For General Contractors: Prequalification, Bids and Scope Handoffs

What is in the prequalification packet#

A complete Division 27 and 28 prequalification packet contains the items below. Ours is assembled to that list and arrives as a single PDF when you ask for it by email.

• License: Telelink Business Services is a licensed C-7 Low Voltage Systems Contractor, CSLB License #472017. The packet includes the CSLB printout showing classification, status, bond and workers compensation.
• Contractor license bond: $25,000, the statutory amount shown on the CSLB record.
• Certificates of insurance: general liability at $2,000,000, with additional insured endorsements naming the GC and owner as your subcontract requires, primary and non-contributory wording where required, and waiver of subrogation where required. Auto and umbrella certificates as carried.
• Workers compensation certificate, active.
• Experience modification rate: the letter as issued by the workers compensation carrier, for the years your prequalification form asks for.
• DIR public works registration and the current certificates.
• Safety program: the written Injury and Illness Prevention Program that California requires of every employer, and a site-specific safety plan written for the project. See the safety and compliance page.
• References: project contacts on comparable work, matched to the scope and building type you name. Our published projects show the kind of work they cover.
• W-9 and any subcontractor questionnaire your firm uses, completed.

Certifications go in as documents rather than claims. Any BICSI or manufacturer credentials on file are furnished in the packet as copies.

How to send plans to bid#

Email carson@telelinkca.com or use the request a bid page, which accepts file uploads. What we need to price accurately:

• Full drawing set as PDF, including the T-series or E-series sheets that show low voltage devices, the telecom room layouts, riser diagrams and the reflected ceiling plans.
• Specification sections, at minimum Division 27 (Communications) and Division 28 (Electronic Safety and Security), plus Division 01 general requirements and any owner or campus telecommunications standard referenced in them.
• Addenda issued to date, the bid form, the bid date and time, and the anticipated construction schedule.
• Whether the project is public works or otherwise prevailing wage, and whether a project labor agreement or other labor requirement applies.
• Whether the building will be occupied during construction.
• Whether federal funds are involved, which triggers NDAA Section 889 and 2 CFR 200.216 for cameras and network equipment.

If the set is a design-build or performance spec, tell us. We will state a basis of design in the proposal and price that, so you can see exactly what the number covers.

What a complete bid from Telelink includes#

Every bid we send includes a scope letter and the assumptions behind the number. A complete bid contains:

• A scope letter listing inclusions by system and spec section, with every handoff named and assigned to the trade that carries it. Fire alarm, door hardware and line voltage are set out in full further down this page.
• Clarifications on Division 27 and 28: cable category and rating assumed, testing standard, labeling scheme, whether the owner-furnished equipment list is complete, and any spec conflicts we found.
• Alternates priced separately: Cat6A in place of Cat6, additional cameras, cloud-managed versus on-premise access control, and an extended warranty or service agreement.
• Prevailing wage basis, the DIR determination used, and our position on any labor requirement, stated in writing.
• Mobilization and travel for work outside the Sacramento region, priced into the number and identified.
• Schedule assumptions: phases, after-hours work, and any occupied-building constraints.

The Division 27 and 28 spec checklist lists the items we look for in a spec and is a useful check before the set goes out to bid.

Submittals, RFIs and coordination drawings#

Submittals go out in the order the schedule needs them: cable, pathways and support first, then telecom room equipment, then devices. Each product data submittal states the actual manufacturer, which is what an NDAA review needs. Shop drawings show device locations, pathway routing, rack elevations and, in every telecom room, the electrical handoff: dedicated circuits, receptacle locations and the bonding point, marked as Division 26 scope.

Our RFIs ask one question at a time, reference the sheet and detail number, and propose an answer, so the response clarifies the document rather than changing the scope. Coordination drawings are produced when the project requires them, and they keep our pathways clear of the duct, pipe and conduit the mechanical and electrical trades have already placed.

Scope handoffs: fire alarm, door hardware and line voltage#

Three handoffs cause most of the disputes on a low voltage subcontract. We state each one:

• Fire alarm: the project’s fire alarm contractor carries it, and it is the one express exclusion in the C-7 classification. Where an access control door must release on fire alarm, we provide the relay input on our controller and show the point, and that contractor lands the connection.
• Door hardware: we provide the access control panel, readers, request-to-exit devices, door position switches, power supplies, cabling and programming. Strikes, maglocks, panic hardware, closers and automatic operators are Division 08 or a C-28 contractor’s scope; our drawings show the wire count and termination at each door.
• Line voltage: dedicated circuits to racks and power supplies, receptacles in telecom rooms and bonding the room to building ground are Division 26. Our submittals show the location and load so the electrician can rough in once.

Closeout deliverables#

At turnover the GC receives one package containing:

• Permanent link test results for every copper drop, and loss or OTDR results for every fiber strand.
• Labeling schedules matching the drawings and the ANSI/TIA-606 scheme.
• As-built drawings and rack elevations.
• Device schedules with manufacturer and model.
• Programming records and credentials, handed to the owner’s IT contact.
• Warranty letters and operations and maintenance information.
• Training sign-in sheets where training was specified.

On public work, the final certified payroll and any required apprenticeship documentation are closed out with the retention billing.

Payment, preliminary notices and lien law#

California subcontractors on private work serve a preliminary notice under the Civil Code within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials, and on public work serve the equivalent notice to the public agency and the prime. We serve it on every project as standard practice, and it should not be read as a sign of any problem. It is what preserves the right to a mechanics lien or a stop payment notice if a job goes wrong, and most GCs expect to see it.

Progress billings follow the schedule of values in the subcontract, and each payment is exchanged for the statutory conditional or unconditional waiver and release form. Retention is billed after final acceptance under the terms of the subcontract. We use your billing and release forms as the subcontract issues them and do not send back exception requests.

Next step#

Send the set through the request a bid page or email carson@telelinkca.com with the bid date in the subject line. If your compliance desk needs the prequalification packet first, say so in that email and we will send it. The licenses and certifications page explains how to verify the license record before the packet arrives.