The purpose of this phase is to hire the consultants
that are necessary for the planning, design and management of capital
construction projects. The selection of architects, engineers,
landscape architects, surveyors and industrial hygenists is governed
by the the Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) statutes (CRS 24-30-1401
through 1408) and by Board of Regent policy that parallels the QBS
statutes. For minor capital construction projects, or initial
planning phase studies costing less than $50,000 consultants are
typically selected from the standing order consultant list (CRS
24-30-1403).
When this phase occurs will vary depending on the type of capital
construction project. CCHE policy requires that the architect
of record be the program planning consultant for renovation projects,
thus for renovation projects, architect selection occurs prior to
the program planning phase. For new construction, selection
of the architect of record often occurs after funding is secured.
There are eleven steps that may be required as a part of this phase.
Some of these steps occur concurrently with other steps or phases.
For example, requests are often made conditionally when funding
approvals are still being sought. The average length of time
that projects have spent in this phase is six months.
Step 1: Develop Request for Qualifications
The Planning Phase Manager drafts a public anouncement in accordance
with State Buildings requirements. A more detailed Infromation
Packet is prepared that takes excerpts from the latest planning
documents along with procedural requirements and prepares it to
be issued.
What is required? The RFQ follows a set format issued
by State Buildings. The information packet contains detailed
information about the project.
Sample RFQ Sample
Information Packet
Who to see? The Planning Phase Manager will draft
these documents and the client will review them.
What will happen? The draft RFQ will include dates
and a schedule that will be met throughout this phase of the
project. After the documents are drafted, they will be circulated
to a few reviewers for editorial comments. A notice will be
sent to the Vice Chancellor for Administration advising that the
notice is about to be posted. The Vice Chancellor will discuss
the project with other vice chancellors and may elect to delay release
if their concurrence is not obtained.
Step 2: Formation of a Selection
Committee
A selection committee composed of the Campus Architect or designee
(Chair), the Planning Phase Manager, the Construction Phase Manager,
a Design Review Board member and two to four client representatives
is created to review and nominate the most qualified firms to the
Board of Regents.
What is required? The minimum requirements by Regent
policy are for reqresentatives of the DRB, Facilities Management
and the client to serve on the committee. The committee suggested
above has been found to be balanced and broad-based while still
being manageable.
Who to see? The client is responsible for finding
members that are interested in serving and able to represent the
program's interests well. The Planning Phase Manager will
confirm the availability of the DRB member and Facilities Management
staff.
What will happen? After names have been provided to
the Planning Phase Manager, a letter outlining the requirements
will be sent to committee members. Dates and times of meetings
will be confirmed. Note that since the dates and times are
tenatively set in Step 1, committee members should only accept if
they can make the selection dates.
Step 3: Release RFQ
Facilties Planning staff will publish the RFQ on the State of Colorado
Bids Page and in the Daily Journal, a construction trade newspaper.
A web site will be created to manage communications during the selection
process.
What is required? The Univeristy Administrative Policy
require that a major capital construction project be advertised
for not less than 30 days and the notice must be given three times,
generally a week apart.
Who to see? Facilities Planning staff will ensure
that the project is properly posted.
What will happen? The RFQ will run in the newspapers
and on the State and FM web pages. Consulting firms will begin
downloading the information packet and asking questions. Questions
and answers will be posed on a project FAQ page.
Step 4: Pre-submittal Meeting
A non-manditory meeting is typically held a week before submittals
are due to give the opportunity for consultants to learn more about
the project.
What is required? There are no formal requirements
for such a meeting however it is strongly recommended. The
quality of submittals is stronger for projects that have such a
meeting.
Who to see? The Planning Phase Manager will schedule
the meeting with the Client during Step 1.
What will happen? Pre-submittal meetings are generally
two hours in length. The first half of the meeting is a presentation
by the Planning Phase Manager, the client, and the Construction
Phase Manager. The client then leads a tour of the proposed
project site to familiarize consulting firms with the scope of the
project.
Step 5: Submission of Statements
of Qualifications
Consulting firms submit their qualificaions to the Campus Architect.
What is required? Consulting firms must submit their
qualifications by the deadline contained in the RFQ.
Who to see? Facilities Planning staff will receive
and log in all documents.
What will happen? Facilities Planning staff will collect
the submittals and note any irregularities. They will prepare
scoresheets to be used in evaluations by the committee during the
next step.
Step 6: Shortlist of Most Qualified Firms
In this step, the committee screens the submittals to determine
which firms should be interviewed for the project.
What is required? The Selection Committee meets together
for 4 to 6 hours and screens all the submittals and creates a list
of 4 to six firms for interviews.
