NYSTA Instructions for Using Expedite BID

The following instructions assume that Expedite BID version 5.6b has already been downloaded, installed, and configured.  If not, information on obtaining a copy of Expedite BID and configuring the software is available on the New York State Thruway Authority’s website at http://www.nysthruway.gov/business/tebs/expedite-info.html.  Contractors should also periodically review the NYSTA web site for important bidding information.  

The following instructions were tested with Internet Explorer 7.0.  Other web browsers should work, but may behave differently.

Downloading and Preparing the Initial Bid

1. Open your web browser and navigate to the “Business” section on NYSTA’s web site, http://www.nysthruway.gov/business/.

Click on the Download Contract Bid Data link.

1. Click on the ‘EXPEDITE Contract Letting Download Area’ link to proceed to the download area.

1. The user must agree to the Thruway Authority’s Conditions of Use in order to continue to the contract data download area.

Clicking on the “View Full Policy Statement” button proceeds to step 4.
Clicking on the “Accept Agreement” button skips to step 5

1. Clicking on the “View Full Policy Statement” will display the following:

1. The download area will list all the lettings for which Expedite bid files are currently available.  Click on a letting date to download the appropriate Expedite BID file.  Note there is one file for each letting, which contains data for every contract assigned to that letting.

1. After the desired letting date has been selected, the following file download dialog box will appear.  Click the ‘Save’ button and choose the location where you would like to save the Expedite BID file.  Note the location for use in subsequent steps. (Important: Do not click the Open button).

1. Browse to the location where the Expedite BID file should be downloaded.  The file name should not be altered.  It is based upon the letting date (mmmddyy format), with the extension always EBL (Expedite BID Library).  Click on the ‘Save’ button to continue.

1. Start Expedite BID.

1. Select the Open Letting command form the File menu, navigate to the location where the Expedite BID Library was previously downloaded and click the ‘OK’ button.

1. Select the EBL that contains the contract to be worked on and click the ‘OK’ button.

1. If the Letting contains multiple contracts then all the contracts will be displayed in the left Expedite window pane.  Each contract will begin with the date of the Letting (ddmmm, with mmm being an abbreviation for the letting month) and end with the last three digits of the contract number (e.g. 26DEC466 for contract D213466).

1. Select the appropriate project and click the Tree View button on the toolbar to display all of the items in the left window pane.  This view is best for displaying the items and their full descriptions.

Note the Agency code displayed in the right window pane confirming that the file is for the NYS Thruway Authority.  The TA number assigned to the project appears in both the Project ID field and in the beginning of the Description field.

1. Click on an item in the left window pane to display detailed information about that item in the right window pane.  A user can only enter bid data for one item at a time and must either click the ‘Next Item’ button in the bottom right corner to move to the next item, or manually select another item in the left window pane.

1. Folders/items shown in red indicate an incomplete bid. Green folders/items indicate a complete bid.  The Check Bid command from the Tools menu may be used to obtain a detailed list of errors, which can be printed for reference. 

1. Alternatively, click the Grid View button on the toolbar to display all of the items in the right window pane.  This view allows the fastest entry of bid data.

1. Use the Save As command from the File menu to save the file in the Proposal File (EBS) format.  Use the default file name that Expedite BID generates.

Loading Amendments

Amendments published before a bidder’s initial download of the EBL are automatically applied when the file is opened in Expedite BID.  A dialog box will display each time the proposal is opened, listing all the currently applied amendments.   The number of amendments in the Expedite BID proposal is also displayed on the top of the program window, next to the file name.  
However, when a bidder receives an amendment announcement after they have downloaded a bid file the following steps are required to load any new amendments:

1. Repeat steps 1 through 7 from the previous section to download an updated Expedite BID EBL for the desired letting.
2. Start Expedite BID and using the Open command on the File menu open the EBS file previously created (or if available, select it from the file history list).  Once the EBS file is open, select the Load Amendment command from the File menu.  The following dialog box will appear.

1. Change the ‘Files of type:’ to Amendment Libraries (*.EBL) using the drop-down list.  Navigate to the location where the new Expedite BID Library was downloaded, select the appropriate EBL and click the ‘Open’ button.

1. A list of amendments for all the contracts in the letting will be displayed.  Select the proposal and amendment for the appropriate contract and click the ‘OK’ button.

Amendment files must be loaded in order (i.e., amendment file *.001 must be loaded before *.002).  However, the system will not load an amendment that does not belong to the contract currently loaded or load an amendment that has already been applied. The software will display info on any amendment that has been included in the amendment file. (i.e. items added, quantities changed, etc….).  This info may also be printed.  The number of amendments applied should now be displayed on the top of the program window, next to the file name

1. Continue working on bid proposal.  Any bid items added by the amendment will be appended to the end of the item list.  Also the unit price on any existing item whose quantity has changed due to the amendment will be deleted, requiring the unit price be reentered.

