DFW, in partnership with local contractor association TEXO, established a small contractor development training workshop. The 10-week program provides M/WBE contractors with technical information needed to pursue and competitively bid airport contracts.
A new twist for the authority is the use of a rolling owner-controlled insurance program. The authority used an OCIP under its previous capital development program, which allowed for greater competition and reduced liability for contractors. With the rolling program, or ROCIP, TRIP planners can remain more nimble, says Steven Francis, airport senior safety manager. Although the program's price tag was initially pegged at $1.9 billion, the authority added an additional $600 million of capacity to its insurance program.
The planning has already paid off. After work started, the airport added the Terminal A Enhanced Parking Structure to the program. "All it took was a call to our broker to ask what the additional premium would be to add this project in the ROCIP," Francis says. "In less than half a day he told us what we'd need to stick in our budget. Under the previous program, that would have taken upward of four months to go out and market the insurance [for that additional scope]."
The ROCIP also enhances the airport's efforts to develop small contractors. Under its insurance program, the airport offers bonding application assistance to small, minority- and women-owned contractors. The process includes a review of completed bond packages for thoroughness and accuracy as well as identification of surety bond procedures and underwriters for proper consideration of bond applications. Within the first year, representatives of 212 firms had used the program, Francis says. As of late March, a total of 394 contractors were enrolled under its ROCIP, he adds.
In a carryover from the previous capital program, the airport is again offering a craft-training program to grow the local skilled-labor work force. The $2-million program focuses on skills training, language training and supervisory skills for all hourly workers. The airport worked with the Construction Education Foundation and its education partners on the curriculum.
"The mission is to put craft training dollars in the hands of employees," says Tim Neathery, strategic programs analyst at the airport.
Neathery adds that the program also offers "portable accreditations" that provide certification that can be used on other jobs and in other parts of the country. In a market where numerous megaprojects are under way, including one at Dallas Love Field Airport, Neathery says that extra outreach pays off.
"As an owner offering a unique program, we feel that's a competitive advantage that creates some loyalty from the contractor side," he says.
In light of the economic unease of many small contractors during the recession, the airport is also working to accelerate payments. State law requires payments within 45 days. During its first year, the airport averaged 24 days.
"Cash flow is the lifeblood of a business, but coming out of a recession that's even more heightened," says Dale Walker, construction programs accounting manager. "There's a lot to be gained by helping these invoices move along."
