Steel fixing RFQ: drawings, bar schedules and supply boundaries

Connect the drawings to the bar bending schedule

Identify the structural drawings, reinforcement details and relevant placing or shop drawings for the package. Alongside them, list the bar bending schedules (BBS) that describe the bars to be prepared. A bar mark is an identifier used to connect a scheduled item to its location or detail; the schedule reference and revision are needed to make that identifier useful.

BSI describes BS 8666 as covering reinforcement scheduling, dimensions, cutting and bending. ACI’s public abstract for its guide to presenting reinforcing steel design details explains the importance of conveying the designer’s intent clearly to the detailer, fabricator and placer. For an RFQ, the practical lesson is to identify both the design information and the corresponding detailing or scheduling information, rather than sending an isolated tonnage total.

State which documents are issued for pricing, which have the relevant construction approval, and which remain preliminary. Ask the appointed team to confirm their suitability for the intended activity. An RFQ document set does not, by itself, authorise fabrication or fixing.

Attach a document register to the enquiry

Use one register for the issued package. For each entry, add its document number, revision, issue date, purpose or approval status, covered area and any unresolved qualification. Ask tenderers to reference this register in their return so that a later comparison is based on the same information.

Explain what the quoted quantity includes

A rate per tonne is only comparable when the underlying scope and measurement rules are clear. Identify whether the pricing quantity comes from a preliminary estimate, a scheduled weight or another agreed source. Break it down by element or work area where the available information allows, and label provisional quantities as provisional.

Ask how the proposed measurement treats items such as chairs, support bars, starters, laps, couplers, wastage and later revisions. Do not add an allowance where the issued schedule already includes it. The inclusion or separate measurement of each item should be agreed for the package, not inferred from the headline rate.

Request that the tenderer state its assumptions about bar sizes, element types, repetition, work fronts and access. If the BBS is not yet available, provide the best identified information and ask for a qualified quotation with a stated review point. Avoid presenting a preliminary estimate as a fully defined fixed quantity.

Name the supplier and installer for each input

Describe whether the enquiry covers fixing labour, cut-and-bent supply and fixing, or another defined arrangement. Assign each item explicitly, including items supplied by the main contractor. An unfilled responsibility is an open question, not an automatic exclusion.

• Reinforcement supply: who purchases, schedules, cuts, bends, bundles and delivers the specified bars?
• Engineering information: who prepares and reviews drawings and schedules, answers queries and issues authorised revisions?
• Accessories: who supplies and installs the specified supports, spacers, tying consumables and coupler components?
• Handling: who unloads, checks deliveries, stores materials and arranges movement to the released work area?
• Resources: who provides supervision, access arrangements, equipment and the relevant coordination with lifting operations?
• Records: who maintains delivery and material records, inspection requests, measured quantities and the agreed change register?

Resolve a drawing–schedule mismatch before relying on it

Consider a hypothetical tender package: the register lists drawing S-210 revision C, but schedule BBS-210 revision 2 says it was prepared from drawing S-210 revision B. The letters and numbers do not need to match each other. The question is whether the schedule still reflects the current design and whether the relevant changes affect the package.

Record the mismatch with the drawing, schedule, affected location and question. Ask the responsible designer or detailer to confirm whether a revised schedule is required, then issue the response through the project’s document-control process. Send the same tender addendum to all tenderers and ask them to identify any effect on quantity, price or programme.

If material has already been ordered or prepared, identify the affected order, bar marks and work area and obtain instructions before the affected work proceeds. A site team should not invent a replacement detail or alter reinforcement to reconcile conflicting information. Keep the previous and revised records so the change can be followed.

Agree the work release and quotation return

Describe what will be ready when each area is released: the relevant information, delivered materials, access and coordination with formwork and other trades. Identify who checks deliveries against the issued schedule and order, reports shortages or mismatches, and retains the material records required by the project. A delivery arriving at the gate is not the same as a work front being ready.

Set out the inspection-request and release process from the project’s agreed quality plan. Name who requests the check, who reviews it and how outstanding items are closed before the next activity. Keep engineering acceptance with the appointed project team; the RFQ should make the interface visible without prescribing reinforcement details.

Ask each tenderer to return the quoted document register, inclusions and exclusions, quantity basis, responsibility list, resource assumptions and unresolved questions. Compare those items alongside the price. Close important gaps before award and record any later change against the agreed baseline.

To discuss a steel fixing package with ABA PRIME, share the project location, included levels or zones, current document register and intended supply arrangement. Identify missing information when you enquire so the quotation can state its assumptions and any required review points.

• Have all tenderers priced the same document issue?
• Are missing schedules and provisional quantities clearly identified?
• Are fabrication, fixing, accessories and handling boundaries explicit?
• Is there a named route for engineering queries and revised information?
• Does the return explain work-front assumptions and inspection interfaces?