METRO GAME CHANGER:
SB PRIME SET-ASIDE PROGRAMTASHAI R. SMITH, INTERIM EXECUTIVE OFFICER
DIVERSITY AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
April 10 – 11, 2019
San Diego, California
Presentation Overview
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• Why, What, and How of SB Prime…
• Inception to-date update with critical highlights:
✓ Agency
✓ SBE
✓ DBE
✓ Innovation
✓ Challenges
• Next Steps
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Why SB Prime?
DRIVERS
• Small Business Growth as PRIMES
• Social Responsibility
• DOT Requirement (Fostering Small Business Element)
• Small Business Goals (Overall Agency)
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What is SB Prime?
The program…
• Paves Way for Small Firms to Win Prime Contracts $3K – $5M
• Only Certified SBEs That Qualify Under Applicable NAICS Codes Can Compete
• Race-Neutral
• Both FTA Funded And Non-Federally Funded Contracts
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How it works…
SOW: Unbundle
Meet Threshold
NAICS Codes
SBE Query
Select at least 3 (all if formal)
Issue Solicitation
Success
No? Open
Market
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Vendor Portal
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Agency Impact
• FY15 (program inception) to FY18 (last full fiscal year), SB Prime awards increased 248%: $9.6 million in FY15 to $33.4 million in FY18
• IMPACT FY15 – FY19*: $101 million awarded thru SB Prime (Average SBE commitment 98.01%) *Source: SB Prime Summary FY15 -FY19 to date ; (FY= July 1 - June 30)
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“ DBEs are small businesses…
program provisions that help
SBEs (race/gender neutral )
also help DBEs (race conscious)...”
US DOT
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SBE / DBE IMPACT (TO DATE)
FTA-funded SB Prime AwardsTotal Value: $9,227,682 (9.1%)
State and Local SB Prime Awards
Total Value: $91,772,318 (90.9%)
60% of SBEs awarded
Prime Contracts are also
DBE certified.
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SB Prime Drives Innovation!
Organic Mentorship Model
• Small business development and innovation = core component of Metro’s business strategy, intrinsically tied to on-time and on-budget project delivery.
• Metro actively encouraging certified SBEs to use traditional primes as subcontractors to help mentor and fulfill increased contracting responsibility.
• Statistics have been encouraging:
• 97% performed solely by SBE Primes with their own workforces
• 3% of all SB Prime contracts had one or more subcontractors
➢ 63% of these had at least one SBE subcontractor
➢ 57.61% average SBE participation (above 30% agency goal)
➢ Major firms as subcontractors/mentors:
ST V, HNTB C ORP, JACOBS , AECOM, C AMBRIDGE ,
WSP USA, TELESTE , TELEBRANDE , HDR, K IMLEY HORN ,
ITERIS , CH2M, F EHR & PEERS AND KPFF C ONSULTING
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SB Prime Success!
DESTINATION ENTERPRISES (DE)
• Woman-Owned SBE firm, previously Subcontractor on 3 Metro projects
• Metro CMSS contract is DE’s first PRIME contract with Metro, beat out 11 other competitors that had large subs
• DE and Metro staff work side-by-side in Integrated Project Management Offices: wide range of CMSS Services supporting delivery of significant rail projects
• Original SB Prime contract was expanded from $3 to $9 million in 2018. CEO Marcy Szarama: “SB Prime made a significant difference in my firm’s growth” - has more than doubled her staff as a result!
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• Recently resolved Legislative obstacles with successful passage of State Legislation (IFB expansion/clarification)
• Releasing survey to gain vital feedback from stakeholders and small business community
• Work to continue to overcome obstacles related to small business capacity
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“This move to allow DBE/SBE firms to
prime projects and traditional primes to sub to them is a Big Step for us and a great success story of how small firms can elevate themselves to be
Primes on major contracts…”
CEO Phillip A. Washington
Thank You!
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