For Mechanical Contractors
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Mechanical · HVAC · Plumbing

Equipment Lead Times
Are Your Biggest
Bid Risk.

A chiller or AHU with a 20-week lead time means your schedule lives and dies on a purchase order that has to be placed before the ink is dry on the contract. Vernier factors equipment procurement into your bid posture, schedule, and risk register — so you're protected before you sign, not after.

12–24 wk
Lead times on major mechanical equipment in current market
WSEC
WA Energy Code compliance flagged in Mode D before you bid
Mode B
Fast ROM estimates for MEP budget conversations before drawings exist
Start with a Review
A mechanical bid that lost on price, schedule, or scope. Randy reviews it and tells you what it would have taken to win.
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What We See in Mechanical Businesses

Four Margin Leaks
Specific to Mechanical.

🏭
Equipment lead times not in the bid posture
A schedule that assumes a 6-week chiller lead time when the actual lead time is 22 weeks isn't a schedule — it's a liability. Every week your project slips because of procurement is a week your crew isn't billing. Lead time risk belongs in your risk register and your contract, not discovered after NTP.
⚡
Energy code non-compliance found at inspection
Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) and ASHRAE 90.1 requirements change every code cycle, and mechanical systems are the primary compliance driver. Non-compliance found at final inspection means $15,000–$40,000 in equipment upgrades or system modifications — after you've already billed 95% of the contract.
🔧
HVAC/plumbing coordination scope gaps
Where does the HVAC contractor's scope end and the plumbing contractor's begin on a hydronic system? On a medical building with humidification, medical gas, and chilled water? These boundaries are ambiguous in 80% of specs. The contractor who doesn't document assumptions pays for the ones the other trade missed.
📐
Design-build without complete MEP documents
Being asked to price mechanical scope from schematic drawings or a performance specification is standard on design-build — but it means you're pricing assumptions, not scope. Without a formal scope development letter, every assumption becomes a potential change order dispute or an absorbed cost when the owner's expectations don't match yours.
Vernier for Mechanical Contractors

Modes Built for How
Mechanical Bids Work.

B
Primary Mode · Budget / ROM
MEP budget estimates before drawings exist
Mechanical contractors get pulled into owner conversations at the schematic phase more than any other trade. Mode B generates a defensible ROM range with documented assumptions — the right answer to "what will mechanical cost?" when the answer to that question is still "it depends."
D
Primary Mode · Plan Review
WSEC and ASHRAE compliance before you bid
Mode D reviews mechanical documents against energy code requirements, identifies coordination conflicts between trades, and flags equipment specifications that may not meet current energy code. Catch these in the bid, not at inspection.
C
Supporting Mode · Scope Development
Scope letter for design-build and incomplete documents
When you're bidding from schematic or performance specs, Mode C generates the formal Scope Development Letter that defines exactly what you've priced and what requires design resolution before a hard number is possible. Protects you on every design-build project.
A
Full Mode · Complete Bid Package
Tiered proposals with equipment lead time risk register
Full bid with Platinum/Gold/Silver tiers, schedule matrix with procurement milestones built in, and risk register that flags equipment lead time exposure. Owners who see a schedule with "chiller — order by Week 2" know you've actually thought about how to build the job.
Energy code non-compliance cost
$15K–$40K
The cost range of retrofitting mechanical equipment or controls systems for energy code compliance when it's caught at final inspection — after you've completed installation. For a commercial HVAC system, this typically means equipment replacement, controls upgrades, or commissioning rework.

Vernier Mode D catches the compliance gaps before your bid goes out, not after your equipment is in the ceiling.
From the Knowledge Base
"When an owner tells you your bid came in over their budget, the instinct is to sharpen your pencil. In 20+ years of commercial construction, I've seen that reflex cost contractors more money than it ever saves them. Most bids come in high for one of three reasons — and only one of them is a pricing problem."
Randy Hanson · From: "The 3 Reasons Your Bids Come In Over Budget"
Read the article →
Mechanical Contractor Benchmarks

Where Mechanical
Margins Typically Live.

Typical gross margin (commercial HVAC)
16–18%
Industry average for commercial HVAC in WA
Target with Vernier
20–22%
From better scope documentation and posture
Design-build scope growth (avg)
18%
Without formal scope development letter
With Mode C scope letter
6%
Documented changes become paid change orders

Equipment Lead Time Risk Is Priced In or Absorbed. Your Choice.

The next bid you submit for a project with major equipment — whether it wins or loses — should have procurement milestones in the schedule and lead time risk in the risk register. Vernier builds both automatically.

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