Developing Effective Strategies for Bidding

I think in any bidding labor cost is very important, and is fairly straightforward. Develop average hourly labor rates for each category of labor employed. These labor rates should include not only the base wage, but fringe benefits and payroll-related taxes and insurance. Be sure to factor in the impact of non-productive time (breaks, delay time, transportation time, etc.).

I could say many contractors struggle determining the appropriate treatment of overhead costs. Different activities require the use of resources (people and equipment) that carry different overhead costs. For example, activities requiring the use of heavy equipment versus strictly labor obviously consume different amounts of overhead. If your company utilizes heavy/expensive equipment, develop average hourly rates for these resources (perhaps by major category), similar to the development of labor rates. Hourly rates for equipment should include not only the initial capital investment (or replacement cost) spread over the useful life of the asset, but the cost of maintenance, fuel/supplies, insurance, etc. Again, be sure to factor in the impact of nonproductive time

I think we must manage subcontractors. Given that some subcontractors are less reliable than others in terms of timeliness, dependability, and quality of work, the level of management time required to manage risk and ensure customer satisfaction can vary significantly from one contractor to the next and from one project to the next.