Before contractors begin a project, they must submit a bid to the University Facilities and Project Services. The lowest bid is usually, but not always, accepted. Other factors, such as the quality of a contractor's past work, may be taken into account.

General contractors are responsible for securing all job site materials, obtaining all necessary permits and licenses for construction, and seeing that building codes and safety regulations are followed.

The General Contractor also hires all required subcontractors and must coordinate the construction schedule, ensuring the subcontractors are at the building site when needed so that the project remains on schedule. The sequencing of construction and the supervision of the work that the subcontractors perform are key roles for the general contractor. General Contractors who are interested in working for Rutgers University must follow the procedures identified below: 

The Pre-Qualification Process



1. General Contractor must submit a Letter of Interest to University Facilities, attention: Lori Seymour: lori.seymour@rutgers.edu.
2. A Pre-Qualification Package is sent to all General Contractors who have submitted their Letter of Interest. 

3. The Pre-Qualification Package is completed and sent back to University Facilities

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4. General Contractor Pre-Qualification Package is accepted and a Pre-Qualification Interview is granted.


5. Interview is conducted, references and licenses checked, and General Contractor is approved and added to the General Contractor Database, sorted by specialty type. 

The Bidding Process – Selecting the General Contractor

1. University Facilities issues a letter to the General Contractors noting that Bid Set Drawing Prints and Specifications are available for access on the Online Plan Room.
    
2. University Facilities issue step-by-step instructions (including the password) to aid General Contractors in accessing Online Plan Room drawings and specifications
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3. General Contractors order Bid Set Drawing Prints and Specifications online directly from the Triangle Web Site.
    
4. Triangle will deliver requested hard copy Bid Set Drawing Prints and Specifications to the General Contractors. Sub-contractors may elect to view the drawings online rather than receive hard copies.


    
5. The General Contractor submits a bid to the University Facilities Contract Administrator.


    
6. The Bid is opened during a meeting chaired by University Facilities.  

Bid Review & General Contractor Contract Award

After the Bids have been reviewed by the Working Group, who consist of stakeholders and University Facilities Staff, the successful General Contractor will be notified, and a preliminary contract will be drafted. The Contract Award must be approved by the Board of Governors. Once approved, the final Contract is drafted and awarded to the General Contractor who is provided with the final five sets of Contract Documents (signed/sealed prints and specifications). 

Construction

1. Change Orders to the General Contractor

2. As construction progresses, changes in scope or design may be required. To accommodate these changes, a written order is issued by the Director of Project Services to the Contractor. The written order will address the changes in the plans or quantities or both, within or beyond the scope of the contract, and establish the basis of payment and time adjustments for the work affected by the changes.


    
3. A full set of construction drawings, which incorporate all changes made during the construction process as a result of the issuance of change orders, field directives, etc, will be provided to University Facilities at the end of the construction process. 

4. Construction is nearly complete

5. Punch Lists

6. The punch list is a list created at the end of the project. It contains a list of items or tasks that need to be repaired or completed by the General Contractor. The list is created by the owner and confirmed by the General Contractor.

7. Building Commissioning

8. Building commissioning verifies and documents that the new facility and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the project requirements. This process is conducted by an outside agency, not the General Contractor.

   The commissioning process is complete once the Facilities Operations & Services mechanical staff has received all operational manuals and associated training. 

Construction is complete

• Project Close Out: All punch list items have been completed

• Turn Over: The building is officially turned over from the General Contractor to University Facilities

• Eleven Month Walk Thru

Eleven months after the building has been turned over to the owner (Rutgers University), the General Contractor must perform the End-of-Warranty walk-through.

University Facilities prepares a formal report documenting recorded and responded to problems during warranty.