A yard quotation is not a price. It is a description of what the yard has decided to be responsible for — and, just as importantly, what it has decided is your problem. Read as an owner, the quote is the first place a project is either controlled or lost.
What to read for
- Scope clarity. Is each item defined by an outcome and an acceptance criterion, or by a vague heading? Vague headings become change orders.
- Exclusions. What has been deliberately left out — staging, cleaning, gas-freeing, disposal, Class attendance — and who carries it.
- Day-rate vs lump-sum boundaries. Which work is fixed and which is open-ended, and exactly what triggers the switch.
- The change mechanism. How a variation is raised, priced and approved — agreed before work starts, not negotiated mid-dock.
- Acceptance and evidence. What proves an item complete, and who witnesses it.
The owner’s move
Convert the quote into a controlled specification with hold points and an acceptance matrix, so the yard is held to one baseline through change. The goal is not the lowest number on day one — it is the most predictable number at closeout.