State Needs To Change Outdated ´Multiprime´ Approach To Public Building Projects

The 10/9/2007 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an article written by William D. Clifford titled, "Private Sector: State needs to change outdated 'multiprime' approach to public building projects." Mr. Clifford wrote:

When businesses and other private-sector organizations embark on construction projects, they typically hire one primary or "prime" contractor that then can subcontract the project's more specialized pieces. This approach to the bidding process, known as the single-prime delivery system, tends to result in more efficient and cost-effective projects.

While the business community relies almost exclusively on the singleprime method, Pennsylvania's public entities, such as school districts and municipalities, are bound to a less efficient, more expensive system that breaks one contract into multiple pieces or "multiprime" contracts.