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Architectural & Engineering (A&E) Contract Management : Contracting at Caltrans

Contracting at Caltrans

In terms of contracting, "services" are duties or labor (as opposed to goods or commodities) – basically, getting things done. Like most organizations, Caltrans uses three sources to get things done:

  • its own employees
  • other federal, state and local agencies
  • contract workers

The types of service contracts include:

Commercial services

Contracts for services that do not meet the definition of consulting or A&E services as described below. For example: hauling, repair, janitorial work, painting, and A&E Other Direct Costs (ODC) (e.g. CADD, Traffic Control, Lab Testing, etc.)

Consulting services

Contracts for management consultation, expert witness, legal, training, or other services that are advisory or informational. Consulting services involve products of the mind. Consulting services may also be used for RFP services that need more definition.

Architectural & Engineering (A&E)

Contracts for architectural and engineering, environmental, and related technical services (as defined by Government Code 4525), including but not limited to:

  • Cultural Resource (Archaeological) services
  • Building architecture
  • Construction engineering
  • Electrical engineering
  • Environmental services
  • Hazardous Waste Site Investigation services
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Hydrology and hydraulic studies
  • Materials testing
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Project design
  • Project management
  • Right-of-way engineering
  • Structural design surveys
  • Preliminary, design, and construction surveys
  • Traffic investigations and studies
  • Structures design services

A&E contracts are used to provide services that require professional judgment necessary to complete A&E tasks or deliverables. Incidental services should be incidental to the A&E task being performed by the consultant, and should not be a significant cost of the contract. Incidental services are not to be provided by a consultant using an A&E contract in a stand-alone fashion. For example, a consultant who is contracted to complete a set of plans may provide CADD services in order to complete those plans. However, the consultant cannot provide CADD services to the District to work on plans developed by Caltrans.

In addition, A&E contracts are not to be used to supply equipment for use by Caltrans employees. For any questions on these or any other uses of A&E contracts and contract policies, contact your District A&E coordinator.

For more information regarding A&E contracts and the Capital Program, see these resources on the DPAC intranet and external websites: