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Backgrounder: A Guide to Bidding and Supplementary Conditions for Health Care Projects

May 2, 2008

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is endorsing A Guide to Bidding & Supplementary Conditions for Healthcare Projects, created by the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) and the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). The guide will be an industry standard to be used in the capital planning process for health care projects.

Why was the guide created?

The guide was created to assist health care clients in preparing construction contracts so as to avoid issues that often interfered with the bidding and contract administration process for health care projects. In the past, these problems have included:

• Onerous contract conditions
• Declining bids
• Increasing contract disputes
• Inappropriate risk placement
• Poor instruction to bidders

How have these problems been addressed?

A stakeholder task group was established by the OGCA and OAA in 2005 to address the issue of qualified bids and contractual disputes for hospital project contracts. This resulted in the creation of the guide which provides standard supplementary conditions that are specifically related to health care projects. This includes the development of standardized construction documents which are considered key ingredients for the successful implementation of healthcare projects. 

The guide has now received accreditation from both the Ontario General Contractors Association and the Ontario Association of Architects.

Who was represented on the task group?

Task group stakeholders included representatives from the contracting industry, legal industry, the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA).  The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care participated on the task group as an observer and as a resource to clarify any issues raised concerning the ministry's capital planning process and policies.