Addendum_No._1_Q_A_04A7062.pdf

“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment.”

CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor

California Department of Transportation

ADMINISTRATION

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS

1727 30th STREET, MS 65

SACRAMENTO, CA 95816-7006

PHONE (916) 227-6000

TTY 711

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/

December 5, 2024

Addendum No. 1 Invitation for Bid (IFB) 04A7062

Construction Materials Lab Testing and Reporting, Various Bay Area Counties, CA

NOTICE TO ALL PROSPECTIVE BIDDERS:

Addendum No. 1 is being issued for the above-referenced IFB. Bids for this work shall be with the full understanding of this Addendum.

The following represents questions submitted for this IFB and the Department’s responses:

Question 1:

Do you have any past/previously awarded contracts that you can share?

Answer:

A copy of the previous Agreement is attached.

The following schedule still applies to this IFB. Questions will be accepted up to 5:00 p.m. on December 10, 2024.

Event Date Time (Pacific Time)

IFB available to prospective bidders 11/27/24 Written Question Submittal 12/10/24 5:00 p.m.

Final Date and Time for Bid Submission 12/17/24 2:00 p.m.

Bid Opening 12/17/24 2:30 p.m.

Proposed Award Date (estimate) 01/16/25

All other terms and conditions set forth in the IFB remain in full force and effect.

Sincerely, Laura Heberle Contract Analyst

Enclosures http://www.dot.ca.gov/dpac/

2. The term of this Agreement is:

Tim Rodriguez Chief Operating Officer

10/25/2022

Kathleen Heim

11/2/2022

NOV 8 2022

ALW:LAG:abs

BSK Associates Agreement Number 04A6452

Exhibit A

Commercial Services Agreement–Federal

Scope of Work

1. Contractor agrees to provide all labor, tools, equipment, parts, materials, supplies, and incidentals necessary to perform on-call materials laboratory testing and reporting services for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), as described herein.

2. The services shall be provided for the District 4 District Office and performed at Contractor’s laboratory, located at 399 Lindbergh Avenue, Livermore CA 94551, 1798 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703, and 411 Pendleton Way, Suite A, Oakland, CA 94621.

Contractor’s laboratory, and subcontractor’s laboratory (if applicable), shall be located within 50 driving miles of 111 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612.

3. Any reference to Caltrans Contract Manager shall also include his/her designee.

4. This Agreement will commence on November 15, 2022, or upon approval by the

Department of General Services (DGS), whichever is later, and no work shall begin before that time. This Agreement is of no effect unless approved by DGS. Contractor shall not receive payment for work performed prior to approval of the Agreement and before receipt of notice to proceed by Caltrans Contract Manager. This Agreement shall expire on November 14, 2024. Unless otherwise specified in the Service Request (see Attachment B, Sample Service Request) or directed by the Caltrans Contract Manager, the normal workday shall be Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or any combination of five (5) consecutive days which may include Saturday and/or Sunday, and the normal work week shall consist of forty (40) hours. The parties may amend this Agreement as permitted by law.

5. All inquiries during the term of this Agreement will be directed to the project representatives listed below. Contractor shall provide advance written notice and receive advance written approval by Caltrans Contract Manager, without the necessity of an amendment, before changing the Project Manager noted below.

Department of Transportation Contractor: BSK Associates

Section/Unit: Consultant Services Unit Section/Unit: N/A Contract Manager: Deo Blas Project Manager: Tim Rodriguez Address: 111 Grand Ave, 9th Floor Oakland, CA 94612

Address: 399 Lindbergh Avenue Livermore, CA 94551

Business Phone Number: (510) 413-4869 Business Phone Number: (925) 315-3151

Email: Deo.Blas@dot.ca.gov Email: trodriguez@bskassociates.com

6. Description of Work A. Contractor shall perform on-call materials laboratory testing and reporting services for construction, including, but not limited to, construction materials laboratory testing, analysis, and work related to testing equipment calibration, on an “as-needed” basis to support the Caltrans Division of Design, Office of Engineering Services, District 4, from phase 0 to phase 4 completion of various projects, in the maintenance, development and construction of proposed Caltrans transportation facilities. Contractor shall provide (a) materials laboratory testing and reporting services to Caltrans for concrete, aggregates, soils, hot mix asphalt, asphalt binder, and related materials testing; (b) laboratory testing of these various types of samples; and (c) the materials information, evaluation, analysis, and reports set forth in a Service Request. The services may relate to equipment calibrations. Caltrans Contract Manager shall assign specific work to Contractor to augment the Caltrans work force through the issuance of Service Requests (see Sample Service Request, Attachment B) describing in detail the services to be performed. Contractor shall only perform work that is assigned on an authorized Service Request. This Agreement does not guarantee that a Service Request shall be issued.

B. This Agreement is for off-site construction materials laboratory testing and reporting services only. NOTE: This Agreement does NOT include field sample collection of construction materials, construction engineering, construction inspection, construction environmental engineering or inspection, construction source inspection or material engineering, specialty construction engineering or specialty construction inspection, construction material sampling, or on-site testing services. No services requested in this Agreement shall be provided either on-site or in any facility used by Contractor to serve the general public, unless approved and certified by Caltrans Office of Engineering Services.

