It is the bidder’s responsibility to check the Bid Express website for all amendment files prior to the deadline for bid submittal.
This includes amendment files that may be generated as a result of administrative changes to the bidding form, which may not be
communicated in a revision letter.

                      JOINT VENTURE ELECTRONIC BIDDING

105 IAC 11-3-5 of the Rules for Prequalification of Contractors and Bidding, sets out the
requirements for joint ventures.  Below is a summary of how joint ventures are handled in an
electronic bidding situation.  

1. All Joint Venture partners will continue to acknowledge all revisions and fax them back
   to INDOT as in the past.
 
2. Each company will have their drug testing plan on file with the pre-qualification engineer,
   or email them to the construction letting email box.  The sponsor’s drug testing date will
   be the date used in the electronic bid.

3. Each company will have to email their individual contractual obligations to the construction
   letting email box.  The sponsor will place the combined contractual obligations of the joint
   venture on the electronic bid form.

4. Each company will have to email their own CM 32-34 form to the construction letting email
   box.  The sponsor will complete the form on the electronic bid form.
 
5. The non-collusion form submitted with the electronic bid will be valid for both companies.
 
6. The bid bond will be sent in as other electronic bid bonds.  Surety 2000 and SurePath should
   be able to handle the bond with two surety companies.
  
7. The performance bond will be handled as in the past, with both parties signing the bond
   which is then emailed to the construction letting email box.
  
8. A digital signature must be acquired for the joint venture, using the vendor ID of
   the joint venture.  If a vendor ID does not exist for the joint venture, contact the
   Prequalification Engineer as soon as possible, because it takes up to five days to
   get a digital signature.  A vendor ID for a joint venture is given the following form:
   99-9991234.

                              COMPLETING THE DBE OR MBE/WBE FOLDER FOR ELECTRONIC BIDDING
                                                    July 2007

This is a step-by-step guide for successfully entering the contract commitment data.  The following instructions should
answer most questions about entering DBE or MBE/WBE Commitments in the electronic proposal.  Information has to be
entered on two different screens for the DBE commitments to be included when the electronic Affirmative Action
Certification is printed.  The instructions are essentially the same for entering MBE and WBE commitments (except one
folder is for MBE's, and a second folder is for WBE's).  Therefore, most of the instructions will only mention DBE's.


1.  Before DBEs can be entered, an updated file of certified DBE/MBE/WBE firms must be downloaded through the Bid Express
    website.  The DBE.BIN file must be saved to the same folder containing the bid.exe file.  (This is part of the
    Expedite software package that should already have been downloaded and saved in a folder on your computer.)  The
    DBE.BIN file can be found under the listing of Also Available files on the LETTINGS tab or on the INDOT tab by
    scrolling down the page to find information for that specific letting.  Contractors should download an updated
    DBE.BIN file whenever an updated version is posted on the website.

2.  DBE information can be entered anytime after the contractor has downloaded and saved the data files for a particular
    contract.  Once the file for a particular contract has been opened, the contractor can start entering DBE information
    by first selecting DBE List from the menu of options on the left side of the screen.  A two-part screen will appear
    to the right.  The top half will show the letting date, contract ID, call order and the number of DBE entries (which
    should show 0 initially).  The bottom half of the screen shows the “DBE total entered” as both a percentage and dollar
    amount and the line below shows the “DBE Goal” also as both a percentage and dollar amount.  A message will appear
    below these boxes to show whether or not the goal has so far been met.

3.  In the lower left of this screen is a box marked “ADD DBE";  move your cursor to the box and click to open it.  This
    opens the DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE screen that contains fields for entering information about a DBE firm that
    will be utilized on this contract.  

4.  Start by clicking on the drop down box for the name field.  The field will originally show “Unknown.”  Once you click
    on the drop down box at the far right of this field, you can scroll through the list of DBE firms that were included
    in the DBE.BIN file downloaded earlier.  

5.  Select the DBE firm that will be utilized by clicking on its name from the list.  This will result in not only the
    company’s name appearing in the name field but also the correct entries for that firm in the ID, Addr1, and
    Certification Code fields.  (Caution:  Once this information is shown for a company, any changes to any of these
    fields will result in changing the name of the DBE firm since these four fields are linked.)

6.  Under the “Item Numbers and Description of Work” enter the contract item numbers that will be performed by that DBE
    firm and provide a brief description of the work.  The information shown in this field is similar to what a contractor
    shows on the Affirmative Action Certification for a paper bid.  The item numbers and description should be accurate.

7.  To the right of the field completed in the previous step are two fields (each with a drop down box) noted as
    “Used As.”  Click on the far right drop down box and select the appropriate category from (1) manufacturer,
    (2) subcontractor or (3) supplier.  (For now, show haulers as subcontractors.  INDOT may add a haulers option later.)
    When manufacturer or subcontractor is selected, the left-hand box will register an N, while a Y shows when supplier is
    selected.  This shows whether the contractor will get 100% credit for all dollars paid to the DBE (N) or if 60% credit
    will apply (Y).

