The new version of Publicly Available Specification 91, the government-backed standard pre-qualification questionnaire, will ask suppliers about their experience of building information modelling.
The two-year old standard PQQ form is also being updated to be more suitable for the pre-selection of consultants, as part of a drive to increase its uptake across the public and private sectors.
The standard form was introduced in 2010 to provide a universally acceptable questionnaire for public and private sector clients and reduce the PQQ burden for smaller companies.
It was officially mandated for use from January 2011 in all central government departments – including their agents and agencies – and all non-departmental public bodies, and featured as a key plank in the Government Construction Strategy launched in May 2011. However, local authority and public sector clients still routinely use their own bespoke pre-qualification systems. It has also emerged that the Cabinet Office has no monitoring system to measure take-up across the public sector.
A consultation on the draft version of the updated PAS91 has just concluded. The drafting committee convened by the British Standards Institute, which authored the original form, will study the comments and issue a final version before Christmas, according to Brian Such, project manager at BSI Standard Solutions.
The draft asks about an organisation’s understanding, capability and willingness in BIM, said Such. “In the last two years interest in building information modelling has grown rapidly – and it felt appropriate and helpful to expand in this direction.” The government has mandated BIM on all public projects from 2016.
Peter Caplehorn, technical director of architect Scott Brownrigg and a member of the drafting committee, said the existing incarnation of the PQQ was totally unsuitable for consultants because of the questions it asked – such as safety record and accident frequency rates. The new version would make these optional.
The BSI’s Brian Such has blamed the poor take-up on the failure of stakeholders to properly sell the scheme when it was launched in 2010 and give it the necessary push.
PAS 91: second attempt
Questions will be divided into required and optional categories:
Required
• Supplier identity, key roles and contact information
• Financial information
• Business and professional standing
• Health and safety policy and capability
Optional
• Equal opportunity and diversity policy and capability
• Environmental management policy and capability
• Quality management policy and capability
• Building Information Modelling