C. Contractor shall provide laboratory support services and shall implement laboratory quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) programs for Caltrans.

D. Contractor shall provide services for the materials laboratory testing and reporting services. Caltrans may require extensive twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week service from Contractor. Contractor shall plan accordingly to meet the timing of, and the volume of work requested by Caltrans Contract Manager.

7. Required Services A. On an on-call basis, Caltrans Contract Manager will notify Contractor through the issuance of a Service Request (Attachment B, Sample Service Request). All work requests shall be limited to the type of work specified in this Exhibit A, Scope of Work.

Each service request will specify the location and nature of the work to be completed.

This notification shall be the complete instruction and authorization for the work and Contractor shall fully comply with all of the particulars thereof. Caltrans will only pay for work requested by Caltrans Contract Manager. In no case shall Contractor accept service requests from anyone other than the Caltrans Contract Manager.

B. A list of proposed Caltrans projects is included as Attachment A (List of Proposed Caltrans Projects). However, the Division of Design, Office of Engineering Services list is not exclusive, and it does not constitute a commitment that the projects will be initiated or completed, or work assigned to Contractor.

C. The potential projects may vary in scope and size and may encompass any type of improvement for the State transportation system including, but not limited to, roadway rehabilitation, widening and/or realignment of existing facilities, relocation of existing facilities, and construction of new facilities. The project location, project limits, purpose, expected results, project deliverables, period of performance, project schedule, and scope of work to be performed shall be described in each Service Request.

D. Contractor shall maintain a set of project files that shall be indexed in accordance with Caltrans' California Test Methods (CTM) Manual (California Test Methods (CTM) | Caltrans). Caltrans Contract Manager shall have access to project files when requested.

E. Contractor shall prepare the required calculations and reports according to CTM and American Association of State Highway Transportation Official (AASHTO) standards and requirements for the materials testing services work.

F. Contractor shall have the ability to respond within two (2) business days, and at a cost-efficient manner, to start a Caltrans request for materials laboratory testing and reporting services work.

G. Contractor shall provide a Contractor Lead Material Engineering Tester to supervise Contractor material engineering personnel working in Contractor’s Laboratory.

H. Duties assigned to Contractor’s material engineering personnel shall be in line of the overall laboratory activities and services that support the Caltrans project delivery plan in Districts 4. Typical duties may include, but not be limited to, the following:

1) Contractor shall provide material engineering personnel performing laboratory testing and reporting on soil, aggregate, hot mix asphalt and asphalt binder. The material engineering personnel shall be responsible for: construction materials testing, batching samples, and mix design verifications and analysis in accordance with test methods from AASHTO, American Standards for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and/or CTM. Information is available at:

a. http://www.transportation.org/

b. http://www.astm.org

c. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/Translab/

2) Contractor shall file test results utilizing Caltrans Databases for reporting such as Data Interchange for Materials Engineering (DIME) and Job-Mix Formula (JMF) Tool.

3) Contractor shall submit laboratory reports to Caltrans Contract Manager, which contain at a minimum the information shown in Attachment B. All test results shall be recorded and submitted to Caltrans Contract Manager on the appropriate forms as prescribed in the Caltrans CTM and AASHTO requirements.

4) Unless specifically mentioned in the Service Request, Contractor shall submit test results to Caltrans Contract Manager within the normal turnaround time of five (5) days from Contractor’s receipt of samples from Caltrans for bidding purposes only.

Actual turn around will vary from same day (less than 24 hours) to five (5) calendar days or more, depending on the nature and requirements of the Service Request.

I. Contractor’s laboratory shall be accredited, and material engineering personnel shall be certified by Caltrans in performing CTMs relating to concrete, aggregate, surface treatment materials, or hot mix asphalt. Information on accreditation is located at Caltrans Independent Assurance Program Website:

http://dot.ca.gov/programs/engineering-services/independent-assurance-program

J. Contractor shall be accredited by AASHTO, American Material Research Laboratory (AMRL), certified for aggregates, soils, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and asphalt binder.

K. Materials laboratory testing and reporting during construction of State highway facilities may include, but not be limited to, the following tests:

California Test Method No.

AASHTO Test Description

105 None Calculations Pertaining to Gradings and Specific Gravities

106 None Definitions of Terms Relating to Standard Gravity (SG)

125 None Sampling HMA Highway Materials 125 None Sampling Aggregate Highway Materials 201 None Soil and Aggregate Sample Preparation 202 T11, T27 Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse Aggregate Non e

T37 Sieve Analysis of Mineral Filler for Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA)

203 None Mechanical Analysis of Soils 204 T89, T90 Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and Plasticity Index 205 ASTM 05821 Crushed Particles 206 T85 Specific Gravity (SpG) & Absorption (coarse) 207 T84 Specific Gravity (SpG) & Absorption (fine) 208 None Apparent Specific Gravity of Fine Aggregate 211 T96 Abrasion of Coarse Aggregate (LA Rattler

Machine) 212 None Unit Weight of Aggregate 214 None Soundness of Aggregates by Use of Sodium

