Making the winning bid for a construction job was the main talking point at a seminar held by the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC) at Pembroke Sunday School yesterday.The three-hour information packed event was launched by BSBDC board member and construction committee member, Curtis Dickinson, who delivered a welcome speech encouraging attendees to take advantage of the opportunity to meet people who may be able to help advance their businesses.The opening presentation was delivered by Derrick Simmons, occupational safety and health officer from the Department of Health. Mr Simmons provided attendees with some helpful “do’s and don’ts” on occupational safety. He cautioned employers and employees about the importance of safety compliance, using a graphic video to demonstrate that a lack of compliance could be deadly.Following him was Pat Topley, principal and senior quantity surveyor for Trent Construction Consulting, who urged participants to cost jobs correctly, stressing the importance of being smart about managing schedules and processes when it involves costing the job and completing change order requests.He cited examples of how many subcontractors do work without change orders which ultimately ends up costing them. In addition to advice on change orders, he discussed the benefits of working with a project manager to give the right price for the job and to produce professional looking documents, thus giving the subcontractor the best chance to win the bid.After a 10-minute networking break, John Shovlin, quantity surveyor with BCM McAlpine discussed general contractors’ expectations when selecting sub-contractors. As financial manager for the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital redevelopment project, he shared the fact that registrations from subcontractors were still being accepted over the next three months. He listed the requirements that BCM McAlpine will look for when hiring a company, which included the types of insurance coverage needed: public liability, workman’s compensation and vehicle coverage. To make the process a little easier, Mr Shovlin said that his company has a registration form detailing the specific requirements for applicants.Representatives from three of the Island’s three banks were also on hand to provide information on what financing facilities were available for contractors. Tee Ogunyemi, vice-president of corporate banking at Butterfield Bank, discussed the mobilisation product that was negotiated with BSBDC for graduates of the Small Business Construction Incubator Programme. During his presentation, he cautioned: “Borrow exactly what your need. Do not risk not asking for enough financing that will allow you to complete the job.”To further discuss the requirements for being considered for financing, Andrew Cassidy, senior relationship manager for HSBC and head of the business banking construction team, reviewed the Five C’s of Credit: ”Capacity, Collateral, Character, Capital and Conditions”. He also stressed the importance of communicating with your bank during good and tough times.Rob Bernardino, head of business banking at Capital G, closed out the seminar with his presentation of the Capital G products available to help finance construction jobs. During the questions and answers session, Mr Bernardino encouraged attendees to be forthcoming with their applications so that the bank had the best chance at helping them secure financing.For more information on the event and upcoming seminars contact the BSBDC at info[AT]bsbdc.bm or visit the website at www.bsbdc.bm