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120 Appendix F Research needs Statements AASHTO STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS I. PROBLEM NUMBER To be assigned by NCHRP staff. II. PROBLEM TITLE A Guidebook for Multiple-Award IDIQ Contracting as a Means to Increase Price Competition III. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT Transportation agencies are increasingly implementing alternative contracting methods (ACMs) to deliver their construction and maintenance projects. One of those ACMs is called Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. This method awards a single contract to deliver construction and/or maintenance services on an unspecified number of similar projects over a specified period of time. The projects are called Task Orders, Job Orders, Work Orders, and other terms. They are essentially limited in the scope to a standard set of pay items that are anticipated to comprise the typical Task Order, and once awarded using a low bid for the first Task Order, a single contractor then is issued subsequent Task Orders as required during the period of the contract. Single award IDIQs are characterized by a guaranteed minimum amount of work (normally Task Order #1), a not to exceed amount for future work and a period of performance that often covers two years with options to extend a specific number of times. While these contracts have been found to be very effective, they come with two disadvantages. First, the DOT must provide for escalating Task Orders awarded in the out-years to avoid unnecessarily large contingencies built into the unit prices. Thus, it is possible to overpay for out-year work if the escalation factor is larger than the actual rate or to incur contingencies anyway, if the competing contractors believe the rate is too low. The second disadvantage is that once the IDIQ is awarded competition between contractors is over. As DOTs get more experienced with IDIQ, one would expect that like the federal agencies that have been using these contracts for three decades, the agencies will begin awarding larger and longer contracts. An example is the US Naval Facility Engineering Command which has awarded nationwide DB IDIQ contracts with a capacity of over $200 million to design and build specialty projects like medical or communications facilities with estimated Task Order amounts exceeding $20 million each. Federal agencies dealt with this issue by developing multiple-award IDIQ contracting procedures where a pool of 3 or 4 contractors are selected on a basis of qualifications and other factors and then those contractors compete with each other for each Task Order. This arrangement satisfies both issues. Since the contractors compete for each task order, value for money is demonstrated and there is no need to estimate escalation as each task order will be awarded to the low bidder based on current market conditions. NCHRP Synthesis 45-09: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracting found that while there are a few DOTs that have experimented with multiple-award IDIQs, there is no substantive implementation guidance for their use in IDIQ contracts. However, the federal experience combined with the anecdotal experience at the state-level provides a foundation of experiential information from which to draw and on-going programs which can be adapted to meet the needs of state transportation agencies. The proposed research should address the following questions: What types of construction and maintenance projects are best suited for multiple-award IDIQ contracts? What are the appropriate procedures for accepting, reviewing and evaluating contractor qualifications in a multiple-award IDIQ procurement?
121 What are the appropriate practices in contractually implementing competitive bids for multiple-award IDIQ contracts? Are there procedures for evaluating the optimal number of contractors in the multiple-award IDIQ pool? What are effective practices to estimate the value of an average Task Order, and evaluate its impact on construction schedules, produce the necessary design documents, and guarantee that permitting will be available in a timely manner? Is it possible to obtain programmatic permits for multiple-award IDIQ Task Orders that are developed using DB or CMGC delivery procedures? IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The main research objective is to benchmark the state-of-the-practice in using multiple-award IDIQ contracts and combine it with existing research on construction procurement and project delivery procedures, processes and policies. This study will assemble a set of effective practices and develop a guidebook that can be utilized by agencies to implement based on local statutory and/or policy requirements to implement multiple-award IDIQ contracts. The guidebook should include a methodology to compare delivery of IDIQ projects on both a single- award and multiple-award basis to permit agencies to determine which approach would be preferred for a given construction or maintenance IDIQ contract. Specific Tasks of the research to accomplish the main