Sulfate None T166 Bulk Specific Gravity (GmB) of Compacted Hot

Mix Asphalt Using Saturated Surface Dry Specimens

None T168 Sampling Bituminous Paving Mixtures

217 T176 Determination of Sand Equivalent of Fine Aggregate

226 None Method of Determination of Moisture Content by Oven Drying

227 None Evaluating Cleanness of Coarse Aggregate 229 None Durability Index 301 T190 Determination of the "R" Value (Aggregates &

Soils)

302 None Method of Test for Film Stripping 304 None Preparation of HMA for Test Specimens 308 T275 Method of Test for Determining Bulk Specific

Gravity and Density of Compacted Hot Mix Asphalt

309 T209 Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity (Gmm) and Density of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA)

312 None Designing and Testing Classes “A” and “B” Cement Treated Bases

366 T246 Stabilometer 367 None Recommending Optimum Bitumen Content

(OBC)

368 None Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC) for Open

Graded HMA 371 None Method of Test for Resistance of Compacted

Bituminous Mixture to Moisture Induced Damage

373 None Unconfined Compressive Strength of Lime Treated Soils and Aggregates

382 None Determination of Asphalt Content of Bituminous Paving Mixtures by the Ignition Method

None T283 Tensile Strength Ratio 382 T308 Asphalt Content of HMA by Ignition Oven 643 None Method for Determining Field and laboratory

Resistivity and pH Measurements for Soil and Water

None T312 Gyratory Compactor None T324 Hamburg Wheel Track Test None T329 Method of Test for Moisture Content of Hot Mix

Asphalt (HMA) by Oven Method

L. Tests to be provided may include, but not be limited to:

1) California Test Methods (CTM)

CTM AASHTO ASTM California Test Methods AG125 None None Sampling Highway Materials - Aggregates AC125 None None Sampling Highway Materials - Asphalt

Concrete PC125 None None Sampling Highway Materials - PCC

MS125 None None Sampling Highway Materials - Miscellaneous

2) Soil

CTM AASHTO ASTM Soil None T 88 D 422 Particle Size Analysis of Soils None T 89 D 4318 Determining the Liquid Limit of Soils None T 90 D 4318 Determining the Plastic Limit and

Plasticity Index of Soils None T 176 D 2419 Plastic Fines in Graded Aggregates and

Soils by Use of the SE Test None T 190 D 2844 Resistance R-Value and Expansion

Pressure of Compacted Soils None T 265 D 2216 Laboratory Determination of Moisture

Content of Soils None T 288 None Standard Method of Test for Determining

Minimum Laboratory Soil Resistivity None T 289 None Standard Method of Test for Determining pH of Soil for use in Corrosion Testing None None D 1140 Amount of Material in Soils Finer than No.

200 (75-μm) Sieve

3) Aggregate

CTM AASHTO ASTM Aggregate None T 2 None Standard Method of Test for Sampling

Aggregate None T 11 C 0117 Amount of Material in Soils Finer than No.

200 (75-μm) Sieve None T 19 None Bulk Density (“Unit Weight”) and Voids in

Aggregate None T 27 C 0136 Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse

Aggregates None T 84 C 0128 Specific Gravity and Absorption of Fine

Aggregate None T 85 C 0127 Specific Gravity and Absorption of Coarse

Aggregate None T 96 C 0131 Resistance to Degradation, Coarse Agg by

Abrasion & Impact in the LA Rattler None T 104 C 0088 Soundness of Aggregate by Use of Sodium

Sulfate or Magnesium Sulfate None T 176 D 2419 Plastic Fines in Graded Aggregates and

Soils by Use of the Sand Equivalent Test None T 210 D 3744 Aggregate Durability Index None T 248 C 0702 Reducing Samples of Aggregate to Testing

Size None T 255 C 0566 Total Evaporable Moisture Content of

Aggregate by Drying

None T 304 None Uncompacted Void Content of Fine Aggregate

None T 335 None Method of Test for Determining the Percentage of Fracture in Coarse Aggregate

None None D 4791 Flat Particles, Elongated Particles, or Flat and Elongated in Coarse Aggregate

M. All work shall be in coordination with the Caltrans Division of Design, Office of Engineering Services and shall be in conformance with Caltrans policies, procedures, and CTM and AASHTO standards, which are accessible at:

1) http://www.transportation.org/

2) http://www.astm.org

3) http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/Translab/

8. Workplan Standards Guide Codes A. Service Requests are based on the Caltrans Workplan Standards Guide (WSG). The latest WSG is found in the Guide to Project Delivery Workplan Standards Guide, which is available from the Caltrans’ Publication Unit and on the Internet at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/projmgmt/guidance.htm. The WSG references the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) categories, which are potential and related work activities applicable to this Agreement. The WSG references WBS categories which present the potential and related work activities that Contractor may be required to perform. All revisions to the current version of the WBS shall apply during the terms of this Agreement.

