Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)

Mario M. Cuomo Bridge(AKA - Tappan Zee)

Administration and Oversight

Lessons Learned

• Total replacement of 3.1 mile bridge

• Design-Build (D-B) Contract awarded in 2013 for $3.14B

• Presidential initiative

• 10% DBE goal

• To date 125 DBEs have worked on the project

• As of January 2019, 11.2% in DBE commitment

• Complicated financing plan – no federal funds until after completion

Fun Facts

Mario M. Cuomo Bridge Today

NYS Thruway Authority

• DBE goal setting• Request for Qualifications• Request for Proposals• Instructions to Proposers – Award• Contract Language• DBE Performance Plan• Monitoring post award:

– Commercially Useful Function – Prompt Payment

Lessons Learned

• DBE Committee - Experience in civil rights, DBE goal-setting and compliance, construction management, bridge and highway design, and risk management

• Three components of the bridge:

– Engineering Services

– Bridge Construction

– Approach Roadways

DBE Goal SettingFollowed CFR with Defendable Data

• Follow 49 CFR 26.45

• If controversial project involve the Governor’s Office

• Be an educator!

• Make sure data is defendable

• Document your analysis and conclusions

• Transparent, repeatable, defendable

Best Practices/Lessons Learned

Request for Qualifications

• DBE Participation Goal-possibly

• RFP evaluation factors

– DBE compliance

– Proposal package/DBE Plan/evidence of GFE

• RFQ evaluation Factors

– Record of DBE participation

• More details on what will be required in the “DBE Plan”

• DBE past performance – Pass/Fail analysis on DBE achievement on contracts the past 3 years

• What is considered good performance

• If goal on past projects not met, give explanation of why

Lessons Learned – RFQ

Instructions to Proposers

• Outreach summit• 10% goal• DBE Criteria Pass/Fail• No change since SOQ• List of named DBEs• List of proposed area of

work• DBE Plan

– Units of work– Outreach– Reports/procedures– Affirmation of GFE

• While only such DBE-certified firms will count toward attaining the DBE goal, the utilization of certified small businesses and MBE/WBE firms is also encouraged - NG

• DBE Plan was inadequate when first submitted and took a year to finalize– More details in the instructions

– Should have “failed”

Lessons Learned

Contract Documents

• DBE Utilization– Eligibility– Goals and Monitoring– Counting– Conditions of Participation– DBE Plan and GFE– Reporting– Payments

• Designation of a Corporate DBE Representative

• Progress meetings• Subcontract Report

• More specific details of the skillset and experience of the Corporate DBE Representative

• Sanctions for DBE non-compliance were not clear

• Did not ask for a “look ahead” schedule – scheduling CUF reviews was difficult

Lessons Learned

DBE Plan

• You must ask for it in contract language if you want to get it!

• Require plan at time of proposals

• Awarded firm will be ready to implement plan at time of award

• Make the plan part of the scoring criteria

Lessons Learned

Fraud/Waste/Abuse Workshops

• Commercially Useful Function (CUF)

– Need to know when and where firms will be working

– Firms more than 50 miles away – Skype reviews

– Thruway hired a consultant to collect data but made final determination of approval

Monitoring Post Award

• Prompt Payment

– Lesson learned!

– Not clearly defined in contract language how it would be monitored

– DB paid even though they were not paid (great practice)

– Thruway did a lot of outreach to firms (calls), responded to complaints, asked during CUF/worksite reviews

Monitoring Post Award

• DBE Plan was submitted late – design opportunities were missed – confusion!

• Monitoring Good Faith Efforts - a lot of EFFORT!

• Anticipated commitments not coming to fruition – finding new opportunities

• Monitoring the number of firms

• CUF on out of state firms

• Prompt Payment on all subs

What was most challenging?

• The DBE Plan was well written and a great “roadmap” to reach the goal

• Design/Builder had good DBE oversight staff –very motivated to make Governor happy

• Thruway had great oversight staff

• DB/Sponsor/FHWA monthly meetings

• DB team hosted monthly outreach events

• Construction inspectors, project managers, procurement team worked closely with DBE team

What went well!