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VENDOR/BUYER CONFERENCE

By Don Harris

There Are Ways to Speed a

Construction Process and Save Money
Barry Chasse Karen Fleetwood

Wading through the maze of acronyms when you’re considering a Design/Build puts the general contractor in complete control.
construction project doesn’t have to be so daunting for school districts. Architects and engineers work for the general contractors, which
Barry Chasse, of Chasse Building Team, and Karen Fleetwood, of Mesa architects don’t like, but it enables the project to remain on schedule,
Public Schools, spelled out the pros and cons of various methods to use Chasse said.
and offered suggestions that could save money and avoid headaches. “There are some benefits, but be careful about critical detailing of a
In a breakout session at the annual Vendor/Buyer Conference on project’s scope,” Chasse said. “The owner’s end product must be perfectly
January 29, Chasse and Fleetwood tackled the topic: “APDM and the identified, and costs can be higher due to higher risk.”
Benefits of CMAR and JOC.” JOC (Job Order Contracting) provides for faster procurement, saves
Translated, APDM means Alternative Project Delivery Methods. time, minimizes procurement expense, and improves the ability to
CMAR is short for Construction Manager at Risk, and JOC is Job Order schedule projects in order to maximize school breaks, Chasse said.
Contracting. They added D/B, which means Design/Build. If a project is to take place during summer break, don’t call a contractor
Pure Low Bid Procurement was causing school districts problems. in May, Chasse said. “Remember, summer starts in January,” he said.
They ran into adversarial relations, a lack of team concept, and fights School districts can select three to five vendors that have been pre-
among contractors. qualified for low bids and for their good track records.
“Everybody fought, some nicely, and some not so nicely,” Chasse said. Fleetwood said: “When we get down to the final list, we notify
”Some contractors cut corners to save money. Deadlines were missed. everybody who was trying to qualify.”
Lawsuits were filed. That was the trend in the 1990s.” JOC is considered a pretty good process because districts don’t want
Penalties against contractors ranged from $500 a day to as high as to be unpleasantly surprised. You want to be able to justify why you chose
$5,000, Chasse said. But they were difficult to collect because it was hard the vendor you did.
to prove damages. The committee that will select a vendor may include the district
“There was no incentive to do a good job with a low bid,” Chasse said. Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Business Manager, Facilities
“Inferior subcontractors were hired and job sites were unsafe. It wasn’t Manager and a Maintenance Supervisor. Sometimes it’s wise to include
working – for taxpayers or end users.” a member of the public to avoid having parents complain about a project
Then in 2000, APDM came to the rescue when the Legislature passed after the fact.
House Bill 2340, providing for Alternative Delivery Methods, Chasse said. Selection committee members should sign a non-collusion form
Fleetwood, Supervisor, Procurement Specialist for Mesa Public and be included in a conflict-of-interest discussion. There can be no
Schools, said school districts kept records on how they arrived at a final communication with vendors, Chasse said. The ranking of vendors
list of vendors. “We were able to show vendors how we got to a final should be consistent.
list of criteria and that this is what we’re looking for,” Fleetwood said. “I The request for vendors’ qualifications should be given 14 days before
always have a list of the competitors’ rankings, and documentation on the the responses are received by the district. The request should contain a
criteria, in case of a complaint. “ statement of construction services, specifically whether the procurement
Chasse emphasized the importance of keeping good records at a time is for a single contract or for JOC only multiple contracts.
when public records requests by the media and others have become more “Selection criteria are very important,” Chasse said. “Be specific for the
prevalent. job they will be doing.”
Under CMAR (Construction Manager At Risk), there is a separate Chasse cautioned against site visits prior to awarding a contract.
contract for design and a separate contract for construction services, but a Fleetwood said, “We don’t allow anybody on the site.”
school district may select separate contracts for post-construction services Chasse noted: “Always remember that the request for qualifications
during the design phase for construction and for other construction shall be made available for public inspection at the school district office.”
services, Fleetwood explained. Qualifications may include a firm’s experience on similar projects and
Chasse noted that under CMAR, a school district can hire “a the pre-construction approach.
construction partner who is right for your project,” provides for “Remember,” Chasse said, “we’re all aiming at the same goal. Begin
coordination of district standards for such things as plumbing fixtures, with the end in mind.”
enables the contractor to recruit the best subcontractors for the job, and
avoids “a budget buster.” Barry Chase can be reached at: bchase@chase.us or (480) 425-7777.
At the end of the pre-construction phase, a school district has a
guaranteed maximum price that it has to pay, Chasse said. Karen Fleetwood can be reached at: (480) 472-6122.

26 THE EDGE | SPRING 2019