OP01 Administrative Conditions and Requirements D3.doc

U.S. DOT Federal Transit Administration

TPM-20 Office of Engineering

Project Management Oversight

Oversight Procedure 01 – Administrative Conditions and Requirements

1.0 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Oversight Procedure is to describe the administrative conditions and requirements associated with the performance of oversight by the Project Management Oversight Contractor (PMOC) for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the planning, design, construction and revenue operations of major capital transit projects.

2.0 BACKGROUND

As part of its responsibility to prudently use public funds, FTA performs project oversight to ensure that major capital transit projects are executed professionally, efficiently, and in conformance with applicable statutes, regulations, and guidance and sound engineering and project management practices.

FTA performs oversight through its own staff and through its contractors, the PMOCs. While these Oversight Procedures are meant to instruct both FTA staff and its PMOCs, the PMOCs in fact perform most of the oversight. Therefore the Oversight Procedures refer to the reviewer as the PMOC.

In 2003 and 2004 FTA selected and awarded contracts to seventeen firms to perform oversight services for a period of five years. Today, PMOCs monitor projects costing from $100 million to multiple billions of dollars.

3.0 OBJECTIVES

FTA requires project oversight that is proactive, includes investigation of issues and conditions, dialogue and problem solving with the Grantee, and provision of professional opinions and recommendations for action. Reports that support the oversight activities should be concise and provide FTA with critical input to its decision making on project advancement and funding.

4.0 REFERENCES

The following are the principal, but by no means the only, references to Federal legislation, regulation and guidance with which the PMOC should have a good understanding as related to the Grantee’s project work being reviewed under this OP: See Appendix A below.

5.0 GRANTEE SUBMITTALS

NA

6.0 SCOPE OF WORK

6.1 General Administrative Requirements and Documents

6.1.1 Contracts

Every five years, FTA issues a request for proposals for project management oversight services for its major capital projects. A group of firms is selected for award of indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contracts for oversight services over a period of five years for a not-to-exceed contract amount. Specific assignments for oversight work are negotiated with individual firms and are authorized through task orders, and within task orders, work orders. A PMOC may be issued one or more task orders under its contract.

The contract contains the following sections:

Section A:

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

Section B:

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COST

Section C:

DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT

Section D:

PACKAGING AND MARKING

Section E:

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Section F:

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

Section G:

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

Section H:

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

Section I:

CONTRACT CLAUSES

Section J:

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS TABLE

Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) are primarily used for administration and accounting. CLINs tie specific types of oversight activities to be performed to work or cost categories which allow FTA to determine the cost effectiveness of the services provided.

The contract includes the following CLINs:

CLIN 0001

CONTRACT AND PROGRAM SUPPORT

CLIN 0002

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

CLIN 0003

TECHNICAL REVIEW SERVICES

CLIN 0004

OTHER DIRECT COSTS

Work shall be directed by work order not by CLINs. When services are performed, labor hours and deliverables should be billed by work order and annotated with the CLIN and SubCLIN. SubCLINs represent the lowest level of work or cost category that FTA chooses to track program costs. They are summarized below under each CLIN description.

CLIN 0001 covers services that are required by FTA in support of the PMOC’s contract and the PMO program at large.

0001A Administrative Tasks (Contract implementation plans, task order implementation plans, transition plans, project status reports, FTA events such as Annual Engineers’ Conference, Annual PMO Conference, Quarterly PMO teleconferences, Transit Construction Roundtables, and other specialty meetings or conferences, etc.)

0001B Special Tasks (Update project management oversight procedures, develop technical papers, perform special studies, etc.)

0001C Ancillary Support (Covers unforeseeable tasks such as emergency support services and other work as directed by the Administrator) CLIN 0002 covers Project Management Services that typically are required at regular intervals and are normally specified by FTA regional task order managers.

0002A Grantee Technical Capacity and Capability Reviews (project sponsor technical capacity and capability reviews, project management plan reviews, project sponsor quality assurance/quality control program reviews, safety security management plan reviews, real estate acquisition plan reviews, etc.)