B. The WBS activities below are applicable to this Agreement:

1) 100 Perform Project Management (Contract Management)

2) 100.20 Project Management - Construction Component

3) 270.22 Construction Engineering and Contract Administration

9. General Personnel Requirements A. Contractor’s personnel shall be capable, competent, and experienced in performing the types of work in this Agreement with minimal instruction. Contractor’s personnel shall be knowledgeable about, and comply with, all applicable Federal, State, and Local laws and regulations.

B. In responding to Caltrans’ Service Request and in consultation with Caltrans Contract Manager, Contractor shall identify the specific individuals proposed for the task and their job assignments.

C. Contractor is responsible to provide fully trained personnel to efficiently perform the work. All costs, fees, and expenses associated with the training, including any transportation costs and training fees, shall be Contractor’s responsibility. In addition, services to train Caltrans personnel shall not be provided by Contractor under this Agreement.

D. Material Engineering Laboratory technicians performing materials testing in the laboratory shall be Caltrans Independent Assurance (IA) certified for CTM and have Caltrans IA proficiency certificate in addition to certification from AASHTO.

E. Contractor shall have laboratory certifications by AASHTO and by Caltrans IA for CTM along with the laboratory accredited by AMRL.

F. The standard turnaround time for completing the tests and reporting lab results to Caltrans is five (5) calendar days from Caltrans delivery of samples to Contractor’s facility, as specified by Caltrans Contract Manager in a Service Request.

G. All left over samples after testing and reporting shall be stored for a minimum of 30 days.

Hot Mixed Asphalts (HMA), Soil Aggregate and Reference Sampling Program (RSP) samples shall be discarded only if concurred by Caltrans Contract Manager.

H. Contractor team members shall have the following minimum qualifications:

1) Contractor team members shall be qualified soil, aggregate and hot mix asphalt testers.

2) Contractor team members shall demonstrate experience in performing the required services and have expert capability in applicable standard test procedures.

3) Contractor team members shall be knowledgeable of and comply with all applicable

Federal, State, and Local regulations, and additionally cooperate and consult with Caltrans officials during the course of this Agreement.

4) Contractor team member shall be capable of assisting Contractor Contract Manager in all aspects of the required work.

5) Contractor team member’s required professional qualifications shall be identified in each Service Request.

I. Contractor and Subcontractor Personnel:

1) Supervisors of laboratory shall have a documented minimum three (3) years of demonstrated experience acceptable to Caltrans in performing the material tests, which are run by the technicians they are supervising. The supervisors shall be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) at Level III or higher in the appropriate Construction Materials Testing field.

2) Contractor’s Material Engineering Laboratory technician’s qualifications shall be in conformance with Caltrans IA Manual. Contractor’s Material Engineering Laboratory technicians are required to go through the Qualification Program mentioned in the IA Manual prior to working in the Contractor and Subcontractor’s laboratory. Information regarding the Independent Assurance Program is located at Caltrans website:

Independent Assurance Program | Caltrans

10. Construction Materials Testing Personnel Requirements A. Contractor, and any Subcontractors, shall retain within its firm, a staff of people who shall be properly licensed and certified in accordance with the laws of the State of California and AASHTO. Personnel shall be qualified to perform all aspects of the required work described in this Agreement and all work specified in a Service Request along with any emergencies that may arise during the term of this Agreement.

B. Contractor shall be prepared to provide additional personnel, as necessary, during the period performance of this Agreement to accommodate the work.

11. Additional Contractor Requirements

A. Contractor shall coordinate work-related matters and Contractor’s operations under this Agreement with Caltrans Contract Manager in coordination with the Caltrans Service Request Manager, Functional Manager, and Laboratory Supervisor.

B. In addition to other specified responsibilities, Contractor shall be responsible for all matters related to Contractor’s personnel, Subcontractors, construction materials sampling and testing services work, and Contractor’s and Subcontractors’ operations including, but not limited to, the following:

1) Ensuring that deliverables are clearly defined, acceptance tested and that criteria are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound; and that the deliverables satisfy the acceptance tests and criteria.

2) Supervising, reviewing, monitoring, training, and directing Contractor’s and Subcontractors’ personnel.

3) Assigning qualified personnel to complete the required Service Request work as specified on an “as-needed” basis in coordination with Caltrans Contract Manager.

4) Administering personnel actions for Contractor personnel and ensuring appropriate actions taken for Subcontractor personnel.

5) Maintaining and submitting organized project files for record tracking and auditing.

6) Developing, organizing, facilitating, and attending scheduled coordination meetings, and preparation and distribution of meeting minutes.

7) Implementing and maintaining quality control procedures to manage conflicts, ensure product accuracy, and identify critical reviews.

8) Assuring that all applicable safety measures are in place.

9) Providing invoices in a timely manner and providing monthly contract expenditures.

10) Reviewing invoices for accuracy and completion before billing to Caltrans.

11) Managing Subcontractors.

12) Managing overall budget for Contract and provide report to the Caltrans Contract

Manager.

13) Monitoring and maintaining required Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) involvement.

14) Ensuring compliance with the provisions in this Contract and all specific Service

Request requirements.

15) Ensure Contractor personnel have the technical and safety training necessary for work describe in this Exhibit A, Scope of Work.

16) Monitor the health and safety of personnel working in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local regulations.

