National Award for Cook County Cites Innovative Use of Construction Procurement

The Gordian Group process enhances efficiency and cost savings

Greenville, S.C., July 10, 2015 – Cook County, Ill., received a 2015 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovative use of a construction-procurement system to ensure prompt, efficient and cost-effective repairs, maintenance and construction of county facilities and infrastructure.

As the second most populous county in America, Cook County facility owners must be prepared to complete planned and unplanned construction, maintenance and repairs of buildings and infrastructure. In 2013, rather than using traditional design-bid-build construction procurement methods, the county established four programs that have on-call contractors available to complete projects as needed and when needed. Cook County implemented The Gordian Group’s Job Order Contracting (JOC) construction procurement method to streamline the procurement process.

“The shift to Gordian’s Job Order Contracting process demonstrates Cook County’s desire to quickly and responsibly address facility and infrastructure needs in order to maintain services for residents,” said William Pollak, CEO of The Gordian Group. “We congratulate the county on its award and for its success serving residents’ needs.”

Using Gordian JOC Solutions®, Cook County established four general, two electrical, two mechanical, two highway-site work and two residential contracts. The 12 contracts are available to all Cook County departments. Since implementing the program, departments have completed projects that include hospital condensing-unit installation, correctional facility plumbing repairs, window replacements, Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades, office renovations, emergency repairs and roof replacements.

JOC is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity process that allows multiple projects to be completed under a single, competitively bid contract, thereby shortening the timeline for repair, renovation or new construction project. Another factor in the program’s success is delivery of high-quality, efficient services from local providers, which keeps county dollars going to local businesses.

The honor for Cook County’s program, Expedited Project Delivery Through Job Order Contracting, was presented at NACo’s 2015 Annual Conference and Exposition in Mecklenburg County, N.C. The county’s entry won in the County Resiliency: Infrastructure, Energy & Sustainability category.

About NACo’s Achievement Awards
Nationally, awards are given in 21 different categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. Categories include children and youth, criminal justice, county administration, environmental protection, information technology, health, civic engagement and many more.

Begun in 1970, the annual award recognizes innovative county government programs. Each submission is judged on its own merits and not against other applications.

About The Gordian Group
The Gordian Group (www.TheGordianGroup.com) is the leading provider of innovative construction data, software and services to organizations pursuing efficient and effective construction planning, estimating and procurement. As the pioneer of Job Order Contracting, Gordian’s ever-growing portfolio of procurement solutions leverages highly specialized cloud-based project management software to deliver rapid deployment and long-term cost savings for the nation’s facility and infrastructure owners. In 2014, Gordian acquired RSMeans, a leader in data, analytics and life cycle cost analysis for commercial and residential construction. Today, The Gordian Group draws on its highly specialized engineers, software and unique proprietary data sets to solve the construction information, planning and management needs of people in building construction, building products manufacturing, education, healthcare, retail, insurance, legal, and government.