0002B On-site Monitoring and Reporting (Recurring oversight–monthlies, quarterlies, trip reports, final monitoring report, lessons learned) 0002C PMO Information Management Support and Products (Information technology support and services) CLIN 0003 covers Technical Review Services and analysis that are normally specified by FTA headquarters project engineers and technical specialists.

0003A Scope, Cost, Schedule Characterization Reviews (Scope, capital cost estimate, schedule analysis, value engineering and life cycle cost analysis, annual new starts reviews, etc.)

0003B Vehicles Procurement Reviews (Fleet management plan reviews, rail and bus vehicle technical reviews) 0003C Risk Assessments and Contingency Reviews (Risk assessment and mitigation reviews, contingency reviews, etc.)

0003D Project Execution Readiness Reviews (Design and constructability reviews, ADA level boarding review, readiness to enter PE, FD, execute FFGA, readiness to bid construction, readiness for revenue operations – testing, start-up, etc.)

0003E Small Starts Reviews (Small starts projects reviews – includes all technical capacity, scope, schedule, cost, etc. for small starts projects) CLIN 0004 covers travel and other expenses such as printing.

0004A Travel Expenses (Non-labor travel related expenses such as transportation expenses, lodging, per diem, etc. associated with any of the above CLINs) 0004B Other Direct Expenses (Printing, shipping, materials, etc.)

6.1.2 Task Orders

FTA headquarters or an FTA regional office will identify a project or group of projects that could benefit from PMOC oversight. For award of initial task orders for oversight, FTA’s procurement office will request proposals from all PMOCs that have indicated on the matrix in Attachment J-5 in the Request for Proposal an interest in performing the work and a lack of conflict of interest. Refer to Appendix D for the sample proposal format. Written proposals are due seven days after issuance of the request. The procurement office with the assistance of TPM-20 Office of Engineering will evaluate the proposals and select a contractor utilizing the “best value” approach.

In the interest of economy and efficiency, the procurement office will typically issue on a sole source basis follow-on task orders to the PMOC that was awarded the initial task order for a particular project, grantee or region. If the performance of the existing PMOC is unsatisfactory or if competing is deemed in the best interest of the government, the procurement office may compete follow-on task orders.

The total amount of all task orders awarded or issued by FTA in one year will not exceed the total amount available to FTA for oversight of major capital projects as documented in the TPM-20 Office of Engineering Program Plan. The Program Plan covers a twelve month period; therefore task orders will be awarded for multiple years but will be funded incrementally on a twelve months basis. Task order amounts are based on cost estimates for PMOC oversight based on activities and events in the Grantee’s project schedule. A task order sample is shown in Appendix B.

The PMOC is required to submit a Task Order Implementation Plan upon receipt of the task order from FTA. This plan outlines the PMOC’s proposed approach to the overall task, identifies activities to be performed, and provides a schedule and cost breakdown for the activities.

All activities performed under task orders will be authorized through work orders. Some work orders will be written broadly, for example, covering all recurring oversight activities on a project (such as monthly and quarterly meetings and supporting reports). Other work orders will be written more narrowly, for example, covering reviews (such as scope, schedule, cost, and risk) on specific dates.

6.1.3 Work Orders

A sample work order format is shown in Appendix C. A work order will be based on an approved proposal by a PMOC. Refer to Appendix D for the sample proposal format.

The work order will describe the work; it may refer to certain Oversight Procedures (OP) to guide the performance of the work. It will include a not-to-exceed cost and a defined schedule. A Work Order Implementation Plan may be required by FTA for large scope work orders or for oversight activities for which there is no associated OP.

Before issuing, the COTR verifies that the work order cost is included in the authorized task order amount. The work order will refer to applicable CLINs. The cost of each work order must be tracked separately in project status reports and in invoices, with a breakdown by CLIN. Within the PMOC’s monthly or quarterly task order status reports, the estimated versus actual for each work order should be tracked as a subset of the estimated versus actual for the entire task order.

6.1.4 Spot Reports

In the previous PMO contract, “Spot Reports” were used to report on a variety of topics. In this PMO contract, the generic spot report will be required very infrequently if at all. By and large, the spot report is replaced by specific reports such as “Project Cost Review Report” or “Grantee Technical Capacity and Capability Review Report”, etc.

