HGV yard tender brief

Two contractors can return apparently similar prices for an HGV yard and still be pricing different jobs. One may include drainage repairs and a live-access phase; another may assume the client will provide both. A tender comparison is useful only after the scope, design basis, quantities, exclusions and unresolved decisions have been made visible.

This brief is for developers, asset owners and project managers preparing a hardstanding enquiry. It is a commercial scope checklist, not a pavement design, contract form or substitute for advice from the project’s appointed designer.

Describe how the yard will be used

Start with the operation the finished yard has to support. “HGV traffic” is not a complete design brief. Record the vehicle types and movements the client expects, where vehicles queue, turn, park or load, whether trailers are dropped, which areas stay open, and what future use is being considered.

Send bidders the current layout and identify the work zones. Mark loading docks, gates, fire routes, pedestrian access, service roads, parking, drainage features and any parts that are not included. If there are operating restrictions, state the permitted work windows, delivery peaks, site induction process, security rules and notice needed to close or divert a route.

The client and pavement designer should define the design criteria and construction acceptance requirements. Do not ask tenderers to infer a pavement build-up from a generic phrase such as “heavy duty”. If a contractor is being asked to complete design, define the delegated design scope, required design inputs, review route and responsibility in the enquiry.

Issue the information each bidder is expected to price

Put the same controlled information in every tender pack. For each item, label whether it is confirmed, provisional or not yet available.

Brief item	Information to issue or request	Why it matters to the comparison
Scope boundary	Marked plan, work areas, interfaces, removal limits and excluded areas	Prevents bidders taking different limits from the same sketch
Design basis	Approved pavement design, geotechnical inputs, specification, drawings and revisions, or a clear design appointment	Shows whether the tender is build-only or includes defined design work
Existing condition	Topographical survey, pavement investigation, service records and known defects, with survey limits	Separates evidenced quantities from assumptions about buried or concealed conditions
Levels and drainage	Existing and proposed levels, drainage layout, known outfalls, connections and survey status	Makes clear which drainage work and level interfaces are included
Quantities	Measured areas, lengths and known excavation or replacement quantities, with the measurement basis	Allows like-for-like comparison and a transparent route for quantity change
Live operations	Traffic phases, tenant access, pedestrian routes, delivery restrictions and emergency access	Shows the temporary works and sequencing each bidder has allowed for
Acceptance and records	Required inspections, tests, survey records, as-builts and handover format	Avoids comparing a complete evidence package with a price that excludes it
Programme	Access date, required completion dates, working windows and client dependencies	Distinguishes a contractor’s duration from dates controlled by others

If an investigation or design is missing, state that plainly. Ask each bidder to list the assumption they have made, price any separately defined option if useful, and identify the decision that would be needed before award. A line labelled “allow for all necessary work” is not an adequate replacement for information the client has not yet obtained.

Make access and drainage part of the scope

On a live yard, temporary routes can be as important as the permanent pavement. Tell bidders which buildings and operations remain live, who approves a closure, where vehicles may wait, which pedestrian routes must remain, and how waste, materials and plant can reach the work area.

HSE’s guidance on construction site traffic management calls for suitable routes and management of vehicle and pedestrian movement. Its delivery guidance recommends that suppliers, carriers and recipients exchange information and agree safe delivery arrangements. For tender purposes, translate that into the actual gate, vehicle restrictions, site contact, delivery booking process and working interfaces, then agree the final arrangement with the site operator.

Describe known drainage constraints rather than asking the contractor to guess an outfall or capacity. Identify who provides the drainage design, any required survey, connection permissions or third-party approvals, and the party responsible for securing them. If those items remain open, mark them as exclusions, provisional scope or client decisions, not silently embedded assumptions.

Show what is included, excluded and provisional

Ask each bidder to return the same pricing schedule. Separate the defined base scope from options, provisional items and items priced using rates. For each rate, give the unit and the event that would cause it to be used. Ask bidders to state what their price assumes about quantities, material classification, disposal destination, access, working hours, water, power, traffic management and design information.

Require a clear list of exclusions and client-supplied items. A tender can be low because it excludes a necessary part of the package, not because the contractor has found a more efficient method. Record who owns each exclusion and when the decision is needed. Do not combine unexplained contingencies with defined work and then compare only the bottom line.

A fictional comparison with scope gaps

The following example is invented to demonstrate the method. It contains no market prices or project quotation.

Item	Tender A	Tender B	Clarification before comparison
Yard surfacing	Includes marked north and west zones against issued drawing	Includes north zone only, with west zone listed as an option	Confirm the common base area and compare the option separately
Drainage	Assumes existing gullies and connections remain unchanged	Includes replacement of two gullies, locations described as provisional	Issue survey evidence or price investigation and replacement as a separate item
Live access	Excludes tenant traffic control and evening work	Includes phased work but assumes a client marshal at the gate	Define the access plan and allocate the marshal responsibility
Quality records	Includes specified tests and as-built survey	Includes compaction tickets, excludes testing and survey	Issue the same acceptance and handover schedule to both bidders

There is no defensible “cheaper quote” until the common scope is established. Ask bidders to confirm their revised base against the same schedule, then report additions, alternatives, exclusions and unresolved risk separately.

Use a clarification log before award

Give each question an owner, response, drawing or specification reference and status. Useful questions are specific: Which marked area is included? Which design revision controls? Who arranges the drainage survey? Does the price include reinstatement around chambers? What is the assumed access window? What happens to a measured quantity above the tender allowance?

If a response changes scope, circulate the same instruction to every bidder still being compared. Keep the clarification with the tender return so the eventual order or subcontract can adopt the agreed scope. The final contract documents, not the comparison spreadsheet, should record the binding terms.

Make the tender pack usable by the delivery team

Before issue, check the pack from the viewpoint of somebody planning work in an occupied yard. Can they identify the limits, the order in which areas may be closed, the design information that controls construction, and the decisions the client still has to make? Can a project manager see who owns drainage interfaces, quality records and access approvals?

A consistent brief improves the questions bidders ask and makes the commercial comparison more honest. It does not remove ground risk or guarantee a fixed price where investigations are incomplete. It gives the client a better basis for resolving those uncertainties before they turn into variations, delays or disputed assumptions.

Rospower Projects delivers warehouse groundworks and hardstanding as coordinated civil engineering packages. See our warehouse and industrial groundworks service or contact Rospower Projects to discuss the design information and operating constraints for a service yard tender.

Connor Lyons is the commercial director at Rospower Projects and a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Read more about the team on our about page or contact us to discuss an upcoming project.