Back to School: Job Order Contracting Facility Improvements
The first day of school is a hectic one. Beach season is over but the wave of curious, wide-eyed students, invested parents and prepared faculty and staff is incoming. School facilities must be properly maintained to handle the tide. The state of a community often depends on the readiness of their school systems because these facilities have a profound impact on students and teachers. Small classrooms, poor lighting, noise and temperature control, deferred maintenance backlogs, uncomfortable furnishings and restrooms, lack of staff-only areas and specialty facilities all add up to a disrupted learning process, parent frustration and teacher burnout.
Public School Infrastructure: A Need to Close the Gap and Raise the Grade
The state of classrooms and the physical characteristics of a school can heavily affect teacher recruitment, retention, commitment, effort and even health. While youth are often more resilient than adults, they are also heavily influenced by their environment. Facilities investments and consistent improvements aid the learning process, help engage and motivate students and teachers alike and help ensure safety and health for all. An investment in our schools is an investment in our children.
State and local governments have felt the investment gap in our nation’s schools. Funds and the lack of resources often delay or prevent critical classroom updates. It’s increasingly important for public procurement professionals, facilities managers and administrators to make the most of taxpayer dollars and designated budget funding. In the 2017 infrastructure report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. public schools a D+. We cannot allow our schools to fail. There are solutions that empower schools to tackle projects quickly and get more done.
Future Schools Now: Hawai’i Tackles Maintenance Projects with JOC
The Hawai’i State Department of Education (HIDOE) recently partnered with Gordian to develop and implement a Job Order Contracting (JOC) program. JOC is a unique indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) project delivery method that allows multiple projects to be completed through a single, competitively-awarded contract. Over the first quarter of 2019, Job Order Contracting allowed HIDOE to procure more than $2 million in roof repair construction work.
In April of 2019, the HIDOE issued a press release stating, “The following eight school roof repair projects took on average 34 days to move through the procurement process using JOC. By comparison, the traditional design-bid-build method takes on average seven years to move through the appropriation, design, bidding and construction phases for DOE projects.”
| School | Project | Job Order Development | Construction Start | Construction Complete | Contractor |
| Castle High | Auditorium roof restoration | 31 days | 3/18/19 | 4/10/19 | Surface Shield Roofing Co. |
| Honaunau El | Portables re-roof | 36 days | 3/9/19 | 3/25/19 | Heartwood Pacific LLC |
| Honaunau El | Portables re-roof | 36 days | 3/16/19 | 3/25/19 | Heartwood Pacific LLC |
| Honokaa El | Portables re-roof | 36 days | 3/20/19 | 3/29/19 | Tory’s Roofing & Waterproofing |
| King Intermediate | Cafeteria re-roof | 49 days | 3/16/19 | 4/3/19 | Leeward Roofing & General Contracting |
| Konawaena High | Gutters replacement | 36 days | 3/16/19 | 4/5/19 | Heartwood Pacific LLC |
| Leilehua High | Portable re-roof | 26 days | 3/16/19 | 3/26/19 | Tory’s Roofing & Waterproofing |
| Leilehua High | Portable re-roof | 22 days | 3/18/19 | 3/26/19 | Tory’s Roofing & Waterproofing |
In a recent Hawaii News Now broadcast, John Chung, the Public Works Administrator for the HIDOE Facilities Development branch, stated, “We’ve had great success with our Job Order Contracting program, which we kicked off last year. We brought in a Board to help expedite our repairs. On average, we’re putting in about 10,000 square feet of roof in about 18 days. The pilot is a success in our books, so we’re starting to expand the contracting pool. [HIDOE is] adding on additional contractors to help more of our schools and do more work, other than just roofing.”
Saving Time and Money Through Alternative Construction Procurement
When faced with a pressing deadline and a tight budget, school systems need to get creative and explore alternative solutions to complete projects. Duluth Public Schools in Minnesota opted to access Gordian’s ezIQC® solution to tackle a large renovation job in time for school to resume. ezIQC is a form of Job Order Contracting available through cooperative purchasing networks or shared by public agencies.
The JOC process offers a high level of communication and collaboration between project owner, contractor and Gordian account manager which provides time- and cost-saving value as the project progresses. For Duluth Public Schools, collaboration between the school, Sourcewell (their cooperative) and the contractor was essential to the successful completion of the project. Ryan Erspamer, Principal Architect, said, “I have never seen this much collaboration or willingness to offer suggestion/help on a project, ever.” The project was completed on schedule and under budget. Most importantly, it provided the students and staff with an improved, more suitable space to learn and grow.
Better Meet School District Demands
JOC helps school districts meet the demands of accomplishing school construction and renovation work for the best possible price, without sacrificing quality. Gordian helps to facilitate construction projects from classroom and restroom remodels to security and energy efficiency updates. Properly maintained school facilities are critical for our communities and nation. Exploring ezIQC and JOC solutions has allowed schools to tackle projects quickly, get more done, keep happier teachers and staff and better teach students.
Discover more about ezIQC and Job Order Contracting solutions for your school district.
