The Washington State Department of Transportation and Sound Transit.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the regional transit authority known as Sound Transit are public owners of complex transportation systems, including highways, light rail, bus rapid transit, and other multimodal facilities, with multiple construction contracts underway concurrently. Both entities utilize a mix of traditional public works contracting methods and alternative public works contracting procedures to award contracts to responsible bidders for project delivery.
Traditional Public Works Contracting.
Public work means all work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement other than ordinary maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any municipality. Once a public body secures design of a public works project, either through in-house engineering or hiring a consultant, a competitive bidding process is required for most of those projects. State law generally requires agencies to award public works contracts to a responsible bidder with the lowest responsive bid. Contractors that provide the bid are referred to as the prime contractor, and this process of awarding public works contracts is often referred to as the design-bid-build process.
Alternative Public Works Contracting Procedures.
Alternative public works contracting procedures include: (1) the design-build procedure; (2) general contracting/construction manager (GC/CM) contracting procedure; and (3) job order contracting. The design-build procedure means a contract between a public body and another party in which the party agrees to both design and build the facility. A GC/CM is a firm which a public body has selected to provide services during the design phase and negotiated a maximum allowable construction cost to act as the GC/CM during the construction phase. In addition to these alternative public works contracting procedures, the WSDOT is authorized to use the progressive-design-build procedure by which the WSDOT selects a design-builder before the establishment of a final project design, price, and schedule, and thereafter, the WSDOT and design-builder collaborate to develop a final project scope, schedule, and price.
Construction Multiple Award Task Order Contracting.
A construction Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) is a competitively awarded contract under which multiple pre-qualified contractors are selected to compete for future, project-specific construction task orders. This method of contracting is also called a "bench" contract, an "on-call" contract, or an "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contract. Construction MATOCs allow public owners of large-scale construction projects to make faster, flexible procurements of project delivery for renovations, repairs, and new construction without negotiating a new contract for every project. Construction MATOCs are often pooled for type of work or size of firm. Construction MATOCs are successfully utilized by federal agencies, as well as state and local government owners of large-scale transportation construction projects.
The WSDOT and Sound Transit are authorized to use the MATOC alternative process for awarding contracts for construction, renovation, repair, alteration, or improvement to transportation systems, including highways, light rail, and other transportation infrastructure, in accordance with apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage laws. The agencies may create a single roster or multiple rosters of prequalified contractors for different categories of anticipated work. The agencies are required to notify all contractors on applicable rosters of task order solicitations, including the scope of work. The agencies are allowed to limit proposals to subsets of contractors on the roster that meet specific qualifications, but must document the basis for that determination.
The WSDOT and Sound Transit must create award and protest processes, as well as criteria for qualifications, including those outlined in Substitute House Bill 2552. The WSDOT must report on the use of the MATOC and its outcomes to the Capital Projects Advisory Board and the Transportation Committees of the Legislature. Sound Transit is also required to report on the use of the MATOC to the governing board and the Transportation Committees of the Legislature.
As compared to the original bill, the substitute bill directs the agencies to award MATOCs in accordance with apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage laws. The substitute bill requires the agencies to notify all contractors on applicable rosters of task order solicitations, including the scope of work, and allows the agencies to limit proposals to subsets of contractors on the roster that meet specific qualifications, but must document the basis for that determination. The substitute bill removes the term "indefinite delivery indefinite quantity" from the title of "rosters of multiple award task order construction contracts" that Sound Transit is authorized to create and directs Sound Transit to provide its report to its governing body, as well as the Transportation Committees of the Legislature.
(In support) Public agencies with large complex transportation-related infrastructure projects should have every tool in their toolbox to be able to deliver these projects more effectively. The MATOC for construction is an alternative model for delivering large complex projects that is already being used by the military and the Federal Highway Administration. Streamlining processes while maintaining the competitive nature of the bidding process allows the WSDOT and Sound Transit to prequalify a bench of contractors to get jobs done. This process has been reviewed by the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprise to ensure inclusivity for small firms.
The MATOCs provide a modern efficient tool to deliver transportation-related projects and has already been proven effective by other public owners of large complex construction projects. Sound Transit already uses the MATOC method for securing professional services, but this would allow for increased competition and industry growth in construction. The MATOC process strengthens accountability and competitiveness while lowering barriers for smaller firms to compete for smaller task orders.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) The MATOC method is a largely untested alternative contracting method and not well tested in Washington. The use is not widespread, and its use is not properly examined. The Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) was created to review alternative contracting methods prior to implementing them to make certain that competition is not reduced through alternative contracting methods, specifically the general contractor/construction management method. The MATOC could limit supplier selection and reduce competition, and would leave small firms and suppliers out of the roster of contractors. The CPARB should examine this method before authorizing the WSDOT and Sound Transit the use of the alternative contracting method.
(In support) Representative Janice Zahn, prime sponsor; and Alex Soldano, Sound Transit.