STATEMENTS OF
REQUIREMENTS
Alfred Lapyem
Principal Procurement Officer
Ministry of Finance, Planning &
Economic Development
Specification (technical standard)
 A specification is an explicit set of
requirements to be satisfied by a material,
product, or service.
Use of a Specification
 In engineering, manufacturing, and business, it is vital for suppliers,
purchasers, and users of materials, products, or services to understand
and agree upon all requirements.
 A specification is a type of a standard which is often referenced by a
contract or procurement document.
 It provides the necessary details about the specific requirements.
 Specifications may be written by government agencies, standards
organizations (ASTM, ISO, CEN, etc
 A product specification does not necessarily prove the product to be
correct. Just because an item is stamped with a specificaiton number
does not, by itself, indicate that the item is fit for any particular use.
The people who use the item specify the item and have the
responsibility to consider the available specifications, specify the
correct one, enforce compliance, and use the item correctly.
Validation of suitability is necessary.
Content of a Specification
 A specification might include:
 Descriptive title and scope of the
specification
 Date of last effective revision and revision
designation
 Person, office, or agency responsible for
questions on the specification, updates, and
deviations.
 The significance or importance of the
specification and its intended use.
Cont…
 Terminology and definitions to clarify the
meanings of the specification
 Test methods for measuring all specified
characteristics
 Material requirements: physical,
mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc.
Targets and tolerances.
 Performance requirements. Targets and
tolerances.
Cont….
 Workmanship
 Certifications required.
 Safety considerations and requirements
 Environmental considerations and
requirements
 Quality requirements, Sampling (statistics),
inspections, acceptance criteria
Cont…
 Person, office, or agency responsible
enforcement of the specification.
 Completion and delivery.
 Provisions for rejection, reinspection,
rehearing, corrective measures
 etc
As for goods and civil works, consultancy services should
be specified.
The specifications:
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Can be more difficult to specify than products
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Should be as precise, clear and measurable as possible
Should be stated in terms of output
Be time bound – a time frame should be indicated
Should state required qualifications of people
SOR for services
 A solicitation document should contain a
SOR for the procurement of consultancy
services is to be defined in the TORs or
brief
Guidelines for Writing & Planning
Terms of Reference
 What are Terms of Reference
 Terms of Reference are the Scope allowed to persons
conducting an enquiry of any kind. (New Oxford
Dictionary.)
 Particularly in the public sector, TRs have come to be
used in almost a generic sense to cover the base document
used as a guide for a wide range of activities including:
 investigations;
 reviews;
 projects;
 implementation;
 development of plans (strategic & otherwise); and
 regular group meetings.
How to write the Terms of
Reference
 Terms of Reference need to state clearly and
specifically the permitted and/or possible extent
to which an investigation may reach. Thus, the
TRs should enable a project team to:
 set boundaries on the project;
 know what is and isnt within their jurisdiction;
 understand the context in which the TRs have
been framed;
 have a clear idea of where they should begin;
and,
 have a clear idea of outcome/product.
Terms of Reference should include:
 Mission statement.
 Problem statement.
 Boundaries, beyond which the investigation
should not go.
 Specific issues to be addressed.
# Desired outcomes/outputs.
# Persons involved.
# Project administration including:
# timeframes;
# meetings;
# reporting guidelines;
# resources; and
# intervention strategies.
Terms of reference (ToR)
 a background narrative to the required
services
 objectives of the consultancy services
 a list of the specific tasks or duties to be
performed
 a schedule of deliverables/outputs for the
assignment against which to gauge
achievements
Cont….
 reporting lines and requirements
 the duration and timetable of the
assignment
 Requirement for a bidder to comment on
the terms of reference
 See attached table
Solicitation documents for
Consultancies
 Drafting to comply with prescribed formats
in the solicitation documents (SD)
 SDs specify ToR and expected input of key
personnel
 the amount and form of the required bid
security
 the amount and form of performance
security (bond) that shall be required
Cont…
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a valid bid
the bid submission methodology
the currency in which a bid is to be submitted
procedure for converting prices to a single
currency for evaluation purposes (including the
source and date of exchange rates to be used)
 the currency in which the contract price shall be
paid
 method for calculating variations in variable
prices, if required
 the method of payment
Cont…
 payment modalities, including any advance
payment, stage payments or payment
retentions and payment securities
 duration, timing of inputs and completion
schedule
 required deliverables or outputs
 the evaluation methodology and criteria
 type of contract to be placed
Cont…
 Confirmation of availability of key professional
staff, whose CVs are part of the bid
 signed statements of availability from key
professional staff included in the bid
 If a substitution of key professional staff is
unavoidable or agreed upon, substitute to be of
equivalent or superior qualifications and
experience
Bill of quantities
 Bill of quantities is used as a form of cost
planning and mapping to monitor and
control the construction cost during the
execution or post-contract period of
construction.
 These documents originated historically as
non-contractual measurements, taken off
drawings to assist tenderers in quoting
lump sum prices.
 Bills of quantities are drawn up and
specified by a cost professional called a
quantity surveyor and prepared in advance
to take into account the works required for
a project, and then later used as a tender
document to acquire bidding from the
contractors who would be interested in
winning the job.
 There are different styles of bills of
quantities, mainly the Elemental BOQ and
Trade Bills
 Quantity surveyors get their name from the Bill of
Quantities, a document which itemises the quantities of
materials and labour in a construction project. This is
measured from design drawings, to be used by the
contractors for tendering and for progress payments, for
variations and changes and ultimately for statistics,
taxation and valuation.
 At feasibility stage quantity surveyors use their
knowledge of construction methods and costs to advise
the owner on the most economical way of achieving his
requirements. Quantity surveyors may use techniques
such as Cost Planning, Estimating, Cost Analysis, Costin-use Studies and Value Management to establish a
project budget.
 During design the quantity surveyor ensures that
the design remains on budget through Cost
Management. Essential additions are offset by
identified other savings.
 On completion of design and drawings, the
quantity surveyor may prepare a Bill of
Quantities, which is issued with the specification,
for use by contractors in submitting tenders. The
contractor’s quantity surveyors/estimators
generally prepare tenders, and may price
alternatives for consideration
 They will also value changes to design or
quantities which may arise by reference to
appropriate Bill of Quantities rates. The
contractor’s quantity surveyor/contract
administrator will have prepared claims for
progress payments and additional work.
 As decisions involving large sums of
money are often made using information
produced by them they must be accurate in
all aspects of their work.
Value for money
 All public procurement of goods and
services, including works, must be based
on value for money, having due regard to
propriety and regularity. Value for money
is not about achieving the lowest initial
price. It is defined as the optimum
combination of whole life and quality
 To achieve value for money (VFM) goods
& services must be acquired through
competition. Unless, there are other
convincing reasons to the contrary
Value for money procurement can
be achieved through:
– Getting an increased level, quality, or service
at the same cost.
– Avoiding unnecessary purchases
– Ensuring that user needs are met but not
exceeded
– Specifying the purchasing requirement in
output terms so that suppliers can recommend
cost-effective and innovative solutions to meet
that need.
– Sharpening the approach to negotiations to
ensure the public sector get a good deal from
suppliers.
– Optimizing the cost of delivering the service
or goods over the full life of the contract rather
than minimizing initial price
– Aggregating transactions to obtain volume
discounts
– Horizontal collaboration (joint purchasing)
with other public sector enterprises to obtain
the best prices &secure discounts from buying.
Thank You