FAQ

The Director of Construction Services,  Deputy Director – Construction Division, or Director – Construction Division are available to discuss your proposed project. See Construction Division, Contact Us for further contact information.

Yes, the purpose of the State Construction Manual is to provide guidance and recommendations to agencies and entities of State government in the planning, development, construction and completion of capital projects and is correlated with the guidelines, policies and procedures of the GSFIC Construction Division. 

Under certain circumstances, excess bond funds can be transferred to another project or purpose. Contact the Chief Financial Officer, GSFIC Construction Division for further information. See also Construction Division, Forms and Publications and view Project Related Reports for copy of General Obligation (GO) Bond Redirect Form and review instructions.

The State ADA Coordinator’s office, GSFIC Construction Division, serves as a technical resource for interpretation and compliance with the ADA and Georgia Accessibility Code to the public, government agencies, contractors, design professionals and others. The office is also responsible for the State of Georgia government’s ADA facility improvement program. For additional information please visit www.ada.georgia.gov.

See Construction Division, Forms and Publications on this website for current versions of GSFIC documents. For further information contact the Director of Procurement Services, GSFIC Construction Division.

The Design Review Group within Construction Services Department performs constructabilityreviews of all projects prior to advertisement for bids (Design-Bid-Build delivery method) or issuance of a Component Change Order (CM/GC or Design-Build delivery method). Constructabilityreviews check for conformance to GSFIC policies and guidelines, code references, completeness and coordination of documents.

The Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner (State Fire Marshall) reviews all projects for compliance with Life Safety Codes and issues a permit to begin construction. Note: The State Fire Marshall delegates review of certain State projects to the GSFIC; however, all transmittals and issuance of permits flow through the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.

All GSFIC projects, unless otherwise exempted, must have written approval from the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) prior to advertisement for bids (Design-Bid-Build delivery method) or issuance of a Component Change Order (CM/GC or Design-Build delivery method), regardless of whether GTA is involved in the installation of the telecommunications in the project.

Other regulatory agencies including the Risk Management Division, Department of Administrative Services; Department of Human Resources, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Labor and the Office of Planning and Budget review specific elements of the proposed project. Contact your GSFIC Project Manager or GSFIC Construction Services for more details.

Your GSFIC Project Manager or the regulatory agency can advise on specific requirements for submission of review documents. However, on all projects for:

• Fire Marshal reviews: Send two sets of sealed plans and specifications along with a completed Transmittal Letter on (Fire Marshal) Form 354 to: 
  Insurance & Safety Fire Commissioner
  Suite 620, West Tower, Floyd Building
  Safety Fire Division
  2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
  Atlanta, GA 30334
  For further information visit http://www.inscomm.state.ga.us/

• For GSFIC Constructability reviews: Two sets of plans and specifications under a general transmittal letter addressed to the Design Review Group – Construction Services Department at:
  Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission
  Construction Division - Second Floor
  270 Washington Street
  Atlanta, GA 30334

Note: Only the documents presented for construction (bid, component change order, etc.) require both signature and seal of the design professionals. Drawings and specifications must bear the same date and be signed and sealed by all disciplines.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs promulgates the current State of Georgiaconstruction codes.  These may be found at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ website at http://www.dca.state.ga.us under Construction Codes.

For a listing of current State of Georgia fire safety standards, rules, regulations and codes, go to see Frequently Asked Questions within the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s website at http://www.inscomm.state.ga.us. Under the question “What codes are currently in force?” the information is provided.

All requests for variances are directed to the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner at the following address:

Insurance & Safety Fire Commissioner
Suite 620, West Tower, Floyd Building,
Safety Fire Division
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Petitions for variances shall follow the requirements of O.C.G.A.  50-13-9.1G and include:

• The rule from which a variance or waiver is requested,
• The type of action requested,
• The specific facts of substantial hardship which would justify a variance or waiver for the petitioner, including the alternative standards which the person seeking the variance or waiver agrees to meet and a showing that such alternative standards will afford adequate protection for the public health, safety, and welfare,
• The reason why the variance or waiver requested would serve the purpose of the underlying statute.

Variance requests are posted on the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner website under Variances. Rulings are made between 15 and 60 days after receipt.

1. Building Permit: For State projects, permits to commence construction operations are issued only by the office of the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner (See FAQ above “What construction document reviews are required for a project administered by GSFIC?”).  Construction and building permits are not required from municipalities and local government jurisdictions. However, certain permits for operations (i.e. Food Service Permits) are sometimes delegated from the State agency to local governments and require review of plans and construction inspections.
   Special Note for Construction Management (CM/GC) and Design-Build Projects:  With this delivery method, construction may begin prior to completion of full plans and specifications.  Accordingly, the office of the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner will issue an Authorization to Start Grading and Foundation Operations permit. Contact your GSFIC Project Manager for further information.

2. Land Disturbance Permitting: The Notice of Intent for a Land Disturbance Permit is required for land disturbances of 1.0 acre or more or where the project site is within 200 feet of State waters. The Design Professional should inquire to planning departments of cities or counties acting as a local issuing authority to determine which if any additional permits may be required. The Notice of Intent Form provides information on this permit requirement.

3. Storm Water Discharge Permitting: Under provisions of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, a Storm and Water General permit may be required. The Storm and Water General Permit form provides information on this permit requirement of the Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Inspections by the Office of the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner are required at the 80% and 100% completion of construction (material completion). Forms for requesting inspections are provided with the Construction Permit and must be submitted to the Office of the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner twenty-one days prior to the requested date of inspection. Visit http://www.inscomm.state.ga.us/ for more details.

1. Design – Bid – Build: The traditional method where a Design Professional prepares plans and specifications for competitive biding by general contractors.

2. Construction Management/General Contractor (CM/GC): The Design Professional prepares plans and specifications and provides to CM/GC concurrent with early construction “packages” for foundations, grading and long-lead components. The CM/GC is selected using the QBS procurement method (see below).

3. Design-Build: Similar to CM/GC except the Design Professional and CM/GC are one contracting entity.  For Design-Build, an Executive Administrator services are employed to assist the Owner in contract administration.

QBS is a type of selection for services which allows firms to be evaluated on their qualifications and demonstrated expertise prior to review of proposed costs and fee negotiations. Depending on the size and nature of the proposed services, a small number of firms are “shortlisted” based upon the QBS criteria and selected for further consideration. These firms are notified to submit further information and possibly fee proposals. Fee proposals, when requested, are submitted in a separate sealed document and not considered until a ranking selection has been completed by the evaluation team. The top-ranked firm is then selected, fee proposal opened and negotiations for a contract commence. If a satisfactory contract and fee agreement cannot be reached, negotiations terminate and the Owner proceeds to the next ranked firm until a selection is achieved.

Information on State contracts and bidding opportunities can be found at the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Georgia Procurement Registry. Also, visit Opportunities under Procurement on this website.

The Procurement Services Department of GSFIC Construction Division provides assistance to agencies in the procurement of Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment. In addition, this Department provides assistance to agencies in the solicitation, selection and contracting of various contractual agreements required in construction to include Design Professionals, