The Boilerplate

Volume 8, Issue 2 March 2017

What’s Inside...

Job Order Contracting Page 2

NIGP Forum Scholarship Page 5

Diversity Essay Page 6

OPPA/Columbia Chapter Liaison Page8

OPPA Membership Committee Page 9

The Tie that Binds Page 10

Call for Volunteers (RVTS) Page 11

Regional Training Page12

Gail L. Carter,

OPPA President 2016-2017

Greetings OPPA Colleagues,

March is Procurement Month and who you are makes a

difference at work and as a member of OPPA. On a

daily basis, I see the spirit of professionalism from

chapter members through volunteer activities,

information sharing on MemberConnect and

participation at training and other events. OPPA is

truly a world class procurement and professional

development organization because of you, the

members!

Elections are approaching soon and chapter members

have nominated some exceptional procurement

professionals for openings on the Board of Directors. I

encourage each you to participate in the election and

cast a ballot when it’s time to vote. A Boilerplate

Special Edition will showcase the nominees to assist in

your voting deliberations.

In May, OPPA is offering chapter members a “World

of Opportunity” at the first ever Regional training and

consortium. Attendees will get the opportunity to

network across state lines with NIGP Region 8 chapter

members from Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and

Washington. I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank

You” to the people in all five (5) chapters that have

been working together in the spirit of professional

development to make the event a success.

The spirit of professionalism is demonstrated in this

edition of The Boilerplate by chapter members who

took the time to write articles, sharing their OPPA

membership and professional public procurement

insights.

Gail L. Carter, OPPA President

“Exercise your purchasing power as a consumer,

volunteer and bring joy to those in need, and share

your experiences, tell your stories, and inspire others

along the way.” ~ Blake Mycoskie ~

http://www.nigp.org/home/about-nigp/connect/procurement-month-2017

P A G E 2

Job Order Contracting at the Port of Portland

First Year Impressions

By: Craig Johnsen, CPPB, CPPO

The Port of Portland is just about one year into our job order contracting (JOC) pilot program and so far, results have

been (mostly) very positive. As this type of contracting is new to us and to most non-federal public agencies in

Oregon, I thought I would share some information on what we have learned so far about the benefits and issues we

have encountered with our JOC program.

Job order contracting is a collaborative construction project delivery method that enables organizations to get

numerous, commonly encountered construction projects done quickly and easily through Indefinite Delivery/

Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) or multi-yer umbrella contracts. JOC reduces unnecessary levels of engineering, design, and

contract procurement time along with construction project procurement costs by awarding long-term contracts for a

wide variety of renovation, repair and construction projects.

A major element of the JOC contracting process is the use of a unit price book (UPB) or list, which provides preset

costs for specific construction tasks. The unit price book can cover nearly every construction, repair or maintenance

task, whether it's minor renovation projects or recurring projects like bathroom renovations, installing carpeting,

replacing windows or doors, or even painting, the pricing is developed from the line items in the unit price book or list.

If a task is not in the UPB, it can be negotiated, priced and added at any time to the book via addendum.

I believe the Port is the first Oregon, non-federal public agency under ORS 279 rules to have instituted a JOC program

for construction contracting in the state of Oregon. Federal agencies and Oregon Universities have had robust JOC

programs in Oregon for several years. We structured our program as a “pilot” program and contracted with the

Gordian Group, one of the largest of the JOC program providers, through a cooperative contract accessed through the

National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) Cooperative. The JOC program provider creates the UPB the contractors use to

price each job, and provides software to manage each task order. They also help train contractors in the

methodology.

For our three year pilot we selected three contractors through an RFP process (exempted from “competitive bidding”)

that evaluated contractors based on their qualifications and experience, proposed job order contracting plan, small

business participation plan and competitiveness of their JOC multiplier (price proposal). One of the awarded firms is

certified in Oregon as a DBE/MBE/ESB business. Each of the three contracts contains a $3M cap over the three year

period, but an individual task order can be issued for any amount still available under the contract.

(Continued on the next page.)

P A G E 3

(Continued)

Goals

When we first contemplated starting a JOC program, we discussed what goals we wanted to accomplish through the

use of the JOC format. The primary goals of the JOC program were to:

a) Reduce time from project approval to construction initiation;

b) Improve collaboration between the Port and the contractor(s);

c) Reduce costs; and,

d) Increase small business participation on smaller projects that don’t carry mandatory goals.

