Sandy Lake Subcontractor NCTCOG SpecKeith
I have several internal comments regarding Tiseo from other employees
within TNP. Most of them seem to say the same thing that Coppell has
experienced, but I’ll attach them for your review anyways. One thing
that was mentioned was a reference to NCTCOG Spec 108.5 regarding
subcontractors (attached). Basically, the City can require replacement
of any subcontractor that they feel is not in their best interest. This
will not give the contractor a basis for any additional claims, be it
time extensions or additional compensation.
Something to keep in mind, especially if we see unsatisfactory work
being completed once construction begins.
The following are the responses from around the office:
Tiseo did Flower Mound Road, and they were very fast. The did South
Colony Blvd. quite a few years ago (say seven years ago or so) and they
were looking hard for change orders.
Everything I have ever heard and seen from Tiseo indicates that they
are a marginal contractor. I do not have any particular examples that
come to mind, but I am sure that some others will provide you with one
or two.
I am not familiar with any of the proposed subs except RPMx
Construction. They did a detention pond for me in Mansfield. They did
a good job and were a good contractor to work with.
If you are not going to recommend Tiseo, be sure and have all of your
ducks in a row. They will likely fight being passed over very
aggressively.
The City of Haltom City has just begun a $ 3.7 Million roadway project
with Tiseo as the prime. One of the subs, which is not in your list,
gave the City and us reason for concern. We had a sit down meeting with
Tiseo’s Vice President to voice our concerns and alert them to the
specification that once under contract the City is allowed to require
replacement of subcontractors without any increase in the contract
amount. Tiseo said they would not allow a subcontractor to jeopardize
any project and they would keep a tight rein on their subs. We believed
them. Time will tell.
Tiseo currently has a roadway project under construction in Flower
Mound near my house on Wichita Trail (from Simmons Road to Peninsula
Drive). The total project length is less than a mile…probably
4,500-4,800 LF. I drive through the project everyday…sometimes more,
and I would describe the project scope as a simple reconstruction of a
2-lane rural roadway (from 2-lane asphalt to 2-lane concrete pavement).
There are 2 culvert crossings and they did add some longitudinal storm
drainage in places with grate inlets in the ditches. The project
information sign says that the project start was scheduled for June 2012
and the completion date is stated as June 2013, so they were apparently
given 12 months to complete the project which I would say was a 6 month
project at best...and that’s being very generous. They actually started
work last June 2012, were immediately allowed to make the roadway
one-way traffic and have maintained only one-way traffic for the past 11
months. I’m guess that they still probably have at least 2-3 months
left before they will finish.
Based upon my observations:
1. The project has been very poorly managed…if it’s been managed
at all.
2. They showed very little commitment to completing the work in a
timely manner…there were long stretches of time when there was no work
nor any progress being made on the project…and when work was being
performed is was with a minimal work force.
3. Granted, the project is not finished, but I would give the
quality of the work at best a C-...and that’s making the assumption that
they will re-dress the slopes adjacent to the road to some extent before
they vegetate and punch-out the project.
a. The concrete pavement itself is looking okay, but the grading
adjacent to the road is very bad…no fine grading and no attention to
detail whatsoever.
4. Their traffic control and erosion control has also been
absolutely horrible.
I don’t know what the City’s take on the project is…technically it may
not yet have exceeded the contract time, but it may be worth someone
from the City of Coppell talking to someone at the City of Flower Mound.
Casey McBroom, P.E.
Project Engineer
17304 Preston Road, Suite 1340
Dallas, Texas 75252
214.461.9867 Phone
972.900.5733 Mobile
214.461.9864 Fax
cmcbroom@tnpinc.com <mailto:cmcbroom@tnpinc.com>