Policy Statements
1) General Statements
- Contracting parties, both payers and payees, should be responsible for understanding all agreed contractual terms affecting obligations to make and entitlement to receive payment; and
- Project owners should share with others in a project payment chain the dates on which they make payments to prime contractors to enable parties to comply with and benefit from contract payment provisions with confidence.
- Must have had at least three years experience in the construction industry, and have had one year of experience in the occupation; or
- Must have completed a related engineering technology/technician program and have had one year of experience in the occupation; or
- Must have been enrolled in an employer sponsored program approved by the national Gold Seal committee and leading to the recognition as a Project Manager, and Estimator, a Superintendent, or and Owner’s Project Manager, and
- Must be employed at the time of application, and
- Must be supported by a letter of endorsement from their employer, and
- Must show commitment to the program by way of advancement in each year, and
- Must commit to completion of internship within five (5) years of registering as a GSI and become certified, and
- Must have paid the applicable fees.
2) Free Trade
- The specification of construction materials and installed equipment on publicly funded projects within Canada should be guided solely by price, quality and availability considerations, without any regard to the origin or source of supply within Canada of such materials or installed equipment.
- The selection and use of construction materials, machinery, equipment and personnel on publicly funded projects in Canada should not be limited in any respect by the origin or source of supply in Canada of such materials, machinery, equipment or personnel.
- Competitive bids on publicly funded construction projects in Canada should not be evaluated whatsoever on the basis of:
- the location of a bidder in a particular region of Canada, or
- the local or regional content of the bid
- Procurement by all levels of government within Canada should not be used as a regional development tool where the net result is to prefer the local sourcing of construction materials, services, or personnel to the disadvantage of other sources within Canada.
- Until the above objective is met, BCCA recommends that where the location of a bidder in a particular region of Canada, or the local content of the bid is to be a consideration in the evaluation of the bids or in the selection of the successful bidder, that information and related process be clearly spelled out to all bidders by the tender calling authority at the time of the initial call.
- BCCA generally supports the Free Trade Agreements that align with this policy.
- Develop and support education to grow the government’s knowledge base on the construction sector.
- Encourage government to undertake a full regulatory review to rationalize specific regulations in the construction sector.
- Assist government in the preparation of a construction practices and procedures manual.
- Maintain ongoing lobbying and government relations efforts.
- Strive for the standardization of construction tendering documents and processes across provincial government ministries.
- Continue to encourage amendments of the Builders Lien Act.
- Encourage development of a model, one-stop permit approval process.
- Promote the establishment of a sunset review of new regulations.
- Encourage preparation of a bi-annual provincial regulatory report.
- BCCA supports the use of a centralized government forum for communication with the construction industry (such as the Deputy Ministers Industry Infrastructure Forum)
- BCCA promotes the use of the private sector for construction and engineering services by government, as this practice serves to develop more private sector capability.
- BCCA recognizes an owner’s need for minor maintenance/emergency staff, but supports all capital projects being competitively tendered.
- BCCA opposes government-owned or government controlled entities competing for construction contracts.
- BCCA opposes the government’s practice of supporting crown corporations and private companies wholly owned by the government that compete with the private sector.
3) Infrastructure
4) Industry Practices
- All monetary revisions to tender amounts must be stated as an addition or deletion to the tendered price.
- All monetary revisions to separate, alternate or unit prices should be stated as a new price in lieu of an addition to or deduction from the submitted price.
- The tender closing information should include the fax number or designated email address for sending revisions and a phone number for confirming receipt of revision.
- Any fax or email revising the original tender must be clearly legible. Monetary revisions to the tender amount must be stated numerically and in writing.
- All faxed or email revisions must be a hardcopy with the date and time stamped immediately upon receipt.
- For revisions, the clock used for the official tender closing time shall govern.
- No revision will be accepted after tender closing.
- No tenders will be opened until after the eligible revisions are received at the place of tender opening.
- Where an amendment is received at the fax number or email address provided in the invitation to tender and the time of receipt is deemed valid, this amendment should be accepted even though the receipt of the amendment is not at the location of the opening.
- Contractors are warned that revisions to tenders are submitted solely at the risk of the contractor until such time as they have been confirmed received by the tendering authority.
