CONTRACT AND PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT

Part II

An Environmental Impact Study

You are a general contractor wishing to put up
a modest sized cement production plant on the outskirts of town. The plant
would operate on only one 10-hour shift per day and would produce about 400
cubic yards of output per day for six days per week. It is necessary for an
environmental impact study to be undertaken before the county can issue a
permit. The biggest issue is, of course, the air quality implications of cement
production, but potential impacts on water quality are of concern as well. It
is now October, and you want to start building the plant by the end of next
summer, if possible. It is now time to issue an RFP to procure an environmental
impact analysis. Studies of this type normally require about three months of
concerted effort by a team of analysts.

Assignment: Project Part 2 (PP2) entails
completing the remaining sections of the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was
selected and prepared for Project Part 1 (PP1).

The PP2 RFP should be prepared in a MS Word format suitable
for electronic transmission. Any resources used beyond the textbook need to be
cited in your document—including links to relevant websites. Be sure to include
footnotes and bibliography.

Submission Details: All PP2 documents must be
submitted no later than the end 09/28/2013

Clarification on Assignment: All questions of a
clarification nature should be asked in the weekly Q & A Forum
discussion topic.

Grading: Eighty percent of points will be for content (including proper
use of the English language) and 20 percent of the points will be based
following the instructions for the assignment.

RFP Content:

Your RFP should utilize the best practices of the pre-award phase
that apply to your project. You must choose the type of contract that you feel
is most appropriate for this procurement. I will set the length limit at 10
double-spaced pages (12-point font) for the main body of the RFP. (Please do
not feel obligated to reach that limit.) You may attach additional appendices
if you wish, but these must be limited to clarifying material that has been
borrowed from elsewhere or developed as an exhibit.

The first page of your overall submission must be a cover sheet
that contains the project title (hopefully, not “PP2” or anything like it—be
inventive), your name, your e-mail address, and course identifying information
(e.g., “PROJ598 for this term” will suffice—obviously, use the correct term
identifier). The second page will be a Table of Contents (TOC) listing the
major RFP sections together with page numbers. Include on this page a listing
of the references that you used in the RFP preparation, including websites, if
any. The next 1-to-10 pages constitute the main body of the RFP. Appendix B
contains a list of suppliers to whom you would send the RFP. These must be real
bona fide contractors—not hypothetical ones. On that page, say how you chose
these potential suppliers. The cover sheet, TOC/references page, and supplier
list do not count toward the 10-page limitation.

The structure should, therefore be:

• Cover sheet (one page)
• Table of contents and references (one page)
• RFP main body (no more than 10 pages)
• Appendices (no page limit)
• Appendix B: Supplier list (one page)

Deadline:PP2 is due by the end of Week 4.

Submit your PP2 assignment to the Week 4 Drop box.

Scoring:

.docx#_Toc70010708″>1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting.10

.docx#_Toc70010709″>1.6. Owner Contact
for Questions.10

.docx#_Toc70010710″>1.7. Pre-Award
Surveys.10

.docx#_Toc70010711″>1.8. Sealed Bid
Requirements.10

.docx#_Toc70010712″>1.9. Basis for Bid
Evaluation..11

.docx#_Toc70010713″>1.10. Ethical
Standards.11

.docx#_Toc70010714″>1.11. Responsibility
for Surety Bonds.11

.docx#_Toc70010715″>1.12. Proposal Format11

.docx#_Toc70010716″>1.13. List of Bidders.11

.docx#_Toc70010717″>1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment11

.docx#_Toc70010718″>2.
DESCRIPTION OF WORK..12

.docx#_Toc70010719″>2.1. Engineering
Contracts.12

.docx#_Toc70010720″>2.2. Construction Contracts 13

1.5. Pre-Bid Meeting

Pre-bid meetings can be held after the RFP’s are issued and prior
to the bid due date. Pre-bid meetings may be referred to with other titles in
RFP’s such as a pre-proposal conference in government RFP’s. If an owner
intends to have a pre-bid meeting, the Instructions provide the location, date,
and time of the meeting. The Instructions may also describe the purpose of the
meeting and how answers to questions from bidders will be handled. The answers
to the questions from bidders are normally handled in a formal manner since
they are a supplement to the information provided in the RFP.