objective include: Task 1âBenchmark the state-of-the-practice by federal, state, and local agencies in the use of multiple-award IDIQ procurement for both horizontal and vertical projects. Survey public agencies to determine if there are any using a rational methodology to select multiple-award over single award IDIQs. Task 2âReview the legal issues involved with multiple-award IDIQ procurements with respect to statutory competition constraints, design liability, and other salient issues that pose potential barriers to implementation of the concept. Identify remedies, if any, that have been successfully implemented; Prepare a white paper documenting the results of Tasks 1 and 2. Task 3âBased on the results of Tasks 1 and 2, prepare a research work plan that describes the details of the research methodology and methods for identifying potential effective practices and developing authoritative conclusions that will lead to the accomplishment of the research objectives and the final guidebook. The plan shall include a detailed description of any statistical analysis methods, qualitative research instruments and a justification that is well grounded in the literature to their use. Task 4âDevelop a rational methodology for selecting 5 to 8 federal and state multiple-award IDIQ projects that would be similar to the types of contracts present in a typical DOT annual program. Provide a list of potential case study candidates for approval by the NCHRP project panel. Task 5âExecute the research work plan and prepare an interim research report that articulates the case study data collection and analysis as well as emerging conclusions, effective practices, lessons learned and a proposed outline for the guidebook. Include appendices that contain the details of the case study analysis written in a form that permits it to be published separately as a stand-alone report should the NCHRP panel decide that would be appropriate. Also include appendices that contain samples of multiple-award IDIQ solicitation and task order language; general/special provisions and enabling legislation, if any. Task 6âPrepare the draft guidebook for implementing multiple-award IDIQ contracts on construction and maintenance projects delivered with DBB, CMGC, and DB. The guide will also provide instructions for implementing the proposed procurement process for an agencyâs annual program. Incorporate review comments as required and validate the guidebookâs efficacy with a case study DOT. Task 7âPublish the final guidebook and a final research report that details the full results of the research. V. ESTIMATE OF PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD Recommended Funding: Recommended funding for the project is $400,000 to $500,000. Research Period: It is estimated that 30 months will be required to perform the research.
122 The anticipated budget and schedule are based on assumptions for required resources to support on-site collection of agency case study project data, the assembly of the contents of the guidebook and validation of the guidebook in the field directly with a case study DOT. VI. URGENCY, PAYOFF POTENTIAL, AND IMPLEMENTATION The intent of this project is to furnish a uniform set of guidelines for the application of multiple-award IDIQ contracts for construction and maintenance project procurement to increase competition for IDIQ Task Orders and eliminate the need for establishing escalation provisions. The payoff will be an ability for DOTs to better demonstrate value for money to the public while accruing the benefits associated with an expedited procurement cycle for projects that are similar in scope, size, and technical complexity. Additionally, NCHRP Syntheses 45-09 and 43-11 NCHRP Synthesis 438: Expedited Procurement Procedures for Emergency Construction Services found evidence that IDIQs create an ability to be able to rapidly react to both urgent and emergency repair and replacement requirements because the contractors are already under contract and mobilized in the DOTâs jurisdiction. Based on the experience of those DOTs that have already implemented IDIQ, the payoff of this research will be significant in both construction cost and time savings. The implementation of IDIQs has also been proven to provide an expeditious manner to obligate year-end funding for projects that may have not been in the current annual program because the procurement is already complete. VII. RELATED RESEARCH NCHRP Synthesis 45-09: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts. NCHRP Synthesis 43-11: Expedited Procurement Procedures for Emergency Construction Services Final Report for SHRP 2 C 12: The Effect of Public-Private Partnerships and Non-Traditional Procurement Processes on Highway Planning, Environmental Review, and Collaborative Decision Making. VIII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM IX. PROBLEM MONITOR The TRB Committees AFH15 Project Delivery Methods is submitting this problem statement through the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation. X. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY TBD AASHTO STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS I. PROBLEM NUMBER To be assigned by NCHRP staff. II. PROBLEM TITLE A Critical Analysis of IDIQ Contracting Use Construction Task Catalogs and Adjustment Factors. III. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT Transportation agencies are increasingly implementing alternative contracting methods (ACMs) to deliver their construction and maintenance projects. One of those ACMs is called Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. This method awards a single contract to deliver construction and/or maintenance services on an