The Good

Proponents of JOC programs will tell you that you will bring a project to construction quicker than with traditional

design/bid/build contracting methods. We have found that to be most generally true. On average we estimate

projects begin work 40-50% sooner under a JOC program than using the traditional delivery method. A contractor is

able to price a job in a couple of weeks in most cases, and can sometimes begin pricing a job even before plans and

specifications are completely finalized.

One of the most appealing aspects of the JOC program is the ability to foster a collaborative relationship with the firms

under contract. Over time, they learn how to work at the Port (airport construction work has its own unique set of

challenges and risks), they learn to trust the construction task catalog, and they learn to “trust” the construction

managers who oversee the projects. It is not unlike having contracts with architects and engineers for work-as-

required, though A&E and other professional firms are much more inclined to have experienced working on multiple

projects for the same agency than have construction contractors. As the contractors learn these facets of the

program, the relationship between the contractor and the Port improves, and the entire process becomes more

efficient.

The Gordian group told the Port when we first contemplated moving to a JOC program that we could expect to see a

savings of approximately 8% over traditional design/bid/build efforts. Our actual savings to date is closer to 24%

based on our Engineer’s estimates overall. This has been one of our most surprising findings to date, and that savings

includes the fees we pay to the Gordian group on each task order under the program. Outside of the actual

construction cost savings, the Port estimates that our Contracts & Procurement Buyer saves 88% in time processing

task orders under the program versus bidding out each project. Our specification writers also save 75% in their time,

and overall, our construction and engineering groups estimate 36% time savings compared to design/bid/build project

approaches. That is significant all around!

(Continued on the next page.)

Job Order Contracting at the Port of Portland

By: Craig Johnsen, CPPB, CPPO

P A G E 4

(Continued)

Since February of 2016, the Port has issued 38 task orders under our JOC program, valued in the whole at

approximately $4M. All three contractors have received work in the program, and all have had varying degrees of

success pricing through the JOC methodology. More on that later….

We have seen a significant increase in small business participation numbers for these projects compared to traditional

design/bid/build methods. Our Small Business Development Program Manager estimates the increase in small

business (M/W/ESB) usage is up 35% overall for these size projects (All but one have been less than $500,000). That is

also very significant!

Over time the Port has learned the particular strengths and weaknesses of the three contracting firms. One is

particularly well suited to interior building work, but not in performing civil construction; the other two have strengths

in both areas. Having multiple contractors in the program strengthens the overall program, and allows the agency to

fit the contractor to the needed task. It has also allowed contractors to “stretch their wings” on jobs where they may

not have as much expertise, but to learn on the job.

The Not so Good

There would be a significant learning curve for contractors that have not previously priced jobs using a construction

cost catalog. In our case all three general contractors in our JOC program had previous experience with JOC

contracting. Not all of them like using the CTC to price their work, however. It can be a bit of a daunting task to

identify all the little sub-tasks within the overall task, and the level of detail required to accurately price out a task is

significant; it is also difficult for the contractor to get their subcontractors to price out their sub work using the CTC.

But they are getting better at it as they become more familiar with the process. There’s also been a learning curve

with the software used to arrive at a price proposal. The Port is continuing to work with the Gordian Group on

increased process efficiency.

Conclusions

Overall, the Port has found much to like about the JOC program. We are extremely happy that costs appear to be

significantly reduced for these jobs, and as everyone gains more experience in using the software and the CTC, the

process efficiencies are improving dramatically. With two years to go in the program, staff hopes to see continued

improvement in time-to-construction, utilization of disadvantaged and small businesses, and project cost savings. So

far, the good definitely outweighs the not-so-good.

Job Order Contracting at the Port of Portland

By: Craig Johnsen, CPPB, CPPO

P A G E 5

I was honored to receive an OPPA

scholarship to attend the 2016 NIGP forum

in National Harbor, MD and it was amazing!

While attending the various sessions I am

reminded that we are not alone. My

participation in the Forum provided many

benefits by providing me the opportunity to

learn new things in educational sessions,

network with peers and colleagues in

networking sessions, and to be inspired by

professional speakers and subject matter

experts that spoke during the Forum.

