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8.15.04 Workdays not all "working days" Most roads in Omaha are torn apart with no deadline dates for putting them back together. Instead, the city places in each contract a limit on the number of "working days" to finish the job. But a workday for most people -- including road workers themselves -- is not always an official "working day" in the eyes of the city and its contractors. Weekdays can be excused from being counted as "working days," effectively extending a contractor's time on a project. That happens because of rain or mud, holidays, nearby utility relocations or other reasons. Sometimes all of December through March are excused due to winter's cold. As a result, projects are assessed about 100 to 150 "working days" a year toward the contract limit. That's a lot fewer than the roughly 240 days a full-time employee typically works in a year. "Working day" contracts are routinely used by the city, the State of Nebraska and public agencies nationwide. However, the trend nationally is toward more contracts with calendar deadlines -- specific dates for completion. Charles Jahren, a construction engineering professor at Iowa State University, said cities across the nation are feeling increasing public pressure to finish street projects sooner. Road-builders like "working day" contracts because they offer more flexibility. A number of variables affects whether Omaha assesses a "working day" against a contractor's limit. Under the rules, a weekday is a working day if at least 80 percent of the contractor's crew can work at least half of the day on what's called the project's "controlling operation." That's the term for the project's major task at hand, although it is just one part of the project. Other work can proceed simultaneously. For example, the "controlling operation" one day might be pouring a section of street concrete, but there also are storm-drainage pipes to be laid and sidewalks to prepare for pouring, among other tasks. The contractor is excused from a working day if a thunderstorm prevents more than half of the day's concrete pour, something especially sensitive to rain. It is irrelevant whether workers could spend -- or actually did spend -- the rest of the day on other parts of the project. On such occasions, crews can proceed at whatever pace is convenient. The day is a freebie. That kind of flexibility makes it easier for contractors to juggle staff and equipment among projects. It helps explain why drivers pass large construction sites with relatively few workers. The decision on whether each day is an official working day is made by city inspectors, and sometimes it's a subjective call. Inspectors and contractors argue over questions as basic as what that day's "controlling operation" is. Contractors also appeal disagreements to supervisors in the Public Works Department to get excused from working days and extend their time on a project. Appeals almost always go the contractor's way. Each contract includes damages for exceeding the "working days" limit, usually $1,000 or more per day. However, Omaha public works officials don't remember the last time a road contractor paid such damages. While the Nebraska Department of Roads uses mostly working-day contracts, its major Omaha-area projects often get calendar deadlines. With big, complicated projects in heavy urban traffic, it's critical to get jobs wrapped up on time, said Claude Oie, state construction engineer. On calendar contracts, Oie said, it's more common to see contractors work long hours and weekends to make up for delays caused by weather or other problems. Indeed, inspection reports on state projects reviewed by The World-Herald indicate that work by contractors and subcontractors sometimes spans 20 hours a day when weather permits. One July evening, the newspaper checked the 15 projects it studied to see whether crews were working after the dinner hour. It was the last of several consecutive dry days. Rain was in the forecast. Just two job sites had crews working -- L Street and the West Dodge Road-Interstate 680 interchange. Both are projects with calendar deadlines. The largest crew seen that night - more than 15 workers -- was on a separate, nearby job -- the West Dodge elevated expressway, which was not studied by The World-Herald. That project's contract contains two items lacking in all 15 projects studied by the newspaper: financial incentives for early completion and extra penalties for being late. It also has a calendar deadline, Aug. 21, 2007, for the bulk of the work. City officials and contractors say bid costs would rise if Omaha used mostly calendar deadlines. Contractors would raise bids because they take on more risk with tighter timelines. However, the city's experience with L Street suggests otherwise. Contractors bid that job with two alternative calendar deadlines -- one 16 months away, the other just a year away. The city received four bids. The highest bidder wanted 11 percent more to complete the job within a year. The second-highest bidder, 6 percent more. The third-highest, 3 percent more. The lowest and winning bidder asked the same price, $4.3 million, for either 16 months or one year of work. L Street had the most workers of any city project studied by The World-Herald. The project missed its deadline Friday. But 31 workers were there that day; 36 were there Saturday. It's nearly done. Experience shows, however, that Omaha's problems won't be solved simply by bidding all city contracts with calendar deadlines. Two other city projects have missed calendar deadlines. In those cases, neither came close. |
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