Printing the Bid Proposal

1. Before printing out a final bid proposal, confirm that all folder/files appear green, indicating that all bid information is complete.

Note that incomplete bid sheets (e.g. items having empty or $0.00 unit prices, etc…) can be printed but must be manually filled in on the paper submission in order to make the bid legitimate.  This may also require manual adjustment of the mobilization item and bid totals. 

2. Save the EBS file and copy it to a diskette or CD for submittal to NYSTA.  Unless the ‘Ask to save to floppy when saving’ setting on the Misc. Tab on the Bid Options Dialog box was unchecked, the following dialog box will automatically display when the Save command is selected from the File menu.

To save the file to a CD, click the ‘Cancel’ button and use the Save As command from the File menu.  This command allows the user to navigate to their CD drive.

3. Select the Print command from the File menu.  A check code stored in the electronic file will be printed on every proposal page.  If the electronic file is modified the code in the file will change.  This is used to confirm that the printed proposal and electronic file match.

Lastly, note that the Expedite BID proposal sheets look different than those previously accepted by NYSTA.  Expedite BID prints in portrait mode and includes a variable number of items per page.

Submitting an Expedite Bid to NYSTA

Bidders using the Expedite BID software to create bid proposals should submit both the electronic proposal (EBS file), and a corresponding paper print.  The check code on each printed proposal sheet should match the code stored in the electronic file’s Check field (which can be viewed in Expedite BID by selecting the header record). Any discrepancies will invalidate the electronic file and only the paper submission will be used.  Bidders should send only one EBS file per bid and include the following information on the diskette or CD: 

1. Firm Name
2. Letting Date
3. Contract (i.e. D number)
4. A statement as to whether the paper bid does or does not include any handwritten changes.

Exporting to and Importing from 3rd Party Bid Preparation Software

For instructions regarding exporting to and importing from 3rd party bid preparation software, please see the software vendor’s documentation.  The Export Proposal and Import Proposal commands on the Tools menu in Expedite BID can be used for this purpose; however Expedite BID must first be configured to match the 3rd party software.  This can be done manually using the Options command from the Tools menu or the software vendor may provide a configuration file that could be imported using the Import Configuration command on the Tools menu.  The process for the latter is the same as used to initially configure Expedite BID for use on Authority projects (see ‘Guidelines for Importing NYSTA Configuration File into Expedite BID’).

Tips for Successful Bidding using Expedite BID

• The Agency list under the Agency/ID tab of the Bid Options dialog box must include the entry, ‘NYSTA’ (the agency name is specified during installation but can be changed later using the Options command from the Tools menu). Bidders will be able to bid on both NYSDOT and NYSTA contracts with the same version of Expedite BID, but need to have separate Agency entries for NYSTA and NYSDOT.
• The bidder must enter their Federal-ID in the Bidder ID of the NYSTA record (the Bidder ID is specified during installation but can be changed later using the Options command from the Tools menu).  The same Bidder ID can be used for both NYSTA and NYSDOT.  However, the software can handle different Bidder IDs for each agency, if needed.  It will utilize the appropriate ID code when creating an EBS file for submittal.  Please note that it is extremely important to use both the correct Company Name and Bidder ID.  If possible, joint ventures should create and save a new Expedite BID configuration with the legal name and Federal-ID assigned to the joint venture.  The Company Name should be changed on the Bidder Information tab of the BID Options dialog box to reflect the name of the joint venture, while the Bidder ID should be changed on the Agency/ID tab to reflect the assigned Federal-ID.  If a joint venture name and Federal ID are not available, use the name and Federal-ID of the joint venture partner with the largest financial commitment, or managing role in cases of 50/50 financial commitments.
• A Bidder ID for NYSTA must be formatted as 99-9999999 (two digits, dash, seven digits).
• If applicable, remember to enter on the Proposal Sites screen the number of days bid for Cost Plus Time projects (i.e. A+B projects).
• If applicable, the bidder should provide all the information requested on the Miscellaneous Data screen.
• The check code on every bid sheet should match each other and the electronic file submitted. Never mix partial printouts with differing check codes or submit an electronic file with a different check code.  The latter indicates that changes were made to the electronic file that may or may not be reflected in the printed proposal sheets. This invalidates the electronic submission and only the paper submission will be used.
• Mobilization cost should be manually entered last, based on the running total displayed in the lower right corner of Expedite BID.
• Expedite BID proposals for NYSTA should not include subtotals.
• Bid items added by amendment should appear at the end of the item list.
• The number of amendments loaded should display in the Expedite BID title bar.  While NYSTA plans to generate an updated electronic EBL for every amendment, please be aware that there could be informational amendments that do not result in Expedite BID amendments.