Research[1] continues to demonstrate the societal importance of providing equitable access to construction and procurement jobs. One solution to help expand equitable access is to increase participation in the construction workforce. However, despite best intentions, many public organizations fall significantly short of their ambitions. An exception to this is the use of a procurement form known as Job Order Contracting (JOC). Because firms from equity-seeking communities are often new market entrants, Job Order Contracting can be a means of accelerating entry into partnership with public sector organizations.
Job Order Contracting is a procurement approach that features a single, competitively-bid contract that establishes a program to deliver a series of subsequent projects over the course of the contract. Contractors compete for participation in the firm by bidding a single adjustment factor to a localized Construction Task Catalog® (CTC) which is comprised of aggregated costs for construction activity elements such as labour, materials, and equipment. Job orders for individual projects are composed of individual line items in the CTC multiplied by the adjustment factor to establish a set price for the work. Public sector organizations utilize this procurement method because it is a compliant, efficient, and timely means of delivering projects, especially the renewal, maintenance and minor alteration variety.
Awarding a small pool of contractors is a common practice in almost all Job Order Contracting (JOC) programs. What sets Gordian JOC programs apart is their comprehensive approach. Gordian takes care of all the legwork, reaching out to area contractors and providing them with training on how to bid and adhere to JOC best practices, ensuring that projects run smoothly.
Additionally, Gordian can assist organizations in meeting and managing their diversity and inclusion goals. In fact, 35% of Gordian JOC contractors hold a minority-owned business certification. As a result, public construction procurement owners have access to a pool of quality contractors who are eager to undertake their construction projects.
The reason that Job Order Contracting can be an equity enabler is because all of the necessary compliance and selection is done at the early stages of the program. All firms, including those comprised of equity-seeking participants, compete via submitting a single adjustment factor.
Since traditional procurement methods such as Design-Bid-Build or standing offer agreement programs require compliance and bid proposals, firms that are not selected perform work for which they are not paid. With Job Order Contracting, once the effort is applied successfully to earn selection in the program, firms can focus on project execution and be compensated accordingly. For new market entrants, such as equity-seeking communities who may have sufficient technical and trade ability but limited administrative capacity, the Job Order Contracting method lowers the market entry barrier that comes with having to carry the costs of preparing unsuccessful bid proposals.
The public sector has an inherent interest in being a good social partner by ensuring that all residents can participate economically. One way this policy aim is achieved is through quality procurement opportunities. For those segments of society who have experienced historically poor socio-economic outcomes, there is a public interest to increase equitable market participation. Where equity-seeking groups have been challenged to be successful in public procurement, Job Order Contracting has proven to be a successful DEI program accelerator to actualize policy intentions.
[1] Andrew-Amofah, Flynn, Wood. New Agenda for Local Democracy: Building Just, Inclusive, and Participatory Cities. Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance School of Cities, University of Toronto, No. 60, 2022.
