Practical guidance for bid and compliance teams

How to fill in a tender compliance matrix

A compliance matrix lists every requirement in a tender and shows where your response meets it. Many clients ask for one; even when they don't, it is the best way to make sure nothing is missed.

1. Read the whole tender first. Requirements hide in the instructions to bidders, scope of work, HSE appendix, contract terms and forms, not only in the technical section.
2. List one requirement per line, using the client's own numbering and wording. Split sentences that contain two requirements.
3. Mark each line Mandatory or Scored. Mandatory items are pass or fail; one failure can disqualify the bid.
4. Set a status: Compliant, Partially compliant, Non-compliant or Clarification needed.
5. Add the response reference (volume, section and page) where your answer can be found.
6. Name the evidence you will attach, such as a certificate, procedure or record, and the person responsible for it.
7. Raise clarifications early for anything unclear, before the clarification deadline.
8. Check before submission that no mandatory requirement is Non-compliant, Not started or waiting for a clarification.

See the Tender Compliance Matrix for Physical Security Services

Eight common reasons bids are disqualified

Most disqualifications have nothing to do with price or technical quality. They are avoidable administrative mistakes.

1. Late submission, often because of a portal upload failure on the last day. Aim to submit at least 24 hours early.
2. Missing or unsigned forms, including declarations, bid bonds and forms of tender.
3. Expired or wrong-name certificates. The name on every certificate must match the bidding entity exactly.
4. Not following the required format, such as file names, envelope structure, page limits or the client's own templates.
5. Prices in the technical envelope, when the tender requires technical and commercial submissions to be separate.
6. Unapproved deviations from the contract terms, or qualifications hidden in the technical text.
7. Missing a mandatory requirement that was buried in an appendix.
8. Contradictions between volumes, for example different manpower numbers in the technical and commercial bids.

Root cause analysis: getting past human error

"Operator error" and "did not follow the procedure" are the most common root causes written on corrective action reports, and the ones auditors reject most often. They describe what happened, not why.

Use the 5 Whys

1. Write the problem as a fact: what, where and when.
2. Ask why it happened, and answer with evidence.
3. Ask why again about that answer. Repeat until you reach a cause in a process, not a person, usually after three to five whys.

Worked example

• Problem: site workers used an out-of-date method statement.
• Why? The new revision was not issued to site.
• Why? The site copy is printed, and the document controller was not told a new revision existed.
• Why? The approval process has no step to notify the document controller.
• Root cause: the approval workflow does not include distribution to controlled copy holders.

See the Corrective and Preventive Action Procedure

Hold, witness and review points in an ITP

An Inspection and Test Plan sets out who inspects what, and when. The codes tell each party what is expected of them.

• Hold point (H): work stops until the named party has inspected and released it in writing. Formal notice is required.
• Witness point (W): the named party is notified and may attend. If they do not attend after notice, work may continue.
• Review (R): the named party reviews the record after the activity.
• Surveillance (S): random checks at the party's discretion.

How many hold points?

Use hold points only where a defect would be hidden or very costly to fix later, for example before concrete is poured, before a pressure test, or before welding starts. Every hold point needs notice and can delay the programme, so check your schedule allows for them.

See the Inspection and Test Plan template