The Art of QBS

Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS):

Procuring Intellectual Services the Smart Way

Claude Paul Boivin, ACEC Canada

Title #1

When Hiring An Engineer, ChooseQuality and Avoid Fall Economies

Title #2

Title #3

The High Cost of Cheap Design

We Have Met The Enemy And

He Is Us

Pogo, 1972

Title #4

Generic MissionStatement

“We exist to make our

member firms more successful!

What guarantees success?

• Client gets quality • Client gets value• Client gets a product designed

to last

How to guarantee success?Client selects the right design

team– Qualified Engineers

Choosing the Right People is an Art

Intellectual services, such as engineering expertise, cannot be procured in the same way as commodities

like pencils and paper.

Would you choose your heart surgeon based on the lowest

price?

You would not hire an employee basedon the lowest salary proposed, wouldyou?

Then why allow engineers to beselected on price, especially

withPeople’s health and safety

often at stake?

Why are these facilities so successful?

• Well-designed• Well-built• Well-maintained

Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS)

Means…

• Accountability • Transparency• Effective use of public funds

QBS for Public Procurement Means…

• Quality• Value • Savings

Select a Firm Based On…

• Proven performance• Technical excellence• Proposed approach • Personnel and resources• Applicable knowledge or

experience• Understanding of client’s needs

The right team for the right project

Good Design Means Savings

QBS Means Quality

Selection focuses onclient’sneeds

Quality

Enemies of our Industry and Profession

• Low price bidding

• Reverse auctions

Benefits of (QBS)

A) Results in appropriate and wise

investment at design stage which:

• Fosters creativity

• Selects best design team and most appropriate technology

• Provides long-term value by reducing construction and life-cycle maintenance costs

B) Places emphasis on the client’s objectives and expectations of quality, well adapted to current conditions and future trends.

C) Provides a transparent selection system that focuses on competence, creativity and proven performance.

DANGERS of low-bid selection

A) Results in low investment at design stage which:

• Discourages innovation and evaluation of alternative approaches

• Results in use of less experienced personnel and fewer resources devoted to the project

• Leads to missed opportunities for savings in construction and life-cycle maintenance costs

B) Places emphasis on acceptable standards instead of expected quality

C) Selection focuses on lowest possible effort and lowest call on intellectual, conceptual and design resources.

The High Cost of Cheap Design

• Low use of available resources• Lost opportunity for innovation• Long-term higher cost

Low value

Low Price Means…

QBS Process

1. List qualified consultants2. Request proposals3. Select firm 4. Confirm scope 5. Negotiate fee based on

confirmed scope

Did You Say “Negotiate the

Fee”?

Best case scenario for both parties– Expected services

performed within client budget

– Fair and reasonable fee

Who Supports QBS?

• FIDIC – QBS is the optimal way to select a consultant

• United States government - QBS is the law (Brooks Act)

• The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), which defends the public interest

Top Ten Reasons for QBS1. High Quality2. The Experts you Need 3. Savings4. Sound Public Policy5. More Cost Certainty6. Transparency 7. Fees Correlate to Services8. Competitive Merit Based Process9. Better Scope Definition10.Opportunities for Innovation

WhatCan You Do?