Bid Analysis Summary

Transcription

1 Edinger Avenue Bridge over Bolsa Chica Channel Bid Analysis Summary Bid Items: Engineering Firm: Variance: Reason: 59, 60 AECOM Furnish and install piles account for Complexity of working in a sensitive environment approximately $2 million in added cost 59 NCM Engineering Increased cost to furnish piles Due to high demand and market conditions 60 NCM Engineering Increased cost to install piles Regulatory restrictions limit noise and vibrations Bid Description: Kiewit: Engineers Variance: Items: Estimate: 59 Furnish 48 Cast-in-Steel $1,789,500 $906,680 $882,820 Shell Concrete Piling 60 Drive 48 Cast-In-Steel $1,500,000 $466,000 $1,034,000 Shell Concrete Pile Total: $1,916,820 Page 1 of 5

2 \ AECOM 999 Town and Country Road Orange, CA tel fax Memorandum To Omeed Mohammad Pour, P.E. Page 1 CC Subject Edinger Avenue Over Bolsa Chica Channel Bid Analysis From Janson Ting Date February 20, 2017 A bid analysis was conducted comparing the three low bids with the original estimate. Our findings are as follows: Overall, there are several bid items that show a lot of variability amongst the three bidders. For example, on Temporary Construction Trestles (item 51), we are $500K above one bidder and $375K below another. This indicates that there are several approaches to bidding this job and the contractor may choose to allocate more risk to certain bid items over to others. Similarly for Structural Concrete, (item 67), the estimame is $1.2M below one bidder but $460K above another. However there are certain trends to consider: Items 2, 7, 8 generally depicts the bidder s overall approach to the job. These include the upfront cost (Mobilization) and cost for the duration of the project (Overhead and Temporary Traffic Maintenance). Altogether, this represents an increase of $800K from the bid estimate. The provisions in Addendum #1, which requires additional insurance and that the contractor turn over all temporary signals for County s ownership may have contributed to some of the increase. Items 59 and 60 relate to furnishing and driving CISS piles. These two items account for almost $2M of the difference. This is primarily due to the amount of complexity of working in a sensitive environment and driving piles using temporary trestles. In addition, due to the various sets of noise requirements presented in the various permits and the MMRP, which made it the contractor s responsibly to keep noise levels under 75dBA for the nearby residents, it is likely that the bidders assigned the most risk in these two items due to anticipated complications and delays. This is evident in the questions asked during the bidding phase. The remaining major items (51, 52, 60, 67, 68, 73) account for almost $1M of the difference. It is noted that there are uncertainties with the amount of hazardous materials present in the existing timber bridge. The testing and disposal of these materials was added to the contractor s responsibility under the addendum. The additional uncertainty may be the cause of the $245K increase. There is one minor items (93) that accounts for a little over $100K. Bridge Lighting (item 93) cost is high due to uncertainties involved with providing temporary lighting. Page 2 of 5

3 Date: Monday February 20, 2017 Attention: Omeed Mohammad Pour, P.E. Organization: OC Public Works/Infrastructure From: Mark Stiller, P.E. CC: File Subject: Edinger Avenue Bridge at Bolsa Chica Channel Bid Results Analysis Mr. Pour, Bid results from the Edinger Avenue Bridge at Bolsa Chica Channel bid opening showed a higher project cost than what was forecasted by the Engineer's estimate. The total amounts for three low Contractor bids were closely clustered together (variance range 0.78% to 2.5%), usually a good indicator of quality contract documents. However, a very wide range of individual unit prices was found across the majority of the bid items between the Engineer's estimate and even between the individual Contractor's estimates. The scope of this memorandum focuses on the potential reasons for high variability in various unit costs and also outlines possible reasons for the low Contactor bid which totals approximately 30% higher than the Engineer's estimate. Individual unit costs are driven by a very broad range of factors that influence the Contractor's pricing. At a minimum, a unit cost considers the Contractor's material costs, rental fees, labor and labor overhead, profit, contingency, subcontractor costs and their understanding of specification-based requirements. Also, Contractors commonly use proprietary and individualized methods of shifting cost between items to help their operations and profitability. Several bid items in the bid results show a significant deviation from the Engineer's estimate and have a high total cost that contributes in a substantial way to the higher overall bid results. These items are as follows: Time-Related Overhead Temporary Construction Trestles Furnish 48" Cast-in-Steel Shell Concrete Piling Drive 48" Cast-in-Steel Shell Concrete Pile Structural Concrete (Bridge) Bar Reinforcing (Epoxy Coated) Time-related overhead provides payment for most Contractor home and field office costs that are not associated with a bid item. These overhead costs are based on a cost per day and are sensitive to the specific Contractor's facilities and expected expenses. TRO can vary from 1% to over 20% of a total project cost. The Engineer's estimate assumed the industry standard of 10%, one Contractor bid 4%, the other two bid over 10% based on their higher total project costs. As a result, this item adds over $500,000 to the project but this is within the normal range for a TRO bid item. Temporary construction trestles are required to facilitate demolition and construction of the bridge over the Bolsa Chica Channel. The Engineer's estimate was based on a schematic layout of these trestles, including decking, pile supports, steel plates and other details. Also, the time assumed to construct the trestle along with material rental costs were considered along with labor costs for the bridge removal and new bridge construction. Although one Contractor's bid for the temporary construction trestles was well below the Engineer's estimate, the other two bid an additional $500,000 over the estimated cost. This is likely due to one or more of the following: Page 3 of 5

