Nothing assumed silently
Question Time runs the live query register from the moment Roll Call surfaces an open clause through to submission. Every unclear, conflicting or missing point is raised, tracked and either closed with a Grimshaw & Bolt response or formally parked as a recorded commercial assumption. No question is left open when the pack goes out.
- Tender source
- Grimshaw & Bolt Ltd ITT
- Reference
- ITT KW-2026-4471
- Opened
- 30 April 2026
- Closed for review
- 14 May 2026
- Owners
- Bid PM & Commercial Manager
- Status
- 0 open at submission
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
Fourteen queries across the bid window
Seven queries carry forward from Roll Call and seven more emerge during the scope deep-dive and pricing, for fourteen in total. Eleven close with a written response from Grimshaw & Bolt. The remaining three cannot be settled at tender stage, so they are parked as explicit commercial assumptions and carried into the tender letter rather than buried in the price. None is left open at the submission gate.
A parked query is one the client cannot answer at tender stage. Rather than guess, BuiltAI records the working assumption, prices to it, and reserves the position in writing. The three parked here are all commercial, and each is reflected in the tender letter's assumptions schedule.
The material questions, answered
Each closed query fixes a fact the pricing or programme depends on. The response and its landing point in the outgoing pack are recorded against every one.
| Ref | Query | Outcome recorded |
|---|---|---|
| RFI-03 | LV sub-main spare way and fault level | Spare 125 A way confirmed, 16 kA fault level |
| RFI-04 | BMS and controls, price basis | Prime Cost Sum of £18,000, specialist appointed by the PC |
| RFI-05 | Incoming gas supply pressure | 21.4 mbar verified at 450 kW demand, no upgrade |
| RFI-06 | Listed Building Consent status | Consent already in place, held by the Employer |
| RFI-07 | SOCOTEC appendices C and D | Issued by the PC, ACM scope unchanged |
| RFI-08 | Existing fire-alarm loop capacity | Spare loop capacity confirmed, interface via maintainer |
| RFI-10 | Insurance levels required | CAR at £5m accepted, standard cover confirmed |
| RFI-14 | F10 filing status under CDM 2015 | Filed by the PC, BuiltAI not the duty-holder |
RFI-01 (IDEAL price validity), RFI-02 (blackout dates) and RFI-09 (witness commissioning attendees) close on the same basis and complete the eleven closed queries.
Three parked as recorded assumptions
Three commercial points cannot be closed at tender stage. Each is priced to a stated working assumption and reserved in the tender letter, so the position is transparent to Grimshaw & Bolt and defensible at contract negotiation.
Each parked assumption is scored by how confident BuiltAI is in the working position and by the impact on the £481,954.33 contract sum if it turns out wrong. All three are commercial, so none disturbs the priced scope.
| Ref | Working assumption priced to | Confidence | Impact if wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| RFI-11 | No bond below £500k, PCG at 10% of the contract sum to the PC plus 12 months | Medium | 1 to 5% |
| RFI-12 | Liquidated damages at a stated working rate, revisited pre-contract | Low | 1 to 5% |
| RFI-13 | OEM escalation beyond validity recovered through Provisional Sum I7.1 | Medium | Under 1% |
Priced-relevant answers, over to Cost Stack
The answered queries give Cost Stack the £18,000 BMS Prime Cost Sum, confirmed gas-supply basis and recorded insurance levels. RFI-11 and RFI-13 remain parked working assumptions: bond/PCG terms and the OEM escalation route still await commercial agreement. Pricing carries those reservations alongside RFI-12; closing the register does not settle the contract terms.
RFI-04 sets the £18,000 BMS Prime Cost Sum inside Section F. RFI-05 removes a feared gas-supply cost. RFI-13 proposes recovery through Provisional Sum I7.1 as a reserved working position, not an agreed entitlement. Cost Stack retains that distinction.