Michael Edward Purdy finished his 69-year journey on this planet when his Creator called him home on August 2, 2023, at his home in Seattle, Washington. Despite a lifetime of excellent health,...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2023/08/obituary-for-mike-purdy.html
Public Works Resource Guide: I have written a Public Works Resource Guide for Washington state's Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC). The online book is being edited now and hopefu...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2023/03/2-new-books-ive-written.html
NIGP is sponsoring an all day class I've developed and will be teaching this coming Thursday, April 30, 2020 entitled "When Bad Things Happen to Bids: Strategies for Ensuring a Successful Public ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2020/04/construction-bid-issues-virtual.html
As our nation and the world grapple with managing the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we are witnessing an unprecedented upheaval of the foundations of society. How should public ag...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-construction.html
Insurance and insults? How do they go together? Well...they don't. In this blog, I want to share two separate things. DOES A CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE PROTECT YOU? In a recent court case, the ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2019/04/insurance-and-insults.html
Tennessee construction attorney Matthew DeVries has described the outcome of an Alabama court case in which a bidder left out the word "thousand" in a bid price and was held to the significantly ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-problem-with-bid-prices-in-numbers.html
On November 16, 2017, I had the privilege of speaking before approximately 125 public procurement officials at the annual luncheon of the Central Ohio Organization of Public Purchasers in Colum...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/11/leadership-lessons-from-presidents-for.html
This is a follow-up to my recent blog posting about the new Washington state law adding compliance with the state's minimum wage laws as a mandatory bidder responsibility criterion. BIDDER'S P...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/07/bid-form-signature-block.html
The Washington Legislature adopted a new law (Senate Bill 5301 ) that adds an additional criterion to the list of mandatory bidder responsibility criteria that public agencies must verify and do...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-mandatory-public-works-bidder.html
CITY OF BELLINGHAM POSITION: Purchasing Manager LOCATION: Bellingham, Washington CLOSING DATE: Friday, August 11, 2017 at 4:30 pm Pacific Time INTERVIEW SCHEDULE: The most qualified cand...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/07/job-opening-purchasing-manager.html
KITSAP TRANSIT POSITION: Purchasing Specialist LOCATION: Bremerton, Washington CLOSING DATE: Friday, June 30, 2017 at 4:00 pm SALARY: $22.29 - $29.98 per hour ($46,363 - $62,358 Annually) ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/06/job-opening-purchasing-specialist-for.html
As part of preparing for a two day class on Public Works Bidding and Contracting that I recently taught, I noted that the Washington State Legislature recently approved five public works related...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2017/04/4-new-public-works-bills-passed-by.html
Piggybacking off of the solicitation and subsequent contract of another public agency can be an efficient process that saves time and effort. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PIGGYBACK CONTRACT? It ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2016/10/not-all-piggyback-contracts-are-created.html
A new reference book entitled "Procurement Methods: Effective Techniques" by Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO, will be published on April 25, 2016. Ms. Coss is one of the most highly respected and preemin...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2016/04/new-book-on-procurement-methods.html
I was interviewed by and quoted in The Wall Street Journal on March 7, 2016 about some of the questionable practices that have been used by various public agencies across the country in piggyba...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-perils-of-piggybacking.html
Dear Friends and Colleagues, As I wrote in my blog of January 11, 2015 , I have decided to stop writing regular blog postings as part of scaling back my consulting and training work, and to give...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/03/my-last-regular-blog-posting.html
WEBINAR: HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT CONTRACTOR FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WHEN: April 2, 2015 (2:00 - 2:30 pm, Pacific Time) COST: Free SPEAKER: Greg Guedel , Attorney at Foster Pep...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/03/free-webinar-how-to-pick-right.html
GC/CM (General Contractor/Construction Manager) is one of three alternative public works contracting methods authorized in the State of Washington. It is a form of what is generically known in...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/avoiding-closed-door-selection-of-gccm.html
What's the difference between a Bid and a Proposal, or between an Invitation to Bid and a Request for Proposals (RFP)? INVITATION TO BID: Public agencies that issue an Invitation to Bid (or ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/is-it-bid-or-rfp.html
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries published updated prevailing wages on February 2, 2015. According to WAC 296-127-011 , the new prevailing wages will become effective 30 ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/new-prevailing-wages-effective-march-4.html
After repeated performance deficiencies by a contractor, a public agency in Pennsylvania terminated the contract and filed a claim against the surety that issued the performance bond. OWNER...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/court-rejects-owners-claim-against.html
In Washington state, RCW 35.21.278 addresses the question of when volunteers from a community service organization may be used on a public works project. DO COMPETITIVE BIDDING REQUIREMENTS ...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/using-volunteers-on-public-works.html
Most public agencies have developed standard language for public works construction bid documents that includes Instructions to Bidders, the Contract, and General Conditions, often referred to a...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/avoiding-conflicts-in-bid-documents.html
BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM): REDUCING CONFLICTS IN ADVANCE More and more public agencies, contractors, and architects/engineers are using the tools afforded by BIM to identify conflict...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/training-building-information-modeling.html
I recently became aware of an excellent website (Government Contracts Resources ) that provides federal contracting resources - something applicable whether you are dealing with a federally fund...
http://publiccontracting.blogspot.com/2015/02/comprehensive-website-for-federal.html