Did you know Sain Associates has many on-call contracts with ALDOT?
There are many benefits of on-call contracts. First, they allow Sain Associates to work with ALDOT on a range of projects. Over the years, the projects have ranged from surveying to corridor and traffic studies to a broad array of design projects. Since a master contract is already in place, the contracting for a specific assignment is simplified. Sain collaborates with ALDOT on the scope of the project, and then Sain prepares a corresponding labor and fee estimate. The scope, labor hours, and fee estimate are submitted to ALDOT for review and processing into a Consultant Purchase Order (CPO).
Another benefit of the on-call contracts is the ability for municipalities to use a faster selection process for engineering services that still meets the standards of qualifications-based selection (QBS). Utilizing this “Alternative Selection Process,” the municipality submits a letter to ALDOT requesting permission to select a consultant from those that maintain an on-call contract. ALDOT responds to the municipality with a list of all the on-call consultants and directs the municipality to choose a consultant and negotiate the scope, labor, and fee.
ALDOT must concur with the negotiated fee, and the contract must comply with the terms of ALDOT’s master on-call contract with that consultant. This process helps municipalities select a pre-qualified consultant without the time-consuming steps of advertising and reviewing multiple qualification submittals from prospective consultants. Sain Associates is very familiar with this process, and we can assist our municipal clients with navigating the steps necessary to get their projects started.
Sain Associates currently has four on-call contracts with ALDOT covering statewide transportation support services, construction engineering/inspection (CE&I) services, transportation planning, traffic and safety studies, and survey services. Our firm received the first ALDOT on-call contract, issued in 1994 for Statewide Traffic Signal Design Services, and we’ve maintained on-call contracts continuously since then.