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Fairness Doctrine

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this Fairness Doctrine is to create a policy for consistently managing relationships between Alberici and our subcontractors and suppliers while treating everyone with whom we do business fairly and honestly. By adopting the “Best Practices” outlined in this Fairness Doctrine, we will raise the standard for Alberici, our subcontractors and our industry. For clarity, the term “subcontractor” used in this document refers to subcontractors, specialty contractors, material and equipment suppliers, etc.

Alberici recognizes the important role subcontractors play on our projects and the impact they have on our success. We also understand our fair and ethical treatment of subcontractors, safety practices, prompt payment practices, project management, project supervision, quality management practices, spirit of teamwork, scheduling coordination, ability to effectively communicate, timely administrative procedures and ability to perform provide benefits to our subcontractors and contribute to their success.

A consistent methodology employed during the bidding process will benefit all of us. Specifically, it will allow Alberici to: (1) receive good coverage on all line items of a bid; (2) fairly analyze and evaluate bids from subcontractors; (3) receive favorable pricing from subcontractors in recognition of the benefits of working together and our ability to perform, thereby making Alberici’s bid more cost-effective for our clients and more competitive in the marketplace; (4) obtain bids in a time frame which allows us to properly evaluate them prior to the general bid filing; and (5) maintain consistency in the purchasing process.

Scope

The guidelines established in this Fairness Doctrine will apply to all Alberici projects.

Accountability

The Vice President of Estimating shall be accountable for the enforcement of the guidelines established in this Fairness Doctrine and will, from time-to-time, review the guidelines to stay current with market trends, perceptions and other critical issues which affect the goals of Alberici. Only the Executive Committee may amend these guidelines

Procedure for Soliciting and Receiving Subcontract Bids

  1. Subcontractor bids will be solicited by mail, facsimile, or e-mail through the “Bid Solicitation” process consistent with the requirements of the Client. Appropriate action will be taken to solicit bidders in a manner consistent with the bidding documents for projects having requirements for participation by Minority-Owned, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. These actions may include public notices, newspaper advertisements, written invitations sent by Registered Mail Return Receipt Requested and/or telephone solicitations with recorded logs in order to comply with the specific requirements set forth in the bidding documents.
  2. Special contact will be made with subcontractor bidders when necessary to convey special conditions, construction schedule information and/or scope which will enhance the subcontractor’s bid and create a complete scope of work.
  3. Subcontractors will be required to submit letters outlining their scope of work to Alberici at least 24 hours prior to the general bid filing.
  4. Alberici must receive subcontractor bids at least two (2) hours prior to the general bid filing in order to have sufficient time for bid evaluation, ask questions regarding the bid, receive answers to questions and avoid mistakes by Alberici and/or the subcontractors.
  5. Written contact will be made with subcontractor bidders when necessary to communicate pertinent information during the bid period such as addenda, bid filing extensions, etc.
  6. Alberici reserves the right to solicit bids on any item necessary to complete our estimate after the deadline for receiving subcontractor bids, if we do not have a responsive or reasonable bid on any such item.

Procedure for Finalizing Subcontracts and Purchase Orders

  1. In the event Alberici is awarded a contract, the Vice President of Estimating, or his/her designee, shall conduct scope/clarification conferences with the apparent low bidders to determine the successful subcontractor for each item of work. This will be accomplished within 30 days of the award, if possible. These conferences may include representatives from subcontractor management, operations and estimating who will be involved with the project.
  2. The Senior Vice President of Operations or his/her designee shall make awards of subcontracts and material purchase orders. Other subcontractor bidders will be informed as outlined in this document.
  3. During the finalization of subcontracts, Alberici will solicit schedule information from subcontractors for review and use in preparing the project schedule.

Ethical Practice

The Mission Statement of Alberici includes “treating everyone with whom we do business fairly and honestly” and it is our policy to award contracts, after evaluation, to the lowest responsible bidder qualified to perform the work. With this in mind, Alberici:

  1. Will not solicit bids from any subcontractor unless we are prepared to give that subcontractor a contract should it be the lowest responsible bidder qualified to perform the contract.
  2. Will not, at any time prior to the general bid filing, divulge to anyone outside Alberici any information pertaining to subcontractor bids received.
  3. Will maintain the name of all subcontractors submitting bids and time received.
  4. Will notify any subcontractor in the event that its bid is the lowest bid and substantially lower than the next lowest subcontractor’s bid.
  5. Will only respond to direct inquiries from subcontractors about the bids after a subcontract for the work has been awarded or in the event we are not the successful bidder. Alberici will maintain the confidentiality of any bidder providing favorable or exclusive pricing to Alberici.

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