4 Time to construct the bridge and/or trestle is longer than estimated due to resource agencies permit requirements. Cost to rent material for the trestle may be higher based on availability, multiple concurrent jobs reducing supply. In Los Angeles/Orange County/Inland Empire regions, major construction activities are either currently underway or ready to start causing temporary demand spikes and supply constraints. Size and scope of the trestle is larger than estimated Contingency added to address possible environmental risks Furnish 48" Cast-in-Steel Shell Concrete Piling bid costs are 55% to 97% higher than the Engineer's estimate, totaling as much as $882,820 more than the expected cost for this item. This item pays for the procurement/fabrication and delivery of the large diameter steel pile shells. Each unit cost is well beyond the Caltrans cost database records for similar items (those used for the Engineer's estimate) and this may be due to one or more of the following: Availability issues due to high demand on materials or fabrication resources from other projects Each pile is very long individually and requires multiple splices for installation. The Contractor may have minimized the crane size that travels on the trestles, reducing the demands on the trestle but also reducing the carrying capacity. This results in additional splices in the piles. The cost of field splicing large piles is high, and complicating factors such as working over/near the channel could have further increased the cost. A combination of higher splicing cost and a higher number of splices would increase the pile furnish cost dramatically over the Engineer's expectations. Similar to the furnish piling, Drive 48" Cast-in-Steel Shell Concrete Pile bid costs are 114% to 197% higher than the Engineer's estimate, adding up to $1,380,000 to the expected cost. This item covers the work required to install the pile in place after delivery. The lowest unit cost for this item is nearly twice the highest Caltrans cost database record for this type of work. The additional costs may be due to one or more of the following": Environmental commitments dictate careful control on the noise and vibrations induced to the surroundings via both air and water media. A bubble curtain is specified below the water surface and, though this work is captured in its own bid item, the cost of above water mitigation and uncertainty in the below water mitigations could have been a consideration for the Contractor. The driving may have been slowed down, requiring longer time periods to install each pile, increasing construction duration and adding equipment and labor costs. Additional costs, complications and delays associated with dynamic monitoring to the high degree specified by the project is also a potential cost driver not normally experienced on other projects. The specifications refer to a load test pile and anchor pile, items questioned by the Contractors during the bidding phase. This indicated interest and the associated uncertainty may have cause the contractors to provide additional contingency on both furnish and drive pile to cover the expensive process of installing test and anchor piling. Items such as Structural Concrete and Bar Reinforcing Steel were much more irregular in Contractor pricing with only one or two anomalies for each within the group of bids. Contractors may have tried to capture cost with these items based on otherwise unaccounted for project costs. Some potential drivers for this cost increase could be one or more of the following: A perceived inaccurate quantity, whether or not the quantity is correct, may be something the Contractor would try to take advantage of to either cover assumed costs based on a different quantity, or strategizing to gain additional income by setting high unit costs on an expected change order item during construction. Controlling mobilization dollar amounts may cause the contractor to add cost to early work items in order to obtain additional payment for front-end costs. Page 4 of 5

5 Temporary construction easements provide 12 months of coverage that may not be adequate for the specified work to be completed. This additional constraint on the Contractor's work could cause a cost increase to cover more labor and equipment to achieve the deadline. Costs to procure insurance at the high limits shown compounded with the work near the ocean, near environmentally sensitive areas and within the channel may be more than a similar project that is not subject to these factors. There is no specific bid item to capture these costs and the Contractor may have assigned additional cost to one or multiple items to cover the expense. Each Contractor, and each estimator working on the bid will have a unique approach to market conditions, material and labor availability, profitability strategies and management of risk with contingency. The unexpected high bid results, as compared to the Engineer's estimate, can only be partially explained without an in-depth analysis involving the Contractor themselves and, even then, the Contractor would be unwilling to provide any significant insight on the bidding practices they use to be successful for fear of losing their competitive edge. A voluntary survey of the Contractors regarding these bid results may be prudent to help narrow down the cost drivers that were not captured by the Engineer's estimate for future reference to help close the gap on upcoming project bids. Please let us know if there is any additional analysis, comments or justifications required to help support the justification of these bid results to the Board. We thank you for the opportunity to assist on this task and will be available to meet and discuss any time. Regards, Mark Stiller, P.E Mark.Stiller@NCMcivil.com NCM Engineering Corporation Page 5 of 5