The morning motivational speakers were

wonderful. My favorite was “5 second rule”.

The presenter did a fabulous job of

encouraging you to pushing yourself to do

something new. One statement that hit

home for me was “You have a choice over

how you act”; therefore, you shouldn’t wait

for someone else to give you a push.

During the product expo, I met several

vendors I have done business with in the

past as well as several new vendors. I am

always fascinated to see the networking

occurring between the procurement officials

and the vendors during the product expos.

If you have not attended an NIGP forum in

the past, I strongly recommend doing so. It

is well worth the time.

2016 NIGP Forum Scholarship

By: Sarah L. Roth, CPPO, CPPB, OPBC

Interested in Attending?

2017 NIGP Forum Training

Connecting Procurement Communities

Click for Details

P A G E 6

Congratulations Erika Lopez, winner of the

2016 NIGP Diversity Essay Award!

Diversity Essay By: Erika Lopez

"Within the government contracting space, diversity initiatives are encouraged, but are sometimes

perceived as being too difficult and costly to administer. However, small business inclusion initiatives can

sometimes achieve the same outcome with minimal or no additional costs or effort. Has your organization

focused on small business inclusion in your contracting activity, and if so, has that effort been successful

in terms of contractual cost savings and/or adding diversity to your qualified vendor pool? "

Many organizations are in the same boat when it comes to diversity and inclusion. There is a desire to be

inclusive, but the agency may not have a formal diversity initiative, small business program or specific goal.

The risk of doing it wrong often leaves us immobile. We think if we try, it won’t be good enough; if we try

and fail, it will be worse than if we hadn’t tried at all. To make matters even more difficult we have our

elected and community leaders who are just as scared to try, try and fail, or be called out for not trying at

all. They too, often don’t have a plan and look to the procurement professionals to whip up a program that

can produce the hard data that backs up their stance. Seasoned procurement professionals are keenly

aware of the inherent tension this creates. So what possible solution is available for us in this catch-22?

As one of the few Latina women in procurement, I have firsthand experience addressing this issue. The

business of diversity and inclusion in procurement is about people and nurturing relationships;

communication and soft skills play a big role here. Procurement departments are not very diverse in

themselves. The bitter irony is that tackling a problem like the lack of diversity and inclusivity in our vendors

goes hand in glove with the lack of diversity in our own profession. The very nature of this complex issue

requires a variety of perspectives and voices to come together.

As public procurement professionals we often want to start big by addressing the needs of our vendor

community. I believe we should start by getting our house in order. We need to have these conversations

with our staff, our leadership and our agency. We need to ask ourselves how sophisticated we are in the

process of diversity and inclusion, and how we can best integrate that into the invaluable work that we do.

People are often at different places on the spectrum, but regardless of where they may be it gives us a

starting point. A healthy discourse on the importance of this issue and how your agency, department or

division can set a goal and make strides towards it is critical. An absolute necessity is having buy-in from the

most important stake holders - the people that will be actively working to implement the changes decided

upon.

(Continued on the next page.)

P A G E 7

Diversity Essay (Continued)

By: Erika Lopez

I’m fortunate enough to work for the city that I grew up in. I also represent the emerging Latino community.

This nexus of identity and opportunity has given me insight into how to bridge the diversity gap in

procurement.

There are many things that seem like common knowledge in our profession, especially to procurement

professionals who have been in this field for long time. But to new and small business people, government

purchasing is a different language and a different world. I recently attended the Oregon Association of

Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) vendor tradeshow in Portland, OR and there was a panel discussion on

inclusivity. The panelists were a mix of women and minority business owners. Elee Jen, who is the owner of

a local engineering firm, spoke a truth that illustrated the gap. She said “It is not enough to have a diversity

office you must also be supportive of their work, if you have someone in your agency who is passionate

about diversity and inclusion don’t stop them, encourage them, support them.” You may not be the one

who has this passion or time to do the work but if there are people in your agency that are willing and able,

help them, support them, and encourage them to continue. Those people are often in places where you

don’t even think to ask. In our agency we thought to ask our capital projects manager if he would be

interested in coming to a networking event at OAME. He not only agreed but also encouraged us to give out

his contact information. He also attended a trade show with our purchasing staff and has become a great

partner to our division. Our relationship with our engineering department has flourished as a result of just

asking.

