The National Capital Heavy Construction Association (NCHCA) says its representatives discussed several issues with City of Ottawa officials at its monthly liaison meeting in August, including adjusted unofficial bid results, the introduction of a new liaison meeting for road builders and forecasted tenders lists, among other matters.
Four NCHBA members attended the Aug. 17 meeting, along with president and executive director Kathryn Sutherland, a Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) representative and City of Ottawa staff.
NCHCA says discussions included:
Adjusted unofficial bid results: The city will continue to publish unofficial bid results on the day of opening. However, within 48 hours, it will also publish adjusted unofficial bid results that take into account the application of VPM (Vendor Performance Management), math errors and prompt payment discounts. The city is also looking at implementing a process to notify unsuccessful bidders.
New liaison meeting for road builders: The city has proposed a new liaison meeting between road builders and representatives from the city’s roads services, and Technical, Innovation and Engineering Services (TIES) areas of the Public Works and Environmental Services Department
Forecasted tenders lists: The City of Ottawa has advised that forecasted tender lists are no longer available now that the city has moved to vISion, its new project management system, as vISion does not yet have the capability of generating reports. It is unknown whether this information will be available before the end of the year.
Seasonal load restrictions: Ibid Rakam, infrastructure assessment engineer at the City of Ottawa, provided a presentation on seasonal load restrictions.
Road cut permits: The city has advised that its target is 10 days to issue a road cut permit. However current return time is 20 days due to the number of requests and staff shortages. The city suggests that contractors should submit all paperwork before the commence work order is issued and communicate when a permit is urgently required.
Rail crossing regulations: The city has advised of a recent incident where a contractor was working close to a rail crossing and traffic cones were placed over the tracks. The city has provided access to its Grade Crossings Regulations and Standards Awareness Training on its internal uLearn website here: https://ulearn.ottawa.ca/index.php.
