Subcontractor Selection

Equally as important as controlling costs is achieving quality workmanship. We believe that the best and first way to achieve quality workmanship is to partner with the right subcontractors for the project. We have developed a unique subcontractor selection process and believe that using our selection process will ensure quality subcontractors who will perform quality work.

10-Step Subcontractor Selection Process

All projects rely on the quality work of the subcontractors to be successful. The flow chart on the left illustrates our subcontractor selection process from solicitation to award of contract.

We understand the need to have qualified subcontractor partners for each trade. This means more than just simply asking for bonds and manpower capacity. While these items should not be overlooked, they are just part of the evaluation in our team's subcontractor selection process. The process starts with identifying the local contractors who have an interest in the project and a capability to execute the work. In reviewing the subcontractors several items are reviewed during the pre-qualification process. Some of the qualifications The team will review include: financial information, bond rate, current workload, manpower, healthcare experience, team commitments, renovation experience and pending litigation. In addition to these items, extensive reference checks will be made and sub-tier suppliers and vendors will be called.

An example of this process is our recent $40 million airport expansion project in Boise, Idaho. Layton sent our senior estimator and project manager to Boise to pre-qualify the local subcontractor market and evaluate their ability to perform. They encountered a roofing contractor with solid financials and reference history. Upon calling some suppliers in a neighboring city who were not listed on his reference sheet, we found that the party was involved in a dispute with a contractor in excess of $2 million. We chose not to use him on our project. Six months later, the party lost their case and is now bankrupt.

This selection process is a high priority for Layton and is performed on all projects with all subcontractors. This important management process allows our scheduling to be construction with more confidence and precision--ultimately delivering your project on time with fewer surprises.

Our subcontractor pre-qualification process (step two) is outlined below:

1. Identify all key subcontract trades with input from owners and architects that must be pre-qualified to bid.

2. Create a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) document for each critical subcontract trade. The SOQ document will ask for the following information:

Proposed project team
Similar project experience
Proposed project team's experience
Available manpower for the project

At this point we will create an approved bidders list that will be submitted to the architects and the owner for approval (step 3). All subcontractors who meet the minimum qualification requirements will be allowed to bid. After the final team approval of the list, the approved subcontractors will participate in the preconstruction phase, assisting in establishing budgets, schedules and construction plans. Involving the subcontractors early in the design phase helps eliminate change orders and constructability issues later on in the construction phase.

As bid package 2 is developed, the pre-qualified subcontractors will be asked to provide a cost proposal, and in some cases, a management plan (step 5). The management plan will include a proposed schedule, construction work plan, manpower plan, etc. All information required for the bid proposal will be explained in a mandatory pre-bid meeting (step 6) usually held on the project site.

During this pre-bid meeting, potential subcontractors will be given further instructions, safety procedures, schedule and manpower requirements, etc. This process of educating the bidders to the expectations of the owners as well as Layton's policies will ensure that the construction process proceeds with an understanding of the project requirements and expectations.

After a review of the proposals our management team will invite the two to three apparent best value subcontractors for an interview (beginning of step 7). During the interview the scope of work associated with the cost proposal will be scrutinized to ensure no items are missed and that each proposal is the same.

Schedule and manpower will be reviewed along with meeting the proposed project team. After the interviews are completed our team will finalize the bid analyses and choose the subcontractors that will bring the best value to the project while maintaining the project budget. Our team will then make a recommendation as to the best value bidder and present it to the owners and architects for final approval.

Using the 10-Step Subcontractor Selection Process ensures that our subcontractors are familiar with this specific project and its unique challenges before issuing a subcontract (step 10).