Engineered Equipment Procurement Options to Ensure Project Quality

Public procurement is a complex process involving policy makers, public procurement officials, utility directors, city attorneys, consulting engineers, equipment manufacturers, contractors and ultimately, utility customers each having their own perception of “value”. If “value” is defined as the lowest total cost of ownership, the procurement process must include capital costs as well as reliability, operating costs, and after-purchase support. Achieving this goal requires well-executed work by all stakeholders in the process. The result is the selection of a procurement method which simultaneously allows responsible and qualified bidders to participate, protects public interests and effectively and efficiently delivers lasting value to its customers. Various procurement methods and bid formats available to public entities will be discussed along with various stakeholder viewpoints. Acceptable procurement methods allowed by states are included confirming numerous procurement formats and flexibility is available for public entities to pursue value-based procurement.