Construction Procurement

PURCHASING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CONSTRUCTION/FACILITIES SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.00     APPROVED SUPPLIERS                                                                              

1.20     TASK ORDER AGREEMENT & TERM CONSULTANT SUPPLIERS    

1.30     SUPPLIER APPROVAL PROCESS                                                               

1.40     TERMINATION OF SUPPLIERS                                                                  

1.50     DISCLOSURE                                                                                               

2.00     SUPPLIER SELECTION                                                                               

2.30     LOCAL OBJECTIVES                                                                                     

2.40     CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS                                                                    

3.00     BID LIST PREPARATION                                                                             

4.00     BID PROCESS                                                                                              

4.50     BID ROUTING AND COMMUNICATION                                                       

5.00     BID SUMMARY                                                                                             

6.00     RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD                                                               

7.00     NOTIFICATIONS TO UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS                               

8.00     AWARDING WORK PROCEDURES                                                            

9.00     REQUISITION FOR PURCHASE ORDER                                                   

10.00   CONTRACT AWARD LETTER                                                                     

11.00  SUPPLIER EVALUATION                                                                              

12.00  FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS                               

SECTION 1: APPROVED SUPPLIERS.

All facilities, maintenance, and construction-related suppliers selected to perform work for the University will be required to be approved by the Purchasing Department prior to any commencement of work. These suppliers will be called Approved Suppliers.

The Supplier Approval Process is intended to provide information to facilitate the selection of suppliers, assure suppliers meet minimum Columbia University requirements, provide a pool of new suppliers for diversification of the supplier list, inform the bid list approval process and reduce Columbia University’s liability.

Supplier Approval is intended to be an informative process that establishes a supplier’s area of expertise, services and product line.

Supplier Approval is intended to establish: the value of work a supplier is capable of performing for the University, insurability, performance with Columbia University and that the supplier agrees to the terms and conditions of Columbia University’s contractual agreements and obligations.

Supplier Approval registers the supplier with CU’s procurement and accounts payable systems for contracts, payments, and tracking.

The approval process ensures that quality standards, insurance requirements, policy and guidelines are met.

1.20 TASK ORDER AGREEMENT AND TERM CONSULTANT SUPPLIERS

Task Order Agreement & Term Consultant Suppliers will be chosen from the approved list of suppliers that have performed work successfully with the University on individual jobs and who can sustain a regular volume of work and maintain service, quality and cost effectiveness or in conjunction with deliberate planned sourcing initiatives.

• Suppliers will be selected on a continuing competitive basis justified by comparison of their hourly rates, unit prices, multipliers, insurability, financial strength, history of work and claims, safety record, quality, specialty and any other relevant attributes specific to their professional category or as deemed by the Construction Sourcing Team.
• Task Order and Term Consultant Suppliers will exist in an environment of dynamic competition that provides them an opportunity to work for Columbia University in a preferred but non-exclusive basis.

Task Order Agreement and term Consultant Suppliers will be vetted and will execute contracts with Columbia University for a stated term and stated rate structure.

Approved suppliers will be available to perform work for dollar values that are based on their contract type or single or multi-trade categorization.

Task Order Agreement Contract Terms and Conditions will be specifically for work under $50,000 for individual trades and $100,000 for multi-trade contractors on a per project basis. Term Consultant Contract Terms and Conditions will be specifically for work under $100,000 for a specific term basis. Generally, Task Order and Term Consultant Agreements will have:

• Typical contract terms of two to five years (or other duration determined by Purchasing. Supplier)
• Options for renewal upon satisfactory review with competitive bidding / negotiation.

1.30 SUPPLIER APPROVAL PROCESS.

The Construction Sourcing Team is responsible for managing the Supplier Approval process in close consultation with the Facilities groups. All suppliers selected for use for facilities, operations and maintenance, and construction related purposes will be approved by the Supplier Management Steering Committee (SMSC) prior to any commencement of work. The process ensures that all suppliers working at Columbia University or its satellite locations are properly vetted, and that opportunities for minority, women, local business are considered.

Following successful approval, selected suppliers will be established in CU’s procurement and accounts payable systems for contracts, payment, and performance tracking.

Task Order and Term Consultant Suppliers must utilize negotiated rates and markups.

Utilization of Suppliers who are not approved or do not have valid contracts will result in non-compliance with CUs Purchasing Policy and each instance will be reviewed by Central Procurement and the SMSC for appropriate action.

