Re: Bidding contract question.

Posted by Billy NY on February 01, 2014 at 10:05:08 from (72.226.79.200):

In Reply to: Bidding contract question. posted by oldtanker on February 01, 2014 at 08:49:10:

In the public sector there is a reason for it. Lowest bid may not be the best bid. There are pre-qualifications and many other pre-award requirements,that will insure that the contract documents, plans and specifications are adhered to. It's one thing to do pre-construction planning, design, send it out to bid, there needs to be an experienced manager from project inception, pre-construction, contract award, project kick off. project start, substantial completion, and contract close out. Large jobs, require experienced people to manage. I've done well over $500M both public and private in my career, I've seen quite a bit, and contractors can be from the absolute best to the lowest forms of life, as a construction manager its your job to deal with all of it, one of the biggest challenges on the job is problem solving during the actual construction. It boils down to time and money like most things, but depending on how well the contract documents are created, how well the contractors perform and who is managing the project, this will dictate the final outcome. Sure, there are special situations, unforseen things, blowouts in the budget or schedule, but its the mitigation thereof or what is done to recover or minimize this right from the start. The larger the job, the more complicated it can get, also the type of job will dictate the degree of complexity. I could go all day on this if you are talking large dollar complex jobs.

With what you are talking about and what most are familiar with here, the jobs may not be as complex, but we did see a really nice dairy/barn, modern farm, building constructed that was posted here, was it in PA ?That job was more than just a core and shell, it had dairy equipment, and other long lead items that needed to be coordinated, planned so that the equipment was delivered on time, the building is constructed in coordination providing a correct fit. Also important that the M.E.P. is correct, (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) for all equipment is installed, no other conflicts or problems, all of this has to be planned and checked up front by a competent person or the job will suffer, both higher cost and longer duration, which is an owners worst enemy. The principles and practices of large scale construction practices do apply and can be used very effectively on the smallest of jobs, using common sense. Time + money, no farmer has time for a bunch of nonsense, like any owner they need the best job for the money, done on time and that meets the plans and specifications.

The job should be organized the same way as larger scale jobs are, its just smaller, less line items, the philosophy applies and is effective. You need to verify the contractor is competent in all areas of the work, you must check several previous jobs, you need to know they are financially stable, adequately insured you need to know who the superintendent or foreman will be on the job daily, what are their qualifications and experience. These are "boiler plate" requirements, contractor gives you a decent price, but cannot demonstrate the above to satisfy an owner, they should never be allowed on the job or awarded a contract, its that simple, its a recipe for disaster. If you (owner) cannot be there daily, someone else must be to instill upon said contractor, that the job must be done on time within budget, and meet all contract requirements, plans spec's, close out items, timely resolution of changes to the contract, documenting any time and materials if for some reason something needs to be done on T&M and so many other things similar. You or someone has to be there to see what is going on, and make sure that contractor knows and is abundantly clear on the expectation that they meet any and all contract requirements. At the kick off meeting a good superintendent will ring the bell loud and clear, contractors must know that if they deviate from what is expected or required, do not think for one minute your contract won't be terminated, which is undesirable. They need to execute their contract, perform their work knowing what is expected up front, know someone is watching as well is there on site to help them achieve this goal, solving problems. The main objective for them is to get the job, perform the work, meet the contract requirements, get paid and go on to the next job, some just don't get this. Those I do not want on any of my jobs. Talk means nothing in this business, you can award a contract to the best reputable contractor, there's always a chance they could fall flat on their face. Lowest responsive bid may not be the best bid, there could be an omission, error or other problem. On public jobs, there is collusion, bid rigging, and kickbacks to mitigate, where they receive prevailing wages, but don't pay the trades that, all kinds of games they can try to play, and that is why these controls are in place. NYS has, well at least NYS OGS has changed from Lump Sum contracts to another method, recently I have been trying to obtain employment with companies awarded construction management contracts with this agency, being its close to where I live and I have recently seen the changes on how they award contracts. I don't recall all the details, but there is no doubt its done to better protect their interest. I did $250M worth of work with them years ago very successfully. People think all state agencies are a joke, we managed large complex jobs very effectively, some of their key people were very instrumental in the success that was achieved. An owner has to be represented, small or large, you never just let a contractor on the job after award walk away, then expect to get exactly what is required. A manager will stand on the pedestal of the contract documents, enforce the requirements, from start to finish using industry standards or methods to make sure the owner gets what they pay for, it goes a lot deeper than the bid or award, payment, performance bonds, and sometimes default can occur. This is where the bonding company is employed with their contractors to finish a job that a contractor has failed to complete, those get messy real quick. I've done several of them in my career, I kind of specialize in problem jobs. I could go on all day, its all in the planning, pre-qualification, administration of the contract and the daily supervision that gets the job done right, along with the documents being complete before bidding with minimal deficiencies. Bad documents will make for a problem job, bad design too, there is a lot to consider, never be in a rush, plan things early like starting a job early enough in the season so that when the following winter arrives you are inside, the building is closed in etc. Things like that make the job go easier and increase quality. How many of us have seen less than desirable circumstances with contractors, on smaller, farm, residential, light commercial or similar types of jobs. I'll bet every person who participates on this forum can cite good examples of it, its always been a real problem since way back when.

Its 2014, we live in very modern times with all kinds of technology, yet its still a common problem, bad contractors. This keeps people like me busy, so as long as there are poor contractors there will always be a need for top notch project managers, superintendents, foreman and so on, large or small projects, its just how that industry is.

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