Topographical survey tenders and how to succeed

Any large-scale planning project will require a topographical surveying tender in order to procure a suitable surveyor. Even if you have submitted tenders in the past, you may have been unsuccessful. We understand that this can be disheartening. However, there are often a few simple improvements that can be made, which increase your chances of success.

The requirements for a topographical survey tender vary depending on the buyer’s needs or the reason for commissioning the survey. For example, they may publish topographical surveying tenders to procure a:

• Survey to ascertain the boundary of a property
• 3D mapped survey
• General land survey
• Construction project layout.

Each one is unique to the project at hand. So, you will need to read the tender documents carefully if you’re thinking about applying.

A typographical survey tender will typically detail the following as a bare minimum:

• The purpose of the survey
• A plan outlining the area of land to be surveyed
• Scope of work and specification
• How the survey will be presented
• How the survey will be delivered
• Mobility plan and other practicalities including access and security.

You will likely need to pass a pre-qualification stage to establish that you meet the minimum eligibility criteria. This could be referred to as a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), a PAS91 or selection questionnaire (SQ). You will often need to disclose and attach your company’s:

• Contact information
• Economic and financial standing
• Insurance
• Equal opportunities and diversity policy
• Environmental policy
• Grounds for mandatory exclusion
• Health and safety
• Modern Slavery Act.

How is a topographical survey tender evaluated?

A topographical survey tender is typically split into three sections (when tendering in the public sector). These are:

• Quality

The quality of your response always matters. Buyers will be expecting a high-quality response when tendering for construction contracts in the UK. Persuasion is key here. You should be convincing the contractor that you’re the best surveyor for the job. Demonstrate how you are professional, qualified and able to perform the contract on time and within budget.

• Price

Pricing your construction bid right is important, and you should keep it realistic. A contractor won’t be best pleased if you quote one price, then go significantly over budget. Don’t try to undercut your competitors, as it may lead to a buyer questioning your legitimacy. You will be expected to include both the direct and indirect costs of the project and your services.

• Social value

Social value has become an ever-important aspect of tendering. You should consider the environmental, economic and social aspects while performing the contract. Remember that the promises you may at this stage is contractually binding. Buyers will be expecting you to make promises you can keep. These should have the aim of:

• Creating new jobs and promoting skills
• Supporting COVID-19 recovery
• Encouraging economic growth
• Tackling economic inequality
• Tackling unemployment
• Reducing environmental impact
• Levelling up the UK.

The weightings of these sections can vary. However, for public sector contracts, there will be a minimum mandatory weighting of 10% on social value. It’s important to remember that although the price might be weighted more, the quality of your response matters.

When formulating your tender response, you should remember to be:

• Clear and concise
• Hit as close to the word or page counts as possible
• Avoid overly technical jargon
• Don’t allow the buyer to make any assumptions about your business or anything in your answer. Leaving room for assumptions and allow for the wrong assumptions to be made.

Need assistance when writing your next topographical survey tenders?

If you’re still unsure about how to complete your tender response we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect topographical survey tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. 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 Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme 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 results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our 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.

Where can I find topographical survey tenders for my business?

It’s worth noting that when searching for topographical survey tenders that you should also search for groundworks tenders. This is because topographical survey services may be included within a groundworks framework.

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your busy day. You already have enough on your plate to be trawling through thousands of websites a day looking for tendering opportunities. Keeping track of the various portals, logins and passwords can turn into a full-time job! Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal. It hosts exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities from thousands of websites across the UK. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload unique, public and private sector opportunities. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous topographical survey tenders and groundworks tenders sourced on our portal:

Wavendon SLA Ground Works and Natural Turf Sports Pitch

Milton Keynes Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

CHARM – Groundworks

Accord Housing Association Ltd- West Midlands- Budget: £197,281 

Multi Party Civil/Groundworks Framework for Projects from 100k up to €1m for AIT

Athlone Institute of Technology- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Ballinasloe Flood Relief Scheme Topographical Survey

Office of Public Works (OPW)- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Area 10 A56 Woodcliffe Cutting Topographical Survey

Highways England- North West- Budget: £11,000

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business all unique, public and private sector opportunities. A dedicated Account Manager will be on hand. They can answer any questions you may have about topographical survey tenders or the procurement process in general.

A daily email bulletin will be sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day. Moreover, you will receive discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division. You are also entitled to 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

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;

• Civil Engineering Tenders
• Health & Safety Tenders
• Cable Laying Tenders
• Structural Engineering Tenders
• Electrical Tenders
• Building Works
• Joinery Tenders
• Architectural Tenders
• Refurbishment Tenders
• Brickwork Tenders
• Small Construction 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, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for topographical survey 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 construction 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.