30:10-1-8. Selection of Architectural/Engineering/Landscape Architecture Firms

This procedure shall be administered by the administration of Oklahoma State University through Physical Plant Services (OSUPPS) in accordance with Attachment A — Guidelines for the Selection of Architectural/Engineering/Landscape Architecture Firms as approved by the Board and Attachment B — Fee Guidelines for the Selection of Architectural/Engineering/Landscape Architecture Firms.

A.   Approval to Proceed:

At such time as an institution under the governance of the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges (Board) plans to solicit architectural, engineering, and/or landscape architecture services, approval must be obtained from the Board to proceed with planning and designing the project and soliciting qualified firms.  The applicable institutions shall work with OSUPPS to present a request for approval.

Based upon the approval by the Board to proceed with planning and designing a specific project, a list will be obtained of all discipline specific firms on file with the Oklahoma Department of Central Services (DCS).  Each firm listed, along with other selected Oklahoma licensed or registered firms, is notified by mail of the Board's intent to select a consultant.  Particular efforts will be made to inform qualified minority-owned firms of projects through the notification process, as well as requiring firms selected to present their plan for inclusion of qualified minority-owned firms as a part of their proposal.

The applicable institution's President, or designee, is responsible for screening firms requesting consideration, selecting from firms requesting consideration, selection of sub-consultants and special consultants, and recommending to the Board those firms found acceptable for the project using Attachment A — Guidelines for the Selection of Architectural/Engineering/Landscape Architecture Firms as approved by the Board and Attachment B — Fee Guidelines for the Selection of Architectural/Engineering/Landscape Architecture Firms.
 

General:

     These guidelines shall be administered by Oklahoma State University through its Physical Plant Services (OSUPPS).

A.   Approval to Proceed:

     1.  At such time as an institution under the governance of the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges (Board) plans to solicit architectural, engineering, and/or landscape architecture services, approval must be obtained from the Board to proceed with planning and designing the project and soliciting qualified firms.  The applicable institution shall work with OSUPPS to develop the following minimal[1] information:

          a.  A description and scope of the project(s), to include preliminary site information and the project's correlation to the institution's Campus Master Plan and Capital Master Plan.
          b.  An estimated project budget and time schedule.
          c.  A recommendation of the institution's desire to use a(n):
              i.        Construction Manager,

              ii.       Construction Manager at Risk,

iii.              General Contractor, or,

iv.               Other.

              d.  A recommendation of not-to-exceed consultant fee(s) for the project(s).

              e.  A recommendation for weighting the following general screening criteria:

                   ii.       Professional or specialized staff (%).

iii.              Specialized experience (%).

iv.               Oklahoma presence (%).

v.       Feedback from the construction managers, construction managers at risk, construction contractors, and owners previously associated with the firms requesting consideration as pertains to their overall satisfaction as a team member with the firm requesting consideration (%).

          2.  OSUPPS will coordinate with the appropriate institution's President, or designee, to include the request to select in the institution's Board Agenda for a regularly scheduled Board meeting.

          1.  Based upon the approval by the Board to proceed with planning and designing a specific project, OSUPPS will obtain a list of all discipline specific firms on file with the Oklahoma Department of Central Services (DCS).  Each firm listed, along with other selected Oklahoma licensed or registered firms, is notified by mail of the Board's intent to select a consultant.  Particular efforts will be made to inform qualified minority-owned firms of projects through the notification process, as well as requiring firms selected for an interview to present their plan for inclusion of qualified minority-owned firms as a part of their proposal.  The "Project Notification" will include the following information:

              b.  An estimated project budget and time schedule.

              c.  Errors and omissions insurance requirements.

              d.  A date for a project seminar to be conducted by OSUPPS for the purpose of explaining the design program and to answer specific questions pertaining to the project and the selection process.

              e.  Instructions for providing certain specific optional supplemental information regarding the firm's qualifications and any other material which the firm believes to be relevant.

              f.   The deadline for submitting a letter of interest on the part of the firm.  Response times will be determined from the date of the "Project Notification."  Due dates for the letters of interest will be scheduled, taking into consideration holidays and/or special firm commitments within reason and critical time requirements.

              g.  Notification that DCS CAP Forms 254 (Consultant Registration Questionnaire) and 255 (Consultant Services for a Specific Project) must be submitted with the letter of interest and a list of sub-consultants that the firm proposes to use on the project.

              h.  Notification that the firm's response must include a list of construction managers, construction managers at risk, construction contractors, and owners associated with the firm over the past five years by the firm.  It is the University's intent to solicit feedback from the consultant's prior projects' construction managers, construction managers at risk, construction contractors, and their subcontractors.  This is for the purpose of determining the degree of overall satisfaction among team members.  This information will be used as a factor in the selection process.

                   i.        Construction Manager,

                   ii.       Construction Manager at Risk,

iii.              General Contractor, or,

iv.               Other.

j.       Notification of the institution's not-to-exceed fee(s) allowable for the project(s).

k.     Other information as required by the Board.