In government we must start to learn how to be proactive and not reactive. Whether we have set policies or

not, finding ways to make the diverse emerging small business communities feel welcomed by your agency

opens the door for genuine relationships and learning opportunities. What would they like to know and how

can we make that information easier or accessible for them to acquire? There are probably non-profit

organizations in your community that teach business classes or small business incubators that provide

workshops and training. Can you provide a class on the RFP process or bidding? Sharing that knowledge

demonstrates support and sends the message that we do want them to know how to respond to our

solicitations. It’s an invitation to start a relationship where the only cost to you is rearranging your schedule

for an evening or a day. It doesn’t take a program or policy change, just initiative. When the time comes, and

someone at the top wants a policy in place, you will have already made in-roads and know where to go.

Erika Lopez, Buyer

City of Hillsboro

P A G E 8

OPPA/Columbia Chapter Liaison Report

By: Craig Johnsen, CPPB, CPPO

Both of Oregon’s NIGP Chapters participated in a volunteer activity on December 3rd, 2016, helping to pack

food at two local food banks. About 20 OPPA members and family worked at the Marion Polk Food Share

facility in North Salem, while 10 Columbia Chapter members volunteered at the Oregon Food Bank in

Beaverton. As a participant at the Marion Polk Food Share event, I can report that everyone enjoyed the

experience and we helped package meals for hundreds of needy families.

Each year Columbia Chapter NIGP holds a Holiday Luncheon in December that includes a silent auction of gift

baskets and bottles of wine, olive oil, etc. The auction helps to raise money for the Chapter’s scholarship

program. The weather played a large part in delaying the event this year, as the luncheon was rescheduled

twice due to the wintery conditions of ice and snow. The event was finally held on February 6th at the

Portland City Grill restaurant, with a revised “theme” reflecting a Valentine’s Day motif….still a Holiday

luncheon, just a different one!

Columbia Chapter dug deep to participate in NIGP’s Document Fitness Challenge, an effort to review and

comment on the literally thousands of library documents NIGP maintains. Columbia reviewed over 6,400

documents during the five month Challenge, 2nd most of any NIGP Chapter! Multnomah County’s Jerry

Gelusich alone reviewed over 3000 documents, quite the achievement Jerry! Jerry is a featured reviewer on

NIGP’s home page this month.

Document Reviewing

Superhero

Jerry Gelusich

P A G E 9

OPPA Membership Committee Report

By: Stephanie Lehman, Membership Co-Chair

I have been an OPPA member for as long as I have been in public procurement. Trust me- that’s a long time. A

VERY long time. (Insert feelings of old age here.) For probably 2/3 of that time, I was happy to be a member-at-

large; I enjoyed the various training events held along the I-5 corridor. Back in my early days, I processed purchase

orders, so not everything at a workshop necessarily hit home with me. Then things started to happen. I promoted

(gasp!). I was stretched and facing new experiences that required new skills. I recalled some of the training I

received and was able to refer back to some pretty awesome materials.

Fast forward a few years, and I was asked to consider volunteering with the Program Committee. Work was

becoming routine, so why not? I had no idea how much fun this was going be, how valuable it was going to be, or

how many new experiences I was going to gain. It really opened my eyes to the actual value of the organization

and how OPPA is so much more than just a group that offers training a couple times a year.

Can I just take a minute to recognize the Program Committee? They are one hard working committee!

They are responsible for putting on all of the training events. They select the venue, menu, set up the

conference and trade show spaces, coordinate all the behind the scenes efforts and make everything run

smoothly and flawlessly. If you enjoy putting on events with the added challenge of a budget, or have

ideas you would like considered, you should consider joining this committee; they are awesome!

Getting to actually know people, rather than just seeing people repeatedly, at events, has helped me

professionally. I am at ODOT now, and I am fortunate to have a wealth of procurement knowledge at my

fingertips. Most of my procurement experience comes from a small agency where I just figured it out as I went

along and had no procurement resources within my agency. (It’s true- ignorance can be bliss!) I relied heavily on

my OPPA membership to bounce ideas off of, learn best practices, borrow templates and consider new ways of

doing things. I have gained a network of friends and colleagues that don’t mind taking time out of their schedule

to help or mentor me. I have also been able to pay it forward, which is a pretty great thing to do. I have to say, it

can also help you out when you are looking for your next professional move. Relationships are important!

