Consultants

WYDOT Use of Consultants

The Wyoming Department of Transportation uses the services of consulting engineers, architects, surveyors, and other specialists to perform work supplementing department forces or to provide services that the department is not staffed or equipped to do.

The decision to use a consultant is generally made by the individual programs or districts. There is no long-term schedule of upcoming consultant projects. They are determined on an "as needed" basis. Once the decision to use a consultant is made, a scope of work and fee estimate are developed by the requesting program or district.

The tentative selection of a consultant is then made. For agreements estimated to be less than or equal to the federal simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), the selection is made from a list of consultants produced from the registry maintained by the Engineering Services Section (see Consultant Statement of Interest). For agreements estimated to be more than the SAT, the department utilizes a request for letters of interest (LOI) or a request for proposal (RFP) process. The selection is made by a committee of 3 to 5 people who will either be involved in the project or have expertise in the specialty being considered.

Following the tentative selection, the consultant is notified. The department's Internal Review Program contacts the consultant, if necessary, to develop the information which will be used later to develop the cost proposal. The Engineering Services Section, or the lead program, contacts the consultant to negotiate the technical scope of work.

Once the scope of work is incorporated in the form of a professional services agreement and Internal Review has completed its preliminary work, the consultant submits a cost proposal. The proposal is reviewed and negotiated, if necessary. If the negotiations are successful, the agreement is executed.

The technical oversight of the consultant's work is assigned to a program or district. The administration, including payment of bills, change orders, etc. is performed by the Engineering Services Section.

Upon completion of the project, those with technical oversight evaluate the performance of the consultant. The consultant is given the opportunity to review and comment on this evaluation. The evaluation is then placed in the consultant's registry file for consideration in future selections.

Engineering Services Office: (307) 777-4488.