” Either Agency or JOC Consultant acts as CM. ” is a sentence that should NEVER appear in a Job Order Contract RFP or associated with a JOC Program.
Unfortunately, however, Job Order Contracts, in certain areas, primarily County, State, and Local Government, has been known to abuse JOC and allow JOC consultants to manage JOC programs and projects.
The following definition should also NEVER appear within the scope of a JOC Program…
“Construction Manager – The authorized representative of the Agency to administer, coordinate, and manage the Job Order or JOC Project. The Construction Manager can be either the Agency or the JOC Consultant’s Construction Manager. If the Construction Manager is managing a Job Order or JOC Project, the term Construction Manager is used interchangeably with “Using Agency” and/or “Agency Owner” in the Contract Documents. Also known as JOC Consultant.” (Source: http://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt4/Pt%20IV%20Ch%2015%20Job%20Order%20Contracting%20Program.pdf )
A JOC Program should ONLY be managed by an independent government agency with appropriate authority, and/or the real property owner implementing the JOC program.
The primary focus of any “best practice” Job Order Contract” is to develop, support, and manage long term win-win relationships between Owners and Contractors, resulting in quality construction projects delivered on-time, on-budget to the satisfaction of all participants.
Achieving maximum benefit from a JOC program requires a competent owner that provides leadership, without excessive management and control.
An owner-managed Job Order Contract drives superior outcomes and avoids any potential for conflict of interests, abuse of contractors, and/or fraud. JOC can also be deployed via cooperatives, if such cooperatives are directly managed by independent governmental agencies with the authority to do so. Use of JOC consultants and/or cooperatives owned and managed by private entities presents an opportunity for abuse and/or fraud, especially if payment to the JOC management firm is in the form of a percentage of total JOC construction volume. Several independent audits of JOC programs have documented these an associated issues.
Cooperatives, managed by independent governmental authorities, provide other public sector real property owners, with access to JOC Construction Services without the cost of setting up a JOC. This is generally considered to be beneficial to owners with annual JOC construction volumes less than $2M per year. Properly managed cooperatives that provide independent, objective, and professional JOC services thus play an important industry role.
OpenJOC, a term coined by Fout BT, LLC, abides by fundamental JOC principles of collaboration and transparency, as well as core LEAN construction processes. Focus is upon providing tools, training, and support at the appropriate level to enable owner-managed JOC programs and associated support services, as well as support for JOC cooperatives managed by independent governmental agencies.
OpenJOC is based upon the philosophy that a full understanding of owner and contractor needs, requirements, competencies, and behaviors is vital to JOC program success and continuous improvement.
Focus upon OUTCOMES by all participants and shared risk-reward drives overall BEST VALUE that can be quantitatively measured.
OpenJOC delivers and supports all requisite components of a Job Order Contracting System based upon current best management practices (BMPs) including;
- Electronic Cost Data- Unit Price Book(s) – Detailed locally researched construction task descriptions in common terms, with detailed labor, material, and equipment breakdowns included.
- Support, & Training – Ongoing support and software technology and cost data updates, and multiple levels and formats of training for all JOC program participants (introductory, advanced, domain specific, regional, on-site, and virtual).
- Services – Independent Government Estimating (IGE), Budget Collaboration Reviews, JOC Marketing, Informal Estimate Auditing Services/Formal Estimate Auditing Services, Marketing – Internal and external marketing to build awareness of the JOC Program and its core feature, benefits, and requirements.
- Technology – Collaborative cloud environment embedding LEAN construction delivery methodology and designed to support consistent JOC Program deployment:
o Integrated Cost Estimating, Contract Management, Project Management, and Document Management
o Access to Multiple Cost Data Sources / UPBs
o Ability to Lock Down UPBs/Price Guides, and associated Coefficients per Job Order Contract(s)
o Export to Excel, PDF
o Store, Recall, Share, Reuse Estimates from Central Location
o Link to Specifications / Graphics / Pictures
o Powerful Estimating Tools
o Standard and Custom Reporting
o Industry Standards – Masterformat licensed
o Secure Data Encryption
o Full Administrator ControlsLearn more about OpenJOC…. www.4BT.US