CDOT and FHWA Partner to perform a Joint Process Review to Significantly Improve Prompt Payment to Subcontractors and Subconsultants! 

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have partnered together for several years in a mutual effort to significantly improve prompt payments to subcontractors on highway construction projects in Colorado. This effort, known as the Joint Process Review (JPR) for Subcontractor Prompt Payments, is now focused on establishing a consistent and proactive process to monitor prompt payment on Local-Agency construction projects and professional services contracts. 

Why this improvement project is important: 

Late payment from a prime contractor or prime consultant can create barriers for subcontractors and subconsultants to compete in the marketplace. When the prime contractor is slow in paying, the subcontractor’s revenue flow is negatively impacted. The untimely receipt of payment can limit the ability of a small business to pay its employees and keep current with its bills. Small businesses often lack the resources that larger companies have to supplement needed cash from savings or lines of credit.

How this initiative started: 

In 2018, the FHWA Headquarters Civil Rights Office (HQCR) identified the enforcement of prompt payment as a national risk that required increased attention. Through CDOT’s continuing partnership with the FHWA Colorado Division Office, a Joint Process Review (JPR) Team was established in August 2018 to help evaluate existing processes and systems related to prompt payments.

What has happened so far:

In 2016/2017, CDOT implemented two Civil Rights compliance software systems, B2GNow (Business to Government) and LCPtracker (Labor Compliance Program), to support monitoring and oversight of Civil Rights compliance elements on CDOT projects and contracts. The B2GNow system is used to track and oversee prompt payment and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation on CDOT-advertised construction projects and professional services contracts. The LCPtracker system is synced to the B2Gnow system and assists with monitoring Certified Payroll and On-The-Job (OJT) program participation. These systems are also used to compile and submit FHWA-required reports.  The JPR Project Team is leveraging those software platforms in its quest to establish a consistent and proactive process to more holistically monitor prompt payment as well as other Civil Rights compliance elements by requiring the use of the B2Gnow and LCPtracker systems on Local Agency-advertised construction projects and professional services contracts. 

Benefits of Planned Approach 

Using these systems on Local Agency projects and contracts will enhance prompt payment tracking and enforcement, but other secondary benefits will be less manual processing and increased efficiency. B2GNow’s turn-key, hosted software streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, and administrative processes. These system efficiencies result in a significant reduction of staff time and cost, focusing on manually intensive processing, thereby allowing project oversight team members to focus on ensuring contract requirements are met. The required use of systems will also allow Local Agency project information to be more easily incorporated into CDOT federally required reporting for a more complete agency approach to compliance. 

How will LCPtracker & B2GNow Impact Local Agencies? 

To date, CDOT has offered Local Agency projects the option to use the LCPtracker system to monitor certified payrolls as well as OJT requirements. LCPtracker requires every contractor on a project to generate Certified Payroll reports electronically. Any errors or discrepancies with state or federal Davis-Bacon provisions are automatically flagged and require corrections prior to submission. Agency and Prime Contractor payroll administrators can then easily view, approve, or reject payrolls and provide immediate feedback to contractors. The software also has the capability to interface with leading payroll solutions to provide more streamlined data entry for contractors. This automated system data check allows Local Agency personnel to focus on more complex issues and on-sight observation, as opposed to manual paperwork processing. The system has also allowed for easier compilation of federal labor reporting with less staff time and increased accuracy.

Over the past several months, CDOT expanded the use of Civil Rights compliance software systems by piloting the B2GNow system on several Local Agency projects throughout the state. B2GNow has allowed Local Agency staff to more easily collect and track data within a project. The system assigns the responsibility of reporting data to the contractors who have the data. The system is accessible on virtually any device (other than phones) and provides alerts to contractors and project management staff regarding current tasks as well as next steps. The system provides over 400 standard reports to assist project managers and contractors with monitoring Civil Rights components such as prompt payment and DBE compliance. Both systems assist in enhancing the connection between the Local Agency and CDOT.

What is planned for the future?

As a result of these changes, CDOT was excited to be able to advance statewide use of the B2GNow and LCPtracker compliance systems on all Local Agency-advertised projects and contracts in the summer of 2022. 

CDOT will continue to work with Local Agencies in the adoption of these systems. In support of successful required implementation, CDOT Local Agency and Civil Rights team personnel are developing robust training and communication plans for Local Agency personnel. This effort consists of reviewing existing system procedures to create process flowcharts that will aid in the development of training tools for Local Agency staff members in a user-friendly training format. This implementation will enhance the consistency of Civil Rights compliance monitoring and oversight procedures for Local Agency projects. This, in turn, will result in more comprehensive and accurate data collection for federal reporting that CDOT can use to analyze program compliance. 

For more information:

More information about B2Gnow and LCPTracker are available here on the CDOT Website:

https://www.codot.gov/business/civilrights/compliance/systems/lcp

https://www.codot.gov/business/civilrights/compliance/systems/b2g

Keep an eye out for future communication and updates regarding this effort. If you have questions, please contact Monica Vialpando, Construction Compliance Manager at CDOT, at monica.vialpando@state.co.us or Karen Fujii-Martin, Professional Services Compliance Specialist at CDOT, at karen.fujii-martin@state.co.us.