Facility Directors (or equivalent) will provide recommendations and feedback on the selection and retention of suppliers to the Construction Sourcing Team and the SMSC and can request new suppliers via Qualtrics (https://columbiaservices.az1.qualtrics.com/Q/MyProjectsSection).The Construction Sourcing Team may also introduce new suppliers for approval and review by the SMSC.

1.40 TERMINATION OF SUPPLIERS.

Firms that act in violation of the terms of their contract, Columbia University policy or guidelines, and/or outside the guidelines of the Purchasing and Facility departments can be terminated or suspended from participation in any University work for a time frame to be determined by Purchasing and the SMSC.

Termination of Supplier Contracts may occur by the suspension of work until the expiration of their contract. Termination may occur due to failure to adhere to the terms and conditions of their contract, unsatisfactory performance, repeatedly unsuccessful or uncompetitive bidding, under or non-utilization, unlawful conduct, federal disbarment, the act of subjecting individuals to unsafe practices or conditions, or any activity or condition deemed unacceptable by Columbia University’s Construction Sourcing or Facilities Departments.

The termination recommendation will be submitted to or by the Construction Sourcing Team and presented to the SMSC for review and action by the most expeditious process appropriate.

The subject firm will be notified in writing by a representative of the SMSC that their contract has been terminated, and their status will be updated in the vendor management system.

The status of suspended and terminated firms will be maintained in the VMS header page accessible via a drop down at https://vms.cuf.columbia.edu/list.asp. For access to this link please contact the Construction Sourcing Team.

1.50 DISCLOSURE.

All Suppliers are to disclose:

• If any of their partners, owners, shareholders, principles or employees are related to Columbia University employees.
• If any of the above have done work for Columbia University or its affiliate schools and hospitals, under any supplier name other than the current supplier name.
• If the above are currently approved to work for Columbia University under any other supplier name by a Term/Task Order, master agreement, lease, or other contractual agreement.

Failure to disclose this information may result in suspension or disqualification of the supplier.

Columbia University employees in any department requesting or managing work are to disclose any relationship to as stated above. Please refer to Columbia University’s Purchasing Policy Conflicts of Interest Statement of University Policy on Conflicts of Interest | University Policies.

SECTION 2: SUPPLIER SELECTION.

Only approved suppliers should be selected for work with Columbia University.

If a supplier’s services are required and they are not approved or do not have a valid contract, the requesting agent is to contact the Construction Sourcing Team who will assist the agent to find an appropriate substitute who is approved and/or contracted or provide guidance to initiate a request for resources via Qualtrics.

New firms should be evaluated based on their ability to satisfactorily perform the work as evidenced by information gathered during the approval vetting process and matched with the appropriate type of work to be contracted.

Opportunities to bid on work should be distributed on a routine basis to all firms with a Task Order or Term Consultant Agreement equitably based on their trade, specialty and the size of project.

Utilization of firms should be distributed to provide opportunities for all firms to bid on and obtain work based on their competitiveness.

An approved firm should be given an opportunity to participate in each bid list prepared for work within the areas of appropriate trade and specialty as determined during the approval process.

Facilities groups should strive for reasonable distribution of work within each trade and specialty in order to provide the SMSC with the necessary feedback for evaluating their performance on an ongoing basis.

Each Task Order and Term Consultant Supplier will be provided with ongoing opportunities to bid on work consistent with their financial limit, availability and as established by their qualification profile.

Project and Facilities Managers should seek competitive proposals for Task Order and Term Consultant work as outlined in the Bid List Preparation section of this policy in order to encourage efficient utilization of manpower and material usage. 2.20 Task Order Agreement Suppliers’ performance on bidding and work will be an important factor in determining whether they retain a   Task Order or Term Consultant Contract.

It is intended that Task Order and Term Consultant Agreement firms will obtain sufficient amounts of work so they view Columbia University as a valued partner.

Provisions for unanticipated emergency procurement as defined in Section 6.00 of the purchasing guidelines will be made as they occur but such emergency procedures are not intended for convenience or to circumvent the purchasing policy.

Some considerations for selection are:

• The supplier is not suspended or terminated.
• The dollar volume of work matches the capability of the supplier
• Number of opportunities the supplier has had throughout the CU portfolio¹
• Number of active projects the supplier currently is engaged in
• Success in prior bidding
• Evaluations of previous performance
• Experience with projects of a similar nature²
• Financial capability
• Internal resources
• The supplier’s Local status
• Landlord requirements in lease terms
• Governmental agency requirements

2.30 LOCAL OBJECTIVES.

Local firms should be given opportunities on each bid list for which there is an approved local firm in the appropriate trade and specialty with sufficient expertise and capacity to perform the work being bid.

