MassHighway's Consultant Performance Evaluation explicitly measures the level of the sponsoring organization's satisfaction with a design and its components and, therefore, is included as a predictive measure in the model. Our research found that the most objective indicator of design quality is variation among construction bidders' prices. The competitive marketplace demands that bidders identify the least costly means of meeting project requirements. Their prices, however, must include allowances for uncertainties. When pricing contingencies, bidders are usually most influenced by clarity, thoroughness, and consistency of plans, specifications, and contract documents.
Contingencies are the primary differences among bidders' prices.
Unfavorable or low SPI and BVI indexes usually predict design-related extra work orders. Variations in construction quantities are obvious measures of the accuracy of estimates of those quantities. QEI is computed as 1.00 minus the quotient of quantity variations divided by the low bid price. Quantity variations are computed as the sum of the absolute differences between the final costs and bid amounts for all unit-priced items. CDQI is computed as the sum of the weighted values of the individual indexes.