> New Project; Add the project name “Project Title – City, State”

b.     Add the project address

c.      Other relevant info will be filled in when received

d.     “Create Project”

2.      Under the “Files” tab, upload all project drawings, specs, Geotech report, supplemental bid instructions, etc

a.      Project drawings should be in a combined form

3.      Email Megan Maroo, tell her the full project name (Project Title – City, State) and request it be given a bid job number

a.      Once you receive the job number, return to the Information tab, select edit information, and add the job number to the Number line

4.      Create all necessary bid packages

a.      Each individual scope should have its own bid package

b.     Go to the Bid Packages tab and select +New Bid Package

c.      The bid package must be given a Bid Package Name and at least one keyword. All other fields can be left blank

d.     Bid package name: “Scope Division – Scope”

                                                              i.      Examples: 02 – Site Utilities; 15 – Plumbing

e.      Keyword: Can type in or search, but the keyword must be selected from the prefilled bank

                                                              i.      Example keywords for 09 – Drywall and Framing: “metal framing” “Drywall” “Acoustical ceilings””

f.        Add bidders to each bid package by selecting the +Add Bidders icon

                                                              i.      Select the “Import” tab and select the Template that best fits the job type/location

1.      Within the template, select the scope that corresponds with the bid package you’re creating the bidder’s list in

2.      Select the “Add” icon and the bidders in that custom internal bid list will be added to the bid package

3.      Note that specific subs can be removed by clicking the “x” by their name before clicking “Add”

                                                            ii.      Adding bidders by the “Search” tab

1.      Building Connected will generate a custom list based on the keywords entered and project address. Specific companies can also be searched at the top search bar

2.      Make sure to add the correct contact

3.      Avoid blanket adding huge numbers of companies that you are not familiar with. If you are unfamiliar with the company or they have not previously bid with us, attempt to contact the company first, gauge their interest, and determine the correct primary contact

                                                          iii.      Adding bidders by email

1.      If a company does not have an account with Building Connected, you can add them by typing their email in under the “Email” tab.

2.      The company will have to accept the email invite see the bid document and upload their proposal

g.      Creating bid packages by importing from other projects

                                                              i.      On the Bid Packages tab, select “Import”

                                                            ii.      Select the project under the Projects and Templates section

                                                          iii.      Select the bid package(s) to copy over and select the blue “Add” icon

                                                          iv.      This will directly transfer all the bid package information and bidders

h.      Bidder to Bid Package Congruence

                    i.      To maintain the usefulness and integrity of the Bid Leveling features later in the project, be sure to maintain true scope congruence between the bidders placed in a bid package and the scope of the bid package

                    ii.      For example, do not put a bidder for Parking Lot Striping in the Painting bid package. Separate out Steel Supply from Steel Erection. Separate out Framing Material from Framing Labor

                    iii.      If a bidder is bidding multiple scopes, ask them to show the cost split in their proposal and attempt to keep the base bid amounts scope-specific in Building Connected

5.      Add the internal project team to the project

a.      Go to the “Team” tab and add the team members to the project by searching each name in the top right hand search bar

6.      Alternatively to Steps 1-5, a new project may be created by duplicating a current/previous project

a.      Navigate to the projects list by using the menu on the left side of the screen

b.     Find and open the project under the Active Projects or Closed Projects tab

c.      Using the dropdown arrow at the top right of the screen, select “Duplicate”

d.     A menu will open allowing you to name and number the new project and choose which items should and should not be duplicated to the new project

7.      Once bid packages are created and initial bidders lists added to packages, leave the job unpublished until after the PreBid Meeting

8.      During the PreBid meeting, specific scopes/bid packages will be assigned to each team member

a.      During this process, return to the “Bid Packages” tab and edit the “Lead” of each bid package by selecting the circle with team member’s initials and searching for the correct team member to assign that scope to

9.      After the PreBid Meeting facts sheet is filled out, return to the Project and fill in the remaining necessary information

a.      Return to the “Information” tab and select “Edit Information”

                                                              i.      Add the bids due date, pre-bid RFI due date, and expected start

                                                            ii.      Copy the description from the Prebid Fact Sheet to the Description

                                                          iii.      No other fields need filled out

10. Publish the project. This will send emails to all companies listed in the bid packages inviting them to view the files and submit their proposal

a.      On the “Bid Packages” tab, select the ‘select all’ box beside “Lead”. This will select all bid packages

b.     Select the “Publish” icon near the top of the screen

11. Within 24 hours of publishing the project, send out a BCC email from your Koester Outlook email account containing the “Bid Solicitation When Using Building Connected” email template in the Bid Stock Emails document

a.      To accelerate the process, access the “Reports” tab in Building Connected and download the Bidder Status report

b.     Copy and paste the emails of the bid contacts from the report

12. As correspondences happen with prospective bidders, a brief summary of each conversation should be recorded in the “Add a note” section in Building Connected

a.      Select the correct Bid Package

b.     Select the correct Company in the Bid Package

c.      The Notes tab and the Add a Note option are to the right of the companies list

13. Publishing new files over the course of the bid

a.      Go to the “Files” tab and upload the new files the same way you uploaded the initial ones

b.     Uploading new files will not automatically push them out to bidders or notify them

c.      Go to the “Messages” tab and select +New Message. The recipients can be customized by Entire Project, those who’ve specifically said they’re bidding, bidders in a specific bid package, etc.

d.     Type the relevant subject and body, and attach files if desired/needed.

e.      The body text should include a specific statement to ‘please respond acknowledging that you have received this message and will update your quote accordingly per the [addenda, markups, etc]’

14. Updating Bidder Status

a.      Bidding companies will have a default Bidding Status of “Unknown”. They may manually update it to “Bidding or Not Bidding”

b.     If you receive a direct correspondence from a bidder indicating either that they WILL bid or WILL NOT bid, select the bidder in the corresponding bid package and select “Update Status” in the upper right hand corner.