All service, general contracting and construction management firms who work for Columbia University on projects specific to the Manhattanville Campus, where the value of an award is One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or greater and for which they will utilize sub-contractors, will be required to acknowledge and strive to meet the University’s Minority, Women and Local targets as established by Community Benefits Agreement between COLUMBIA University and New York City to the extent possible. For all other projects, only the local supplier target applies.

All suppliers will be encouraged to utilize Columbia University approved suppliers as sub-contractors for work performed for the University regardless of value and to provide opportunities to local firms to participate in bidding for sub-contracted work.

Project Managers preparing initial bid lists are expected to diversify the firms utilized. Project Directors are responsible for ensuring that bid lists are consistent with the intent of the policy to encourage use of a local supplier base that is subject to competition from approved new suppliers.

2.40 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

A signed vendor proposal is NOT considered a validly executed contract.

All work assigned requires a contract unless it is a project-specific assignment of under $100,000 awarded to a Task Order vendor (or $50,000 for single trade vendors), a Term Consultant or a related to a Service Agreement already in place. All contracts must be executed on standard Columbia University contact templates. Requests for contract exceptions should be directed to the Director of Construction and Facilities Sourcing. 

SECTION 3 BID LIST PREPARATION

For all contracts, a list of prospective bidders shall be prepared in advance of a transmittal of an “Invitation to Bid,” in accordance with the following schedule of minimum requirements:

Work less than or equal to $5,000.00 can be awarded to Task Order Agreement Suppliers without a written proposal or bidding. If suppliers other than Task Order Suppliers are utilized the work must be competitively bid. A Facilities or Procurement Director must approve the supplier selection.

A competitive Task Order Proposal may be used to provide opportunities to approved contracted approved Task and Term Consultant suppliers without a sealed competitive bid process.

Competitive Task Order and Term Consultant proposals may be used for any work performed within the Task Order or Term Consultant limits,

Proposals must be in writing but may be transmitted via email in PDF format or submitted through Maximo or Unifier.

Except as stated in Section 3.14 below, work greater than $5,000 and up to$50,000 for individual trades or $100,000 for multitrade suppliers, requires a minimum of one written proposal from a Task Order supplier. If a Task Order supplier is not used, the work must be bid. A Facilities or Procurement Director must approve the selection.

If a Task Order supplier’s contract stipulates unit pricing that is all inclusive (providing for, but not limited to labor and material within the unit cost) a Work Order may be issued to a Task Order Supplier for work greater than $5,000 and up to $50,000 for individual trades or $100,000 for multi-trades, provided that any additional or miscellaneous costs not included in the unit pricing schedule, does not exceed $5,000. 3.14.1 All work greater than $20,000 for individual trades and $100,000 for multi-trade contractors and up to $100,000 for both categories require a minimum of three submitted bids. 3.30     The bid list will be prepared by the Project Manager and submitted to the Director for approval. The Director will be responsible for verifying that the bid list conforms to the selection criteria and approves the list.

All bidders who are not approved or contracted Task Order or Term Consultant Agreement suppliers must be reviewed and approved by the funding department AVP where applicable and the Facilities department AVP or higher regardless of the dollar value and group review requirements.

Bid lists shall be summarized in a form specified by Construction Sourcing and reviewed on a regularly scheduled basis by the Facility group or the department AVP or equivalent senior officer.

In emergency or expedited situations, prudent management judgment shall prevail. Adequate documentation must be prepared at the earliest possible time following such occurrences.

That documentation will include:

• Explanation of the emergency and the reasons it could not be bid.
• Reason for the supplier selection.
• Cost analysis and evaluation.
• Approval to proceed with supplier and work signed by Facilities AVP level officer or the equivalent.

Expedited and emergency projects will require the Director and AVP review and signed approval of the bid list or directed source as indicated above.

SECTION 4: BID PROCESS.

The bid forms shall be used to describe the project and request for bids. Plans, specifications and other pertinent information shall be sent to all suppliers on the bid list, at the same time.

Rebids should follow the same procedures as the original bid. The bidding policy requirements shall apply to all rebids. The term bidder shall apply to suppliers in both bid and rebid requests. The decision to rebid may include a subset of the original bid list but should include a minimum of 3 suppliers. Exclusion of bidders on the rebid list should be reviewed with Construction Sourcing or campus specific purchasing teams. All decisions should be documented within the project file.

Bid Packages should contain the following information:

• Invitation to Bid Letter
• Instructions to Bidders
• Bid Proposal Form
• Scope of Work
• General Conditions
• Terms and Conditions
• Technical Specifications / Special Conditions (if appropriate)
• Drawings (if appropriate)
• Insurance Requirements (If different from Task Order Agreement)

Columbia Contract Boilerplate Rebids are not required to re-issue information that has not changed but should state that original information is valid where appropriate.