123 unspecified number of similar projects over a specified period of time. The projects are called Task Orders, Job Orders, Work Orders, and other terms. They are essentially limited in the scope to a standard set of pay items that are anticipated to comprise the typical Task Order, and once awarded using a low bid for the first Task Order, a single contractor then is issued subsequent Task Orders as required during the period of the contract. Pricing for IDIQ contracts can be completed in a number of ways. The most common is to establish a list of pay items that comprise the scope of work for a typical task order; have competing contractors bid the first task order; and then unit prices are established by the low bidder and used for subsequent task orders. Some agencies will develop an IDIQ unit price book, commonly called a construction task catalog, based on state bid tabulations. Competing contractors are then asked to bid an adjustment factor with which the catalog unit prices will be multiplied. The contract is then awarded to the lowest adjustment factor, which can be both greater than or less than one. A similar approach employs a commercial price database which is purchased from a vendor in lieu of an agency developed catalog. All three approaches have been successfully employed by at least one state DOT, and each has its own particular advantages and disadvantages.The federal government also has experience with all three pricing methodologies as do a number other state and local agencies. NCHRP Synthesis 45-09: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracting found that while there are a few DOTs that have experimented with construction task catalogs for IDIQ pricing, there is no substantive implementation guidance for their use in IDIQ contracts. However, the federal experience combined with the anecdotal experience at the state-level provides a foundation of experiential information from which to draw and on-going programs which can be adapted to meet the needs of state transportation agencies. The proposed research should address the following questions: What types of construction and maintenance projects are best suited for IDIQ contracts utilizing construction task catalogs or commercial unit price books? What are the appropriate procedures for ensuring that proposed adjustment factors actually reflect a reasonable construction cost in an IDIQ procurement? What are the appropriate practices in contractually implementing competitive bids for IDIQ contracts priced using construction task catalogs and adjustment factors? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods for establishing the prices in a construction task catalog? Is there value added to the IDIQ procurement process by the construction task catalog over bidding the first task order? If so, what are the costs and benefits of each? IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The main research objective is to benchmark the state-of-the-practice in using construction task catalogs with adjustment factors to price IDIQ contracts and combine it with existing research on construction procurement and project delivery procedures, processes and policies. This study will critically analyze the two forms of construction task catalog pricing for IDIQ contracts and compare it to the more common low bid single award method for setting IDIQ pay item unit prices. The research will develop a methodology to compare all three pricing options for IDIQ projects on both a single-award and multiple-award basis to permit agencies to determine which approach would be preferred for a given construction or maintenance IDIQ contract. Specific Tasks of the research to accomplish the main objective include: Task 1âBenchmark the state-of-the-practice by federal, state, and local agencies in the use of construction task catalog and adjustment factor IDIQ procurement for both horizontal and vertical projects. Propose a methodology for quantitatively comparing the two forms of catalog pricing against low bid pricing for a set of case study IDIQ projects obtained from a survey of federal, state and local agencies that use IDIQ procurement. Task 2âReview the legal issues involved with construction task catalog and adjustment factor IDIQ procurements with respect to statutory competition constraints, award mandates, and other salient issues that pose potential barriers to implementation of the concept. Identify remedies, if any, that have been successfully implemented; Prepare a white paper documenting the results of Tasks 1 and 2.