17) Provide knowledge, experience, and familiarity of Caltrans QC/QA method and

AASHTO.

18) Provide experience and the capability to review the test data/reports within a reasonable time frame of the completion of the tests to avoid delay of the field construction operation.

12. Contractor Service Request Manager A. For each Service Request, Contractor shall provide a Contractor Service Request

Manager to coordinate the operations with Caltrans Contract Manager.

B. Contractor Service Request Manager shall be accessible to Caltrans Contract Manager, and Laboratory Supervisor or designee, at all times during normal Caltrans working hours that Service Request work is underway.

C. Contractor Service Request Manager or designee shall be assigned to conduct, or direct the conduct of, all work assigned under a single Service Request. Contractor Service Request Manager or designee shall be the primary contact for the assigned Service Request and be available as needed for communication with Caltrans.

13. Contractor Availability and Work Hours A. The typical workday includes all hours worked by Caltrans’ construction contractor on the project as identified in the Service Request and also as directed by Caltrans Contract Manager. Unless otherwise specified in the Service Request or directed by Caltrans Contract Manager, the normal workday shall be Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m. or any combination of five (5) consecutive days which may include Saturday and/or Sunday, and the normal work week shall consist of forty (40) hours.

B. Contractor’s typical workday(s) shall include, but not be limited to, working in conjunction, coordination, and cooperation with all of the following:

1) Caltrans Contract Manager or designee

2) Caltrans Functional Manager or designee

14. General Requirements A. Contractor shall begin the required work within two (2) working days after receiving a fully executed Service Request or on the date specified in the Service Request.

B. All Contractor personnel are required to sign a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement. Contractor may not disclose any information to third parties without prior written approval of Caltrans Contract Manager.

C. Contractor shall include Caltrans Contract Manager in written communications to other Caltrans personnel for any clarification on the Scope of Work.

15. Coordination A. Contractor shall carry out work assignments received from Caltrans Contract Manager as expressed on each Service Request, coordinate activities, and work closely with multiple stakeholders. Service Requests may be written for treatment of unanticipated finds encountered during project work. When unanticipated finds are encountered, a rapid response shall be necessary to avoid costly construction delays. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, Contractor shall manage, instruct, and supervise all Contractor’s employees and subcontractors, and shall not allow any other person or party to manage, instruct, or supervise Contractor’s employees or subcontractors.

B. Contractor shall have the capability to send to and receive from Caltrans’ digital electronic mail system and file transfer protocol system including, but not limited to, attachments for word processing, photographs, spreadsheets, and databases.

C. Caltrans shall not incur costs beyond the funding commitments in this Agreement and each Service Request. If Contractor anticipates that funding for work will be insufficient to complete work, Contractor shall promptly notify Caltrans Contract Manager.

16. Construction Materials Testing Equipment Requirements Contractor shall provide all necessary tools, instruments, equipment, materials, supplies, and safety equipment required to perform the work identified in each Service Request and this Agreement accurately, efficiently, and safely. Contractor’s personnel shall be fully trained in the use of such necessary tools, instruments, equipment, materials, supplies, and safety equipment. Contractor shall not be reimbursed separately for tools of the trade, which may include, but not be limited to, the equipment below.

A. Office Equipment and Supplies (Contractor’s Office):

Contractor shall have and provide adequate office equipment and supplies to complete the work required by this Agreement. Such equipment and supplies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1) Office supplies.

2) Computers with appropriate software, printers, plotters, fax machines, calculators, data collectors and their necessary attachments and accessories.

3) Data processing systems, software packages, reference materials, or other tools, including hardware and software, used in providing transportation engineering deliverables.

4) Microsoft Office Software (including, but not limited to, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

5) Adobe Acrobat Professional version 5 or later.

6) Recording test data.

B. Laboratory Equipment:

1) Contractor shall use all measurement and testing equipment certified by Caltrans or equivalent agency. Contractor’s laboratory shall meet the latest requirements, as applicable, of ASTM Designation D3666 “Evaluation of Inspection and Testing Agencies for Bituminous Paving Materials”, E329 “Recommended Practice for Inspection and Testing Agencies for Concrete, Steel, and Bituminous Materials as Used in Construction”, and C1077 “Testing Concrete and Concrete Aggregates for use in Construction and Criteria for Laboratory Evaluation”. Contractor shall use material specimens from an accredited laboratory acceptable to Caltrans for calibration of all equipment. Contractor shall provide fully equipped testing laboratories. The laboratories shall be certified and functional for all listed test methods during entire term of this Agreement.

2) In case of discrepancy or conflict, the following requirements supersede those of the above ASTM standards:

a. All Testing and laboratory equipment used for this Agreement shall conform to the requirement of the CTM.

b. Testing machines shall be calibrated annually by impartial means using devices of accuracy traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. Records for calibration shall be provided to Caltrans Contract Manager upon request.

3) Contractor’s Material Engineering Laboratory Technicians shall use Caltrans equipment with utmost care. Any negligent damage caused to Caltrans equipment shall be repaired at the sole cost of the Contractor.

