EPC and DB(F)M(O) contracting have implications for the distribution of tasks/responsibilities between public and private contractors. This has consequences for the way you organize the client and public procurement processes and the way the contracts are managed. In order to facilitate the preparation, tendering and management of such contracts Energinvest has developed, with Fedesco, the Federal Energy Services Company, a set of standardized procurement and contracting documents, tools and guidance materials that provide substantial cost and performance benefits. The smartEPC Manual and Tendering Documents helps you:

• defining your procurement strategy early in the project;
• to scroll the EPC tendering route efficiently and professionally;
• completing a professional contract management;
• to reduce the procurement cost thanks to a ready-to-use set of documents

The smartEPC Manual and Tendering Documents set includes:

• A highly standardized and quality driven EPC Contract and set of Tendering Documents, plus annexes, including the following:
  • Procurement notice
  • Qualification and awarding guidelines
  • Contract notice
  • Terms for implementation of the negotiated procedure
  • Annexes and guidelines for the contracting body
  • Annexes and guidelines for applicants
• A Manual for the end user integrating the role of the EPC project facilitator with guidelines for all phases of the EPC project process:
  • Project preparation
  • Drafting specifications
  • Contract tendering
  • Contract implementation
  • Contract follow-up
• Various checklists and templates for all the legal documents and protocols to be used in the course of the tendering procedure.

The Manual and the Tendering Documents are structured in an “intelligent” and ready to use master document, with a Word/PDF editable text and unique Excel attachement, that forms the basis of the EPC contract (private sector) or the EPC tender documents (public sector). The master document serves as a “template” for the collection of all the relevant project information, with a clear distinction of the information which has to be provided by the contracting authority and the project facilitator in the different stages of project preparation and drafting specifications, as well as the information that has to be integrated by the applicants in their bids. The documents are thus an information process management tool (capture).

The smartEPC Manual and Tendering Documents are currently used in various EPC projects at national and local level in Belgium and abroad. The frame for which the set has been developed is that of energy performance and maintenance contract (EPC-M), thus including maintenance-facility operations. The smartEPC Manual and Tendering Documents are fully compatible with the public procurement (Belgian) law, according to the "negotiated procedure" which is, with the "competitive dialogue", one of the suitable procurement procedures for energy performance contracts. In a near future, Energinvest will also release a complete set for the “Competitive Dialogue” procedure.