No, the annual fee replaces the per-project cost of purchasing paper copies of the plans and specifications. Paid members may view as many projects as desired, and may bid on as many projects as desired as long as all project specific requirements are met.

Moore & Bruggink reviews each membership application and determines whether the account will be designated as a Contractor Member or a General Member. Contractor Members are prequalified contractors that are eligible to bid on projects as prime contractors. All other Online Planroom Members are considered General Members. Both types of members can view, save, and print pdf copies of project plans, specification books, addenda, and responses to bidding questions. Only Contractor Members have access to the Official Bid form and bid tabulations.

As an important service to our clients, Moore & Bruggink, Inc. prequalifies all prospective contractors prior to issuing bid packages. Prequalification ensures that all contractors submitting bids have adequate manpower, equipment, experience, and financial stability to successfully complete a specific project. Since we use somewhat different criteria in our prequalification process, all contractors must complete our prequalification process regardless of whether or not they are prequalified through MDOT or the City of Grand Rapids.

To become prequalified, you must fill out and submit a completed prequalification package for review. Prequalification packages are available by contacting the Moore & Bruggink, Inc. office or by filling out the Online Planroom Membership Application Form and check the appropriate boxes. There is no cost to complete the prequalification process without becoming an Online Planroom member. A prequalification package will be sent to you as soon as possible after receiving your request. Once the completed prequalification package has been received by our office, it’s generally reviewed within 7-10 business days. Upon approval, you will be notified of your eligible work categories and your maximum bid amount. Online Planroom members can review their prequalification status online on their member account home page. Prequalification is good for up to 2 years and expires on December 31 of the even years.

Qualification status indicates the status of your membership, your eligible work categories, your maximum bid level, and if there are any special conditions related to your pre-approval.

Each project will have a specific work categories identified in the project advertisement. To be eligible to bid on a project, your eligible work categories must match at least one of the categories listed for that project.

Each project will have a bid level which serves as a minimum requirement for determining eligible bidders for the project. The bid level will typically match (but may be set lower or higher than) the Engineer’s Estimate indicated in the project advertisement. Your bid level must be higher than the bid level for the project to be eligible to place a bid.

The category and level will show up as NA for all General Members.

Projects for which you meet both the category and the bid level requirement will show up under the “Projects I May Bid On” heading. If either the minimum bid level or work category requirement is not met, the project will show up under the “View Only Projects” heading.

All projects will show up as “View Only Projects” to General Members.

From the My Account page, Contractor Members can choose to become a planholder for any or all of the specific projects within the category “Projects I May Bid On” by clicking on the appropriate link. Once a Contractor Member chooses to become a planholder, they will have access to the project page and all bid package documents. Planholders will receive email notification if there are bid information updates and whenever addendums or request for information responses are posted. In addition, their company name will be placed on the planholder list, which is made available to subcontractors and suppliers on the Online Planroom home page. Being listed on the planholder list is also a requirement for submitting a bid for the project, and only members listed as a planholder at the bid time will be able to view the bid tabulation. Becoming a planholder does not obligate a Contractor Member to bid on a project.

The window to become a planholder starts when the project is advertised for bids and ends 4 hours prior to the bid opening. Contractor Members not signed up as a planholder when the window ends will not be allowed to submit a bid at the bid opening.

Contractor Members may remove the planholder status for a specific project at any time. At that point, the member will no longer receive project updates, and will be removed from all planholder lists. The member will not be able to bid on the project if they are not listed as a planholder at bid time.

General Members do not have the option to become a planholder. However, by choosing the option “Add to View Only List”, General Members have access to a modified project page, can view the bid packages, and will be kept up to date as plan revisions, addenda, and responses to bid questions are issued through the Online Planroom. General Members will not be added to planholder lists. General Members cannot view or print the official bid forms or the bid tabulations.

Moore & Bruggink, Inc. still uses a manual bid process, with public or private bid openings as listed in the specific bid package. Moore & Bruggink, Inc. does not have an electronic bid process at this time.

Once a Contractor Member has decided to become a planholder for a specific project, they will have access to the bid documents on the project page, and will be added to the planholder list. Much like the traditional paper copy of the planholder list that has been used for years, this list allows us to keep bidders up to date on any important information changes during the bidding process. In addition, it provides a convenient way for sub- contractors and suppliers to know which members may be bidding on the project. This list is finalized at 4 hours prior to bid opening to provide us with the list of contractors eligible to bid on the project.

During the bidding process, questions can be submitted to the Engineer by clicking the “Have a Question, Click Here” link near the bottom of the project page. The Engineer will either contact you by phone or email with a response, or may choose to update the project page with an Addendum or Request for Information Response. As always, you may feel free to contact the Engineer directly by telephone.

If an addendum, revised plan sheet, revised bid form, or an answer to a bid question is issued by the Engineer, all planholders will receive an email notification, and the new files will be highlighted as “Unviewed” until they are opened or saved by the member.

The official bid form must be printed from the Online Planroom and filled out completely. Copies of the schedule of items included elsewhere in the bid package will not be accepted. The official bid form and all other necessary documentation, as specified in the bidding documents, must be placed in a sealed envelope and delivered to the bidding location as instructed in the bid documents, just as in the past.

After the bid opening, the bids will be checked for accuracy. Once the bids have been checked, the official bid tabulation will be posted for planholders on the project page.