Mr. Fred Barry:

Normally, a firm goes out to tender at an early stage if it is in a hurry to get the job done. That can be a big driver of the job. That is normally what is behind going out to tender, although sometimes firms want to get contractors if the job is complex because they can contribute a great deal to the design development. Typically, people are under time pressure and that is a factor.

That time pressure never goes away. In private sector jobs one does not normally have it as clean cut as it is here, where one starts off with approximate quantities and X months later. One has a contract price that includes everything but very often one starts off with approximate quantities and works one's way towards resolutions or guaranteed maxima on jobs as the job goes along. Replacing the contractor is very rare. In addition, the private sector has more robust remedies available than the public sector.