Factors influencing building contractors' pricing for time-related risks in tenders

The contractors' pricing for contract risks in tenders determines how much the employers have to pay for the risk transfer. Therefore, understanding the factors influencing the contractors' pricing for contract risks is crucial for employers to optimize the cost effectiveness of risk allocation in contracts. This study investigates the factors that contractors perceive to be important when they are pricing "time-related" contract risks. A questionnaire survey was designed for collecting data from building contractors currently operating in Hong Kong. Contractors were not only required to rate the importance of individual factors, but also to state the cost implications when compared with normal pricing in the absence of the concerned factor. The findings reveal that a single factor may have two-sided implications (both inflating and deflating the prices) for which they can be in unequal scales. These scales vary according to the contractor size and the reasons of the differences are investigated. The findings also assist employers in formulating a cost effective contract strategy by equipping them with the necessary knowledge.