27th November 2008, 10:18 PM
What exactly is meant on here by "undercutting"? Naturally firms invited to tender, in limited competition, for a contract submit their best price for the work: that is the general idea and precisely what happens in the rest of the construction industry and indeed in most other industries. Whether the whole concept of commercial archaeology is a good one or not is another question (and I agree that is highly unlikely to change) but I think it's important to clarify that tendering for contracts is a perfectly normal procedure and not inherently evil. "Undercutting" normally means something entirely different, that is knowingly submitting a price below that of a competitor whether or not it is feasible. Obviously one does not (one hopes) know competitors' tender figures at the time. That said, in times of recession it is not uncommon for firms with enough squirreled away to "buy" work simply to keep going and the staff in work.
Quality etc and work being not being done "to spec" is an industry problem. I would suggest that the solution lies with better procedure more akin to the construction industry upon which commercial archaeology is modelled: better specs, more detailed and comprehensive, with better administration of contracts (often incorrectly termed "supervision")by the appropriate parties. In short, contractors should know exactly what and how much is required by when, and they get paid for that, no more and no less. There is no greater incentive to producing good work than the knowledge that you won't get paid if you don't.
Quality etc and work being not being done "to spec" is an industry problem. I would suggest that the solution lies with better procedure more akin to the construction industry upon which commercial archaeology is modelled: better specs, more detailed and comprehensive, with better administration of contracts (often incorrectly termed "supervision")by the appropriate parties. In short, contractors should know exactly what and how much is required by when, and they get paid for that, no more and no less. There is no greater incentive to producing good work than the knowledge that you won't get paid if you don't.