Advice for Preparing a Select List

I was recently asked to advise on the preparation of a Select List of building contractors for a £4m construction project in Co. Down. When deciding on potential contractors to use, my advice is to consider:

• Accounts: For Limited companies, annual accounts can be easily downloaded from the Internet. It is worth reviewing a company’s turnover, but more importantly their pre-tax profit. Stable and manageable growth is what is desirable. If not familiar with reviewing accounts, it is best to engage a chartered Accountant to advise.

• Qualifications/Memberships: Membership of non-mandatory bodies helps demonstrate that a company is committed to professionalism. For example, for a company to be a CIOB chartered building company, it needs to submit its accounts, have a certain percentage of its Board chartered, and have a staff training plan. Other organisations of which membership is beneficial include the Construction Employers Federation and the Federation of Master Builders.

• Accreditations: Most progressive construction companies now have management systems which are certified to ISO international standards. This helps demonstrate that a company is committed to continual improvement.

• Health & Safety: Find out if the company has had any reportable accidents or incidents in the last three years.

• Constructionline: Level 2 membership demonstrates that a company has been assessed and approved to work on Government projects.

• Supply Chain: When considering using a contractor, try to find out the names of some of the subcontractors that worked on one of their recent projects. Subtly enquire if they have been paid in full.

• Website: I recommend looking for three things – a portfolio of relevant past projects, any awards listed, and lastly, updates on the news section of their website and social media pages. If there has been a sudden break in updates over the last six months, this could mean that the company no longer employs a Marketing Executive, which could be a reason for concern!

For larger projects, it is best to engage the services of a chartered Architect, Quantity Surveyor or Project Management consultancy to manage the process.