What to Expect from Irish Water Tenders

Irish water tenders can be a tricky ground to navigate if you’re new to tendering for construction contracts. They can cover a diverse range of goods, services and works. Such Irish Water tenders are not limited to just the Construction industry. They can also be found in others such as Technology, Logistics and Facilities.

Irish Water tenders could be released to procure a number of works and services such as:

• Waste Water Control
• Mobility Management Services
• Managed Security
• Construction and design of a new pumping station
• Analytical technology lab equipment.

Water Supply Schemes

The Kilrickle Water Supply Scheme is set to open in April 2021. The tender period is thought to be over six weeks. The evaluation of the tender is then expected to take a further four weeks. The Irish Water tenders will benefit local Galway residents. It will help them gain access to a more reliable water supply than their current wells and rainwater tanks.

The Department of Housing and Local Government announced funding of €3.1million for the project. It has the aim of establishing a connection with the neighbouring Cappataggle Group Water Scheme.

What is the typical tender process for Irish Water tenders?

The typical tendering procedure for Irish Water tenders is as follows:

PQQ or SQ

The initial stage of any Irish Water tender is the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), also known as a selection questionnaire (SQ). Depending on the tender, and within construction, this initial stage could also come in the form of a PAS91. You will be expected to provide company information, usually in the form of a box-ticking exercise. They are designed to ensure that your business:

• Meets the buyer’s minimum eligibility requirements.
• Is financially stable to carry out the contract.
• Possess the adequate amount of experience and technical capabilities to deliver the works.

Typically, you can expect to detail your business’:

• Contact information
• Employee and subcontractor information
• Economic and financial standing
• Equality, diversity and environmental policies
• Grounds for mandatory exclusion
• Health and safety information
• Quality management.

If your business passes this stage, they will then be given an invitation to tender.

 ITT

An invitation to tender, known as an ITT, is the second stage of the tender process. When a buyer releases an ITT, a prospective supplier can respond. Each supplier should read carefully through the tender documents and specification before applying.

3 Tips for success with Irish Water tenders

1. Price isn’t the only award criteria

It is important to remember when writing your response for Irish Water tenders that price isn’t the only award criteria. Buyers will be looking for tenders that present the most value for money. They will assess your tender response based on a number of criteria. These could range from accessibility to innovation and quality to sustainability. Reading the tender documents carefully will help as buyers will often state what they are looking for in the specification.

It’s important to remember that the cheapest price doesn’t guarantee a win. Once you have given a price for your services in your tender response, remember that it’s then firm and fixed. A buyer won’t be best pleased if you present a low cost for your services and then go over budget. There is normally no room for negotiation after the contract is awarded.

2. Experience is key

Having a bank of case studies ready to use can save you a lot of time. Asking current and past clients for testimonials can strengthen your response and impress the buyer. A contractor may ask for up to three case studies within the last five years. Responses should be tailored to demonstrate your businesses capabilities in relation to the project at hand.

The STAR format is good to use when developing your case study responses for Irish Water tenders:

• Situation – give a brief context
• Task – the work
• Action – what you’ve done
• Results – what the result were

This can help strengthen your response leading to increased success in securing your next Irish Water tenders.

3. Present a high-quality written response

Buyers care about the quality of your written response, no matter what industry you’re in. This means that although the quality may be weighted less than cost, buyers still expect high quality. A response for Irish Water tenders should be clear and concise. You want to be persuasive in your response, convincing them that you’re the best business for the job.

Avoid technical jargon and don’t assume the buyer knows anything. Leaving room for assumptions can result in the wrong assumptions being made. Word and page counts are there for a reason. If a contractor has stated a response should be 500 words, simply writing three sentences won’t be a satisfactory response.

How can we help?

We understand that writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit – and that’s ok. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They can help you succeed with your next Irish Water tenders. Hudson Succeed offers four bid writing support services.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect Irish Water tender for your business, why not send it our way? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you if you’re a little overwhelmed by it all. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. The Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders.
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
• An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies.
• Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the result you want our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Where can I find Irish Water tenders?

So now you know what’s required from Irish Water tenders and how to get assistance in writing your response. You may now be wondering where you can find them? Searching for the right Irish Water tenders can turn into quite a headache, checking daily for any updates. It can end up turning into a full-time job! Luckily, we have a solution…

Enter…Construction Tenders!

Our Construction Tenders portal can take the pressure off your daily pursuit of finding Irish Water tenders for your business. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload construction leads from thousands of sources across the UK.

You are able to filter the results by location, keyword, budget and more. This means no more reliance on frequently mislabelled CPV codes. This streamlines the process, saving you time that can be used to focus on your business.

Below are previous Irish Water tenders sourced on our portal:

20/125 – 20/125 – Waste Water Source Control and Trade Effluent

Irish Water- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Client Partner Services for the Water Supply Project – East and Midlands Region (WSP)

Irish Water- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Enterprise Mobile Application Platform and Mobility Management Service

Irish Water- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Irish Water Managed Security and Monitoring Service

UISCE- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Irish Water National Laboratory Project: Procurement, Installation, IQ, OQ and FAT of Analytical Equipment for a new Laboratory

UISCE- International- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

• Access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities.
• An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about Irish Water tenders.
• A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
• Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
• 20-minutes of free consultancy each month with our Bid Experts.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

• Health & Safety Tenders
• Cable Laying Tenders
• Structural Engineering Tenders
• Electrical Tenders
• Building Works
• Joinery Tenders
• Architectural Tenders
• Refurbishment Tenders
• Brickwork Tenders
• Small Construction Tenders
• Civil Engineering Tenders
• Surveying Tenders
• Demolition Tenders
• Flooring Tenders
• Glass Tenders
• M&E
• Cost Consultancy
• Painting Contracts
• Decorating Tenders
• Masonry and many more.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, optimising your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for Irish water tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
• Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
• Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable Irish water tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.