1.6. Owner Contact for Questions

It is important that an owner designate one individual to act as
the contact person for questions from bidders during the bid period. This
organizational approach assures that questions are handled in a consistent
manner and that all bidders receive the same answers to questions. The answers
to individual questions from bidders during the bid period that are not
responded to at a pre-bid meeting are also important supplemental information
to the original RFP. The procurement group representative assigned to a
contract is often the designated contact person for an owner. The Instructions
specify the name of the person in the owner’s organization that is responsible
for responding to bidder questions. The Instructions also specify the telephone
number and address of the contact person. The Instructions define the procedure
that will be used for providing answers to all bidders when one bidder asks a
question concerning requirements in the RFP.

1.7. Pre-Award Surveys

Certain owners perform pre-award surveys of specific bidders to
obtain information on technical and management capabilities. These surveys are
performed after the RFP is issued to the bidders and prior to award. The
surveys can require detailed presentations from bidders regarding the technical
and management approaches that they will take on a contract. The Instructions
inform the bidders of the subjects that are covered at these meetings. The
surveys are usually conducted at the bidder’s facility since the adequacy of a
bidder’s facility is part of the survey. The timing of a pre-award survey is
established on an individual bidder basis.

1.8. Sealed Bid Requirements

Many RFP’s require that bid proposals are sealed when submitted to
an owner. This provides a measure of security that bids have not been altered
after they were prepared. The Instructions define the sealed bid requirements.
Requirements for addressing the bids to the proper party are defined in the
Instructions. If the bids are not required to be sealed, the Instructions
address the acceptability of telegraphic and facsimile bid proposals and bid
proposal modifications. The Instructions specify the number of copies of bid
proposals that are required.

1.9. Basis for Bid Evaluation

There are advantages in defining the basis that an owner will use
in evaluating bid proposals. If an owner intends to give significant weight in
its bid evaluation to factors such as technical, quality and schedule control
capability as well as quoted prices, the bidders should be aware of this fact.

This gives them the opportunity to emphasize the strengths of their
technical and management programs. They may propose stronger programs in these
areas if they believe that this will improve their chances of contract award.
The Instructions should define the basis that an owner will use to evaluate the
bidders for contract work.

1.10. Ethical Standards

Many owners include ethical standards that the owner and the
supplier or contractors are required to follow in their relationships with one
another prior to and after the award of a contract in the Instructions. These
standards often come from corporate procurement policies. They include such
items restrictions on gifts and entertainment from suppliers and contractors to
owner personnel.

1.11. Responsibility for Surety Bonds

If another section of the RFP does not specify the exact
requirements for surety bonds for a contract, the Instructions clarify the
types of bonds required and the cost responsibility for providing the bonds.

1.12. Proposal Format

If the RFP requires that bidders prepare detailed proposals
describing how they will accomplish contract work activities, the Instructions
define the format required for the proposals. Limits may be placed on the
length of different sections in the proposal to assure that overly lengthy
proposals are not received from bidders.

1.13. List of Bidders

Many RFP’s include a list of the companies in the Instructions
section that have been asked to bid on the contract. This approach has the
advantage of making the bidders aware that they are involved in a competitive
bidding process.

Note: A place is provided in Appendix B for a detailed list of
bidders.

1.14. Letter of Acknowledgment

It is important that procurement groups receive feedback as early
as possible from companies that receive RFP’s regarding their intent to bid the
work. If one or more companies on the list of bidders for a contract decline to
bid, there may be insufficient bidders to satisfy competitive bidding
requirements. It may be necessary to send RFP’s to additional bidders to obtain
the desired number of bid proposals. To obtain this feedback in a timely
manner, the Instructions often include a Letter of Acknowledgment that requires
bidders to state whether they intend to submit bid proposals.

