3 . The way the project is built
On many commercial projects , Lange said , the owner generally doesn ’ t care what means and methods are used to construct the project as long as it complies with the plans and specifications . That ’ s not necessarily true on a public project , where contractors might have to get used to the idea of giving up some control .
“ The owner , whether it ’ s the federal government or state or local , are also concerned with how you ’ re physically performing the work ,” Lange said . “ It [ might ] be buried somewhere in the statement of work in the specifications . I don ’ t think sometimes the contractors always realize that the government is serious about that .”
4 . Bidding
When bidding on private work , Colon said , contractors don ’ t necessarily know who their competitors are . Not so with public contracts .
“ There is no obligation for the private owner to let you know whether or not you ’ re competing with anyone for your pricing , whereas public bidding is completely different ,” Colon said . “ All of your information , all of your pricing — all of that becomes public .”
With this competition for the best price , said construction consultant Wally Adamchik , president of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting , there ’ s a possibility that in the process of trimming fat from the bid that a contractor could leave out a critical piece of the project .
“ And you own that ,” he said .
Some contractors well versed in public work could perhaps make up a potential loss like that through a meticulous change order process , but a company new to public work might not realize that ’ s the norm .
“ They don ’ t know what they don ’ t know ,” he said .
Bidding on public work in some jurisdictions has also become technical , with some agencies relying on services like Onvia DemandStar , Bidsearch and EZGovOps to register interested bidders and issue RFPs and other bid documents .
5 . Bonding
Most government work of consequence requires that contractors be able to provide performance and payment bonds , also known as surety bonds , in the amount of the contract . In order to be bondable , the contractor must apply to a surety company , usually through a broker , and go through a fairly rigorous application process .
If the contractor cannot perform the work or does not pay its bills , the surety company will make good on those obligations .
Some contractors new to the surety bond process might confuse these bonds with insurance since some brokers provide both . But unlike a general liability policy , for example , that pays a claim as long as the insured pays the policy premium , the surety looks to the company and its owners and executives — or whoever guarantees the bonds — for reimbursement in the event of a payout on the bond .
Some of the information that a contractor must provide before being approved for
18 DITCHMEN • APRIL 2021