6.2 Roles and Responsibilities

The Grantees are the project builders and owners and are fully responsible for development and implementation of the capital transit project. They are responsible for planning, design, bidding the contract documents; supervising, administering, inspecting and accepting construction; performing testing and start up.

FTA administers grants and loans to State and local public bodies, and in public-private partnerships to private entities, to acquire, construct, and reconstruct transit facilities. FTA seeks to ensure through its oversight that FTA-funded projects related to these transit facilities are executed responsibly.

The FTA Office of Engineering within the Office of Program Management (TPM) in Washington, D.C. and the FTA Regional Offices (TROs) are responsible for oversight from the time of the Grantees’ application to enter preliminary engineering (PE) through final design (FD), the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), construction, substantial completion, testing, start-up, and revenue operations. As a general rule, recurring oversight and reviews of the Grantee’s project management capacity are conducted by TROs. Technical reviews for scope, schedule, cost, contingency and risk, etc. are usually initiated by TPM. TPM and TRO, along with TAD (Office of Procurement), administer the PMOC contracts, task orders and work orders.

PMOCs assist FTA in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. The PMOCs’ primary FTA points of contact are FTA’s task order managers and FTA’s work order managers. The primary FTA staff person in Procurement is the Contracting Officer (CO) and in TPM is the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR).

The PMOCs are responsible for rigorously but non-intrusively analyzing progress on projects, positively and constructively interacting with the Grantee to solve problems, and maintaining objectivity in discussions of findings, conclusions and recommendations with FTA and the Grantee. One of the most important reviews is the assessment of the Grantees’ technical capacity and capability to successfully implement projects in a quality manner – to keep projects on time, on budget, in accordance with approved plans and specifications, constructible and well managed, employing value engineering, risk assessment and risk management. In addition to the Grantees’ technical capacity, the PMOCs review the planning, design, construction and operations of the project; specific project components: guideway structures, stations, maintenance and storage facilities, sitework, power, signal and communications systems; fare collection; real estate; vehicle design and manufacturing; project quality and capacity; safety; cost estimates, schedules, assessments of risk.

After PMOCs are awarded contracts, they may be awarded task orders and work orders within task orders to perform oversight. Task orders can cover all projects in a geographic area or they can be limited to the work of a particular Grantee. Task orders issued from TPM-20 can cover special studies and research, as well as technical reviews (scope, schedule, cost) for projects.

The PMOCs’ main responsibilities include:

· Investigation of project conditions and core documents; site visitation; review of pertinent documents; performance of interviews in sufficient detail as to become familiar with established project goals, site conditions, design criteria, operations plans, drawings and specifications, value engineering studies, peer and constructability reviews, schedules, cost estimates, risks, bid packages, and contracts;

· Assessment of the Grantee’s management of projects and technical capacity and capability;

· Assessment of the Grantee’s ability to meet goals related to design capacity, scope, schedule, budget, quality, and safety both during construction and in revenue operations;

· Identification of problems and uncertainties related to the fulfillment of program requirements;

· Recommendations and proactive problem solving with the Grantee and FTA staff, and provision of professional opinions to the FTA;

· Discussion of findings, conclusions and recommendations with the Grantee and FTA;

· Provision of supporting reports and presentations to the FTA.

In the performance of the above, the PMOCs are to accomplish, among other duties, the following:

1) Communications

a) Develop and regularly maintain contact throughout a Grantee’s organization with key personnel in planning, design and construction departments as well as operations, operations planning, procurement, legal, budgeting and real estate.

b) Develop and regularly maintain contact with FTA task order managers and work order managers at both headquarters and the region.

c) Maintain a log of project contacts.

d) Coordinate with other PMOCs covering the same Grantee.

e) Remind the Grantee of its responsibility for the project; that PMOC oversight in no way relieves the Grantee of responsibility.

f) Provide informal communication to the Grantee on the results of PMOCs’ reviews and analysis after approval from FTA. Provide draft reports to FTA and receive comments from FTA before providing copies to the Grantee. Discuss draft findings with the Grantee prior to finalizing reports.