Instructions to Bidders should:

• Be released to bidders at the same time.
• Have procedures for substitutions or alternates clearly stated.
• Be specific in defining bid suspenses.
• Clearly specify the procedure for returning bids.

The bid suspense is to be strictly enforced; any extensions granted to one should be granted to all bidders.

Any additional information, clarifications, and addendums transmitted to one bidder were equally transmitted to all bidders.

Bid Suspense

A reasonable amount of time shall be afforded to the prospective bidders. Allowance shall be made for the time interval to transmit document, estimate, complexity of job, multiple trade, apparatus/equipment specified and return of bid.

In no case shall the Bid Interval be extended in a manner that would:

• provide a competitive advantage to one or more of the prospective bidders over other bidders
• allow for resubmitted bids

In some cases when none of the bids have been opened, it may be necessary to extend the bid period to:

• Allow for addendum
• Treat special conditions
• Change project scope
• Allow for additional bidders

In no case shall new bidders be added to the bid list following issuance of the bid package.

Transmittal of Supplemental Information

In some situations it may be necessary to provide additional information to all prospective bidders during the bid interval prior to the opening of bids. This might become necessary as a result of

• Change in project scope
• Change in material selection
• Clarifying specifications and other provisions

Any information, clarification and addendums transmitted to one bidder should be concurrently transmitted to all bidders.

In no case shall one or more bidders be provided with information that will give them a competitive advantage over the other bidders. All bidders are to receive equal information and treatment.  All information and correspondence should be documented in writing and maintained in the contract file.

4.50 BID ROUTING AND COMMUNICATION.

Bids submitted to Facilities are to be sent to a designated individual or Bid Representative, within Columbia’s facilities, operations or project management organizations who keeps them in a secure location until the bid deadline / opening. 

Late bids, which are received after the deadline, may be accepted in extenuating circumstances. Acceptance requires the Facilities Organization’s Associate Vice President’s approval, providing none of the bids were opened prior to the receipt of the late bid.

Bidding instructions should request that bidders respond by email if they are not going to participate prior to the bid due date. 4.74   Disclosure of bid information during the bidding process (original bid, rebid or leveling) will be reason for dismissal of any Columbia University employee, consultant or contractor.

SECTION 5: BID SUMMARY.

A Bid Summary Form shall be used, after opening the bids, to list the suppliers, their bids and any alternates. It will also show the total base bid and appropriate alternatives.  The Senior Columbia University Officer present at the bid opening will sign/approve this document.

Bids will be recorded as competitive on the requisition summary if at least two (2) suppliers responded. A sole/single source justification is required for any bid with only one submission.

At the time of initial bid review, the initial preparation of the bid summary shall be considered preliminary, until the bids can be verified or “leveled”. Once the bids are leveled and bids are substantially equivalent, a final bid summary will be proposed. The final bid summary will contain an audit trail illustrating how any dollar amounts were interpreted and leveled. Bids that are not responsive may be disqualified.

SECTION 6: RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD.

The Recommendation to Award work or a contract should be made by the responsible Project Manager Purchasing Agent and include a copy of the Bid Summary, and any supporting documents that might be required.

The original bid amount, any rebids and leveling notes of each supplier must be clearly listed in sequence of their submission on the bid summary. It should clearly define the steps of the process leading to the final bid calculation amounts and the recommendation. Documentation of each submission / calculation (original bid, rebids and leveling) is to be filed and submitted with the request for approval. All accepted modifications and alternatives should be clearly indicated.

A Recommendation of Award being prepared for the lowest approved and responsive bidders should be signed/approved by an officer at the same management level as required by the bid list, based on the total anticipated dollar value of the award.

When the Purchasing, Facilities, or Project Manager responsible for the bid summary and recommendation indicates that a bidder other than the low bidder is to be selected, the reasons are to be documented in the Recommendation to Award memo. The Recommendation to Award is to have a written approval by the facilities group AVP, or designee, indicating approval of the analysis and decision. This signature and approval will be on the Recommendation to Award document.

Sub-contracts Competitively Bid under Construction Manager supervision (See Section 7 of the Facilities Policy PA001-02)

Approvals Required for Awarding Competitively Bid Work (See Section 8 of the Facilities Policy PA001-02)

SECTION 7: NOTIFICATIONS TO UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS.

