The Canadian Handbook of Practice (CHOP) and CCDC-23 are both silent on the subject of requests for substitutions. Such requests can occur during or following the bid period - either by invitation through the contract documents, or initiated by a bidder. These requests for substitution are typically from manufacturers or suppliers that are looking to have their product or material accepted as an alternate to or substitute for a specified product or material in order that a bidder can carry their product or material in their bid price.

The substitution requests require a consulting team to evaluate the product or material information in detail and may require submittal of a sample for review and comparison to the specified product or material. The process of reviewing and accepting substitutions can be time consuming, so it is important that this be managed through processes established in the bid documents.

If the bid documents permit, substitution requests are received during the bid period for consideration and approval. Acceptance is provided through issuance of an addendum identifying the specification section and material or product that has been agreed to. Substitution requests may have a different deadline than bid inquiries during the bid period, allowing the consulting team any additional time necessary to appropriately evaluate the request.

The bid documents can also include a Substitution Request form that bidders are required to utilize as part of the request for substitution process. This form will allow the consulting team to identify the minimum information that is required to appropriately facilitate the evaluation of the product or material. A sample“Substitution Request Form” is available on the OAA Website. This form can be added to the specifications so that any bidder wanting to request a substitution has a standardized format and provides the necessary information required for a proper evaluation. The OAA form is expected to be included in Division 01 of the specification.

Allowing substitutions can improve bid prices when a manufacturer or supplier is looking to get a new product out in the market or sell an outdated product, providing the product at a reduced cost, allowing bidders to pass these savings on to owners, and improving their own chance at being the successful bidder. There is also a risk that a substitution may not perform as well as the originally specified product or material. Some owners and consultants do not want to add any risk and do not allow substitutions during the bid process. Even then, a bidder may still submit a request in an effort to help them lower their bid price when they see that they can obtain a comparable product or material at a lower cost. These requests that arrive unsolicited can be considered or rejected and may arrive during the bid period or afterward during contract negotiations with the successful bidder.
Receipt of requests for substitutions after award of a contract are not uncommon and may result from the bidder wanting to pass along a cost-savings to the owner or could result from a discontinued product or material, or a product or material that has become difficult to obtain that may adversely affect the schedule. These “post-bid substitutions” should follow the same process as requests for substitutions during the bid process and should utilize a similar form for submission of the appropriate information for evaluation.

Another approach to substitutions that can be considered is to disallow substitutions during the bid process, avoiding the onerous task of evaluating multiple products or materials in a shortened time-frame, and to allow substitutions only after the award of contract where the substitution has either a cost or performance benefit to the owner and the project.

Whichever method or process is chosen, it must be clearly indicated within the bid documents with a defined procedure and preferably utilizing a prescribed form. Holders should be aware that only the criteria established in the specifications can be used in evaluating the acceptability of a proposed substitute. This argues for the development of robust specifications that contain the criteria needed to properly define the appearance, quality and durability of products or materials.

Refer to the OAA Website Practice Advisory Knowledge Base article tilted “Reviewing Substitutions and Alternates” for additional resources on this topic.