15. Viewing and uploading bids

a.      Bidders may upload their proposals directly to Building Connected. If they do, the bidding status will display their proposal price in green numbers

b.     Click on the company and you will be able to see the base bid amount, attachments submitted, date submitted, and person submitted by

c.      To download and review the attached proposal document, select “View Proposal” and click the attachment link

d.     If a bidder sends their proposal document directly to you, you must upload it to Building Connected

                             i.      Find the bidder in the correct bid package and select it

                             ii.      Select “Create Proposal”

                             iii.      Fill in the Base Bid Value and attach the proposal document. You may also add any additional notes that would be useful for the project team, such as alternates or particular inclusions/exclusions

                             iv.      Select “Review & Submit” and then select “Submit”

                             v.      Be sure to notify the bid package lead team member. Building Connected does not send out automatic notifications when a bid is submitted.

16. Bid Leveling

a.      While the Precon SOP allocates the full bid leveling process to the Blue Sheets, Building Connected contains helpful quick-level options

b.     In a bid package, select the “Bid Leveling” tab. This will show all submitted bids in a side-by-side summary form organized from lowest base bid to highest

c.      Scroll down and utilize the Leveled Bid Metrics to see percent and dollar differences between the bids

d.     Alternatively, on the main project page, select the “Reports” tab and download the Proposal Summary Sheet. This will give a tabulated comprehensive review of all bids organized by “Apparent Low Bidder” up

17. Building Connected and Bid Closeout

a.      After Bid Day, the project must be closed in Building Connected.

                                                              i.      Select the project from the Projects list

                                                            ii.      Select the dropdown arrow in the upper right of the screen

                                                          iii.      Select “Close Project”

                                                          iv.      Nothing needs filled out in the optional fields. Select “Close project”

                                                            v.      Note that if a project needs re-opened, the steps are identical

b.     Utilizing Building Connected for bid closeout procedures

                                                              i.      To aid in sending out the “Bid Received Acknowledgement” email, return to the Reports tab and download the Bidder Status report

1.      Sort the data by the Company Status column. This will put every bidder who submitted a bid at the top of the spreadsheet

2.      Copy and paste the email address of each submitting bidder into your BCC for your bid acknowledgement email

                                                            ii.      To aid in uploading all submitted bids to the project F-drive, download the Bid Archive report

1.      Open the downloaded .zip file and extract the sub-file. The sub-file has all bids organized by bid package and company

2.      Remove the extracted sub-file accordingly and move it to the 03 Blue Sheets and Bids folder in the F-drive.

                                                          iii.      To calculate the scope coverage desired vs achieved

1.      On the Reports tab, the total Bids Received is shown in the top left

2.      Within the Bid Packages tab, the number of bids received for each scope package is shown on the left under each bid package title

18. Creating and Maintaining Bidder’s List Templates

a.      Under Projects, navigate to the “Bidder’s List Templates” tab

b.     Templates are customized lists of qualified bidders, organized by scope/bid package, according to specific regions or project types

                                                              i.      Example: southeast region. Discount Tire remodels.

c.      These customized lists should be the first option utilized when adding subcontractors to bid packages on projects that correspond to the template type

d.     If a new subcontractor performs well, they should be added to the corresponding template to make sure they are included in future bid opportunities

e.      To Create a new template, select +New Template

                                                              i.      Give the template a name indicating the region or project type

                                                            ii.      Bid packages and subcontractors must be manually created and entered, per the same instructions as 4.b to 4.f

                                                          iii.      To quickly create a template, a current template can also be duplicated and customized/refined

1.      Navigate to a current template and select Duplicate under the drop down arrow in the upper right

2.      Select the “New Bidder List Template” tab

3.      Select the specific checkboxes for information you want to duplicate

a.      This would typically be Bid Packages and Bidders

4.      Select “Create New Template”

f.        The templates are intentionally broad and all-encompassing. Every qualified bidder should be included on them

19. The Do Not Use List

a.      Use the left hand menu to navigate to Koester Construction

b.     On the right side is a Do Not Use List tab

c.      This is a subcontractor “blacklist”

d.     If a subcontractor has historically poorly performed or failed to perform, or for another qualified reason given by PM’s, Superintendents, or Leadership, they should be added to the Do Not Use List to prevent them from being added to future bid opportunities

e.      Select “Add Companies” in the upper right

f.        Search for the company and select +Add to list

g.      This list should be used with discretion and companies should only be added to it for qualified reasons from qualified persons