8.  Next, click on the drop down box for the second field to the right of the “Work Code 1:” prompt and select the work
    description that most closely matches the work this DBE will perform on the project.  (If you know the INDOT
    prequalification codes, you could also select from the drop down box for the field immediately to the right of the
    prompt.  An entry in either field will cause the corresponding value to show in the companion field.)

    If the DBE firm will be doing more than one type of work, you should complete additional Work Codes (2 or more,
    through a maximum of 6).  Unused work code fields may be left blank.

9.  For the field marked “DBE Participation:,” select RC from the drop down box if the utilization of this DBE will count
    towards the goal or RN if the DBE should not count towards the goal.  (This is to show additional DBE utilization.)
      
10. For the field marked “If Race Conscious, click Yes to show goal achieved,” click on the drop down box and select “Y”
    if this DBE’s participation is to count towards the DBE goal and N if it isn’t to be counted.  (Note:  When some of
    the work performed by a DBE is to be counted towards the goal and some of it is not, it is possible to enter the DBE
    firm multiple times to make a distinction between the work that is RC – counted towards the goal – and RN – not
    counted.)

11. The list of folders on the left side of the screen should now show the name of the DBE firm under the DBE list folder.
    There should be a “+” symbol to the left of the name.  Take your cursor to the “+” symbol and click on it to show the
    “DBE Items” folder.

12. Click on the “DBE Items” folder to open it.  A new two-part screen will open to the right.  The top part of this
    screen will resemble the Schedule of Pay Items except that there is also a check box on the left side.  The bottom
    half of the screen will have blank fields until you take the next step.

13. The next step is show the number of dollars being committed to the DBE firm.  (Note:  At this time, INDOT is not
    requiring that the data be accurately entered.  Only the total dollars committed to that DBE needs to be correct.
    INDOT will allow you to manipulate the data to show the total dollars being committed to that DBE firm.  This can be
    done in a number of ways, including:

  * Selecting any lump sum item in the contract (by clicking in the box to the left of the line number for that pay item).
    A check mark should show in the box and the bottom half of the screen should now be activated.  Enter in the “Unit
    Price” box at the bottom, the number of dollars that are being committed to that DBE.  Then either click on another
    field in the bottom half of the screen or hit the tab key on your keyboard for that information to register.  Be sure
    to save the information using the save button on the Expedite Bid toolbar.  (Note:  The notes field at the bottom of
    the screen is for the contractor to use as it chooses.)

  * Select any pay item that has multiple units and enter a sufficient unit price to result in the dollars being committed
    to that DBE when the unit price is multiplied by the number of units.  (Note:  This does not have to be an item on
    which the DBE will actually work.)  Register and save the information as above.

  * Any item can be selected and the quantity and unit price can be manipulated in the bottom half of the screen to get
    the total dollars being committed to that DBE.

    (Note:  As you proceed through any of those options, it may appear that these values are being entered into the
    Schedule of Pay Items.  This is not the case.  Once you have completed entering information for a DBE, you can check
    this by then selecting the “Schedule of Items” folder on the left side of the screen.  Your original values should be
    intact.)

14. Save your information before you leave the screen used in Step 13.  Save by clicking on the save button on the
    Expedite Bid toolbar.

15. To add another DBE, select the “DBE List” folder again from the options on the left side of the screen.  Repeat steps
    3 through 14.

    As you continue to enter information, the box at the bottom of the DBE List screen will keep a running total of all
    dollars committed to DBEs (for which a Y was selected in the field “If Race Conscious, click Yes to show goal
    achieved”).  A companion box will show the percentage of DBE participation that has been achieved.  You may have to
    leave the DBE section of Expedite Bid and then return to it for the totals to properly calculate.

16. Since the official INDOT DBE Directory available through INDOT’s website at
    http://www.in.gov/dot/div/legal/DBE/dbe_list.xls. may be updated more frequently than the DBE.BIN file, you may want
    to use a DBE firm whose name you can’t find when you scroll through the list.  In this case, the name, ID (taxpayer
    identification), address and certification code will have to be entered manually.  Be careful not to select the drop
    down boxes for those fields once you start to type information in those four fields.  Otherwise, proceed with steps
    3 through 14 as noted above.

17. Another folder listed on the left is the DBE RACE NEUTRAL TOTAL.  You will need to enter the dollars of DBE
    utilization that exceed the goal in this field.  For MBE/WBE commitments, an entry in this field is not required.

                                                      CONSTRUCTION LETTING EMAIL BOX


An email mailbox application was created so contractors have a way to submit electronic or scanned copies of contract documents they can not
submit through Bid Express.  These include the drug testing plan and the performance bond with the power of attorney letter and insurance
license.

To use the email mailbox, you need the correct email address and the correct format for the subject line of the email.  This will ensure your
documents get to the correct contract folder with a time stamp, and can not be altered.

Use this email address:  ConstructionLetting@indot.in.gov .

Use this format for the subject line, to ensure your documents get into the correct contract folder:  CompanynameDocumentmmddyy-R12345A

For example, if Jones Construction Co., Inc. is submitting a drug plan for Contract B -27780-A of the November 1, 2006 letting, the subject
line should look like this:

JonesConstructionDrugplan110106-B27780A   Note the only dash is between the letting date and the contract number.