Section 625.40  Prequalification

All architect-engineer consultant firms desiring to provide services to the Department, whether as prime consultants or subconsultants, must be prequalified before any consideration can be given to their proposals. Prequalification must be obtained no later than the final date established for the receipt of proposals on any particular work.  Provided, however, that a firm which is prequalified for one or more types of work on the final date established for the receipt of proposals may submit supplemental information necessary to establish prequalification for an additional type or types of work; such supplemental information must be received by the Consultant Services Unit no later than three working days prior to the Consultant Selection Committee meeting.  Prequalification procedures are as follows:

a)         A properly completed "Statement of Experience and Financial Condition" (SEFC) form with required attachments must be filed with the Division of Highways, Consultant Services Unit.  Because of varying workloads, it is not possible for the Department to guarantee that SEFC's will be processed within a particular time period.  Accordingly, a firm desiring to become prequalified in order to be considered for a particular job should file its SEFC as early as possible.

b)         The Consultant Services Unit will consider the SEFC and attachments and will notify a firm of the size and types of service it is qualified to perform.  When this notice is given, a firm is prequalified.

c)         The prequalification notice provided in (b) above will, unless otherwise changed by the Department, be effective from the time notice is given until 18 months after the end of the firm's last-reported fiscal year.  At that time, the prequalification automatically expires and a firm's proposals cannot be considered until prequalification is obtained again.  In order to avoid expiration of its prequalification, a firm should submit as early as possible after each fiscal year end a complete and updated SEFC.

d)         Each firm has a continuing obligation to notify the Department of any change which would be likely to impair significantly its ability to perform successfully any work for which it might be considered.

e)         A firm may be removed from the list of prequalified consultants for a particular type of service if an evaluation of its work for the Department indicates that this service was determined to be poor on a single project or below adequate on two or more projects.  At the conclusion of each contract, the Department shall evaluate the consultant's overall performance, considering the quality and adequacy of final plans and documents, the extent of corrections and resubmittals, cooperation in meeting District requests and making revisions, any failure to meet established schedules due to poor or slow work, and claims for extra work and adequacy of support.  The firm shall be advised of the specific deficiencies and shall be reinstated only after it submits sufficient evidence that such deficiencies have been corrected.

f)         All inquiries regarding the procedures or information required for prequalification shall be referred to the Consultant Services Unit.

g)         Unless otherwise required by law, the Department will maintain and treat all information required under Section 625.40 as confidential and as for use only by the Department or another governmental agency entitled by law or by agreement to use such information.