Where every tender checks in
Front Desk is the first stage. Before a single priced hour is committed, it captures the project, the client, the contract and the deadline, then runs an evidence-based bid decision. The tender that checks in here is B99 Malthouse Block, a boiler-house replacement put out by Grimshaw & Bolt Ltd. Everything downstream reads from what is logged at this desk.
- Tender from
- Grimshaw & Bolt Ltd · Principal Contractor
- Reference
- ITT KW-2026-4471
- Intake date
- 27 April 2026
- Submission due
- 17 May 2026, 12:00
- Lead estimator
- Iola Rees-Brown
- Decision
- Bid
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
The tender that checked in
Grimshaw & Bolt Ltd, acting as Principal Contractor under CDM 2015 on behalf of Kettlewick Estates, issued ITT KW-2026-4471 for the full replacement of the end-of-life heat source at the B99 Malthouse Block boiler house, Kettlewick College, Somerset. BuiltAI is invited as the mechanical, electrical, public-health and controls sub-contractor, designer for the Contractor's Design Portion only, under a JCT Intermediate 2016 sub-contract. The site is a Grade II* listed, live and occupied Defence estate, so heat continuity to the block must hold throughout the works.
| Captured at intake | Recorded value |
|---|---|
| Project | B99 Malthouse Block boiler-house replacement |
| Site | Kettlewick College, Somerset, BA22 9KW |
| Employer | Kettlewick Estates, via Grimshaw & Bolt as PC |
| Contract form | JCT Intermediate 2016 with Contractor's Design Portion |
| BuiltAI role | MEP, public-health and controls sub-contractor |
| Estimated value | £400k to £500k, confirmed at Cost Stack as £481,954.33 |
A tender that is priced before it is understood is priced twice. Front Desk fixes the facts, the parties and the constraints on day one, so the eight trade packages that follow are built on a single agreed brief rather than five people's separate assumptions.
The bid clock starts here
The ITT landed on 27 April 2026 with a fixed submission deadline of 17 May 2026 at 12:00. Front Desk sets an internal QA target ahead of that, so the Last Look gate closes with a buffer rather than against the wire. The countdown captured here drives every downstream Bidroom stage, from requirement extraction to the final reconciliation.
Mandatory documents named in the ITT: tender letter, priced Bill of Quantities as a native workbook, programme, a representative RAMS sample and current insurance certificates. Submission is a single PDF plus the BoQ workbook, to the Grimshaw & Bolt bid office.
Bid or no-bid, scored not guessed
Six criteria scored 1 to 5, where 5 is strongest. Above 18 of 30 is an automatic bid; 12 to 18 escalates to Director review; below 12 is an automatic no-bid.
| Criterion | Assessment | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic fit | First Defence-estate tender, aligned to the growth plan | 5 / 5 |
| Relationship value | Door-opener for further Grimshaw & Bolt and Defence work | 5 / 5 |
| Capacity to deliver | PM and Site Supervisor available across the summer window | 4 / 5 |
| Profit potential | Specialist cascade, healthy margin profile | 4 / 5 |
| Win probability | First tender with the PC, direct relationship, moderate | 3 / 5 |
| Risk profile | Live site, heritage and asbestos, manageable not low | 3 / 5 |
| Total, decision to bid | 24 / 30 | |
Strategic fit and relationship value carry the score clear of the automatic-bid threshold. Win probability and risk are flagged as moderate, so Director sign-off is recorded against the capacity commitment. The conflict check is clean: no current BuiltAI engagement with Kettlewick Estates, Grimshaw & Bolt or the named designer that would create a conflict.
Team named, clock running, over to Roll Call
With the decision recorded, the bid team is named and notified so ownership is unambiguous from the first working day. The Bid Director signs off the win strategy, the Bid PM leads the client interface and the query log, the Technical Lead owns the CDP design, and the Commercial Manager owns pricing and terms. Twelve early clarifications spotted during pack review are flagged for the Question Time register, and the tender pack is indexed across its source documents ready for extraction.
| Role | Owns |
|---|---|
| Bid Director | Decision sign-off, win strategy, final approval |
| Bid PM | Production, PC interface, query lead |
| Technical Lead | CDP design, scope structure, design queries |
| Commercial Manager | Cost Stack, BoQ, commercial terms, validity |
| QA Lead | Last Look gate before submission |