4) All laboratory equipment shall be calibrated at all times and kept up to date before each test is performed. Caltrans Contract Manager shall be notified, in writing, before equipment calibration expires and after new updated calibration of the equipment is completed.

17. Standards A. All work and/or services under this Agreement shall be performed in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local statutes, laws, codes, regulations, policies, procedures, ordinances, standards, specifications, performance standards, and guidelines, including the latest Caltrans regulations, policies, procedures, manuals, standards, specifications, performance standards, directives, guidelines, handbooks, guidance documents, forms, templates, policy memo, methodologies, and other informational or directive publications, including compliance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and State guidelines for implementing those requirements; and any permits, licenses, agreements or certifications that apply to specific Service Requests; the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and current Caltrans Manuals and any future revisions. Work not covered by the “Manuals” shall be performed as specified in the Service Request. If no standards exist, Service Requests may call for the development of new standards, so long as these standards do not conflict with the requirements or amend the Scope of Work under of this Agreement.

B. Contractor is responsible for obtaining, at its expense, all necessary manuals, reference documents, and other materials.

C. Caltrans Manuals generally may be purchased from the Publication Distribution Unit.

The Publications staff may be reached at (916) 263-0822, and the center is located at the following address:

State of California California Department of Transportation

Publication Distribution Unit 1900 Royal Oaks Drive

Sacramento, CA 95815-3800

D. Manuals and documents that are not available from the Caltrans Publication Distribution Center or are not available from Caltrans’ Internet web site may be requested from Caltrans Contract Manager. Caltrans does not guarantee the availability of publications nor its Internet web pages. Required Manuals include:

1) http://www.dot.ca.gov/dpac/publications.html

2) http://www.dot.ca.gov/manuals.htm

E. Caltrans’ regulations, policies, procedures, manuals, standards, specifications, performance standards, directives, guidelines, handbooks, guidance documents, forms, templates, policy memo, methodologies, and other informational or directive publications, are dynamic documents and subject to change. Contractor is responsible to verify that the latest version or update is used.

18. Manuals, Documents, and Websites A. Links to manuals, documents, and internet sites that are referenced in association with the work in this Agreement shall be found on Attachment C (Website Links). The list is not all- inclusive but is intended to illustrate the types of reference material and sources of information.

B. The instructions contained in this Exhibit A, Scope of Work, and the applicable Service Request shall take precedence over any conflicting instructions found in the manuals listed under this Agreement.

19. Laboratory Standards A. Materials testing shall be in accordance with the current Caltrans Manuals and their current revisions.

B. Contractor’s laboratory shall participate in the AASHTO Material Reference Laboratory

(ARML) or Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) inspection programs as appropriate. Copies of applications, correspondence, reports, and corrective actions shall be provided to Caltrans.

C. Due to the time requirements to enter these programs, Contractor may perform work on Caltrans projects prior to field engineering. However, Contractor shall provide proof an application has been submitted to enter one or both programs and shall continue to make a good faith effort to have its laboratory inspected at the earliest possible opportunity. Certification by the AASHTO Accreditation program shall be required for laboratories, upon completion of the current cycle of field engineering.

D. Contractor’s laboratory shall accept only those assignments from Caltrans in which Contractor will be able to perform competently with its own personnel and equipment.

E. When Contractor is providing material testing during construction, Caltrans shall request testing from Contractor on the afternoon prior to the day that testing is required. Unless otherwise stated in the Service Request, Contractor shall submit completed test documents for each test performed to the relevant field project offices by the end of the week following the week in which the test was completed. Test documents that are incomplete or unsatisfactory shall be returned to Contractor for the necessary revisions and shall be resubmitted within one (1) week.

F. When Contractor is providing construction materials testing during construction, failing tests shall be reported immediately to Caltrans Contract Manager.

G. All test documents produced by Contractor shall be certified (signed and stamped) by the Laboratory Manager. In the absence of the Laboratory Manager, certification shall be made by an Acting Laboratory Manager who is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer licensed in the State of California in good standing with the California State Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists at all times during the Contract period. All test results shall be recorded on the appropriate forms as prescribed in the Caltrans CTM.

H. Contractor shall have a program in effect during the entire time work is being performed under this Agreement to train personnel and arrange achievement of the required certifications.

I. Contractor shall maintain a laboratory procedure manual describing the methods used for recording, processing, and reporting data, sources of reference materials, standards, and test methods.

J. Contractor shall maintain an inventory of the testing equipment (listing the manufacturer, model, serial number, calibration, and tolerances).

K. Caltrans and the FHWA reserve the right to periodically review field testing at laboratory facilities operated by Contractor personnel.

L. Contractor shall have a quality control plan in effect for the duration of work being performed under this Agreement. This plan shall include quality control, quality assurance and equipment calibration programs for Contractor’s main laboratory and for any satellite or project laboratories.

M. If any laboratory work is to be subcontracted, Subcontractor’s laboratory shall meet the same requirements as Contractor’s laboratory.

20. Monitoring and Review Procedure A. Caltrans Contract Manager shall have the unilateral right, from time to time, or as requested by Contractor, to monitor and review the progress and processes of Contractor related to work performed under this Agreement.