2) Oversight assessments, recommendations, reporting

a) Identify sources of information to allow the FTA to directly question the Grantee on the accuracy or completeness of their information. Present information without taking it out of context. Efficiently verify the information with trusted sources before presenting it as fact. Describe PMOC assumptions used to form conclusions and the methods used to come to those conclusions. Support PMOC statements, observations, findings, conclusions and professional opinions with project information, appropriate analysis and interpretation of the project information by qualified PMOC personnel with relevant and appropriate project development, design and construction experience.

b) Based on a cost-effective mix of random and planned sampling and, in certain cases, sampling 100 percent of the information, perform quantitative and qualitative checks on Grantee information.

c) Provide deliverables that are focused, clear, coherent, accurate, complete, objective and unbiased. Perform work in a cost-efficient manner.

d) Specifically cost-related

i) Regarding the Grantees’ cost estimating methodologies, verify that current market conditions for bidding of construction contracts are taken into account;

ii) Provide an estimator’s opinions as to whether the cost estimate information is biased.

iii) Describe the context of key cost assumptions and decisions by involved parties such as the Grantees, and their consultants and contractors.

iv) State reservations about costs in construction contractors’ bids or offers; provide supported opinions regarding a construction contractor’s propensity to submit change orders and claims on a project.

7.0 REPORTING, PRESENTATIONS, RECONCILIATION

For many oversight activities, the PMOC is required to provide FTA with a supporting written report of findings, analysis, recommendations, professional opinions, and a description of the review activities undertaken.

Draft reports should be submitted to the FTA work order manager via email. In addition the PMOC should post reports to an FTA website, to be identified.

After FTA approval, the PMOC may be instructed to share the report with the Grantee. In the event that differences of opinion exist between the PMOC and the Grantee regarding the PMOC’s findings, the FTA may direct the PMOC to reconcile with the Grantee and provide FTA with a report addendum covering the agreed modifications by the Grantee and PMOC.

On occasion, the PMOC may be required to make presentations of project reports or other studies to FTA, the Grantee, or third party groups.

7.1 Format

Avoid repetition in the report at all cost as repetition inhibits understanding on the part of the reader. Instead, refer back to previous sections. Be concise. Provide current information and avoid long historical narratives or lists of events. Use italics and bold fonts to emphasize certain points. Use judgment to optimally portray information to aid in understanding – narratives, photographs, tables, graphs, spreadsheets, etc. Use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Microsoft Project.

Use Times Roman 12 point font unless otherwise specified.

All reports should include the following.

1) Cover page (See Appendix E for a sample cover page.)

a) Title of Report; plain English description of what is in the report

b) Project name and location, Grantee name

c) Date of report, if revisions, add Rev. 1, 2, etc.

d) Contract number

e) Task order number

f) Project number

g) Work order number

h) Oversight Procedures referenced

i) CLIN referenced

j) PMOC firm name, address

k) PMOC lead person’s name, affiliation if different from PMOC firm, phone, email

l) Length of time PMOC firm and person have been assigned to this project

2) Executive Summary (one page max) – simply written summary of the PMOC’s most important findings, professional opinions, conclusions, and recommendations

3) Description of PMOC personnel, qualifications performing the review

4) Table of Contents

5) Project Description (one page max)

6) Project Maps

7) Body of Report

a) Findings (include photos of site conditions to aid in understanding )

b) Analysis, opinions, recommendations (specify time frames for performance of recommended actions)

c) Concluding Statement

8) Appendix

a) Acronyms used

b) Tables, spreadsheets, photos

APPENDIX A

References

The following are the principal, but by no means the only, references to Federal legislation, codification, regulation and guidance with which the PMOC should have a good understanding as related to the Grantee’s project work being reviewed under the Oversight Procedures (OPs):

Legislative

· SAFETEA-LU, Public Law109-59 United States Code

· 49 U.S.C Section 5327, General /Intermodal Programs, Mass Trans; PMO

· 49 U.S.C Section 5309, Major Capital Investment Projects Final Rule

Regulations

· Project Management Oversight, 49 C.F.R. Part 633

· Major Capital Investment Projects, 49 C.F.R. Part 611

· Joint FTA/FHWA regulations, Metropolitan Planning, 23 C.F.R. Part 450

· Joint FTA/FHWA regulations, Environmental Impact and Related Procedures, 23

· C.F.R. Part 771

· U.S. DOT regulation, Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition for Federal and Federally Assisted Programs, 49 C.F.R. Part 24