1.     Establishing the Committee:

A committee shall be established for each project for the purpose of providing both the initial and final screening of all firms requesting consideration.  The committee shall consist of a minimum of six members.  For projects on the Stillwater campus, the committee shall normally include one representative each from OSUPPS Architecture Services or
Engineering Services, Physical Plant Maintenance and Operations Department, and the School of Architecture (Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture for Landscape Architects), one 3^rd or 4^th year School of Architecture student, as recommended by the Department Head, School of Architecture, if available, two representatives from the department that will use the facility, and an alumnus with appropriate design or construction industry experience.  For non-Stillwater projects, the committee makeup shall be at the discretion of the non-Stillwater institution's President, with the provision that composition reflect the same general composition as a Stillwater campus committee.  The representative from OSUPPS Architecture Services or Engineering Services shall guide and direct the committee's selection process.  The Board of Regents shall be given a reasonable notification of any selection committee meeting so that they can attend, if they choose.

The institution's President, or designee, is responsible for providing a charge to the committee to ensure the institution's best interests, including all components of the extended institution (including, but not limited to the School of Architecture, OSUPPS, Construction Management Department, applicable institution's Foundation, applicable institution's Alumni Association, students, faculty and staff) are component parts of the selection process.

a.  The committee will be charged that it is the Board's intent that frequency of work on A&M Campuses must be a consideration in the selection process.  It is the Board's intent to involve as many qualified firms as possible in campus projects and the selection process should be the vehicle in achieving that goal.

                   b.  The committee will be charged to pursue a process that guarantees the institution's best interests, and such interests may not, in all cases, be high departmental priorities.  The institution's best interests shall include all components of the extended institution, including but not limited to the School of Architecture, PPS, Construction Management Department, institution's foundation, institution's alumni association, students, faculty and staff.

                   a.  Initial screening begins upon receipt of the letters of interest from the consulting firms.  It is essential that reviewers be aware of the firms and their principals and employees, to evaluate the firm in light of previous activity within the OSU System, if any.

                   b.  The general screening criteria, weighted as determined for each separate project (with such weighting scheme to be presented at the time Board of Regents approval (BA) is obtained to proceed with planning a specific project), to be used by the committee are set out below.

                   c.  Priority for type of work (BA%):  Each firm's CAP Form 254 includes an experience profile code which indicates the type of projects in which the firm has been involved over the past five years.  This information, in addition to other sections of the CAP Forms 254 and 255, should be used to determine the priority the firm places on the type of work anticipated for the contemplated project.  The OSUPPS' staff will update the committee on past experiences the OSU/A&M System has had with each firm, if any.

                   d.  Professional or specialized staff (BA%):  Each committee member shall make a judgment as to the suitable firm size for the project.  Size is determined by the number of professionals listed, including registered consultants either on staff or indicated on the CAP Form 255 as consultants.  Firms will be graded based upon the appropriate number of personnel available to do the contemplated project.  The OSUPPS' staff will update the committee on past experiences the OSU/A&M System has had with each firm's professional or specialized staff, if any.

                   e.  Specialized experience (BA%):  Each firm's Forms 254 and 255 list projects completed over the past five years.  Each firm is graded on its demonstrated experience (type and budget) on projects similar to the contemplated project.  Firms demonstrating considerable experience on projects similar to the contemplated project receive the higher grade based on the degree of this experience.  The OSUPPS' staff will update the committee on past experiences the OSU/A&M System has had with each firm's specialized experiences, if any.

 

                   f.   OSU, A&M Colleges and Universities, and State of Oklahoma Presence (BA%):  Each firm will be evaluated on the percentage of employees that are based in Oklahoma vs. those based outside the state, as well as their ability to manage the project from an Oklahoma-established base of operations.  The number and/or percentage of institutional graduates within the firm will be considered.

                   g.  Feedback (BA%):  Each firm will be evaluated pertaining to the feedback from the construction managers, construction managers at risk, construction contractors, and owners previously associated with the firm, pertaining to their overall satisfaction as a team member with the firm.

                   h.  Each evaluator reviews the material and rates the firms, based upon each criterion using the scales approved by the Board.  The individual scores for each firm are totaled for all evaluators, and an average score for each firm is computed.  The firms are then ranked based upon the highest average score, and the top firms are identified.  The top firms shall number no less than five or more than eight.

