Table of Contents

  1. Purpose
  2. General
  3. Responsibilities
  4. Procedure
  5. Flowchart
  6. References
  7. Attachments

1. Purpose

This procedure covers the technical evaluation of vendors' quota­tions for equipment, materials and subcontracts. In addition, it lists the required approvals of the bid analysis and identifies each party's scope of responsibility. The objective is to ensure that vendors' proposals satisfy all technical requirements.

Note: This procedure does not apply to evaluation of quotations for:

  • Field Labor Purchase Orders
  • Erection Part of all Supply with Erection Purchase Orders
  • Labor Part of all Purchase Orders for field services, including temporary facilities
  • Refers to Subcontracts Procedure ref. 6.2.

2. General

The Engineer, hereinafter called Evaluator, shall make a technical evaluation of quotations preselected on a commercial basis by the Purchasing Department. The basic framework of the commercial bid analysis shall be prepared by the Evaluator in cooperation with the Purchasing Depart­ment for pumps, compressors, heaters and boilers package units and special equipment package units. It is recommended that the Evaluator indicates the proposed basic framework for the commercial bid on the "Request for Bids".

3. Responsibilities

The Project Manager has the overall responsibility for the commercial and technical evaluation of vendors' quotations and the selection of vendors for the supply of equipment, materials and subcontracts.

The Lead Specialist Engineer is responsible for the technical evaluation of vendor's quotations.

4. Procedure

4.1 Technical Evaluation of Vendors' Quotations

The Project Manager is responsible that those items requiring multiple discipline evaluations as indicated in Attachments 1 thru 9, receive all necessary evaluations.

The Evaluator shall carefully review the technical part of the quotations with special attention to:

  • Vendors' quotations are based on the correct issue number of the requisition and reference documents;
  • All reference documents have been adhered to;
  • Technical details; technical bid comparison sheets may be adapted to indicate particular requirements;
  • Vendors QA and QC manual;
  • Deviations and exclusions.

Evaluator shall prepare requests for clarification on insufficiently defined items in vendors technical bids and shall list any unacceptable technical deviation and/or exception.

The Project Buyer will issue these requests to vendors and will solicit revised bids from vendors with unacceptable deviations and/or exceptions in their bids.

- In general, it is required to arrange preaward meetings with the vendors to discuss the outstanding technical questions. The invitation to vendors shall contain a summary of the technical subjects to be discussed. The meetings shall be arranged by Project Buyer. Refer to Procedure for Bid Clarification Meetings (ref. 6.5).

- Preaward meetings for equipment and materials shall be chaired by the Project Buyer and attended by the Evaluator, the Project Engineer, the Inspection Coordinator, and by Client and a construction representa­tive if required. The deviation list shall be discussed in this meeting. Minutes of meetings shall be prepared by the Company attendees to confirm the discussions with the vendors.

- After the vendors have provided the required information, the technical bid comparison sheets shall be updated. The Evaluator shall then determine the technical acceptability of the equipment and materials offered by the vendor(s). The quoted Quality Assurance and Quality Control systems shall be reviewed and Company's experience with the vendor's QA/QC system shall be considered. The construction requirements shall be evaluated by the Home Office Construction Coordinator. The Evaluator will assist the Buyer with revisions to the commercial bid analysis.

When the scope covered by the bid tab deviates from the CompanyÄClient contract scope, a change order has to be prepared.

The Project Buyer, assisted by the Evaluator, shall clearly state the reasons for selection of the recommended vendor.

4.2 Approval of the Bid Analysis

The bid analysis with associated documents shall be approved by all personnel as indicated in ref. 6.3

5. Flowchart

None

6. References

  Doc. Number Title Level
6.1 BN-EP-342 Handling Structural Steel Element
Contained in Package Unit
3
6.2 CM-PE-705 Subcontracts Procedure
2
6.3 CM-PE-708 Procedure for Purchasing
2
6.4 CM-PE-511 Technical Review of Vendor Documents
2
6.5 CM-PE-709 Procedure for Bid Clarification Meetings
2

7. Attachments

  1. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Vessel Engineering

  2. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Mechanical Engineering

  3. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Control Systems Engineering

