Including Noise Reduction in Construction Tenders

How to improve your chances of getting the job

When you’re tendering for a contract to provide building services such as:

• Concrete cutting;
• Providing a concrete pump;
• Installing a terrazzo floor;
• Or any other noisy building works…

…you will give yourself an advantage if you include your noise strategy as a primary consideration.

While it’s tempting to fall into the trap of being the cheapest tenderer to get the job, price is not always the winning factor. It’s the value of your solution that’s usually of most interest.

Why you should focus on value rather than price

Building your clients’ confidence in your ability to deliver in all areas – including those sometimes hidden in your tender response – will show your value.

Potential clients will appreciate seeing that you have thought about noise control, and gone the extra mile to avoid project stoppages and deliver the project to the specified timeframe. It shows that you understand the job and the impacts it may have on workers and the surrounds

You can anticipate that your tender submission will be evaluated on:

• Quality of work
• Your experience
• A demonstrated ability to meet specification, and
• That you’ve thought about eliminating site disruptions – such as not being shut down as a result of exceeding noise constraints.

Remember, the tender issuer:

• Wants reliability
• Will consider your experience
• Will assess your track record
• Will look at your downtime injury days
• Doesn’t want one trade being delayed due to noise, and causing flow-on problems over the following weeks and months
• Doesn’t want bad publicity. For example, on significant projects such as Government infrastructure, negative publicity is bad for business. Noise during construction is one of the chief complaints about current infrastructure projects.

When you are preparing your tender response, take the time to think about noise. Ask yourself: do you need noise barriers or acoustic curtains? Or is there a better option? That’s why it’s essential to get advice and insights from experts.

Step one: Understand the construction site’s permissible sound levels

The first step in tendering is to check the standard government regulations and determine if there’s anything in the DA with additional requirements.

With a large construction project, this information will be in one of the thousands of documents – so it’s prudent to ask upfront so that you don’t get caught with unexpected expenses due to scope creep.

Remember, if you haven’t raised noise restrictions as a potential problem, you may not be in a good position for a variation. You could therefore have to deal with unplanned-for costs.

Step two: Get advice from noise experts

Once you understand the issues, it’s time to talk to the professionals.

Flexshield can provide you with a branded report to include with your tender submission that considers:

• Typical construction noise for that project
• The distance to the nearest receiver
• Estimated noise levels from your work, and
• Recommended solutions and costs.

We’ll also consider any potential pitfalls and the practical workability of the solution we put forward – so that you can submit your tender response with confidence.

With Flexshield’s input, your tender submission can cover off on several issues that will be important to the contract administrators, such as perceived public consideration; lower cost; ease of movement in a mobile situation; or the ease of managing workflow.

Talk to Flexshield about including noise reduction in construction tenders

Including the right detail in your tenders shows that you are professional and have thought about all potential hassles.

It’s a sign you are a more competent contractor – increasing the opportunities for you to win more work thanks to the extra value that you bring and not merely competing on price.

For more information on including noise reduction in your tenders, download our construction product catalogue or contact our expert team on 1300 799 969.