I agree with standardised PQQ’s about as much as I agree with world peace; great in principal, but is it a reality? Okay, so maybe it is a touch dramatic to compare PQQ’s to world peace, but standardising PQQ’s will be a colossal mission- can it be done? I asked the question on Twitter a few weeks back, “What annoys you most about PQQ’s” and we got the same answer – Repetition. So can it be done? Here a look at some of the (my) pros and cons.
On the pro side of standardised PQQ’s it will be far easier (can I stress that again, far easier) for suppliers, it would save everyone money and frustration and above all it would save time from answering the same questions over and over and over and over and over……
On the con side, every region, sector, industry and public body want to have their own standardised PQQ. This to me, would seem like it would dilute the idea of a standardised PQQ if everyone just had their own. Would we all be back to filling out different PQQ’s for every region, sector, industry and public body?
The Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) is urging the 74 councils and 9 fire authorities in the South East to use their standardised PQQ. The OGC also have their own standardised PQQ’s, including one for above threshold and one for below threshold. Buyers can find links to these on the website to use. The Scottish Government are also working on their own PQQ, while The Department for Business, Skills and Innovation have come up with a Standardised PQQ or the PAS 91:2010 for the construction industry.
So already we are seeing standardised PQQ’s crop up everywhere. The chances are suppliers are probably only tendering in the same area, the same sector, the same everything every time, so it makes sense for them, however what about those suppliers who are tendering all over the UK or Europe or those suppliers who tender in the grey area of construction (Service vs Construction contract). Where does that leave them? I don’t claim to be an expert with Standardised PQQ’s, I do know however that I am in support of the idea. Does anyone have any experience using standardised PQQ’s yet? What did you think? Let us know.
