Public Procurement Best Practices

Policy – Public Procurement Best Practices

Approved by the Board of Directors on July 26, 2024
Approved by IIBEC Advocacy Committee on May 1, 2024

The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC) supports public procurement policies and regulations that protect the interests of the public and design professionals. These appropriate procurement practices include:

• • ensuring the procurement process adheres to federal, state, provincial, and/or local regulations for the procurement of architectural, engineering, and design services;
  • adopting the qualifications-based selection (QBS) process for the procurement of architectural and engineering design services;
  • ensuring the independence of the design professional;
  • requiring full and open competition in all public procurement projects that exceed the monetary threshold requiring public bidding;
  • embracing transparency and disclosure at all stages;
  • avoiding the specification of proprietary products on publicly bid projects; and
  • encouraging the use of IIBEC credentialed professionals on publicly funded building enclosure projects.

Issue

The public construction market remains significant in the United States at over $300 billion a year[i], and over $15.5 billion in Canada[ii]. Governments impose a variety of policies and regulations on public procurement to ensure transparency, fairness, and protection of the public’s interests. However, more can be done to protect the interest of the public owner and the design professional. For example, public procurement projects delivered by an entity with a financial interest in products may lead to the inappropriate selection of materials for reasons other than best value and performance.

Rationale

Every building enclosure requires the proper design, the appropriate materials, and a quality installation. Building enclosure consultants are responsible for proper design, bidding documents, code compliance, contractor prequalification, coordination, site reviews, and inspections. Consultants will also document the installation of the enclosure per the specifications and contract documents. Next, studies have shown that using QBS saves time, money, produces higher levels of client satisfaction, and delivers project innovation[i]. A study sanctioned by the Canadian government also found that, “the overall conclusion of the study is that QBS continues to provide an advantage in the traditional project metrics of cost and schedule.[ii]” By following these best practices and requiring credentialed building enclosure consultants the public’s interests will be protected.

IIBEC acknowledges there are reasons why proprietary specifications may be the only option for some public projects (e.g., small repair scopes with existing warranty requirements, material availability, skilled labor availability, or an extreme design need based on unusual building parameters, etc.). However, these should be the exception and not the rule.

[1] https://www.statista.com/topics/1256/public-construction/#topicOverview

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/913646/institutional-building-permit-value-canada/

[1] Dr. Paul S. Chinowsky and Gordon Kingsley, Savings, Innovation & Efficiency – An Analysis of QBS in the Procurement of Engineering Services (ACEC 2002).

[1] Dr. Paul S. Chinowsky, Updated Analysis of QBS in the Procurement of Consulting Services (QBS Canada 2022) pg. 2.