Prequalification specialist Constructionline will adopt PAS 91 the government-backed prequalification questionnaire, once a final version is published, which could be as soon as next month (March).
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The adoption of PAS 91 by Constructionline could prove a tipping point for the prequalification questionnaire, which it was originally envisaged would be used by public and private clients and cut down the red tape associated with suppliers being required to fill in myriad questionaires. However, suppliers claim that these demands have not lessened at all.
The revised PAS 91 has been updated to ask basic questions about an organisation’s understanding and capability and willingness in BIM to reflect how the technology has grown in importance in the last two years. However, some SMEs who consistently complain about the cost of filling in multiple prequalification questionaires are sceptical that clients will adopt the new standard.
Phil Wilding, a director with medium-sized contractor Wilding Butler, said: “We’re at a point where you have to ask, ‘how many more prequalification questionaires do we need?’”
He added: “We’re currently looking at a £2m scheme for a client we have worked with before. We’re already on Constructionline, but despite that I’ve had to employ someone for a full week to answer the PQQs required just to get on the tender list. PAS91 looks like yet another tier of bureaucracy, one that a lot of clients, or the people that advise them, simply won’t adopt over their current schemes.”
A recent survey by the National Federation of Builders revealed that a wide range of public sector clients had not adopted PAS 91.
The NFB interviewed procurement officers in eight local authorities in the third quarter of last year and found none had adopted PAS 91, and only three were aware of its existence.
The Constructionline spokesperson said: “Lots of clients have systems in place but the purpose of PAS 91 is to provide a standard format for buyers and the industry which will benefit both parties.”
The NFB survey revealed that 12% of construction SMEs spent more than £30,000 on prequalification during 2012.
