Are any of the requirements and procedures for prequalification and buyout changing as a result of the switch to TradeTapp? No, only the management of subcontractor/vendor information supporting those procedures is changing.

When will subcontractors be invited to complete their profiles? Sometime in the first two weeks of November. However, it will likely take at least 1-2 months before most of our bidders have completed their profiles. Note that in the meantime, subcontractors who have completed our previous forms have that document pre-uploaded (and accessible to you) as a PDF attachment on their profiles. Also, note that three “guinea pig” bidders have already received invitations as of this writing.

What happened to the old information and PDF forms filled out by subcontractors as part of the prior system? Unfortunately, due to the nature of the new and previous systems, the old info could not be uploaded either automatically or even by brute force. As much as we tried to avoid it, our subcontractors will have to re-complete forms that cover much of the same ground as the old ones. Subcontractors who have already gone through other CM’s processes involving TradeTapp (and the majority of them actually have) will have their forms auto-populated, saving them time. Although we deeply hate to ask people for more paperwork, there is a silver lining in that much of our information previously saved on subcontractor prequalification dates back to our initial push/implementation several years ago—this is an opportunity to refresh some of that outdated info. Despite the above, all forms previously supplied have been uploaded and are available to you on the profile of each subcontractor/vendor as PDF and word file attachments. (The subcontractor/vendors are not able to see this information.) For the time being, all invites should come from the individuals handling prequalification (prequal@moncon.com). This is because a quirk of how TradeTapp sets up the database (based on email domain names). Please email prequal@moncon.com if you need a new sub invited. Many of our bidders use personal email addresses and this can create duplicate entries. We plan to switch to a system where anyone can invite a subcontractor in early 2021 once most of our subcontractors have completed their profiles. At that point, anyone should be able to invite a subcontractor.

Will we still be using SureTec Information Systems, Inc. (SISCO) to review company financials? Yes, for the time being. Along with providing some measure of consistency and fairness in the appraisal and rating of vendors, SISCO also offers other benefits like lien and legal warnings, etc. SISCO reports will live as uploaded documents attached to the subcontractor/vendor’s profile. Note that TradeTapp will provide additional financial analysis in addition to the SISCO report.

Does a subcontractor/vendor have to complete a Tradetapp profile prior to an award? No. And especially not if they have previously completed our old PDF form (still accessible through TradeTapp). If the information there indicates that a subcontractor is qualified for an award, and if you have done everything you have to do according to the last version of the Buyout Procedures memo, then you have all you need.  As always, remember that the receipt of forms or the completion of a TradeTapp profile is not what makes a subcontractor qualified for an award. What makes a subcontractor qualified for an award is what the information included in that formwork or profile tells us about their capabilities and capacities.

Who is responsible for ensuring that the information is TradeTapp is sufficiently complete in advance in order to make award decisions in a timely way?
Members of the Project Management teams, according to however those teams have divided up responsibilities for the project at hand. Preconstruction Managers and others who have contact with subcontractors prior to groundbreaking will of course invite and encourage all bidders to initiate and maintain their TradeTapp profiles. But without the carrot of a potential imminent job award, and with limited time available, they are unlikely to be able to achieve the same results.

Can I change the information that a subcontractor has filled out (incorrectly)?
No, TradeTapp does not allow for this. Tradetapp only permits third-party profile editing (subcontractor only), restricting Monadnock and Tradetapp admins from editing profiles. If you have any information related to a subs prequalification status you can add it in the comments/ document section under the summary tab.

Is the TradeTapp status on qualifications meaningful? If TradeTapp says a bidder is “Qualified”, am I free to make an award? No, the status displayed is not meaningful. This is an aspect of the TradeTapp platform that we were unable to change. At Monadnock, there is no such thing as a truly “prequalified” or “qualified” subcontractor. It depends on the job at hand and the current performance and state of the subcontractor in question. In light of this, please ignore any dispositions regarding the qualification of a subcontractor offered by TradeTapp unless otherwise instructed.

Can I modify the vendor database home screen? I’m glad you asked. Yes, you can. I recommend removing all data fields besides the critical ones (Trade Type, Last Submitted, Limits, etc.), sorting by Trade Type, and creating a saved view. Unfortunately, trades will not sort correctly by anything but their company name before they have completed their profile. For this reason, our master database/list of bidders in preconstruction remains an Excel file for the time being.

What if a subcontractor vendor has uploaded information but it is incomplete, wrong, or insufficient in some other way? You should encourage the vendor to correct/complete their form. If they are resistant and you need additional support, do not hesitate to escalate the issue to ownership as it will benefit other teams in the future as well.

Does Monadnock offer help to less tech-savvy bidders in uploading a profile on TradeTapp? Yes, please direct them to prequal@moncon.com if they are having trouble.