B. The performance of Contractor Contract Manager, key personnel, and team shall be evaluated by Caltrans Contract Manager, as needed, but no less frequently than annually, and at the expiration of the Contract. Unsatisfactory reviews of specific Contractor personnel may result in Caltrans requesting that they be replaced with new personnel. Contractor shall immediately replace personnel with individuals whose qualifications, at a minimum equal those of the personnel being replaced at no additional cost to Caltrans. Evaluations include, but not to be limited to, the following:

1) Job performance

2) Quality of Work

3) Timely submittal of reports, invoices, daily diaries, and other required documents

4) Early detection of problems and timely resolutions

5) Requesting timely approval for personnel changes

6) Responsiveness and ability to control costs

7) DBE participation

8) Conflicts of interest

C. While Contractor shall make all its own business decisions, including decisions pertaining to personnel, poor performance and any negative evaluations may result in a request by Caltrans for the replacement of Contractor Contract Manager, key personnel, or any personnel; the need to replace key personnel shall reflect adversely on Contractor’s performance evaluation, and if warranted, may result in the termination of this Agreement per Exhibit D, Item 2, Termination.

D. Construction materials sampling and testing services personnel shall prepare daily diary reports, if requested by Caltrans Contract Manager via email. The reports shall be prepared on Caltrans-provided forms and completed at the end of each day.

21. General Materials Provided by Caltrans A. Materials deemed applicable, necessary, and furnished or made available by Caltrans and where listed in the individual Service Requests and this Agreement, are for Contractor’s use only, and shall be returned at the end of this Agreement. Contractor shall use the materials in the execution of the specific work described in the Service Request. These materials may include, but not be limited to, the following:

1) Appropriate background or reference information for each Service Request.

2) Project special provisions, full-size and reduced-size sets of project plans, materials information handout, and construction contract and proposal, as necessary.

3) Caltrans standardized forms.

4) Digital Electronic templates of Service Request formats.

5) All pertinent correspondence and investigations.

6) Caltrans Contract Manager may designate a Caltrans Service Request Manager to manage the technical aspects of the Service Request or each specific Service Request.

7) Caltrans Contract Manager shall review all deliverables for compliance, substance, and quality.

8) Construction materials sampling and testing materials to be provided or made available to Caltrans.

9) Relevant and existing documents, if any are available, that are applicable to the current project within the project limits.

10) Caltrans construction forms as necessary, including digital electronic or hardcopy (as specified by the Caltrans Resident Engineer on the Project) forms.

B. Construction Materials Testing:

1) When appropriate, Caltrans shall provide Contractor with the appropriate forms for recording test data in accordance with Caltrans’ practices and procedures outlined in the CTM.

2) Limited office space, office equipment and office supplies typically used by the Caltrans material testing field personnel shall be made available for use by Contractor’s personnel.

Note: Contractor is responsible for the return to Caltrans, in original condition, of all items provided for use under this Agreement. Contractor shall replace, at Contractor’s sole expense, all lost or damaged Caltrans data or materials.

22. Product Approval and Payment A. All analytical test results, reports, data, manuals, details, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items produced by Contractor in the performance of this Agreement, shall be subject to the approval and acceptance by Caltrans Contract Manager prior to invoicing and payment for these items.

B. All of the deliverables and tasks provided for acceptance under each Service Request shall comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

C. Upon completion of each deliverable or task, Caltrans Contract Manager shall either accept or reject the completed work. In the event of rejected work due to errors, omissions, or non-compliance with the Caltrans Manuals, as revised as of the time of the Service Request, or the provisions of this Agreement, Contractor shall remedy the errors, omissions, or non-compliance to the satisfaction of Caltrans Contract Manager at no cost to Caltrans prior to payment. Caltrans shall withhold payment until the work is satisfactorily completed in the sole opinion of Caltrans and approved by Caltrans Contract Manager. Additional cost incurred to correct errors will not be compensated.

D. Caltrans shall not pay Contractor for Contractor’s work under this Agreement if the charges incurred by Contractor that does not conform to the requirements specified in this Agreement and to the applicable Service Request.

E. All reviews, inspections and approvals made prior to the final acceptance of deliverables or Service Requests are intended only to provide interim authorizations to proceed and do not constitute final approval of the deliverable or Service Request.

F. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, until final acceptance of a Service Request under the Agreement, any acceptance or approval means approval to proceed, but it does not mean acceptance or approval of a deliverable or task, and it does not reduce or eliminate any of Contractor’s duties or responsibilities under this Agreement.

23. General Deliverables A. All deliverables, intermediate work products, and original documents including, but not limited to, reports, documents, data, data files, final results, studies, record search, records, databases, background information, spreadsheets, developed pursuant to this Contract, shall be subject to the provisions of Exhibit D, and shall be sent to Caltrans upon completion of each Service Request deliverable and acceptance/approval of the work by Caltrans Contract Manager or immediately upon request by Caltrans Contract Manager. Contractor shall retain a copy of all documents furnished to Caltrans until expiration of this Agreement.

B. Unless otherwise specified in the Service Request, the deliverables shall conform to the following:

1) Data Format for unprotected and modifiable digital electronic file transfers.