FTA Circulars -

· C4220.1D Third Party Contracting Requirements

· C5010.1C Grant Management Guidelines

· C5200 Full Funding Grant Agreements Guidance

· C6800.1 Safety and Security Management Plan

Guidance

· FTA Master Agreement, FTA MA

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/12-Master.doc

· Project and Construction Management Guidelines, 2003 Update

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/funding/oversight/grants_financing_104.html

· Guidance for Transit Financial Plans, June 2000

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/publications/reports/other_reports/publications_1336.html

· New Starts

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/planning/newstarts/planning_environment_218.html

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/planning/newstarts/planning_environment_213.html

· Construction Project Management Handbook, December 2006

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/publications/publications_5838.html

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/funding/oversight/grants_financing_104.html

· Best Practices Procurement Manual, FTA, 2001

· http://www.fta.dot.gov/publications/reports/other_reports/publications_4571.html

APPENDIX B

Sample Task Order

Federal Transit Administration

TASK ORDER No. ___

Date issued:

Summary title:

Projects X, Y, Z by Grantee Transit Agency ABC

Located in City, Region, State/s

PMOC:

Firm name

Lead person’s name, title, phone, email

Firm address

Contract No.:

DTFT60-0_______

Task Order:

Managed by FTA Region or Headquarters

Project No.

DC-______

FTA Task Order Manager: name, phone, email

Scope:

Description of scope of work

Reference to FTA Oversight Procedures Reference to CLIN Numbers

Schedule:

Task order duration / End date of task order Cost:

This is being issued under Contracting Officer authority.

Services performed or products delivered under this task order are authorized by work order and billable by work order.

The not-to-exceed amount is _____ for labor and expenses under this task order. Under no circumstances is the PMOC authorized to incur costs in excess of the amount above without prior authorization from the Contracting Officer.

APPENDIX C

Sample Work Order

Federal Transit Administration

WORK ORDER No. ___

Date issued:

______, 20__ Summary title:

Review of X on Project Y, Grantee Transit Agency ABC

Located in City, Region, State/s

PMOC:

Lead person’s name, title, phone, email

Firm name, address

Contract No.:

DTFT60-0_______

Task Order No.:

Project No.

DC - _____

Task Order:

Managed by FTA Region or Headquarters

FTA Task Order Manager: name, phone, email

FTA Work Order Manager: name, phone, email

Description of scope of work Reference to FTA Oversight Procedures

Reference to CLIN Numbers Schedule:

Period of Performance, Schedule of Milestones, Due Dates

This is being issued under COTR authority. Services performed or products delivered under this work order are billable by work order and CLIN.

The not-to-exceed amount is _____ for labor and expenses under this work order. Under no circumstances is the PMOC authorized to incur costs in excess of the amount above without prior authorization from the COTR.

APPENDIX D

Sample Proposal Format

PROPOSAL TO FTA

Date:

Summary title:

PMOC:

Lead person’s name, title, phone, email

Firm name, address

Contract No.:

DTFT60-0_______

Task Order No.:

____ if applicable

Task Order:

Managed by FTA Region or Headquarters

FTA Task Order Manager: name, phone, email

Work Order No.:

____ if applicable

FTA Work Order Manager: name, phone, email

Description of scope of work; ref. to FTA Oversight Procedures, CLIN Nos.

Schedule:

Period of Performance, Schedule of Milestones, Due Dates

Provide proposal breakdown including all of the information below:

APPENDIX E

Sample Report Cover Page

CAPITAL COST ESTIMATE REVIEW

Great City Light Rail Subway Project

Great City Transportation Authority

Region or City, State

May 1, 2008

May 22, 2008, Rev. 1

PMOC Contract Number

DTFT__-__-_-_____

Task Order Number

Project Number

DC-__-____

Work Order Number

OPs Referenced

PMOC firm name, address PMOC lead person’s name, affiliation if different from PMOC firm, phone, email

Length of time PMOC firm and person have been assigned to this project

OP 1 Administrative Conditions and Requirements Revision 0, June 2008