Who to see? The Planning Phase Manager will schedule
this meeting during Step 1
What will happen? The committee will spend most of
the time reviewing the submittals and rating the respondents based
on the selection criteria of:
- Experience with the project type;
- Design and Understanding of problems and solutions;
- Management Methodology to accomplish project.
- Financial Areas and ability to meet budget
- Commitment to the Campus Design Guidlines
A concensus building process will help the committee determine
which firms should receive an invitation to the interviews.
After the shortlisting is complete, Facilties Planning staff will
notify the shortlisted firms by phone and mail or e-mail that they
have been invited to interviews. Firms not receiving an invitiation
will be sent a letter or an e-mail notification of their status.
One set of submittal of the firms invited will be retained by Facilities
Planning and one will be retained by the client team. These
are shared among members so that a more in depth examination of
the submittals can be made. A member of the Selection Committee
is assigned to check references. This is usually performed
by the client team so that they gain more knowledge about the firms
applying.
Step 7: Interviews and Most Qualified
List
In this step, the Selection Committee interviews the shortlisted
firms and creates a ranked list of the most qualified firms to do
the work.
What is required? The QBS statutes require that the
"principle representative" must receive a list of not
less than three qualified firms for each capital project.
The Board of Regents is the University of Colorado's principle representative.
Who to see? The Planning Phase Manager will arrange
the interviews and draft the Regent Action Item.
What will happen? The Selection Committee will interview
each of the firms for 50 to 75 minutes. At the end, a formal
scoring and discussion will take place to determine the ranked list.
Facilities Planning staff will then prepare a Regent Action Item
and a confidential memo outlining the reasons the firms were ranked
the way they were. This submission needs to occur five weeks prior
to a Board of Regent action.
Step 8: Board of Regent Approval
The Board of Regents approves the Most Qualified List submitted
by the Selection Committee.
What is required? The Board of Regents must approve
the selection list before contract negotiation can be concluded
and a contract signed.
Who to see? The Regent Action Item is processed as
other items through the Vice Chancellor for Adminiistration, Chancellor,
Office of the President, and Board of Regents Secretary.
What will happen? The Board of Regents will take action
on the list. Almost always, they approve the list as submitted
but they do retain the right to change the order of the ranking
or eliminate a firm. This has occurred once since 1994 on
any campus , due to a lawsuit on an unrelated project.
Step 9: Sub-Consultant Selection
Engineering consultants for the disciplines of mechanical, electrical
and telecommunications are selected using a similar process during
the contract negotiations. Occasionally, other disciplines
are selected in this manner as well.
What is required? Separate interviews of three firms
are conducted in each of the disciplines (9 total). A ranked
list for each is generated for use by the architect in negotiating
sub contracts.
Who to see? The Construction Phase Manager will schedule
interviews with the firms after the architectural shortlist has
been generated.
What will happen? A new committee consisting of the
Construction Phase Manager, FM or ITS engineer and a representative
of the architectural firm will interview the sub-consulting firms.
The committee will rank firms and give a recommendation to the architectural
firm as to which firm should be negotiated with first. The
architecture firm then uses this negotiation in formulating their
proposal submitted in Step 10.
Step 10: Contract Negotiations
The Construction Phase Manager leads negotiations with the consulting
team create a fair and equitable contract to perform the work.
What is required? The QBS statutes require negotiations
of a clear scope and fee for the project. The Construciton
Phase Manager, who is responsible for control of the budget, must
negotiate a clear fee for the scope of work required.
Who to see? The Construction Phase Manager is responsible
for this step.
What will happen? The architectural firm will submit
a cost fee proposal based on their understanding of the scope of
work. The client, Planning Phase Manager and Construction
Phase Manager will review the draft proposal and fee and make suggestions
that will be given back to the architectural firm. There may
be several iterations of this step. The end result is a proposal
that is balanced and appropriate for the proposed scope.
In the event that a fee cannot be negotiated, the QBS statutes
provide for terminating negotiations and starting with the second
most qualified firm. The university can move to the third
most qualified firm if negotiations fail with the second.
If negotiations fail with all three, negotiations can be re-opened
with any of the firms. Then, the project must be re-advertised
(Step 3).
Step 11: Contract Drafting and
Routing
Once a proposal has been accepted, a State of Colorado contract
is prepared and routed for signatures.
What is required? A State of Colorado contract, with
accompanying proof of insurance, rate schedule W/MBE form and other
information is prepared and then routed for signatures prior to
any design work beginning.
Who to see? Design and Construction staff is responsible
for this step.
What will happen? After the contract is prepared,
four copies are sent to the architecture firm for signature.
When returned, the State Buildings designee, the University Counsel,
State Controller designee and either the Chancellor or President
depending on the magnitude of the project. This process can
take between four and six weeks.
This concludes the Architect Selection Phase. Projects may
begin program planning for renovation projects or design for new
construction.
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