At tender stage, it’s easy to compare two figures and assume the lower one makes the most sense.
In practice, the decision carries more weight than that. Programmes move, access changes and other trades come into the mix, so what looked straightforward when the price went in can start to feel different once the job is underway.
Anyone who has delivered more than a few jobs knows that nothing runs in one clean sequence from start to finish. You might expect a continuous run of work, but access is often staged, areas are released in phases, and information becomes clearer as other elements are built out.
“You know from experience there are going to be challenges on site. You can’t always quantify them, but you know they’re there.” – Eoin Ennis, Contracts Manager
That understanding shapes how work is priced.
If everything is stripped back to come in as the lowest number, there’s very little room when those challenges arise:
- A delay in access
- A late design tweak
- A sequencing change suddenly becomes difficult to absorb.
Experience changes that approach.
It means assuming that the job will evolve as it moves through site conditions, not treating the drawings as a fixed end state. It means allowing for staged returns, partial access and the practical reality of working around other trades.
The underground car park project is a good example. On the drawings, the fencing around the bike cages looked defined. In reality, the ceiling was still to be filled with M&E services. Committing to a full install at that stage would have meant guessing.
Instead, the lower sections were installed first to lock in levels and fixing points. The M&E trades completed their work overhead. Once the services were in and visible, the remaining sections were measured and finished to suit the actual conditions.
It wasn’t about waiting for the sake of it. It was about fitting once, properly, rather than fitting twice.
That way of working runs through every job.
Construction is fluid and no contractor needs to be told that. What matters is whether the subcontractors on site understand it as well, and whether their pricing and sequencing reflect that understanding from the outset.
“We don’t price a job so tight that the first problem puts us under pressure.” – Eoin Ennis, Contracts Manager
There will always be movement in a programme. Dates shift. Access changes. Other trades overrun. The teams that create the least friction are the ones who expect that from the start and build their approach around it.
Predictability is rarely about holding everything perfectly still. It’s about keeping the job steady when things move.
Three Questions Worth Asking Before You Choose the Lowest Price
When you’re reviewing two fencing prices that look similar on paper, the better question isn’t just which one is lower. It’s whether the approach behind the number will hold up once the job moves.
1. How has sequencing been allowed for? If access is staged, if walls aren’t built yet, if other trades will still be working overhead, has that been considered — or has the job been priced as one clean run from start to finish?
2. What happens when information changes? If levels shift, quantities adjust or services appear where they weren’t expected, is there enough experience behind the price to adapt without the job slowing down?
3. Are you buying a figure, or are you buying stability? When the programme inevitably moves, will the fencing become a point of friction, or will it adjust with the rest of the site?
Construction rarely unfolds exactly as drawn. The teams that acknowledge that at tender stage are usually the ones who make life easier once the job is live.
That’s where predictability proves its value.
About the Author: Eoin Ennis has over 30 years’ experience in construction and has been part of the team since 1992. A qualified Architectural Technician and Contracts Manager since 1994, he has overseen the delivery of complex perimeter works on projects including Intel Leixlip, the British Embassy in Dublin, Portlaoise Prison and the M50 motorway upgrade. He works closely with design teams and main contractors to ensure delivery stays aligned with programme, budget and site standards.