A letter or email shall be sent to all unsuccessful bidders by the Project Manager or Purchasing informing them of the bid outcome. Notification should be sent within one week of the award decision and approval of the requisition for a Purchase Order.

SECTION 8: AWARDING WORK PROCEDURES.

Construction and facilities related work may only be awarded in the following ways:

• Competitive bidding awards
• Task Order assignments
• Term Consultant awards
• Under University Wide Purchasing Agreements (UwPA)
• With a valid Single/Sole source justification

SECTION 9: REQUISITION FOR PURCHASE ORDER.

The Project Manager will input the information into the appropriate University system (i.e. Unifier, Onbase, Jaggaer) and prepare a requisition as is required. All necessary supporting documentation for the requisition will be sent to Purchasing after obtaining required workflow approval(s). Purchasing will review the requisition submission for complete and proper documentation and if the submission is complete Purchasing will approve the requisition for issuance of a PO. If additional information is required, Purchasing will inform the Project Manager or Purchasing Agent of the required documentation. Purchasing will, upon receipt of the requested information, provide approval of the requisition and subsequently issue the purchase order. CONTRACT AWARD LETTER

SECTION 10: CONTRACT AWARD LETTER.

A standard form letter shall be used for the award of all contracts. Notification should be sent within one week of the award decision.

SECTION 11: SUPPLIER EVALUATION.

Facilities Project Managers responsible for work will complete a Supplier evaluation immediately upon the completion of work or service. The SMSC will review firm performance on a quarterly basis as indicated in Report cards received.

SECTION 12: PROCUREMENTS USING FEDERAL FUNDS.

If the request indicates it is to be placed under a United States government grant, in addition to Items listed below, this order is subject to the provisions contained in 2 CFR PART 200—UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS Appendix II to Part 200—Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards items ( C ) through ( J ) as applicable and the applicable provisions are incorporated by reference with the same effect as if they were fully set forth herein. These standards comply with the provisions of applicable federal statutes and executive orders required for procurement contracts funded by federal awards. Copies of 2 CFR PART 200—UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS Appendix II to Part 200—Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards items (C) through (J) will be made available to the SUPPLIER upon written request or you may visit the following website: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR2014-title2-vol1/xml/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-part200-appII.xml.

Moreover, the University is required to include additional federal provisions in contracts when certain circumstances are met. These provisions, which also must be applied to subcontracts, are listed below.

Contracts in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold—which is currently $100,000 under 41 U.S.C. § 403 (11)—shall contain contractual provisions or conditions that allow for administrative, contractual, or legal remedies in instances in which a contractor violates or breaches the contract terms and provide for such remedial actions as may be appropriate.

All contracts in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, which is currently $100,000 under 41 U.S.C. § 403 (11) shall contain suitable provisions for termination by the recipient, including the manner by which termination shall be affected and the basis for settlement. In addition, such contracts shall describe conditions under which the contract may be terminated for default as well as conditions where the contract may be terminated because of circumstances beyond the control of the contractor.

Except as otherwise required by statute, an award that requires the contracting (or subcontracting) for construction or facility improvements shall provide for the recipient to follow its own requirements relating to bid guarantees, performance bonds, and payment bonds unless the construction contract or subcontract exceeds $100,000. For those contracts or subcontracts exceeding $100,000, the Federal awarding agency may accept the bonding policy and requirements of the recipient, provided the Federal awarding agency has made a determination that the Federal Government's interest is adequately protected. If such a determination has not been made, the minimum requirements shall be as follows:

A bid guarantee from each bidder equivalent to five percent of the bid price. The "bid guarantee" shall consist of a firm commitment such as a bid bond, certified check, or other negotiable instrument accompanying a bid as assurance that the bidder shall, upon acceptance of his bid, execute such contractual documents as may be required within the time specified.

A performance bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price. A "performance bond" is one executed in connection with a contract to secure fulfillment of all the contractor's obligations under such contract.

A payment bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price. A "payment bond" is one executed in connection with a contract to assure payment as required by statute of all persons supplying labor and material in the execution of the work provided for in the contract.

Where bonds are required in the situations described herein, the bonds shall be obtained from companies holding certificates of authority as acceptable sureties pursuant to 31 CFR part 223, "Surety Companies Doing Business with the United States."

The above bulleted section applies solely when a direct expenditure of Federal funds is involved.

All negotiated contracts—except those for less than the simplified acquisition threshold, which is currently $100,000 under 41 U.S.C. § 403 (11)—awarded by recipients shall include a provision to the effect that the recipient, the Federal awarding agency, the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the contractor which are directly pertinent to a specific program for the purpose of making audits, examinations, excerpts and transcriptions.