Orange County Sheriff’s Department Utilizes Gordian’s Job Order Contracting to Work Through Extensive Punch List

Challenge: Finding an Efficient Project Delivery Method to Overcome Obstacles During Construction of New Detention Center

Long called “the Farm” for its historic roots in agriculture, the James A. Musick Facility in unincorporated Orange County, California, realizes a new legacy with the construction of a 330,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, designed to meet the evolving, modern day needs of jail facilities and populations. With a greater emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation, the $350 million project is the result of a partnership amongst various public and private entities.

Fast forward to actual construction. As with all building projects, challenges can arise at any stage. While most of the construction had gone as planned, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) began to encounter a variety of issues at the tail end of construction during the “punch” period.  During this period, OCSD is allowed to occupy the new facility while the contractor addresses minor fixes – punch items.  Large projects can have several thousand punch list items that can take months to complete.  As the contractor began downsizing its workforce and subcontractors moved on to other projects, the punch list items began taking longer than anticipated to complete.  This slowdown is attributed to multiple factors, including inefficiencies created when subcontractors need to be scheduled to return.

Additionally, once a Certificate of Occupancy (COO) is received from the Building Department, change orders can no longer be issued. This is because insurers typically do not provide construction insurance coverage for new work or changes after issuance of the COO. In short, insurance companies deem a project complete once the COO has been issued. Therefore, contractors will typically not come back to the job site due to liability reasons, even though more work still needs to be done.

Faced with these issues, OCSD needed to find an alternative way to complete the many punch list items that remained.

Solution: Gordian’s JOC Breathes New Life Into Project

Familiar with its many benefits, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department opted to complete many of the remaining punch list items utilizing their Job Order Contracting (JOC) program. As an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) project delivery method, where one contract can cover a virtually limitless number of tasks, the team would be able to solve the specific problems they had been encountering. Under this delivery method, local JOC contractors would be able to work on unfinished items and stay until the facility was complete.

“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been successfully using Job Order Contracting as a valuable project delivery method to help close out construction projects.  This is particularly useful for [this larger project] where [the] punch list contained thousands of items. Some of these items may not be suitable for the original contractors to perform for a variety of reasons, including contractual issues, resource availability, insurability and schedule deadlines. We have found that for many punch items the work can be performed efficiently under JOC.”

Greg Yi, Senior Manager, Orange County Sheriff’s Department

Result: OCSD Completes Project On-Time, Plans to Use JOC for Future Improvements

Officially open as of December 10, 2024, construction of the James A. Musick Facility was finished on-time and on-budget. OCSD leaders praised JOC’s role in the project for its cost transparency, efficiency, speed and flexibility.

“JOC is efficient and cost transparent,” said Greg Yi of OCSD. “It allows the owner the ability to take control of punch items rather than wait on the original contractor.”

Looking to the future, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department plans to use Gordian’s Job Order Contracting for at least two more projects. The first is for their Mental Health Upgrades and ADA Improvements Project for the Intake and Release Center. Specific tasks to be completed include the installation of new water heaters, upgraded electrical wiring, construction of a new nurse station and painting of the entire module.

Additionally, improvements will be made to the Loma Ridge Emergency Operations Center (EOC) using JOC. Valued at approximately $1.8 million, essential projects include the installation of two new 750-kilowatt emergency generators. These enhancements are especially critical, as this EOC functions as a remote 911 communications facility for OCSD.