The discussion of contractor qualification in the preceding section is closely related to limitations on the pool of tenderers. If there is no pre-qualification requirement, then any interested contractors are allowed to submit tenders. An invitation to tender is issued, as discussed in Chapter 3, and tenders are received and evaluated. Decisions regarding qualification are deferred until after receipt of tenders. If the criteria for selection are based on price alone, the owner must decide whether the low bid is both responsive to the tender announcement and responsible, meaning that the contractor is qualified to do the work. If criteria in addition to price are used to judge the tender, then measurements of qualification will be a part of this process and the end result should be an agreement with a qualified contractor.