124 Task 3âBased on the results of Tasks 1 and 2, prepare a research work plan that describes the details of the research methodology and methods for identifying potential effective practices and developing authoritative conclusions that will lead to the accomplishment of the research objectives and the final guidebook. The plan shall include a detailed description of any statistical analysis methods, qualitative research instruments and a justification that is well grounded in the literature to their use. Task 4âDevelop a rational methodology for selecting 5 to 8 federal and state construction task catalog IDIQ contracts that would be similar to the types of contracts present in a typical DOT annual program. Provide a list of potential case study candidates for approval by the NCHRP project panel. Task 5âExecute the research work plan and prepare an interim research report that articulates the case study data collection and analysis as well as emerging conclusions, effective practices, lessons learned and a proposed outline for the critical analysis of each alternative. Include appendices that contain the details of the case study analysis written in a form that permits it to be published separately as a stand-alone report should the NCHRP panel decide that would be appropriate. Also include appendices that contain samples of construction task catalog and adjustment factor IDIQ solicitations and task order language; general/special provisions and enabling legislation, if any. Task 6âPrepare the draft report documenting the results of the analysis of the case study IDIQ. Provide a plan for implementing construction task catalogs and adjustment factors that provide sufficient guidance for a DOT to utilize one or more approaches in their IDIQ program. Task 7âPublish the final implementation plan and a final research report that details the full results of the research. V. ESTIMATE OF PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD Recommended Funding: Recommended funding for the project is $100,000 to $150,000. Research Period: It is estimated that 12 months will be required to perform the research. The anticipated budget and schedule are based on assumptions for required resources to support on-site collection of agency case study project data. . VI. URGENCY, PAYOFF POTENTIAL, AND IMPLEMENTATION The intent of this project is to furnish a uniform set of guidelines for the application of construction task catalogs and adjustment factors for single-award and multiple-award IDIQ contracts for construction and maintenance projects procurement to increase competition for IDIQ Task Orders and eliminate the need for establishing escalation provisions. The payoff will be the ability for DOTs to uniformly create a pricing structure for projects that are similar in scope, size, and technical complexity. Based on the experience of those DOTs that have already implemented IDIQ, the payoff of this research will be significant in both construction cost and time savings. The implementation of IDIQs has also been proven to provide an expeditious manner to obligate year-end funding for projects that may have not been in the current annual program because the procurement is already complete. VII. RELATED RESEARCH NCHRP Synthesis 45-09 (473): Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts. NCHRP Synthesis 43-11 (438): Expedited Procurement Procedures for Emergency Construction Services Final Report for SHRP 2 C 12: The Effect of Public-Private Partnerships and Non-Traditional Procurement Processes on Highway Planning, Environmental Review, and Collaborative Decision Making. VIII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM IX. PROBLEM MONITOR
125 The TRB Committees AFH15 Project Delivery Methods is submitting this problem statement through the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation. X. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY TBD AASHTO STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS I. PROBLEM NUMBER To be assigned by NCHRP staff. II. PROBLEM TITLE Guidebook for IDIQ Contracting for Architect/Engineer (A/E), Professional Services, and Research. III. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT Transportation agencies have been using Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to procure design and other professional services. This method has many names such as General Engineering Consultant (GEC) contracts, On-Call Design contracts, Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) contracts, etc. Additionally, many DOTs use IDIQs to obtain research services from various universities and consultants. This issue is complicated by the need to differentiate between the procurement of design/engineering services which are covered by federal and state-level âBrooks Actâ mandates for qualification-based selection (QBS) and award. To simplify the terminology in this RNS, the previous types of IDIQ contracts will be called either consultant or research IDIQs where the consultant IDIQ is intended to cover all the project development process requirements for external services and the research IDIQ will be confined to only the procurement of research services. NCHRP Synthesis 45-09: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracting found that while there is a great depth of DOT experience, there is no substantive implementation guidance for their use and little if any research on the effective practices that have developed over the years for the procurement and execution of IDIQ professional services contracts. The paucity of guidance creates a patchwork quilt of consultant/research policies, procedures, and regulations making it difficult for the consulting and academic industry to consistently evaluate the costs of providing the requested services. Research has shown that uncertainty associated with public agency contract administration increases prices as consultants