- When fax or email amendments are permitted as instructed in the Invitation to Bid there shall be a public bid opening to ensure the transparency of the process.
- That the Online Planroom be considered as a venue to host, display and print all publicly funded construction project information.
- That the provincial government construction tender information system partner with Online Planroom for the viewing, downloading and printing of all documents.
- That the provincial government and other public owners ensure that an accessible registration process and system is in place to record prime and major trade plan holders.
- That the provincial government and other public owners are responsible to ensure that the tendering authorities’ disseminate addenda to all registered plan holders and local construction association planrooms in a timely manner.
- To the cost of the Work performed by the Contractor directly, the Contractor may add a maximum of 20% markup for overhead and profit combined.
- To the cost of the Work performed by Subcontractors for the Contractor, before the Subcontractor’s markup, the Contractor may add a maximum of 10% markup for overhead and profit combined.
- On Work deleted from the Contract, not covered by unit prices, the credit to the Owner shall be the cost of the Work as set out in CCDC 2, GC 6.3 – CHANGE DIRECTIVE, article 6.3.7.
- For a detailed list of what the Contractor may include in the cost of the work before adding markups, refer to CCDC 2, GC 6.3 CHANGE DIRECTIVE, article 6.3.7.
- Where the amount by which the bid price must be reduced is less than 15% of the lowest compliant bid, the first step should be to negotiate with the lowest compliant bidder (only) to identify changes in the scope of quality of the work and a corresponding bid price reduction. Where the Owner and lowest compliant bidder can agree on acceptable changes and a corresponding bid price reduction, the changes should be documented as a post-bid addendum and the contract, based on the negotiated reduced price, should be awarded to the lowest compliant bidder. However, where acceptable changes and a corresponding bid price reduction cannot be successfully negotiated with the lowest compliant bidder, the second step should be to re-bid on modified Bid Documents under a new bid call. Negotiations should be limited exclusively to the lowest compliant bidder.
- Where the amount by which the bid price must be reduced exceeds 15% of the lowest compliant bid, the bid-calling authority may immediately undertake either of the preceding steps described above, at its discretion. That is, the Owner may negotiate with the lowest compliant bidder first or re-bid on modified Bid Documents without any attempt to negotiate.
- Any construction opportunity, not limited to but including service, maintenance, small projects and capital projects, with an estimated value of less than $25,000 should be put out for bidding to the extent reasonable and cost-effective.
- Any construction opportunity, not limited to but including service, maintenance, small projects and capital projects, with an estimated value between $25,000 and $100,000 must have bids solicited by one of the following means;
- Any construction opportunity, not limited to but including service, maintenance, small projects and capital projects, with an estimated value over $100,000 must be advertised on BidCentral (and any other industry medium) in a fair, open and transparent public process.
- Must be obtained through an opportunity posted on BidCentral (and any other industry medium).
- Opportunities shall be solicited at regular intervals not to exceed one year.
- The opportunity for a contractor to be added to a registry of pre-approved contractors shall be provided continuously.
5) Human Resources
We are fully committed to building a workforce where all employees are able to perform at their best and reach their full potential. We believe that everyone has the right to be safe and protected at work, and that the definition of an Acceptable Worksite is a safe Worksite. Safety hazards are not always physical, and safety protection is not limited to PPE equipment like goggles, gloves, hard hats and steel toes. Unwelcome, demeaning or threatening language and behaviour creates stress and distraction that risks health, safety, and productivity.
We expect all employees to work together without causing harm. We require a workplace that’s free from hazing, harassment, and bullying. This is our Acceptable Worksite Pledge.
We know that employing workers with different attributes, backgrounds, experiences, and skills, makes us successful.
We attract the best talent, improve the quality of our work, increase our productivity and supercharge our ability to innovate. These outcomes also benefit the community around us.
Through the following practices we build and maintain our success: We hire based on skill and experience and compensate all employees at fair market value regardless of gender, race, religion, or ethnicity. We identify and remove barriers to training and career development; creating equitable opportunities for all employees. We ensure the health, safety and well-being of everyone on the Worksite by providing a work environment free from harassment, hazing, and bullying. We promote education, awareness and training on the Acceptable Worksite behaviour that positively impacts out community, our company, and our employees. We pledge to continuously back up our commitment through our actions, without compromise.