Excel error caused a big mess in the procurement of a street maintenance contract – inspectors criticise the behaviour of Lahti officials

A torn spreadsheet showing a mistake in the tendering document. — One cell in the table in the tender dossier was missing a parcel of land. This error resulted in a significant increase in the target price for the southern area.

The city clarified the legal liability of officials in the procurement process for a street maintenance contract that went wrong.

A report on the actions of Lahti officials in the botched procurement of a street maintenance contract has been completed. The missing information in the excel sheet led to further clarification of the legal liability of the officials in the case.

The study has been commissioned by external auditors. The audit concerned a spreadsheet error in the procurement process and internal controls over the handling of the case.

A dispute also arose between the city and the contractor: in January 2024, the city started preparing a complaint to the district court.

Insufficient internal control

Inspectors highlight a few shortcomings. According to the review, the City Engineer and the Maintenance Manager had not arranged sufficiently effective internal control in financially significant, extensive and numerous details.

Therefore, an error in the invitation to tender was not detected in time. However, the inspectors state that, according to the information they received, this has not caused any financial damage to the city.

The inspectors also assessed how the city development director and city engineer who knew the mistake shared information to others about the financial risk and disagreement with the contractor. According to the report, the officials did not communicate the matter without delay or in a proper manner to the Urban Environment Committee and the city official management.

The officials of the Group Administration were informed of the mistake and the disagreement in September 2023.

Gaps in the information available to decision-makers

In October 2024, the Urban Environment Board decided to approve the agreement with the contractor with the contractor. The inspectors believe that the city engineer had not investigated the necessary information to the Board, as required by the Administrative Code, properly and sufficiently.

The preparation had not used the expertise of the city administrative and procurement law holders to ensure the content of the decision.

On Monday, March 24, the Lahti City Government will discuss additional clarification and action plan that lists ways to improve action so that no similar problems will be.