2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Service
contracts require a Description of Work in the RFP’s. Certain large engineered
materials and equipment contracts can also require Description of Work sections
in their RFP’s. The Description of Work has other titles such as Statement of
Work or Scope of Work in RFP’s used by different companies and government
agencies. Other companies include the Description of Work in the technical
specifications for a contract.

The
purpose of the Description of Work in the RFP is to define the scope of work for
a

contract.
Other sections of the RFP for a contract such as the Specifications and
Drawings and the Special Conditions also provide information that describes the
work scope for bidders. The Description of Work references the other RFP
sections as required.

2.1. Engineering Contracts

The Description for an engineering contract RFP contains an
overview of the technical features of a project. Other general information such
as the location of the project, existing facilities at the project site, and
responsibility for licensing and permits is defined. If there is more than one
engineering contractor on a project, the scopes of the other engineering
contracts are defined in sufficient detail for the bidder to understand its
role in the design of a project.

If there is a performance specification in the engineering contract
RFP, the Description references the specification for details concerning the
technical requirements for the design of the project. If there is not a
performance specification included in the RFP, the Description contains the
owner’s design performance requirements. If the performance specification
includes design areas that are not in the scope of an engineering contract, the
Description explains which items in the performance specification apply to the
contract.

The division of responsibility between the owner and the
engineering contractor is explained in the Description. If an owner intends to
perform design functions such as establishing design criteria for certain
systems, these functions are defined. The division of responsibility indicates
which design documents and procedures produced by the engineering contractor
require ownerapproval. The division of responsibility also establishes the
materials and equipment that are procured by the owner and those that are
procured by the engineering contractor. The division of responsibility defines
whether the engineering contractor or a supplier is responsible for the
detailed design of engineered materials.

The type and duration of the support that the engineering
contractor is required to provide to other project groups such as licensing,
procurement, construction or manufacturing, and testing is addressed in the
Description. If the engineering contractor is required to provide liaison personnel
at the project site to clarify design requirements, this program is defined in
the Description.

The quality, schedule, cost, and other management programs required
to manage the engineering contract work can be defined in the Description. An
alternative approach is to include the management requirements in the Special
Conditions. It is not significant which section of the RFP includes the
management requirements as long as they are well defined.

2.2. Construction Contracts

The Description for a construction contract RFP contains an
overview of the technical features of a project. It also provides the location
of the work, existing facilities at the project site, and the responsibility
for obtaining permits and licenses for a project. If there are multiple
construction contractors working on the project, the scope of work of each
construction contractor is described in the Description.

If the construction contract pricing approach is fixed price or
unit price, there is a separate section of the RFP that contains technical
specifications and drawings. The construction contractor’s responsibilities for
performing the work in these specifications and drawings are defined in the
Description. In cases where the specifications and drawings include work
performed by more than one contractor, the specific responsibilities of each
contractor are defined in the Description. If the specifications and drawings
are not complete when the RFP is issued, the degree of completion is defined in
the Description.

The division of responsibility between an owner and a construction
contractor is defined in the description. If the construction contractor will
be responsible for detailed design functions, these functions are delineated in
the division of responsibility. The division of responsibility specifies the
materials and equipment that are furnished to a contractor by an owner. It also
specifies the materials and equipment that are procured and installed by the
contractor. The division of responsibility defines the responsibility for
testing the systems and components installed by a contractor.

The construction contractor’s responsibilities for providing
services such as clean up, scaffolding, temporary office buildings, and
warehousing, temporary electrical, temporary heat, security, and construction
equipment are described in the Description. If an owner elects to provide
services to a construction contractor, the services are defined in the
Description.

The support that a construction contractor is required to provide
to other project groups is defined in the Instructions. The contractor can be
required to provide as built drawings to the engineering group for final design
validation. The contractor may have to provide construction personnel to the
testing group to support testing activities. The contractor can be responsible
for providing scaffolding for access for inspections by owner quality
personnel.

The quality, schedule, cost, safety, environmental, and other
management programs required to control the construction contract work can be
addressed in the Description. They can also be addressed in the Special
Conditions.