2) Contractor shall deliver digital electronic files meeting the following requirements and as specified in each Service Request:

a. Alphanumeric information (80-character, ASCII data type).

b. Reports

c. Graphs, charts

d. Compliance with standard naming convention (including, but not limited to, Project ID, County, Route/PM, Date).

C. Contractor shall work in close liaison with Caltrans Contract Manager. Caltrans shall exercise review and approval functions through Caltrans Contract Manager at key points, as specified in each Service Request. Milestone reviews shall be performed with Caltrans Contract Manager for the specific performance, products, and deliverables listed in each Service Request.

D. Contractor shall prepare a cost estimate showing task, subtask, personnel, personnel hours estimated for each task or subtask, and a schedule of deliverables.

E. All analytical results, notes, analysis, reports, graphics, studies, product, data, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items required by this Agreement shall be prepared on Caltrans standardized forms. Necessary forms shall be provided by Caltrans Contract Manager for Contractor’s use.

F. All analytical results, notes, analysis, reports, graphics, studies, product, data, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items required by this Contract shall be submitted in Caltrans Databases for reporting such as Data Interchange for Materials Engineering (DIME) and Job-Mix Formula (JMF) Tool. When requested, digital electronic files shall be submitted in the Caltrans-approved forms and in the Caltrans-approved and designated digital electronic formats (Microsoft Word, Excel, Microstation, CAiCE, AutoCAD Civil 3D), in accordance with the guidelines in this Agreement, and each Service Request shall conform to Caltrans standards and the requirements of the Caltrans Office Engineer at the end of this Agreement or when requested by Caltrans Contract Manager. The digital electronic files shall include the responsible person’s digital electronic signature and seal.

G. At the end of each Service Request or when requested by Caltrans Contract Manager, Contractor shall also submit one (1) digital electronic copy of all analytical results, data, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items required by this Agreement. The file formats shall be specified in each Service Request. Appropriate documentation shall accompany each digital device indicating the contents of each file.

H. When Contractor is required to prepare and submit analytical results, these documents shall be reviewed by Caltrans Contractor Manager. They shall be submitted in draft form, giving Caltrans the opportunity to provide comments and feedback, prior to final submittal. The specific schedule for Caltrans’ review of Contractor’s submittals shall be specified in the Service Request.

I. Contractor personnel involved in preparation or review of analytical results, other documents, and other items shall be identified in the prepared or review report.

J. If Contractor fails to submit the required analytical results, data, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items required by this Agreement and any approved Service Request, Caltrans shall have the right to withhold payment and/or terminate this Agreement in accordance with the termination provisions of this Agreement per Exhibit D, Item 2, Termination. If this Agreement is terminated, Contractor shall, at Caltrans’ request, return all materials developed by Contractor under this Agreement including, but not limited to, computer data files, analytical results, notes, analysis, reports, data, deliverables, backup documents, other documents, and other items required by this Agreement.

K. Contractor shall prepare and update the Caltrans WBS as set forth in this Agreement for each Service Request issued by Caltrans Contract Manager showing a deliverables schedule. It is expected that Contractor shall complete and meet the agreed upon schedule for each Service Request. Failure to complete the work based on the agreed upon schedule in the Service Request may result in termination of the Service Request or this Agreement. Caltrans may have work completed in any way allowed by law, for which Contractor shall be liable for any additional costs incurred by Caltrans to complete the work. Such costs may be deducted from amounts due to Contractor in pending or future invoices, or if this Agreement is terminated, may be recouped by any means allowed by law.

L. Contractor shall maintain a separate complete set of project files for each Service Request issued by Caltrans Contract Manager performed under this Agreement. These files shall be made available to Caltrans Contract Manager during normal working hours and shall be transferred to Caltrans upon completion of work under the Service Request.

If requested by Caltrans Contract Manager, Contractor shall provide these project files.

M. Deliverables specified in each Service Request shall be delivered to the attention and address indicated in each Service Request.

N. Contractor shall be capable of working in either Imperial English or Metric units.

O. All deliverables shall be prepared in Imperial English Units unless an exception is approved. The units to be used for deliverables shall be addressed within individual Service Requests.

P. A Service Request may require Contractor to use software and digital electronic formats other than those indicated in this Agreement as needed to accomplish the objectives of the Service Request.

24. Quality Control Plan A. Prior to the work, Contractor shall prepare the quality control plan and the minimum standard of work quality and obtain approval from Caltrans Contract Manager, in effect for every Service Request while work is being performed under the Agreement.

Contractor shall complete the quality control plan and certify at the completion of work that all measures contained therein were satisfied. Caltrans shall perform quality assurance on the quality control plan to assure that quality control was satisfied.

B. Contractor’s quality control plan shall establish a process whereby:

1) All deliverables are reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and readability before submittal to Caltrans.

2) Calculations and plans are independently checked, corrected, and re-checked.

3) All job-related correspondence and memoranda are routed and received by affected persons and then filed in the appropriate Service Request file.

4) Field activities are routinely verified for accuracy and completeness, such that any discovered…