Tag: COVID-19

INDOT Prequalification Application – 2020 Guidance

Posted on by admin_ici

Construction Partners,

I hope this finds you and your families healthy and safe. These are unprecedented times and the Prequalification Division will be as flexible as possible with regard to the submission of Statements of Experience and Financial Condition during the 2020 busy season. We will accept electronic signatures and can make other accommodations to serve those working remotely.

Certificates of Qualification are also included in the Governor’s 60-day extension of state licenses, announced yesterday. If you need such an extension, please submit a request in writing. Such requests should be emailed as an attachment to the following recipients: Aggie Wagoner, Jose Murillo, and Chris Serak. Even if you are unable to make a request in writing due to COVID-19, we will not allow your certificate to expire.

Please note that we are still accepting applications and processing them as normal while virus-related measures are in affect. We encourage those firms that are able to complete their Statements before their current expiration to do so, rather than relying on the 60-day extension. The process for completing and submitting the Contractor’s Statement of Experience and Financial Condition will be the same this busy season as it was in 2019. The email and attachments Jose sent last year, containing specific directions regarding this process, can be found below. Please compile your submission into a single PDF if practicable. Please be aware that you no longer need to submit your safety manual.  

While COVID-19 related restrictions are in place, the Prequalification Division will be working 100% remotely. As such, we will be sending out certificates of qualification by email, to the address listed on the first page of the company’s Statement. Original certificates of qualification will not be mailed during this time.

2020 Bidding Capacity Rule Changes

The Prequalification Division’s new rules regarding bidding capacity are as follows:

  1. Firms who provide self-certified financial statements will be eligible for bidding capacity up to $1,000,000
  2. Firms who provide review financial statements will be eligible for bidding capacity up to $2,500,000
  3. Firms who provide a full CPA audit will be eligible for bidding capacity over $2,500,000

If you have any questions about the new financial rules, please contact me by phone or email. Please note that we will be phasing in the award of higher bidding capacities based on the performance history and financial condition of each applicant firm.  

DOL Links Related to COVID-19 Leave

Please also be aware of the following DOL links, containing the notices that must be posted by all employers with regard to expanded Covid19 leave.  The last link is FAQs in regards to employer’s responsibilities for posting.  

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Federal.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-poster-questions

Thank you and stay safe.

Chris

Christopher B. Serak,
Prequalification Director
Ethics Officer
Prequalification Committee (Chairman)
Selection Review Committee (Member)
Indiana Department of Transportation
Office: (317) 234-2115
Cell: (317) 440-9868
Email: chserak@indot.in.gov

Drug Testing in the Time of COVID-19

Posted on by George Sheraw

A member posed the following question today, and it’s been echoed by several others, so we thought we’d share the guidance here.

QUESTION

Our testing site for drug testing in Indianapolis is currently closed until April 6, and we have new hires that need to be drug tested. What does ICI recommend we do? Being tested in a general clinic or urgent care facility doesn’t seem feasible with the number of patients they are seeing for the COVID-19 virus.

ANSWER

There are 2 options:

  1. Schedule a van to stop by your jobsite or office on or close to Day 1 for pre-employment urine testing. Call 765-482-2976 x 8103; or
  2. Use oral swabs.

Oral swabs offer an alternative to urine testing in a clinic. We provide 10-panel drug testing swabs in boxes/cartons of 20 or 25 swab kits at no charge to employers contributing to the ICISAT program through one or more of the Indiana Heavy and Highway agreements. We just need to know where and to whom to ship them. There are directions provided with each box of swabs, and George Sheraw (317) 634-7547 can run through the process with you, if it would be helpful.

The swabs can be used on-site and in about 10 minutes will tell the employer if the individual is negative or “non-negative.” “Non-negative” is a carefully chosen word that means while the swab appears to be positive, the final determination must be done with a 10-panel urine test at a clinic.

If one or more of your people get a “non-negative” result on their swab, then they must go to the local clinic to be urine tested to determine whether they are positive or not. The swabs pick up prescription medications, so it’s not uncommon for the swabs to look positive but in actuality end up being negative after a SAMHSA certified lab tests their urine.

One of the drawbacks to the swabs is they won’t change a employee’s card status, because they aren’t a urine test.

Prequal Included in License Extension

Posted on by admin_ici
Source: Christopher B. Serak, Prequalification Director, Indiana Department of Transportation, (317) 234-2115

Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prequalification Division will be as flexible as possible to allow contractors to continue to submit Statements of Experience and Financial Condition while such measures are in place. This includes accepting electronic signatures.

Certificates of Qualification are also included in the Governor’s 60-day extension of state licenses, announced earlier this week. If you need such an extension, please send a written request to the Prequalification Division. Such requests should be emailed as an attachment to the following recipients: Aggie Wagoner, Jose Murillo, and Chris Serak. Even if you are unable to make a request in writing due to COVID-19, we will not allow your certificate to expire.

Please note that the Prequalification Division is still accepting applications and processing them as normal while virus-related measures are in affect. The Prequalification Division encourages those firms that are able to complete their Statements before their current expiration to do so, rather than relying on the 60-day extension.

The process for completing and submitting the Contractor’s Statement of Experience and Financial Condition will be the same this busy season as it was in 2019. The Prequalification Division asks that you compile your submission into a single PDF if practicable. INDOT has eliminated the requirement that you submit your safety manual with your Statement.