Public procurement project management assistance

PMA method in 5 phases over 12 weeks

Kytom’s intervention aligns with the regulatory timetable and mobilises OPQIBI-certified PMA professionals, working with Qualibat inspection offices and a formalised internal quality system.

1. Programming (2 to 3 weeks): gathering user needs, auditing the existing building, drafting the functional and technical programme compliant with the MOP Act.
2. Consultation set-up (3 weeks): choice of procedure, justified allotment (article L.2113-10 of the Public Procurement Code), drafting of the DCE including CCAP, CCTP and consultation rules.
3. Advertising and analysis (4 to 6 weeks): BOAMP/JOUE publication, responses to questions, weighted multi-criteria analysis.
4. Award and notification (2 weeks): reasoned report, detailed rejection letters, compliance with the 11-day standstill.
5. Execution and acceptance: monitoring of service orders, approval of situations, operations preliminary to acceptance.

Over the average 12-week cycle, 6 weeks are devoted to the preliminary procedure, the remainder to managing the site. The 11 agencies cover France and Spain, allowing local intervention on multi-site operations of State operators.

Kytom’s position: full PMA is not always the right answer. Unlike the widespread practice among many competing PMA firms that maximise scope, below 80,000 EUR excl. VAT and on single-lot operations under 200 m², the cost of full PMA exceeds the expected litigation benefit: a one-off DCE review assignment is sufficient. Likewise, when the contracting authority has a well-staffed procurement department in-house (typically metropolitan areas with more than 250 public procurement staff), the PMA is limited to technical programming without duplicating the legal function.

For the B2B partner: what PMA changes for the profitability of a public contract

For a B2B partner (lead architect, engineering firm, construction economist, AV/IT integrator) responding to tertiary public contracts alongside Kytom, the economic centre of gravity is not litigation but the non-billable time absorbed by buyers’ questions and technical amendments. A robust DCE significantly reduces the overall timeframe by limiting BOAMP question-and-answer sessions and by incorporating regulatory requirements and environmental standards (HQE in particular) upstream, which eliminates late technical amendments, the main source of friction for engineering firms on a long cycle. Solid technical weighting also avoids the automatic award to the lowest bidder, which is common when price gaps between candidates are large.

For a B2B partner, the criterion for choosing a PMA is therefore not its rate but the ratio between the PMA cost and the technical amendments avoided over the standard timeframe. This is the metric we document at the end of the assignment, enforceable in the event of an audit by the regional audit chamber.

Measured benefits: limited appeals and controlled timeframes

Public operations supported by Kytom show a very low litigation appeal rate, well below the national averages reported in administrative litigation reviews. Three levers explain this difference:

• Robust DCE: precise consultation rules and an exhaustive CCTP limit candidates’ questions and changes during the procedure, significantly reducing procedure timeframes.
• Balanced multi-criteria analysis: price gaps between bids in tertiary fit-out can be significant; solid technical weighting avoids the automatic award to the lowest bidder.
• Environmental anticipation: the requirements of the tertiary decree and the usual environmental standards are integrated from the programming stage, which eliminates late technical amendments.

The average area per lot remains handled within a framework timeframe met on the vast majority of sites. At the end of the assignment, public buyers have a complete traceability file, enforceable in the event of an audit by the regional audit chamber.

Points of attention: allotment, standstill and the 2026 environmental criterion

Four points of vigilance structure PMA assignments on tertiary public contracts:

• Allotment (article L.2113-10 of the Public Procurement Code): insufficient allotment opens the way to pre-contractual interim relief; Kytom justifies each derogation (single lot) with an enforceable technical or economic reason.
• 11-day standstill between rejection notification and signature: any shortcut exposes to annulment. The 5-phase timetable incorporates this period.
• Environmental criterion mandatory as of 22 August 2026 (Climate and Resilience Act, article 35): CCTPs drafted since 2024 already anticipate this requirement to avoid a retroactive update.
• Retention of documents: 10 years for works contracts, 5 years for service contracts, in accordance with DGFiP instructions.

One limit to acknowledge: on sensitive operations (Defence, certain sovereign operators), Kytom’s dual technical-legal expertise does not cover the specific security clearance and confidentiality aspects, which fall to specialised PMA firms.