Subcontractor

VAS Benefits

• Helps GCs and subcontractors coordinate as VAS automatically prompts subcontractors to provide information (e.g., licenses, apprenticeships, and insurance) after a GC inputs project-specific information and the subcontractor identifier.
• Allows GCs to confirm subcontractor qualification and certification status and qualified trade codes, minimizing the chance of time-consuming misunderstandings.
• Provides GC and subcontractors with on-demand access to SAF status information.
• Provides GC and subcontractors with on-demand access to OCIP insurance certificates, in addition to the initial email already in place.
• Carries over information from prior submissions and pre-populates subsequent SAFs to reduce keystrokes.

Requirements

• All GCs and subcontractors, except for those in Wicks trades identified in the bid document, must complete an online SAF.
• SAFs are project specific – GCs and subcontractors must submit a separate SAF for each project.
• Prior to beginning work on an SCA project and completing an SAF, all subcontractors must submit a prequalification application, if they have not already done so.
• All Wicks subcontractors whose estimated value of work is greater than $1 million, as determined by the SCA and identified in the project-specific bid documents, must be prequalified with the SCA to perform work greater than $1 million at time of the bid opening.
• Subcontractors must have a project-specific SAF in pending or approved status before beginning work.

Process

• GCs and upper-tier subs should go to the Vendor Access System and click on the Subcontractor Approval Form (SAF) link in the Project Information (Post Award) section of the homepage to begin the process.
• Once it has been initiated by their GC or upper-tier sub, subcontractors will receive an email containing a link to their SAF.
• Click to download the SAF User Guide in PDF format.

All subcontractors must complete and submit a prequalification application prior to doing business with the SCA. Subcontractors must also complete and submit a Subcontractor Approval Form (SAF) prior to beginning work on an SCA project.

Log in to the Vendor Access System (VAS) to access the SAF Guide for completing an SAF. The form is only available to firms that have been awarded an SCA contract. SAFs are project specific, and one must be submitted for each project on which a subcontractor works. The SAF identifies the subcontractor, the estimated value of the work, the type of work the subcontractor will perform, and the expected start/end dates of that work. Approval of an SAF is specific to the scope identified in the SAF.  Additional work awarded to a subcontractor by a general contractor during the life of a project requires the submission of a separate SAF for that extra work.

After a SAF is submitted in VAS, each subcontractor receives an email indicating whether the SAF is approved, pended, or denied. If denied, the subcontractor may be required to provide additional information before re-submitting the SAF.

Mentor subcontractor firms should contact their respective construction managers for SAF submission information.

All subcontractors working on SCA projects under the Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) must complete an SAF prior to working at the project site. Certificates of insurance are sent to contractors, as confirmation of enrollment in the OCIP at a particular project site. In emergency circumstances, a subcontractor including a mentor subcontractor may be required to perform an emergency before an SAF can be completed. In such cases, the form must be completed and filed within five business days of starting work at the project site to avoid any lapse in insurance coverage.

Any Wicks subcontractors proposed by a general contractor in the bid documents must be prequalified with the SCA prior to the bid opening.