I did take a little break from OPPA, and I won’t lie, I missed it. I took a new position, and decided that I should put

all of my efforts into learning the new job, so I became much less active in OPPA. Now I am ready to give back

again and you might see me again at the registration table; I look forward to greeting everyone as they check in

for an awesome day of learning. And who knows? Maybe I will look you up in the Membership directory someday

and reach out to you.

P A G E

The Tie that Binds

By: Jules DeGiulio

There’s something about working in the public sector that just resonates with me. And Higher Education is

particularly home-like. But you all experience that in one way or another or you wouldn’t likely be where

you are. It took me almost 20 years in the private sector to get back to where I belong. I’m not leaving!

Why is this? Well, a large contributing factor is OPPA. But it’s more than that. An organization without

members is nothing. And disaffected members only make matters worse. OPPA’s strength is that its mem-

bers care enough to contribute.

After all, the collective expertise you all hold is enormous. But it is only as good as it is shared.

OPPA is not only a community within itself, but one that operates effectively within a larger realm. It’s both

global and personal. It’s close. Staffed with folks who are more than just willing to share knowledge and

expertise, they are enthusiastic about that role. OPPA recognized early how valuable it could be to connect

staff statewide. Otherwise folks are left out and feel alone. To that end, a staff-driven sharing device,

MemberConnect, was developed. As a personal trainer, it’s been my lifeblood since I re-entered public

work. And it can work for you too.

Sure, OPPA hosts Professional Development courses, conferences and forums and naturally promotes con-

tinuous education as a way of life. But that’s just the framework, the foundation. Leading us to educate

ourselves and our peers through MemberConnect is the genius stroke. It’s the tie that binds; the collective

consciousness; the raison d’etre.

P A G E 1 1

CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS

for the

2017 Reverse Vendor Trade Show (RVTS)

Do you enjoy… Boosting sponsorships? Sharpening your marketing skills? Helping others?

Collaborating with other government agencies? Working in a great team to fundraise mon-

ey for your local NIGP chapter?

If so, this is the perfect opportunity for you and we highly encourage you to volunteer for

the 2017 Reverse Vendor Trade Show. We have volunteer opportunities within our com-

mittees with various time commitments available.

As you may know, RVTS is an annual fall event that gives vendors the opportunity to meet

face to face with public purchasing professionals from throughout Oregon/SW Washington.

This show is a great fundraising event for NIGP Columbia Chapter and OPPA.

If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please contact Julie

Denton at 360) 487-8435 or julie.denton@cityofvancouver.us.

Thank you for your consideration in joining our team!

Our Best Regards,

The RVTS Steering Committee:

Julie Denton, RVTS Committee Chair

Denice Henshaw, Registrations

Lawrence Russell, Directory

Christy Tran, Marketing and Outreach

Annie Teav, Sponsorship

Wednesday May 17, 2017

NIGP’s One-Day Training: Promoting the Procurement Function

Thursday May 18, 2017

Opening Session: Marketing the Value of Procurement

3 Training Session Tracks include:

Strategies to Encourage Diversity in Procurement

Performance Based Contracting

Contract Administration

Determining Responsiveness

Risk Management

Financial Statement Interpretation

Technology Projects—What can go wrong?

Evaluating Responsiveness in Bids

Marketing the Value of Procurement

Friday May 19, 2017

Dave Rabiner Leadership 2017: What Local Government Leaders Need to Know Now

11 Training Hours

Register for this Event at OPPAweb.org

Mission Statement: The Oregon Public Purchasing Association seeks to benefit the profession and

increase its members’ value to their organizations through education, networking and outreach.

OPPA is a proud Chapter of

A World of

Opportunity

First Annual Regional Training and Vendor Showcase

May 17-19, 2017 in Pendleton at the Wildhorse Conference Center

NIGP Chapters from Oregon, Idaho, Washington,

Alaska and Hawaii.