COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

 

DATE:

July 15, 2008

BOARD MEETING DATE:

August 5, 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

James Porter, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Agreement for Consultant Services with The Gordian Group to Implement a Job Order Contracting System

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board of Supervisors to execute an agreement with The Gordian Group in an amount not to exceed $500,000 for the period of August 12, 2008 through August 11, 2011 to develop, implement and support on an ongoing basis a Job Order Contracting System for the Department of Public Works.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitments: “Responsive, Effective and Collaborative Government.”

Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

This agreement will enable the County to make significant progress in completing the backlog of facilities capital projects, thereby ensuring the safety and comfort of the public and employees using these buildings.

 

BACKGROUND:

Capital projects, particularly building renovation and maintenance projects, are comprised of a series of tasks that collectively make up a project. Job Order Contracting is a task based method of project delivery whereby a general contractor agrees to perform tens of thousands of tasks for a set fee. The bid package is a highly defined list of tasks with corresponding prices tailored to the market where the work will be performed. These tasks are then combined based on the nature of the work to complete projects. Contractors bid a “factor” to be applied to all included tasks, and bids are evaluated on that basis. Job Order Contracting has been a project delivery tool for over twenty years and has been utilized extensively by the federal government. It is now being utilized at State and Local levels throughout the country and is used extensively by Santa Clara County. California Public Contract Code provides counties the authority to utilize Job Order Contracts on an annual basis for up to $3,000,000.

 

Under this method of contracting, The Gordian Group will function as a consultant to the County and be responsible for performing all work necessary to develop the Job Order Contract bid documents that will be customized for the County's needs, and provide ongoing support for the County’s administration of the Job Order Contract program, including software support and maintenance, and training of contractor and County personnel as necessary. The awarding of the construction work will be done by the County utilizing the County’s standard contracting forms. These contract forms include the provision that the contractors comply with all prevailing wage requirements. The construction contracts will be executed by the Board or the Director of Public Works, depending on the amount of the contract.

 

DISCUSSION:

The County completed a facility condition assessment for all County facilities and identified approximately a $20,000,000 backlog of maintenance and repairs. The assessment also forecasted that the cost of the work necessary to maintain the facilities in ‘good’ condition would be approximately $4-6 million per year. This constitutes at least a three-fold increase in workload for the County’s project management staff. The Public Works Department has determined that the Job Order Contract method of project delivery could be used as a tool to increase productivity while attacking the large backlog that has developed. The Job Order Contract process will also allow the Facilities Division to delegate/distribute the smaller projects to the maintenance section, further easing the burden on project management staff.

While scope of work and construction project management will be decentralized, all Job Orders will be issued out of the project management section and approved by the Director of Public Works or his designee for centralized fiscal control. Staff has observed the Job Order Contract System in operation in Santa Clara County where they have used the method to dramatically cut down on the backlog of maintenance and repair. Although there is a 5% fee to the consultant on each job order issued, overall costs are expected to go down due to increased efficiency. There will also be savings because projects will be completed sooner, thereby avoiding future increases that are likely to occur from inflation and the rising cost of fuel. Contractor responsiveness and quality is also expected to be much higher compared to traditional lump sum bidding which offers no reward to the low bidder for improved performance. A complete copy of The Gordian Group Proposal (Attachment I to the contract) that provides additional information on the work to be performed and the method for determining the cost of individual jobs is on file and available for review at the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office.

 

A resolution has been approved as to form by County Counsel.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

Under this agreement the consultant is only paid on the basis of a markup to Job Orders issued. Job Orders would only be issued for work authorized and funded by the Capital Projects Fund or the requesting departments. The not to exceed amount of $500,000 under this contract will provide funding for the contractor deliver up to $10 million of capital projects included in the Capital Projects budget under multiple Job Order contracts. There will be no impact to the general fund.

 

Attachment 1:

Request for Proposal Process Matrix