Building Bid Packages That Survive the Entire Project A 6-Hour, 3-day course

🏗️ Scope Writing & Bid Package Essentials: Reducing Risk Before Construction Begins

Strong projects start with strong bid packages. Join ABC Greater Baltimore for this interactive three-part workshop designed to help contractors improve scope writing, reduce costly omissions, and build better estimating and preconstruction processes.

Through real-world examples, hands-on exercises, and peer collaboration, participants will learn how to create clearer trade scopes, strengthen coordination between project teams, and minimize RFIs, change orders, and construction claims before they happen.

📅 Session 1: Building Better Bid Packages

📆 Date: TBD
🎯 Theme: Where Scope Gaps Begin

Learn why scope gaps occur and how to build bid packages that set projects up for success.

Topics Include:
🔹 The lifecycle of a bid package
🔹 Common causes of scope gaps
🔹 Writing clear trade scopes
🔹 Inclusions vs. exclusions
🔹 Documenting assumptions
🔹 Coordinating drawings, specifications & addenda
🔹 Recognizing red flags before bid day

📝 Interactive Exercise: Review a sample bid package to identify missing scope items, trade overlaps, ambiguous language, and unanswered questions.

🏠 Homework: Bring a sanitized trade scope from your company to Session Two.

📅 Session 2: The Trade Contractor’s Perspective

📆 Date: TBD
🎯 Theme: What Your Trade Partners Wish You Knew

Gain valuable insight into how trade partners evaluate bid packages and what information leads to better pricing and smoother projects.

Topics Include:
🔹 Frequently omitted scope items
🔹 Assumptions that lead to disputes
🔹 Information trades need for accurate pricing
🔹 Coordination challenges between trades
🔹 What makes a GC’s bid package “easy to bid”

🤝 Interactive Workshop: Work in small groups to improve a sample trade scope using lessons learned from the discussion.

📅 Session 3: Building a Scope Review Process

📆 Date: TBD
🎯 Theme: Creating a Repeatable System

Develop a practical quality-control process that helps catch scope issues before bids are submitted.

Topics Include:
🔹 Where construction claims really begin
🔹 Common scope-related disputes
🔹 Lessons learned from real projects
🔹 Scope review checklists used by successful contractors
🔹 Creating an internal quality-control review process

✅ Capstone Exercise: Participants will peer review a sanitized trade scope using a structured checklist to identify:

• Scope gaps
• Coordination issues
• Unclear assumptions
• Missing responsibilities
• Potential change-order risks

This hands-on exercise demonstrates how a second set of eyes can uncover costly issues before they become project problems.

👷 Who Should Attend?

This program is ideal for:

• General Contractors
• Subcontractors
• Estimators
• Preconstruction Professionals
• Project Managers
• Superintendents

💡 Whether you’re new to estimating or looking to strengthen your company’s preconstruction process, this workshop will provide practical tools you can implement immediately to improve bid quality and reduce project risk.