include contingencies to cover the costs of dealing with the agency administrative requirements. Therefore, any standardization that is created by having a âtypicalâ AASHTO approach to these types of contracts should accrue benefits of decreased consulting fees. The federal, state and local experience provides a massive foundation of experiential information from which to draw and on-going programs which can be adapted to meet the specific needs of state transportation agencies. The proposed research should address the following questions: What types of services are best suited for IDIQ contracts? What are the most effective practices for consultant and research IDIQ procurement? What are the appropriate practices in contractually implementing competitive bids for consultant and research IDIQ contracts for services not covered by QBS mandates? What are the advantages and disadvantages of current methods for securing consultant and research services using IDIQ? IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
126 The main research objective is to benchmark the state-of-the-practice in consultant and research IDIQ contracts and combine it with existing research, such as NCHRP 15-51: Preconstruction Services Cost Estimating on procurement and project delivery procedures, processes and policies. This study will critically analyze each form of consultant and research IDIQ contract and compare it to single contract methods for procuring the same services. The comparison will be both quantitative and qualitative determining the cost and time benefits as well as other attributes that could be considered to add value. Specific Tasks of the research to accomplish the main objective include: Task 1âBenchmark the state-of-the-practice by federal, state, and local agencies in the use of consultant and research IDIQ contracts for services both and not covered by QBS mandates Propose a methodology for quantitatively comparing all forms of consultant and research IDIQ contracts for a set of case study consultant and research IDIQ contracts obtained from a survey of federal, state and local agencies that use IDIQ procurement. Task 2âReview the legal issues involved with consultant and research IDIQ contracts procurements with respect to statutory competition constraints, award mandates, and other salient issues that pose potential barriers to implementation of the concept. Identify remedies, if any, that have been successfully implemented; Prepare a white paper documenting the results of Tasks 1 and 2. Task 3âBased on the results of Tasks 1 and 2, prepare a research work plan that describes the details of the research methodology and methods for identifying potential effective practices and developing authoritative conclusions that will lead to the accomplishment of the research objectives and the final guidebook. The plan shall include a detailed description of any statistical analysis methods, qualitative research instruments and a justification that is well grounded in the literature to their use. Task 4âDevelop a rational methodology for selecting 15 to 20 state consultant and research IDIQ contracts that would be similar to the types of contracts present in a typical DOT annual program. Provide a list of potential case study candidates and the methodology for approval by the NCHRP project panel. Task 5âExecute the research work plan and prepare an interim research report that articulates the case study data collection and analysis as well as emerging conclusions, effective practices, lessons learned and a proposed outline for the guidebook content on each alternative. Include appendices that contain the details of the case study analysis written in a form that permits it to be published separately as a stand-alone report should the NCHRP panel decide that would be appropriate. Also include appendices that contain samples of consultant and research IDIQ solicitations and task order language; general/special provisions and enabling legislation, if any. Task 6âPrepare the draft report documenting the results of the analysis of the case study IDIQ. Provide a plan for implementing consultant and research IDIQ contracts that provide sufficient guidance for a DOT to utilize one or more approaches in their IDIQ program. Task 7âPublish the final implementation plan and a final research report that details the full results of the research. V. ESTIMATE OF PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD Recommended Funding: Recommended funding for the project is $200,000 to $250,000. Research Period: It is estimated that 18 months will be required to perform the research. The anticipated budget and schedule are based on assumptions for required resources to support on-site collection of agency case study project data. VI. URGENCY, PAYOFF POTENTIAL, AND IMPLEMENTATION The intent of this project is to furnish a uniform set of guidelines for the application of consultant and research IDIQ contracts. The payoff will be the ability for DOTs to uniformly create a procurement structure for consultant and research IDIQ contracts. Based on the experience of those DOTs that have already implemented IDIQ, the payoff of this research is will be significant in both cost and time savings. The implementation of IDIQs has also
127 been proven to provide an expeditious manner to obligate year-end funding for projects that may have not been in the current annual program because the procurement is already complete. VII. RELATED RESEARCH NCHRP Synthesis 45-09: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts. NCHRP 15-51: Preconstruction Services Cost Estimating Guidebook VIII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM IX. PROBLEM MONITOR The TRB Committees AFH15 Project Delivery Methods is submitting this problem statement through the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation. X. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY TBD
