Tender Writing – The role of Quality in the tender assessment process

Quality – a word of many meanings yet in Government and Council circles it can be a word that evokes fear and trepidation in suppliers and contractors. Certainly in tender writing even the most skilled and experienced tender writer can be a bit uncertain with how much focus a Government agency or Council actually places on quality. Quality and the requirement to have in place Quality systems, documents and processes have been a real focus of Government/Council instrumentalities now since the mid 1980’s. Certainly the Queensland Government for a time was moving towards only recognising those businesses and organisations which had systems in place which met the requirements of International Quality Standards. 

I remember working with the Department of Transport and Main Roads in the 1980’s and we were undergoing massive changes where the Government was focussed on Commercialisation where all Government Business Units would have to also implement Quality Assurance and be Certified to the relevant International Standards.

The only winners out of this manic focus on QA were the many new companies out there that suddenly cropped up and were specialists in this quality space. Luckily Governments at all levels and of all persuasions have backed away from this crazy focus on Quality and more specifically the requirement that businesses providing products and services to Government and Councils were required to have those quality systems in place that were third party certified. 

This has taken the pressure of businesses and in fact tender writers. However quality still is an important aspect of tenders and certainly is mentioned in every Government and Council tender and even in commercial tenders.    

So the “quality” tender writer pardon the pun will ensure they really address the aspect of QA as outlined in the tender specification documents. To me every business tendering for Government, Council or commercial contracts or work should have in place a quality system that aligns with the requirements of ISO 9001 and an Environmental Management system which aligns with ISO 14000. In this way if a business has a very real focus on continual improvement and implementing effective and consistent processes within the organisation that deliver quality services and products to clients on time, first time every time then the issue of quality management must surely be in hand within that organisation. 

As specialist tender writers we ensure that we really hammer home in our client’s responses to tenders all aspects of QA and continual improvement. If you can demonstrate that you have processes and systems in place which are documented and keep your organisation focussed on Quality – for instance a QA Manual, Quality Plans, Internal Audit results etc then you are well on the way to having a real chance at winning the tender.

Quality isn’t the be all and end all BUT quality is important in the tender writing world. Ignore it at your peril!

Contact us at Red Tape Busters - http://www.redtapebusters.com/ should you require more information about this article or if you require specialist grant or tender writing experience to help your organisation or business win grant funding or achieve successes with tenders.

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