Davis-Bacon Act Requires Weekly Pay to Workers

The federal Davis-Bacon Act, adopted by Congress in 1931, is the foundational law requiring payment of federal prevailing wage rates on federally funded public works construction projects.

Weekly Pay Required:  One of the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act that many public agencies, contractors, and subcontractors are not aware of is that it requires that workers be paid "at least once a week."  

Cash Flow Problems for Contractors:  The weekly payment provision frequently causes conflicts, especially for smaller contractors and subcontractors who may not have the cash flow available to pay their workers on a weekly basis.  Nevertheless, contractors and subcontractors working on federally funded projects must comply with this provision.  

Contracting Strategies:  Contractors bidding on projects subject to federal prevailing wages must factor weekly payment to workers into their bid.  Sometimes a contractor may agree to help a subcontractor with cash flow by paying the subcontractor on a weekly basis in exchange for a discount of the subcontract amount.  

Monitoring by Public Agencies:  Public agencies are required to monitor weekly payrolls submitted by the contractor and subcontractors on federally funded construction projects, and should specifically check payrolls submitted to ensure workers are being paid weekly.

Applicability of Federal Prevailing Wages:  Read my earlier blog entry.

Training: Construction Contract Management

I provided 8 hours of training to about 20 City of Sammamish, Washington staff on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 on "Public Works 101: Construction Contract Management."

The outline of the class addressed the following issues:

• Types of Contracts
• Types of Solicitations
• Architectural and Engineering Services
• Bidding
• Award
• Contract Execution
• Construction
• Close-out

Click here to see a more detailed outline of the class.  Please contact me if you would like to discuss me providing this training for your agency.  In addition to the City of Sammamish, I've provided this one day training for Pierce County (WA) and Sound Transit (WA). 

2 Job Openings at Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle (Washington)

• Position:  Contracts Administrator - Construction Contract Services

• Summary of Duties:   Manage the procurement contract process for routine construction contracts from inception to closing.

• Salary:  $55,263 (minimum) - $69,089 (midpoint) annually

• Closing Date:  Monday, July 19, 2010 at midnight

• For More Information and to Apply: Port of Seattle website.

• Position:  Sr. Contracts Administrator - Construction Contract Services

• Summary of Duties:   Manage all aspects of the procurement contract process for complex construction contracts from inception to closing.

• Salary:  $62,517 (minimum) - $78,137 (midpoint) annually

• Closing Date:  Monday, July 19, 2010 at midnight

• For More Information and to Apply:  Port of Seattle website.

A Bidding Nightmare

It's 1:58 p.m., just two minutes before bids are due on your sidewalk replacement project - and your front counter staff person has taken a break or gone to pick up supplies in another part of the building.  

A bidder races in the door, frantic that no one is around to receive and stamp in his bid.  The bidder wanders through the hallways and cubicles, seeking someone to receive his bid.  He finally finds someone, who takes the bid back up to the front counter where the bid is date and time stamped in.  But the time stamp reads 2:01 p.m., after the deadline.  The bid is opened along with the other bids and the bid is the lowest bid.  

Is the Bid Responsive?  Is the bid responsive and should it be considered further?  Whether the bid should be accepted depends on the specific facts of the situation.  In this case, the public agency did not manage the process properly.  The bidder presumably was on time.  Should the bidder (and the taxpayers) be punished because the agency didn't have someone available to time stamp in the bid?

Tips on Bid Receipt:  To prevent bid protests and problems, here are a couple of practical tips on managing the receipt of bids:

• Make sure that someone knowledgeable on bid receipt procedures is at the bid receipt counter continuously at least an hour before the bid submittal deadline.
• Check the time clock with official time the morning of every day when bids will be received to ensure the time close is consistent with the official time.  See http://www.time.gov/.
• Do not accept or read bids that have been submitted after the bid submittal deadline.

Training:  I have developed a two hour class on best practices on bid receipt and opening issues that I have taught a couple of times.  Please contact me if you would like me to conduct this training for your agency.

WSDOT Specs Drop Support for MS Word 2003

Effective January 1, 2011, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will no longer support Microsoft Word 2003 for their file format for General Special Provisions (GSP) and Amendments.  They will use only Microsoft Word 2007 or newer versions.  Those without access to the supported version will still be able to view PDF versions online.

WSDOT also announced they will change the naming conventions for GSPs and Amendments as illustrated in the chart below:

If you have questions about the changes, contact Theresa Schreier at schreit@wsdot.wa.gov or at (360) 705-7467.

Construction Industry Market Analysis Reports

Jim Schug, a consultant with FMI Corporation, a management consulting and investment banking firm for the construction industry, was kind enough to share the following three FMI documents that may be of interest:

• Construction Outlook, 1st Quarter 2010 Report.  "The construction industry should prepare for another year of decline in nonresidential construction.  Construction lost 64,000 more jobs in February."

• 2010 Project Management Survey of 141 construction companies.  The survey identifies the key drivers behind the profitable and successful management of construction projects.

• New Day, New Strategy: Repositioning After the Great Recession.  The article looks ahead at the challenges and opportunities.   It "also looks at current strategies of leading firms in various markets, and other recommendations on how to engage customers, tackle competitors and deal with company-related issues in the new market environment."

Please contact me if you would like me to e-mail a copy of any of these documents.

Job Opening: Purchasing Officer for City of Shoreline, Washington

City of Shoreline, Washington

• Position: Purchasing Officer

• Summary of Duties:  Oversee the centralized purchasing function including the development or review of bid packages and contract negotiation and administration.

• Salary:  $60,372 to $73,456 annually

• Closing Date:  Friday, July 16, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

• For More Information and to Apply:  Visit the City of Shoreline's website.