How many times have you sat through a lessons learnt session, discussed the issues, wrote the report only for it to be stored in a filing cabinet never to see the light of day again?

Sound familiar? Be truthful, how many have actually revisited the document or its findings after the session?

We all know the importance of learning from our mistakes.

A new project come in for tender, similar to one you completed a couple of years ago. One of the documents you should be reviewing are the lessons learnt from the previous project. Having that document gives you a huge advantage over your competitors:

• You know what works
• You know what doesn’t work
• You know the issues
• You have solutions to the issues
• You know where efficiencies can be made
• You’ve decreased project risk
• You’ve increased potential margin

It may be that after reviewing and incorporating the findings into your bid your price is actually higher than your competitors, this is ok. You’ve priced the bid correctly. Your competitors bid may be lower as they don’t have this information.Which bid has greater delivery & commercial risk?

When pricing be competitive with yourself, not your competitors.