Mandatory site meetings, and why missing one ends your bid

Plenty of good bids are thrown out before anyone looks at the price. One of the most common reasons is simple: the bidder did not attend a mandatory site meeting.

It feels harsh. You can price a parking lot from the drawings, so why should a 30-minute walk matter? Because in public procurement, mandatory means mandatory, and a buyer that bends the rule for one bidder opens itself to a complaint from the others.

Why do buyers hold them?

• So everyone prices the same thing. Seeing the site reduces surprises, disputes and change orders later.
• To explain conditions that are hard to write down: access, storage, occupied areas, existing damage.
• To answer questions once, for everyone. Answers are usually confirmed later in an addendum.
• To filter out bidders who are not serious. Buyers would rather evaluate five real bids than fifteen guesses.

What happens if I miss it?

Usually your bid is declared non-compliant. Courts in Canada have supported buyers that enforce clear mandatory requirements, because under tender law the buyer owes all compliant bidders fair and equal treatment. Waiving a mandatory requirement for one bidder can be unfair to the others. See Contract A and tender law and why bids get disqualified.

Being late can count as missing it. So can sending someone who forgets to sign the attendance sheet, or signing in under the wrong company name.

Read the wording carefully

Tenders use different words, and they mean different things:

• "Mandatory site meeting": you must attend, usually at a set date and time. The sign-in sheet is the record.
• "Optional site visit" or "information meeting": recommended, not required.
• "Site visit by appointment": you arrange your own visit, sometimes still mandatory.

Check whether a subcontractor or agent can attend for you, whether the meeting can be attended online, and whether more than one session is offered. If the details are unclear, ask the contact person in writing before the date. See asking questions and reading addenda.

How to get the most out of the visit

Arrive early, with business cards and your exact legal business name for the sign-in sheet.

Bring tools: a measuring wheel or laser, a camera, a notepad and a copy of the drawings or scope.

Measure and photograph what the tender is vague about: the real size of the lot, the condition of floors, rooftop access, where you can stage equipment and where the water and power are.

Ask good questions, but expect official answers only in writing. Anything said at the meeting that changes the tender should appear in an addendum. If it does not, do not rely on it.

Look at who else is there. The sign-in sheet is often shared in an addendum. It tells you how much competition to expect and who it is. A meeting with three firms is a different market from one with twelve.

Notice what the buyer worries about. If the facility manager talks for ten minutes about complaints from the last contractor, that is what your bid should answer. Read what public buyers worry about.

Is it worth the drive?

A mandatory meeting can cost half a day plus travel for a remote site. Before you go, run a quick bid or no-bid check. If the work fits and you would bid, go. If you are unsure, go anyway when the trip is short, because the visit itself often settles the question.

And once you have attended, you are on a short list of firms the buyer has met in person. That alone can make you more competitive than the firms who stayed home.