Ohio Administrative Code › Title 123:5 - Division of Purchasing › Chapter 123:5-1 - General Provisions › Section 123:5-1-10 - Specification authority

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A)
			 The department of administrative services ("the
			 department")
								has authority to prepare specifications for
			 procurement of 
								goods or services.
(B) The department may delegate the authority
			 to prepare specifications to a state agency.
(C) The department or the state agency authorized to prepare
			  specifications may enter into a
			 contract for preparation of specifications 
								provided there is no
			  conflict of interest and it is
			 in the best interest of the department or state
			 agency. Such contractor
			 is
			 ineligible to provide a response or proposal for which the contractor
			 prepared specifications. The department or state
			 agency retains authority to review, edit, and give final approval of the
			 specifications to ensure that the specifications are not restrictive, reflect
			 current industry trends, and promote open
			 competition.
(D) A specification
			 
								will
			 not include such items as the contract terms and conditions,
			  time or place of bid or
			 proposal opening, time of delivery, payment, liquidated damages, or
			 qualification of bidders or offerors. The department or
			 state agency will use one of the following methods to develop
			 specifications:
(1) A design
			 specification may be used when it is necessary to define the need in very
			 prescriptive terms. A design specification 
									will include
			 specific details of how the item is to be manufactured to meet the needs of the
			 department or state agency and may include
			 engineering plans, drawings, or blueprints.
(2) A performance
			 specification may be used to describe the general performance characteristics
			 
									needed to achieve an end result or desired outcome.
A performance specification does not 
										obligate the
				bidder or offeror to comply with specific design requirements.
(3) A combination
			 specification may be used when it is necessary to incorporate, to the extent
			 practicable, attributes of both design and performance specifications to meet
			 the 
									stated need.
(4) Brand name or
			 approved equal specifications may be used when it is not practicable or
			 cost-effective to prepare a design, performance, or combination specification
			 or when time is critical and does not permit creation of a design, performance
			 or combination specification. A brand name or approved equal specification is
			 used to establish the minimum requirements for the goods or services being purchased.
(a)
										Use of a brand name or approved equal specification
			 will include a minimum of two manufacturers to be considered as
			 competition.
(b)
										Any brand name or approved equal that is offered in
			 response to the bid or proposal, and that meets or exceeds the minimum
			 requirements, will qualify for award of a contract.
(5) A
			 "Qualified Products List" (QPL) is a list of goods
			 or services that have been examined,
									 tested,
			 and determined to have satisfied all applicable specifications
			  of the
			 department or state agency. A QPL is used to
			 restrict bidders and offerors to those products appearing on the list.
(a)
										A QPL may be used
			 when time does not permit development of a specification or when it is
			 determined to be in the best interest of the department or state agency to use
			 a QPL;
(b)
										A state agency will obtain prior approval from the
			 department before using a QPL;
(c)
										A minimum of two
			 manufacturers of equivalent goods or services will be solicited for inclusion
			 on a QPL; and
(d)
										Examination and testing of the goods or services may be
			 completed by the department. state agency, or by any independent testing
			 facility as determined by the department or state agency.
(6)
									
									A
			 brand- specific specification may be used only
			 when
									a particular brand will satisfy
			 the need.
									Brand-specific
			 specifications will
									 only be used
			 when authorized by the department of and the following have been met;
(a) The identified
			 brand name is the only brand that is capable of satisfying the need;
			 or
(b) The identified
			 brand name is a component of an existing item and it is not possible to use an
			 item from another manufacturer to meet the need; or
(c) A sufficient
			 inventory of items of one manufacturer are maintained and it is not
			 cost-effective to purchase and inventory equivalent items from different
			 manufacturers; and
(d) A minimum of two
			 qualified authorized distributors are available to provide the
			 
										brand- specific 
										goods or
			 services. If such are not available, purchases
			 
										will be
			 completed pursuant to section
			 127.16 of the Revised
			 Code.