Job Order Contracts- The Way to Renovate

Job Order Contracting is quickly becoming a preferred way to renovated or remodel facilities - and it is fast! With stressed facility budgets and fewer staff members than in prior years, facility owners in governmental entities are choosing to renovate and remodel to improve facilities.  And for predictability and best value, they are turning to Job Order Contracting for the remodeling and renovation.

Job Order Contracting is a competitively bid contract for construction services yet to be defined. When a school district needs to improve a facility or a city or county has to have new space, they can use Job Order Contracting to ensure the project is accomplished in a quality manner, under a simplified communication structure that helps get the job done quickly.

To learn more about Job Order Contracting, visit- http://www.choicefacilitypartners.org/html/job_order_contracting.php

Job Order Contracting was one of the workshop topics at the annual conference in January of the Mexican American School Board Association of Texas. Provided by Choice Facility Partners’ vendor partner Francisco Rendon of Herrera and Hunt, the presentation covered basic information about the process and how to get it started.  Section 44.041 of the Texas Education Code establishes Job Order Contracting as one method allowed for facilities construction or repair: Job Order Contracting is not design-build, construction manager-agent, construction manager-at-risk, competitive sealed proposals or competitive bid. 

Choice Facility Partners offers a variety of Job Order Contracting contracts that have been competitively procured through the RFP process. Choice Facility Partners, a division of Harris County Department of Education, gives options, for Job Order Contracting and more, to governmental entities that have signed interlocal agreements. Members may choose from 18 contractors who have competitively bid and were legally awarded a contract for Job Order Contracting.

These Job Order Contractors are qualified to do the construction work and want a long-term relationship with the building/facility owner. Consequently it is a priority for them to select subcontractors who provide quality work and who are members of the community. This process typically avoids the low bid contractors who may be gone tomorrow.

Job Order Contracting expedites renovations, quickly putting the organization’s dollars to work. Members select a contractor with a Job Order Contract award through Choice Facility Partners, then the contractor can immediately go to work, preparing the plan and selecting the local subcontractors. Further, Job Order Contracting keeps the back and forth nature of the approvals to minimum, significantly reducing the work for the facility owner. Simplifying the organization, Job Order Contracting allows a single point of contact for the organization sanctioning the project with the contractors.

With Job Order Contracting, flexibility with facility projects becomes easy. Whether it is an aesthetic change or a different type of building layout, renovation and remodeling is accomplished using the R.S. Means pre-priced unit price book, which has more than 42,000 facility costs, which are regularly updated. The bid from the services contractor partner proposes a coefficient or multiplier, which is not a mark-up. The average construction costs for specific geographic areas are published in the unit price book, and then are multiplied by the coefficient or multiplier to determine specific construction costs. A bonus with Choice Facility Partners is that line items for division I costs are controlled by the CFP contract. Change orders are virtually eliminated and project “surprises” are reduced with Job Order Contracting.  Facility owners will know the total project cost upfront.

Governmental entities that wish to use the Choice Facility Partners Job Order Contracts may do so after signing an interlocal agreement.

To learn any more about Choice Facility Partners and Job Order Contracting, visit http://www.choicefacilitypartners.org/