This year marked the 14th consecutive year in which the Urban Drainage & Flood Control District's Bid Tabulation Program has been in use. As of this month, bid tabulations from 34 District projects can be quickly and easily accessed through the program. These projects are the most current, spanning over a five-year period.
For those who are unfamiliar with BidTabs, it is a program that produces a bid item report specific to a user's query. The individual items of a particular job are separated into eight classes:
The letters corresponding to each class will appear in the results of a query. These will aid a user in recognizing the differences found within these results. For example, if a Bid Item Full Detail Report is run for "concrete," the query might return results in Class A (Pipes and Components) and in Class F (Curb and Gutter). Recognizing this difference will be essential for an accurate analysis of the results, and ultimately, an accurate bid item estimate.
The most useful report is the Full Detail Report. This report will output both a quantity and a unit of measurement for each bid item, the minimum, maximum, and average bid, as well as the number of bids and each bid price. Each bid price result is a total figure; that is, it includes the total quantity of the item. If one needs to break the estimate down to a unit cost, simple math can be used.
Upon receiving bids for a new project, the District will upload them to the program. In order to download the most current data to your hard drive, you must go to the appropriate page on UDFCD's Website. The most direct route is by accessing the following address in your browser's address bar: http://www.udfcd.org/construction/cip/bidtabs.htm. This address will direct you to a page wherein you'll be able to download the Bid Tabulation program, and download the most current information.
The District is now distributing a quarterly newsletter that documents trends in bid prices, useful tips in running BidTabs, and other information regarding the program. If you would like to receive this free brochure, or if you have any questions/comments regarding the program, please feel free to contact Eliot Wong at 303.455.6277 or eliotwong@udfcd.org. Happy bid hunting!