  4. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Electrical Engineering

  5. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Structural Engineering

  6. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Process Engineering

  7. (Later) Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Construction

  8. (Later) Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Pipe Engineering

  9. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Civil Engineering

 

1. Technical Evaluation of Quotations By Vessel Engineering

Vessel Engineering shall technically review the quotations (preselected by the Procurement Department on a commercial basis) for the following items:

columns/vessels/reactors : checklist available
shell and tube exchangers : checklist available
air-cooled heat exchangers : checklist available
storage tanks : checklist available
miscellaneous items : items subject to pressure code requirements

The first column of the checklist shall show itemized the requirements of the requisi­tion and specifications. The adjacent columns shall show the same items as offered by the vendors.

Note:

The design of certain items shall also be reviewed by the Process Department (refer to Attachment 6 and the Project Critical Equipment List) and Structural Engineering (see Attachment 5).

2. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering shall technically review the quotations (preselected by the Procurement Department on a commercial basis) for the following items:

centrifugal pumps reciprocating pumps : checklist available
centrifugal compressor (incl. previous experience of the vendor(s) : checklist available
and the lube and seal oil system) reciprocating compressors : checklist available
mixers : checklist available
fired process heaters : checklist available
boilers : checklist available
steam turbines : checklist available
ejectors    

miscellaneous mechanical equipment

Note:

The design of certain items shall also be reviewed by the Process Department (refer to Attachment 6 and the Project Critical Equipment List) and Structural Engineering (see Attachment 5).

3. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Control Systems Engineering

I. Control Systems Engineering shall prepare a technical bid analysis (TBA) to supplement the commercial bid analysis. Specific instructions are not established for instruments, since an average size job usually has sixty to seventy different requisitions which are always specifically adapted to special job/Client's requirements.

The Lead Control Systems engineer assigns responsible Control Systems engineers working on the project as "Evaluators".

The "Evaluator" prepares the TBA. The finalization of the TBA shall be done in close cooperation with the Lead Control Systems Engineer, and both must sign the TBA for release.

II. General guidelines for preparation of the TBA:

Make an extract of the most important technical (key) requirements as specified in the latest issue of the requisition and list them on the TBA with reference to the specific section/point in the requisition. Major points in this respect are:

  • Scope of work requirements.
  • Operational/functional performance requirements.
  • Execution in conformity with the requisition and standards mentioned therein.
  • Conformity to site conditions.
  • Test, inspection, calibration and guarantee.
  • Certificates for materials, calibration, safety (e.g. ex-proof).
  • External appearance (standard height of cabinets) and finish.
  • Field assistance requirements.
  • Spare parts, bonded spares, maintenance service.
  • Conformity to other requirements of engineering documents/drawings.

III Special check items for the TBA is of the following items:

Flow - orifice flanges: material rating, flange finish;
  - pd meter/filter: check differential pressure with system requirement;
  -   check pressure drop across filter;
  - turbine meter: lubrication capability of process fluid.
Level - DP cell: check range elevation/suppres­sion kits;
  - displacer: check minimum difference in density for interface.
Pressure -   usually narrow span for tight control, overrange
Temperature - standard type (J, K, etc.): minimum span (±100°C) burn-out feature, field mounted conv. mV/mA, check RF, filter TC elements, spring- loaded; check high resistance to sheath, RTDel/TW sensor tolerance.
Control valves -   material certificates;
actuator (spring standard 0.2Ä1 bar(g) range;
travel speed 10 sec;
torque limiter in handwheel operator;
cold service (LPG) special impact test.
Safety and thermal relief valves -   material certificates/test art.;
specific local government requirements (e.g. witness test, ring, etc.).
Analyzers -   materials, function, sample handling/­disposal, explosion-proof/purging.
       
Chromatographs -   materials, function, sample switching, carrier gas programmer, number of columns.
Panels, desks -   mechanical details, size, finish;
possibility to do maintenance;
accessibility (location of Elco's) of auxiliary items, push-buttons, etc.;
power supply (distribution, selectivity in fusing).
Control cable -   coordinate with electrical engineering.
Gas detection systems -    
       
Key interlock system and components -    
       
All explosion-proof classified components -    

4. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Electrical Engineering

I. If the equipment or materials are catalogue items a technical comparison will not be prepared. In that case, the specialist engineer signs the commercial bid analysis to confirm that he approves the selection by the Procurement Department.

