Optional Site Visit

An optional site visit is a scheduled opportunity for a bidder or its representative to inspect the work site before submitting a bid. Attendance is not a condition of eligibility. A supplier that skips the visit can still submit a compliant bid, and a supplier that attends gains no special standing.

The term appears in Canadian solicitation documents for construction, maintenance, redevelopment, infrastructure and other work where site conditions can affect pricing or the proposed approach. It is the counterpart of a mandatory site visit, where only bidders who attend may be eligible to submit a bid. CanadaBuys buyer guidance says a site visit may be optional or mandatory and that the solicitation should state which one applies.

Optional versus mandatory: where the line sits

The difference is eligibility. Under a mandatory visit, missing the session can remove a bidder from the competition. Under an optional visit, the bidder decides whether the inspection is worth the time and cost. Shared Services Canada's standard instructions for procurement documents state that optional attendance does not prevent a bidder from submitting a bid. The same instructions provide that bidders may be asked to confirm attendance and identify the representatives who will attend.

How federal organizations apply the clause

Several federal organizations use the optional visit in their tenders, with small differences in wording and process.

• Parks Canada: a request for quote recommended that bidders or their representatives visit the work site. It required advance confirmation and the names of attendees, and stated that non-attendance would not preclude submission of a bid.
• Correctional Service Canada: a construction invitation to tender for fire-safety-system modernization at Millhaven Institution used an "Optional site visit" clause.
• Canadian Space Agency: an invitation to tender included an optional visit at its Saint-Hubert facility. Bidders wishing to attend had to confirm and provide representative information before the deadline.
• Health Canada: an RFP allowed the bidder or an authorized representative to request a visit, with advance written notice to the procurement officer.
• National Capital Commission: an NCC tender made a non-mandatory visit available on request and stated that bidders bear their own attendance costs.
• National Research Council Canada: an RFP recommended a visit, required advance confirmation, and specified the meeting location and timing.

What a bidder is expected to do before attending

A supplier that intends to visit should read the solicitation for the exact date, time, location, access, security and safety requirements. Most of the examples above require confirmation of attendance in advance, along with the names of the people who will attend.

Questions that come out of the visit go through the contracting authority, not through site staff. Where the solicitation says so, any resulting clarification or change is issued by amendment. Bidders should also not assume a missed visit will be rescheduled, because some Canadian solicitations, such as this RFP, expressly state that no alternative appointment will be provided.

What an optional site visit means for your bid

You can bid without attending, so the visit is a business decision. For work where site conditions drive cost, schedule or method, such as construction, renovation or maintenance in an occupied facility, attending lets you price from direct observation rather than from drawings alone.

• Check the solicitation to confirm the visit is optional and not mandatory.
• Note the confirmation deadline and send attendee names on time.
• Plan for your own attendance costs.
• Send questions to the contracting authority and watch for amendments.

Treat the confirmation step as a firm requirement even though the visit itself is optional. Missing the confirmation deadline can mean losing access to the session.