Use case
Clause-by-clause compliance matrix and technical deviation list for RFQs and tenders
Check the customer's spec package against your datasheets, one requirement at a time, with quoted evidence. Then export the compliance matrix and the deviations & clarifications list for your engineers to review.
Last reviewed:
Problem and approach
A valve RFQ or tender package holds many documents. There are project specifications, a material requisition (MR), an inspection and test plan (ITP), datasheets, and the standards they call up, such as API 6D. The bid engineer or project manager must answer every clause against the company's own datasheets. Then they write the technical deviation list that goes back with the offer. By hand, it is easy to miss a clause buried in long text. That clause often comes back later as a technical query (TQ) in the EPC's technical bid evaluation (TBE). Or it shows up after the order as a re-test or a non-conformance.
OdysseyGPT reads each document in the package to work out what it is. Then it works through the customer's requirements, row by row. It compares each requirement only with the documents that can answer it. It marks each one complies, deviates, clarification or not addressed. Each status comes with a quote from your document, page, sheet or cell, checked against the source. If a requirement needs a document the package does not have, it is flagged as a document to request. Your engineers review the open items. Then they export the compliance matrix and the deviations & clarifications list.
Key Takeaways
- Compare a customer's spec package with your datasheets, clause by clause. Then draft the compliance matrix and technical deviation list for a valve, pump or instrument RFQ or tender.
- One line for each customer requirement. It shows the status, where it sits in the spec, the quoted evidence and the reviewer's decision.
- The exceptions you take, the questions you need answered and the documents you need sent. It goes to the customer as a deviations & clarifications list.
Benefits
- Clause-by-clause compliance matrix: One line for each customer requirement. It shows the status, where it sits in the spec, the quoted evidence and the reviewer's decision.
- Technical deviation list: The exceptions you take, the questions you need answered and the documents you need sent. It goes to the customer as a deviations & clarifications list.
- Nothing silently skipped: Every source row is reviewed, or set aside with a reason. Requirements your documents don't answer are listed as not addressed.
- Fewer surprises at TBE: State deviations and clarifications up front. Then the evaluator has fewer open points to raise as TQs.
Workflow
- 1. Upload the spec package and your datasheets
Add the customer's specifications, material requisition, ITP, datasheets and referenced standards. Add your own datasheets and test procedures too. PDF, Word, Excel and CSV all work.
- 2. Review requirement by requirement
Each requirement is paired with the documents that can answer it. It gets a status and quoted evidence.
- 3. Resolve the open items
Your engineers decide the clarifications, the not-addressed items and the documents to request. They edit the wording.
- 4. Export the compliance matrix and deviation list
Download editable spreadsheets for the tender or RFQ response. Internal to-dos stay on a separate sheet.
Related agents
Frequently asked questions
What is a technical deviation list?
It lists the points where your offer differs from the customer's specification (deviations). It also lists the questions you need answered before you can comply (clarifications). It goes back to the customer with the offer, usually as a deviations & clarifications list.
How is a compliance matrix different from a deviation list?
The compliance matrix answers every requirement, including those you meet. The deviation list carries only the exceptions and questions. OdysseyGPT drafts both from the same review.
Does it work for a valve RFQ against API 6D?
Yes, if the standard or your API 6D documents are in the review. Requirements are compared with the documents you provide. If a requirement needs a document that isn't there, it is flagged as a document to request. It is not guessed.
Does it read drawings?
No. Engineering drawings such as general arrangements and P&IDs aren't interpreted, so review those yourself.