II. For all main items and other complicated items the Procurement Department will send, together with the commercial bid analysis, all quotations to the specialist engineer. The specialist engineer will prepare a technical comparison in accordance with section 4.1 of this procedure. The following materials and equipment require a technical evaluation:

  1. Electric motors
  2. High voltage equipment, like switchgears, motor control centers, transformer breakers, etc.
  3. Low voltage switchgears
  4. Transformers
  5. Vital instrument supply systems, including converters, panels, rectifiers, etc.
  6. Emergency power supply systems, like diesel, steam drivers, genera­tors, emergency power panels
  7. All explosion-proof equipment, like switches, panels, boxes, lighting fixtures, etc.
  8. Television systems
  9. Communication systems (telephone, loudspeakers, etc.)
  10. Relay and alarm systems
  11. Large electric heaters
  12. Temperature monitoring equipment for large electric motors
  13. Power factor correction equipment
  14. Batteries and battery charges
  15. Neutral resistors power transformers
  16. All special equipment
  17. Power, control and earthing cable

III. The following equipment requires, in addition, a financial evaluation of energy losses/energy cost versus capital investment cost:

  1. Power transformers
  2. Large electric motors
  3. Power generation (not stand-by generation)

5. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Structural Engineering

I. Structural Engineering shall receive the Steel Vendors' quotations together with a bid tabulation, prepared by the Procurement Department based on commercial merits. Structural Engineering shall then carry out the technical evaluation on each quotation, in order of commercial preference as indicated on the bid tabulation, and report on each. The report shall include the following:

  • Vendor's adherence to applicable specifications and codes, presented or quoted in particular the vendor's adherence to material quality, cross-section standards and corrosion protection.
  • Exceptions to and deviations from the specification.
  • Quality of vendor's calculations and drawings when samples are submitted.
  • Other significant items identified by Structural Engineering during the evaluation.

II. Structural Engineering shall also review quotations for items containing structural steel elements, such as:

  • air-cooled heat exchangers
  • boilers/fired process heaters/incinerators
  • flare systems/stacks
  • ducts (with supporting structures)
  • storage tanks (stairs, railings, etc.)
  • compressor structures/platforms
  • deaerators
  • desalters
  • subcontracted buildings
  • skid-mounted equipment
  • other package units

    Activities must comply with referred procedure (ref. 6.1).

6. Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Process Engineering

Process Engineering shall review quotations for equipment critical to the process design, such as all:

  • air-cooled heat exchangers
  • vendor-designed shell and tube exchangers
  • vendor-designed special heat exchangers (plate, spiral, block, etc.)
  • vendor-designed equipment in columns, vessels and reactors
  • trays and internals of columns
  • package units involving process type operations
  • fired equipment (process heaters, boilers, waste heat boilers and incin­erators)
  • rotating equipment (compressors, pumps - curves only -, steam turbines, power recovery turbines, etc.)
  • vacuum equipment (ejectors, vacuum pumps, etc.)

The Process Supervisor shall issue and maintain an itemized list of all equipment requiring process review.

7. (later) Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Construction

8. (later) Technical Evaluation of Quotations by Pipe Engineering

9. Technical Evaluations of Quotations by Civil Engineering

I. Civil Engineering shall receive the Subcontractor's quotations together with a bid tabulation, prepared by the Subcontractors Buyer based on commercial merits. Civil Engineering shall then carry out the technical evaluation on each quotation, in order of commercial preference as indicated on the bid tabulation, and report on each.

The report shall cover the following:

  • Subcontractor's adherence to the scope of work laid down in the requisition.
  • Subcontractor's adherence to the applicable Specifications, codes and standards.
  • Evaluation of the technical information supplied by the Subcontractor, as required by the bid documents.
  • Technical and commercial evaluation of exceptions and/or alternates.

II. Civil Engineering shall also review quotations for items containing civil elements, such as:

  • Concrete stacks
  • Concrete cooling towers.

III. Special attention shall be paid to sec.4.1 of this procedure and ref. 6.2.