109.5 Force Account (for Sec 109.5)

When it is impossible to reach agreement on a fair price for necessary extra work having no unit bid prices, the work must be done on a force account basis. This means that the contractor will be reimbursed for the actual cost of labor, insurance and tax, equipment and materials. In addition, the prime contractor will receive specified percentages of these costs to cover supervision, overhead and profit. Contract provisions for this method of settlement are set out in Sec 109.5. Per the specification, the prime contractor will receive an amount equal to five percent of the actual cost of subcontracted work. Actual cost is defined as including the subcontractor’s work, overhead and profit.

Before work is done on a force account basis, a change order must be approved to provide funds and authority for the work. The change order must be supported by the best available estimate of cost. The estimate should be carefully prepared to prevent large variations of actual cost from the estimate. Reference EPG 109.12.1.3 for more information on how to set up the pay item for Force Account work.

Daily records must be kept during progress of the work. This avoids later misunderstanding about the cost. Keep these records on the Force Account Spreadsheet of the Force Account Worksheet. An example of the force account worksheet is available.

109.5.1 Daily Force Account Record, Labor Account

Use the Force Account Spreadsheet of the Daily Force Account Record, Labor Account, as follows:

In the upper right corner, place the number of the change order that originally authorized the force account work. This will serve to identity all associated reports. If the work is temporary erosion control authorized by order record, use the order record number and initials, O.R.

Number the report consecutively for each day's work until the operation is completed. Write “Final” after the report number on the last daily report.

Route, county, and project should be placed in the appropriate spaces.

Give a fairly detailed description in the space provided for Description of Work. Include the location of the work to be done. Place this data on Report No. 1. It need not be repeated on subsequent daily reports.

(a) The people employed on the work must be listed daily. This makes it necessary for the contractor to furnish the required information for each employee expected to be used on the work. Separate lines are provided for regular and overtime hours. The hours shown for each employee should be the actual hours worked each day. Separate columns are provided for the rate per hour and the fringe benefit rates per hour. The rates shown should be verified by a copy of the contractor's payroll, if available, or from the contractor's statement required by Sec 109.5.7.

(b) Lead workers, as described under Sec. 109.5.1, must be paid no less than the prevailing hourly wage for the classification they are working in. If a lead worker is salaried, the contractor must provide documentation of the amount actually paid and the hours actually worked. This documentation is required by Sec 109.5.7. Salaried superintendents are not covered by the prevailing wage provisions and should not be included in the labor account. Their expenses are covered by the 20 percent overhead and profit as provided in Sec 109.5.2.

If actual wage rates and fringe benefits cannot be determined in advance, it will be satisfactory to use rates shown in the contract for each classification. If rates from the contract are used, it will be necessary to obtain the actual rates paid by the contractor and make revised sheets before preparing the Force Account Spreadsheet of the Summary of Costs for the force account work. The contractor’s representatives should sign any revised sheets.

Total the labor account at the end of each day. Add the previous day's total to get a running total to date.

Check the appropriate spaces at the bottom of the page to indicate whether there were any materials or equipment charges that day. If the answer in both cases is no, the "Equipment and Materials Account" will not be required for that date.

On the lower left of the form is space for the signature of the resident engineer, or of the employee designated in writing to sign the daily forms. ALternately, this can be done by attaching a digital signature to the form once it has been changed to a pdf document.

The employee designated in writing by the contractor shall sign immediately below MoDOT's representative. Insert the name of the contractor below the space for this signature.

Give the contractor the original and retain two copies. The MoDOT copy may be retained electronically.

109.5.2 Daily Force Account Record, Equipment and Materials Account

Complete this portion of the Force Account Spreadsheet of the Worksheet, if either materials or equipment charges were assessed for the day. Place the same information in the upper right corner as was placed on the Labor Account portion of the Worksheet. The report number is to be consecutive for the Equipment and Materials Form. It need not agree with the number on the Labor Account Form.

The headings for the various spaces under Materials Account are self-explanatory.

Each equipment unit must be listed separately. The contractor must supply information on all equipment to be used on a force account basis. The information must be in sufficient detail to allow accurate determination of the allowable rental rent according to Sec 109.5.4.

Rental rates on file with the Commission are the rates contained in Rental Rate Blue Book for construction equipment. Force Account Rental Rate - Quick Reference Guide for contractor-owned equipment, apply the Model Year and Region adjustments, then divide the monthly rate by 176 hours to obtain the FHWA approved hourly rate. The listed estimated operating cost per hour is also applied for the time the machine is in use.

In all other cases, the resident engineer should negotiate rental rates with the contractor, subject to approval by the district. Sec. 109.5.4 states, "In no case shall the rental rates exceed those of established distributors or equipment rental agencies.” Proposed rates for contractor owned equipment may not exceed the rate determined by the above paragraph or the rate charged locally by equipment rental companies, whichever is lower. If special cases indicate that higher rates may be justified, send the proposed rates to Construction & Materials with the district's recommendation and data to support the proposed rates for division review.

Contractor's proposed rates shall be submitted to the resident engineer in writing. The proposal shall state whether the rate includes fuel and lubricants. After district concurrence, the resident engineer shall grant approval in writing. The written proposal and approval make up the agreement. Send both letters to the district with the Force Account Spreadsheet of the Daily Force Account Record, Summary of Costs after the work is done.

When this has been done, use of the various column headings is based on the agreement. The columns for No. Hours, Previous Hours, and Net Hours are self-explanatory. They are to be used regardless of rental basis.

If equipment is to be used on an hourly rental basis, the Hour Rate multiplied by the Rate Adjustment Factor will be used. In all other cases, list the rental on either a weekly or monthly basis as agreed.

When equipment is rented from a recognized rental agency specifically for the force account work, the contractor will normally be allowed the actual rental paid. This must be established by paid invoices.

If contractor-owned equipment must be kept available full time at the site, or if it is specialized equipment for which there is no other use on the project, it may become necessary to allow rental on a full time basis. The unit should then be shown at 8 hours of rental for each day, Monday through Friday, at the hourly rate established as outlined in the Rental rates on file with the Commission paragraph, above, unless the resident engineer has authorized overtime use of the equipment. If the agreed rate is "bare" rate, the agreed operating cost per hour would be added to the "bare" rate only for actual operating hours.

If contractor-owned equipment is to be used on a part-time basis and will be used for other work on the project, it should be carried on the equipment account at actual hours used.

If equipment must be shipped to the project specifically for force account work, the shipping costs are reimbursable. Such costs should be carried in the equipment account by listing the unit involved and showing the shipping cost under amount. Write in the invoice number, noting it as shipping cost, under the rate headings.

For the time required to move the equipment to and from the site of the ex work and any authorized standby time, the rate will be 50% of the hourly rate after the actual operating costs have been deducted.

109.5.3 Force Account Record, Summary of Costs

The Summary of Costs, Force Account Spreadsheet, is prepared in quadruplicate when the force account work has been completed.

On the Summary, place in the upper right corner the number of the original authorizing change order. Complete the description and location of work in considerable detail.

Give the original to the contractor. Retain the fourth copy in the resident engineer's file. Send the other two copies to the district office for checking.

One copy sent to the district office is to be accompanied by a copy of each daily report for checking. The daily reports, after checking, are to be filed with the district copy of the Force Account Record Summary of Costs.