                   i.   Prior to invitation for interview, a list of top firms will be forwarded to the institution's President, or designee, to be reviewed in the context of the extended institution.  The institution's President, or designee, will solicit input from applicable institutional constituents.  Such input will be collated and input, as applicable, applied to the top firms.  A list of three to five will be finalized by the President, or designee, to be invited for interview.

                   a.  Each of the top firms will attend an interview session.  Each should bring key personnel, including but not limited to, the principal(s) and project manager(s) who would be assigned to the project.  Interviews will be scheduled, taking into consideration holidays and/or special firm commitments within reason and critical time requirements.  It is not intended for the firms to have made final selection of major sub-consultants and/or special consultants, if required.  Firms will present the names of their preferred sub-consultants for review and discussion by the committee.  The emphasis should be on the firm's qualifications, not necessarily the number of similar projects completed.  Selection of consultants and/or special consultants will be a joint effort between the firm and OSUPPS following selection of a finalist.

                   b.  The interview covers the following criteria, with weighting factors, Not to Exceed (NTE) 100%, as indicated:

                   c.  Quality of Presentation (NTE 10%):  The committee should not be unduly swayed by elaborate presentations.  Focus should remain on qualifications of the firm, not the firm's marketing department.

                        i.        Depth of Experience.

                        ii.       Relevance.

iii.              Design Efficiency.

iv.               Innovation.

v.                 Context to Surroundings.

e.      Project Management (NTE 50%):

                        ii.       Previous Experience.

                        iii.      Design Approach.

                        iv.      Quality Control.

                        v.       Client Interaction Methodology.

                        vi.      Experience as a Team.

                        vii.     Feedback from Previous Construction Partners and Owners.
f.       Adherence to cost limits and time limits, volume of change orders, and judgments paid by consultant or on their behalf for liability caused by professional errors and/or omissions in the past five years (NTE 20%).

g.     Conceptual drawings may be requested.  If so, Board approval must be obtained in the Approval to Proceed for a reasonable fee to be provided to those firms selected as finalists but not receiving the award.

h.     Firms will be given an opportunity to elaborate on any submitted material and to address the evaluation criteria.


5.     Selection of Finalists:

                   a.  Each member of the committee evaluates each firm based upon interview criteria on the scales determined for the specific project.

                   b.  The scores for the interviews are then multiplied and added.  In evaluation of the best firms, minority inclusion plans, involvement of qualified firms, and feedback from construction partners and owners are to be considered in addition to numerical scores.  Also to be considered is the information provided by the President, or designee, concerning input provided from the extended institutional community.

                   c.  A list of interviewed firms, results of the initial screening and interview stages, and any supporting information will be forwarded to the institution's President, or designee, to select three to five finalists to be presented to the Board.

                   a.  After discussions with the committee, finalist firms will be asked to confirm their sub-consultants and special consultants to participate with them on the project.  Sub-consultants and special consultants must be subordinate to the finalist firms.

                   b.  Finalist firms will present their recommendations to the selection committee for evaluation and comment.

                   c.  The finalist teams will be established following discussions with the selection committee.  Selection of sub-consultants and/or special consultants unacceptable to the committee may be grounds for elimination of consideration of a selected finalist firm.

                   a.  The institution's President, or designee, will present the acceptable firms to the Board in the order of receipt of their letters of interest and will include in the presentation, at a minimum:
                        i.        An evaluation of the CAP Form 254 for each of the acceptable firms.

                        ii.       A list of any projects the acceptable firms are currently working on or have worked within the past five years at OSU or at any of the other institutions under the governance of the Board.

                        iii.      A brief overview of responses received from construction managers, construction managers at risk, and/or general contractors, and owners who have worked with the firms being presented.

                        iv.      A brief overview of responses received from references associated with the firms last three to five project.

                        v.       A brief overview of the firm's representations concerning inclusion of minority consultants.

                        vi.      A brief overview of input received from the extended campus community concerning the firm.

The above fees apply to basic architecture and engineering services for a project involving new construction of average complexity.  Multipliers (which may be additive or deductive) may be applied to adjust for the nature of the work and the user's knowledge of the specific project.  Such modifiers may be necessary for factors including, but not limited to, complexity of the project, the degree of renovation of existing structures, and the need for special consultants.  Fees do not include Additional Services or Reimbursables as defined in the standard OSU Owner/Architect Contract.

[1] Institutions desiring to include additional information should do so under the applicable category, or provide as continuation.