Author: Dan Osborn

Buy American vs. Buy America

Posted on by Dan Osborn

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an executive order intended to strengthen Buy American provisions. Congress passed the Buy American Act in 1933. This program covers specified products and requires the U.S. government to purchase domestic construction materials. The Buy American Act created a national preference for the government to procure only domestic materials used for public construction unless a waiver had been granted. The 1933 Act applies to direct purchases by the federal government, but not third parties, such as private contractors given procurement funding through government endowments.

In summary, the executive order intends to strengthen oversite and leadership and increase waiver scrutiny and inter-agency communication about domestic preferences with respect to Buy American Act provisions.

The Executive Order does not apply to the Buy America Act. The Buy America Act is familiar those operating primarily in the transportation industry performing on projects utilizing funds administered by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for state and local public works entities. The Buy America Act was established within Section 165 of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, which was a transportation funding and policy act created under the Reagan administration. This provision addresses concerns over the surface transportation of highways and bridges. The Buy America Act was intended to give preference for the use of domestically produced materials on any procurements funded at least in part by the federal government.

IDIQ Approved for Permanent Use

Posted on by Dan Osborn

For more than a decade, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has allowed limited use of the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) project delivery method. Effective November 16, 2020, per the FHWA’s interim final rule under 23 CFR 635, states are allowed to use of IDIQ and job order contracting (JOC) on federal aid contracts on a permanent basis under certain circumstances. The FHWA states that “allowing ID/IQ contracting on a permanent basis provides benefits to state departments of transportation (state DOT) and other contracting agencies, including expediting project delivery, increasing administrative efficiency, reducing project costs, and increasing flexibility for state DOTs to use federal-aid funds on certain projects.

FHWA is soliciting public comment about IDIQ and JOC. The comments deadline is January 15. The official notice document, as well as the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), supporting materials and all comments received may be viewed online through the Federal eRulemaking portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. An electronic copy of the notice document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register’s home page at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register and the Government Publishing Office’s web page at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys.

FHWA Requesting Comments – Implementation of IDIQ

Posted on by Dan Osborn

The US DOT published an interim final rule authorizing IDIQ contracts for Federal Aid construction. IDIQ project delivery generally refers to a not-to-exceed contract for a set time period that requires a contractor to execute as-needed work orders based on agreed upon unit prices.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began a two-step rule-making process to authorize indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) project delivery in May of 2018. The first step involved developing the implementation processes and procedures. Step 2 is initiation of the rule-making process. FHWA is soliciting comments to 13 questions. The questions are located on page 10 of 16 (Fed. Reg. pg. # 72928).

INDOT and other state departments of transportation have awarded IDIQ contracts since 2018 under a FHWA experimental project (SEP-14). FHWA and state DOTs found success using IDIQ stating that the project delivery method reduces administrative costs by eliminating the quantity of small project design-bid processes. INDOT has utilized IDIQ in several districts for small bridge and roadway repair and improvement projects. Beginning on Nov. 16, state DOTs may utilize the IDIQ project delivery method for select scopes of work without specific FHWA authorization.

You may submit comments, identified by the document number at the top of this document, by any of the following methods:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
  • Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
  • Hand Delivery/Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.

ICI-Side Wrapup

Posted on by Dan Osborn

ICI members met virtually on Oct. 22 for the ICI-Side ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee meeting and covered a wide range of topics.

Members reported continued collaboration with INDOT to utilize new technology and equipment to improve work zone safety in 2020, such as the trucks for advanced queue awareness vehicles and work zone intelligent traffic messaging systems. Law enforcement officer presence continues to be an industry favorite to get motorists’ attention and slower speeds.

Keith Mullens, ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee co-chair, reported that ICI is working with INDOT on a recently published contractor schedule unique special provision. He explained that INDOT’s primary goals are improving accuracy of public communication of key project dates and increasing contractor schedule submissions and quality.

INDOT has received issue resolution proposals for the following topics:

  • Payment of lump sum items.
  • Measurement and payment for MOT sign.
  • Payment for subgrade treatment type IC as IB
  • Box structure footing closure pours.
  • The proposals are based on a culmination of joint committee discussions and recommendations.

The Statewide Committee leadership will be considering:

  • Maintenance of traffic under live bridge demolition.
  • Greater use of temporary traffic signals in lieu of flaggers.
  • Urging INDOT and local public works entities to refrain from allowing utility relocation after construction contract notice-to-proceed.

The ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee leadership will meet in early November to review current agenda items and discuss new topics. The full Statewide Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2. RSVP here.

Please contact Dan Osborn for questions, suggestions and comments concerning the ICI/INDOT Statewide and Region Joint Cooperative Committees.

Purdue Research of Information Modeling Process/Contract/Technology for INDOT Infrastructure Projects

Posted on by Dan Osborn

Dear Madam/Sir,

We would like to invite you to participate in a study for INDOT to improve the current process, contract, and technology of infrastructure projects. This study is conducted by the Construction Animation, Robotics, and Ergonomics (CARE) Lab in School of Construction Management Technology at Purdue University. The IRB number is IRB-2019-634.

This study includes (1) remote interviews between 10/12/2020 and 12/4/2020, and (2) an online survey between 2/26/2021 and 4/8/2021 to get feedback and insight from experts about the current process, organization structure, information formats, and technologies in design, construction, and O&M of INDOT projects.

We wish to have (1) 6-24 participants for the interview, including 4-15 project managers and 2-5 design staff, and (2) another 30 participants for the survey, including 20 project managers and 10 design staff.

If you are interested in participating in the interview or survey, please help indicate your availability through https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8iZIpLKQcuIbMax. The interview will be held virtually at the time slot you select, and the survey will be sent to you through an email.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the study or have any difficulty accessing the link. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this study!

Sincerely,

Yunfeng (Cindy) Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, chen428@purdue.edu
Jiansong Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, zhan3062@purdue.edu
Xingzhou Guo, Ph.D. Student, guo529@purdue.edu
Chi Tian, Ph.D. Student, tian154@purdue.edu

Construction Animation, Robotics, and Ergonomics (CARE) Lab

School of Construction Management Technology, Purdue University

Public Hearing Notice – NPDES General Permit Changes

Posted on by Dan Osborn

The Environmental Rules Board (ERB) will hold a public hearing through Zoom on amendments to 327 IAC 5 and 327 IAC 15 concerning National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permits. The meeting is scheduled for September 9, 2020, at 1:30 p.m.

Link to notice of Public Hearing.

The purpose and subject matter of this rulemaking are to change the method of issuance of general permits from the current permit by rule process to administratively issued permits.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide for public comment prior to the final adoption of the revisions to 327 IAC 5 and 327 IAC 15. Article 5 is Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment Programs and NPDES. Article 5 NPDES General Permit Rule Program.

Link to the proposed draft.

ICI has participated in IDEM meetings concerning the proposed revisions. Please contact Dan Osborn with questions.