King County Procurement Practices for Brightwater Professional Design Engineering Services

During the past five years, the county substantially strengthened oversight of its procurement and contracting processes for professional engineering services. The improved oversight processes provided greater assurance that county and ratepayer interests were adequately represented. However, the timeliness and effectiveness of the county’s procurement and contracting processes could be further enhanced through performancebased scheduling, better collaboration among county agencies, and improved external communication with engineering firms.

The Procurement and Contract Services Section should continue to periodically assess and adjust compensation for design engineering services based on local and regional benchmarks, national salary surveys, and best management practices. The section should collaborate with county agencies on developing formal county performance standards and project-specific schedules. The project-specific schedules should conform to capital project delivery objectives to promote accountability to county ratepayers. In cooperation with county agencies and local engineering consulting firms, the section should also establish a task force or ongoing advisory forum to productively discuss best engineering procurement practices and issues.

This performance audit examined the timeliness and cost effectiveness of the county’s procurement and contracting practices for professional design engineering services. Best practices were also considered for procurement of professional design engineering services to identify potential opportunities for improvement.