Responding to an MEP engineering tender (HVAC, plumbing, electrical design firm — EU 2026)

The MEP engineer and the MEP design firm intervene before and during the works on a building's technical lots: heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC), sanitary plumbing, high- and low-current electrical, smoke extraction, building services. Their contracts are intellectual services, distinct from works contracts. Several families stand out.

• Design studies for the technical lots: HVAC, plumbing and electrical sizing of a public building (school, hospital, library, social housing), from sketch to the tender documents for the works firms.
• Engineering-management (project supervision) missions in co-contracting: the MEP firm works within a team led by an architect or a lead contractor, on its technical lots, from design to site supervision.
• Energy audits and performance studies: audit of a building estate, energy master plan, feasibility study for a change of heating or cooling system.
• Engineering framework agreements: design or client-assistance missions triggered by successive call-off orders over 1 to 4 years, for a property portfolio or an authority.

Across the 27 member states the threshold logic is identical: a public buyer publishes above the European thresholds on TED, below them on its national platform. An MEP firm established in one country may bid for a cross-border mission subject to freedom to provide services and recognition of its engineering qualifications.

The first challenge is costing an intellectual service. Unlike a works lot, there is no materials schedule: the price is built by estimating the workload per phase (sketch, preliminary design, detailed design, project, tender assistance, site supervision) and per profile (lead engineer, design engineer, modeller, draftsperson), expressed in man-days multiplied by an average day rate specific to each profile. Underestimating the workload loses margin across the whole mission; overestimating it loses the contract. The fee must therefore reflect a realistic breakdown, consistent with the schedule and the exact scope of the MEP lots.

The second challenge is the methodology proposal. The buyer scores technical value on precise criteria: installation sizing methodology (heat-loss calculations, flow rates, power balances, balancing), regulatory energy performance (RE2020-type rules, dynamic thermal simulation, sobriety), low-carbon approach, quality of the assigned team and its CVs, management of the interface with the other lots, and similar project references. A generic proposal is penalized: you must show concretely how the team will size and coordinate the MEP lots of the specific project being tendered.

The third challenge is BIM production and qualification. Many contracts require production in a BIM model with an imposed level of detail and BIM execution plan, as well as engineering qualifications (such as OPQIBI for MEP/energy domains in France) and professional insurance suited to the intellectual service. The ESPD/DUME is required in EU public procurement; a false statement or expired qualifications lead to rejection of the bid.

The assistant starts from the tender: you upload the tender file (PDF), it extracts the buyer, the mission object, the scope of the MEP lots, the expected phases, the award criteria and weighting, and the buyer's language. The technical proposal is then structured to develop the most heavily weighted criteria first (sizing methodology, energy performance, team, references), in the contract's language.

For the financial offer, you enter your profiles and their day rates (lead engineer, design engineer, modeller, draftsperson) as well as your workload estimate per phase. The assistant formats the man-day × day-rate breakdown, computes the sub-totals per phase and the overall fee excl. VAT, applies VAT and produces an editable financial table. No amount is invented: a phase without a workload or day rate entered is marked "to complete".

• Methodology proposal structured around the tender's award criteria (sizing, energy performance, team, references).
• Financial breakdown in man-days × day rate per phase and per profile (editable export).
• Pre-filled ESPD/DUME draft for EU public procurement.
• Template for presenting the team and similar MEP project references.
• Deliverables in PDF, editable Word and spreadsheet, in the buyer's language.
• Your profiles, day rates and reference templates stay confidential, reusable across tenders.

You stay in control: the assistant produces a solid base that you verify, complete with your real references, your sizing calculations and your CVs before signing and submitting. It replaces neither your engineering expertise nor legal advice — it removes the hours of formatting and structuring, where most of the time is spent on a design response.

A controlled response follows a stable sequence, whether the mission is public or private, in France or elsewhere in the EU.

• Monitoring: spot relevant MEP design and engineering-management missions on the platforms (TED, buyer profiles).
• Tender analysis: mission object, scope of the MEP lots, phases, award criteria and weighting, BIM and qualification requirements.
• Go/no-go decision: available skills, similar project references, team workload, possible co-contracting, achievable deadlines.
• Costing: man-day × day-rate breakdown per phase and per profile, consistent with the schedule and scope.
• Methodology proposal: answer the criteria, sizing method, energy performance, presentation of the team and references.
• Administrative documents: ESPD/DUME, qualifications (MEP/energy engineering), professional insurance, BIM execution plan where applicable.
• Electronic submission before the deadline, with e-signature where required.

The BoostPro IA assistant handles steps 4 to 6 — the most time-consuming — producing proposal, man-day breakdown and DUME in under ten minutes from your real data. You focus your time on strategy (technical positioning, team selection, references to highlight) rather than formatting.