July 29, 2008

Ontario engineers ready to redouble efforts to promote qualifications-based selection

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) is poised to redouble its efforts to promote qualifications-based selection (QBS) of consultants in the wake of a breakthrough in the province of Quebec.

Under a regulation that comes into effect October 1, 2008, Quebec government agencies will be required to use this process to procure consulting engineers and architects. The province is believed to be the first in Canada to adopt such a requirement.

“This is a real shot in the arm for us,” said CEO president John Gamble, whose organization has long advocated hiring consultants on the basis of QBS, rather than price-based competition.

Under QBS, firms’ proposals are ranked initially on the basis of such criteria as relevant technical competence, managerial ability, experience on similar projects and proven performance. Scope, schedule and fees are then negotiated with the top-ranked firm. If the owner and firm cannot reach agreement, the owner then is free to negotiate with the next ranked firm.

That principle is endorsed in the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure (InfraGuide).

Toronto consultant Brian Watkinson, the former executive director of the Ontario Association of Architects, who now advises owners on procurement of design services, applauded the Quebec move.

“Quebec, a major public owner in Canada, has joined most of the U.S. states in recognizing that value for money can never be achieved by simply looking for the lowest price,” he said.

“Unlike computers, pencils or equipment for the fire department, design is not a commodity. It is a professional service.”

Gamble, whose association represents more than 250 engineering firms across the province, said CEO intends to “renew” discussions with key agencies charged with delivery of infrastructure now that a precedent has been established in Quebec.

“Historically, a key point of contact has been with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal,” he said. “We had a very productive relationship with (former minister) David Caplan, who always had an open door.

“We’re hopeful we will have a similar relationship with George Smitherman, the new minister of energy and infrastructure.”

Other agencies with a stake in infrastructure delivery include the Ontario Clean Water Agency, Infrastructure Ontario, the Ontario Realty Corp. and the Ministry of Transportation.

At the moment, the transportation ministry selects consulting engineers based on a combination of quality of submissions, previous performance and price.

Spokesman Bob Nichols said the ministry currently is piloting several other approaches “that are more qualifications-based.

“Once we complete these pilots and evaluate the results, we will be in a better position to consider qualifications-based selection in retaining consulting engineers.”

Another target, Gamble said, are owners’ procurement and legal departments.

In the past year, CEO has undertaken discussions with such organizations as the Ontario Public Buyers Association, the Municipal Engineers Association and the Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario.

“For the most part, public works commissioners tend to understand the value of engineering,” Gamble said. “But some procurement officers do not have a lot of familiarity with large-scale infrastructure projects and engineering works.

One municipality that has adopted procurement methodologies consistent with the InfraGuide is the city of London. The guide was developed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Infrastructure Canada, the National Research Council and the Canadian Public Works Association.

The Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario have established a task force to review the guide.

Qualifications-based selection has the support of the Ontario General Contractors Association.

“QBS allows architects and engineers to think outside the box, be inventive and deliver a better product to the owner,” said president Clive Thurston. “This in turn results in fewer (time-consuming) requests for information and (expensive) change orders.”

Watkinson, principal in Strategies 4 Impact Inc., said one of the biggest challenges he faces in advising owners on procurement “is helping them look beyond shaving a few points off the design fee to consider the costs of not just constructing the facility but then maintaining and operating it over its entire life cycle.”

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