QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR CONTRACTED MAINTENANCE IN ONTARIO, CANADA Prepared for MQA Peer Exchange, Madison Wisconsin - Oct. 11/04

Overview Ontario Provincial Statistics Definition of ‘Maintenance’ in Ontario Maintenance Contract Types Maintenance Standards Quality Assurance Sanctions Challenges Questions/Contact Information

Ontario - Provincial Statistics 1 Million sq km (412,000 sq miles) and 10 million people Climate varies north to south, with south similar to Niagara Falls or Buffalo NY The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is responsible for 16,500 centreline-kms (10,250 miles) and 2500 bridges 2 tunnels 29 remote airports 8 ferry services Contracted Maintenance Expenditures are about $200M CAD All MTO’s expenditures are only 1.5% of provincial government budget.

‘MAINTENANCE’ IN ONTARIO Routine Maintenance Pothole repair Shoulder grading Repair guide rail and fences Sweeping and debris removal Traffic signal and illumination- scheduled maintenance and repair Tunnel Maintenance Bridge cleaning, scheduled maintenance (lift bridges) and minor repair Sign replacement Grass cutting and weed control Winter Maintenance Plowing, liquids, sanding and salting Patrolling Visual Inspection At Least Daily in Winter Emergency Response to collisions, spills This answers the question “What is Maintenance?” Highlight the differences between maintenance and capital work – OFTEN CONFUSED BY THE PUBLIC AND IN SPEAKING WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS. Capital ‘Construction’ contracts - bid by ‘item’ NOT INCLUDED Resurfacing Rebuilding

MAINTENANCE CONTRACT TYPES Area Maintenance Contracts (60% of Hwys.) Management and work by Contractor Vast Majority of work is Lump Sum Contracts contain a count of inventory, and a 3-year history of work performed 7-9 Year durations Proposal quality factor applied to price Managed Outsourcing Contracts (40% of Hwys.) Managed by MTO Staff, all work by Contractors Usually at a bid price per day with risk sharing on annual quantity Mostly Functional Contracts Mostly 5 Year durations

MAINTENANCE STANDARDS The Maintenance Quality Standards (MQS) set out maintenance requirements Many are time-based, such as x days to fix a given-size pothole or to repair collision damage to guide rail Mandatory patrolling frequencies are key to detection of defects At a minimum, maintenance contract requirements meet the MQS Bidding Methods – Looking for efficiencies in matching risk with the parties that can manage it. Labour relations issues Number of bidders, remote areas

QUALITY ASSURANCE Front line field staff include Superintendents who have several Coordinators, about one per 300 2-lane km, totalling 167 provincially Key program development in concert with the Maintenance Superintendents Committee Monitoring Manual sets out key requirements for each contract requirement Contractors also propose quality control procedures that are marked as part of proposal scoring. Bidding Methods – Looking for efficiencies in matching risk with the parties that can manage it. Labour relations issues Number of bidders, remote areas

SANCTIONS Non-performance for key items identified in contract leads to the issuance of a “Demerit Point” Thresholds of Demerit Points per year and overall can lead to loss of the contract Process has been extremely effective, contractors take demerits much more seriously than the associated financial penalties. Bidding Methods – Looking for efficiencies in matching risk with the parties that can manage it. Labour relations issues Number of bidders, remote areas

CHALLENGES Ability (and need?) to express and summarize performance quantitatively Time-based standards Change in a large and proud organization, particularly with contracts working well Bidding Methods – Looking for efficiencies in matching risk with the parties that can manage it. Labour relations issues Number of bidders, remote areas

FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE AND SHARING WELCOMED Sonya Skinner, P.Eng. Head, Maintenance Contracts Ministry of Transportation of Ontario 905 704 2975 sonya.skinner@mto.gov.on.ca