Construction Contract Administration

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Construction Contract Administration
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Randy Over

• District Construction Engineer, ODOT District 12

Ohio Department of Transportation
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Construction Contract Administration

• Getting Contract Administration off on the Right
  Foot.. Prior to PreCon
• DBE Goals
• ODOT Qualified DBEs
• Total s Meet Goal or.
• Approved Waiver
• Qualified Staff
• Names and qualifications of engineers and
  inspectors
• Testing Lab is AMRL certified

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Construction Contract Administration

• Getting Contract Administration off on the Right
  Foot.. Prior to PreCon
• Make sure District Construction LPA Coordinator
  are involved in PreCon planning, 2 weeks prior to
  meeting, invitations sent
• Draft invoice from District Construction, review
  funding amounts and categories w/DCE or designee
• Hold stand alone PreAward meeting if LPA and/or
  consultant is new to process, project is unique,
  etc., otherwise complete by phone or combine
  w/PreCon

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Construction Contract Administration

• Getting Contract Administration off on the Right
  Foot.. Prior to PreCon
• Last, but not least DBE/EEO/Prevailing Wage
  personnel understand Federal and State
  requirements, District personnel available to
  answer questions, shadow LPA/consultant
  personnel

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• PreCon/PreAward
• Letter

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• PreAward
• Outline

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Construction Contract Administration

• Having a successful PreCon. Best Practices
• Contractor comes prepared with.
• List of subcontractors
• List of suppliers (ODOT approved)
• List of proposed JMFs
• Proposed schedule showing important milestones
• Everyone prepared with.
• Contact info and sign-in sheet
• Contractors and LPA/Consultants Decision Trees
  and hierarchy to resolve disputes
• LPA/Consultant
• Tape recorded and/or minutes taken and circulated
• Rep of Design Consultant, Testing Lab, ODOT CM,
  ODOT LPA Coordinator, District EEO/DBE/Prevailing
  Wage, LPA EEO/DBE/Prevailing Wage personnel

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Construction Contract Administration

• The First Shovel of Dirt Has Moved.Best
  Practices as the project moves forward
• Weekly submissions of payrolls
• Completion of Daily Diaries
• Weekly, Biweekly or Monthly Progress Meetings
  including Construction Monitor (CM)
• Materials are checked against ODOT certified
  materials lists
• JMFs are ODOT approved

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example Job Mix Formula (JMF)

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Construction Contract Administration

• The First Shovel of Dirt Has Moved.Best
  Practices as the project moves forward
• Through District Testing, OMM involved for steel
  fab, concrete beam shop approvals, if there is a
  timely request and staff is available
• Track disposition of failed materials
• Track materials use against PreCon suppliers

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Construction Contract Administration

• Getting Everyone Paid.Best Practices for
  submitting invoices and getting approvals
• Aim for a 30 day turnaround for all parties.
• Daily Diaries w/quantities
• LPA, Consultant and ODOT reviews in parallel
• 10 working days for ODOT to approve and submit
  for reimbursement or direct pay
• Central Office turnaround 10 working days
• Include only approved change orders
• Dont pay for it if it isnt acceptable (dont
  rely on retainage)
• Dont include retainage
• Clearly note 100 local items

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Construction Contract Administration

• Getting Everyone Paid.Best Practices for
  submitting invoices and getting approvals
• Consultant LPA Staff Invoices
• ODOT approved overhead rates
• Summary sheet
• Include timesheets and/or monthly reports
• Request for increases must be accompanied by
  justification, project completion date extended,
  extensive extra work, change in overhead rate
  mid-project, etc.
• Should be in the range or 10-15 of contractor
  payments
• Requests to District Construction Offices
• Plan for Encumbrance Increases in advance..
• Proof of matching funds paid

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• Invoice for
• Contractor

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• Invoice for
• Consultants
• LPAs

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Construction Contract Administration

• So there is a changed condition, what next.
• Extend existing bid items.
• Extra Work. No existing bid item
• Funding Caps and Contract limits?
• Contractor wont agree to a price?
• Hope and pray..
• Justification to ODOT for additional funds.

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Construction Contract Administration

• Justification to ODOT for additional funds.
• Establishment of a fair price.
• Extend bid items
• Establish a new bid item, similar work on other
  contracts, cost analysis
• Last choice, force account
• Required to complete project as scoped
• Doesnt impact environmental approvals/permits
• Communication to CM before work begins
• Approval can be verbal, but noted in writing, via
  email or by letter
• Summary of smaller changes so costs reconcile

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Construction Contract Administration

• And the Contractor Yells, Unless I am paid for
  the claim right now, Im walking off the job!
  What to do if you cant agree.. And how to not
  get there in the first place
• Make everyone follow an administrative process
  established prior to bid, preferably as part of
  the contract
• Use comparatives, historical data such as days in
  the bid for traffic control, prorate the days.
• Resolve the changed condition if at all possible
  without stopping work, otherwise home office
  overhead claims could occur, keep the contractor
  working

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Construction Contract Administration

• Claims solutions and avoidance
• Pay estimates and changes promptly
• Seek third party assistance, experts that both
  parties trust
• Use formal Partnering
• Dont write yet another letter when a phone call
  or a personal visit has a chance to break the
  deadlock
• Completing by the completion date is to
  everyones benefit, dont be afraid to pay for
  some OT, MS concrete, etc., it builds goodwill
  with the public and the contractor
• Before the attorneys take control, consider
  mediation, arbitration, etc., ODOT has names

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Construction Contract Administration

• And one last comment on Claims..
• A contract is overall, an equally shared
  agreement although various specific
  responsibilities are not equally shared. If
  there is no clear solution yet there is agreement
  there was a changed condition, split shared
  responsibility items in half.

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• Justification
• Letter

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Construction Contract Administration

• Adequate DBE/EEO Prevailing Wage Contract
  Administration
• Weekly payroll submissions and wage checks
• Track the DBE s against goals, approved subs and
  suppliers each pay request
• DBEs actually doing the work, if not involve
  District
• Monthly or quarterly DBE reports to District
  EEO/DBE
• Jobsite EEO Prevailing Wage Posters
• Regular employee interviews, proper records
• Complaint follow-through w/guidance and
  communication to District EEO/DBE or Prevailing
  Wage

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• Monthly
• Prevailing
• Wage
• Report

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• DBE
• Quarterly
• Report

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• EEO/DBE/Prevailing
• Wage Interview Form

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Construction Contract Administration

• The Project is almost complete..

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Construction Contract Administration

• So the project is open to traffic, but all that
  paperwork remains to final the project..
• Final Inspection by contractor, LPA, consultant,
  ODOT, official punchlist is developed
• All claims resolved or dismissed, both with the
  contractor and with 3rd parties
• Documentation compiled for failed materials have
  been removed or a deduct made
• Contractor and DBE subs/suppliers sign affidavits
• Final certification is signed and sealed by the
  CPE

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• DBE Affidavit

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Construction Contract Administration

• Remaining paperwork..
• Upon completion of punchlist, ODOT completes the
  C-85
• Final estimate is processed when all required
  paperwork is completed
• District notifies Central Office to close all
  encumbrances

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• Final Certification

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Construction Contract Administration

• Example
• C-85

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All personnel and their respective employers
portrayed in this example are fictional. Any
resemblance to an existing or proposed project
and involved personnel is purely coincidental.