As has been pointed out by others already in this thread, it is naive at best to think that contractors are somehow forced into installing the product into a spec that the owner believes is reasonable. The theory is great, but the reality is a far cry from the theory. I've never seen a spec so black and white and so comprehensive that it holds a contractor to a high standard of quality throughout . In addition, I have yet to see an all-powerful engineer that is able to hold a contractor to a higher standard than the contractor is interested in meeting. As soon as the spec is grey the engineer holds no power.
In addition, the fact that purchasing holds all the power in picking the bidder fuels the problem, because the contractor is faced with no real penalty from shoddy work. They'll have the lowest price on the next bid too, so really, where's the incentive to meet a higher standard of quality? They'd have to royally screw things up to be taken off the pre-qualification list. And the purchasers don't care about quality of work or performance on other projects.
I do think it's funny that bid packages require so much information in them. Honestly, if every contractor put in a napkin with a dollar amount it would be enough information for the purchasers to make their decision.
In conclusion, I leave you with this:
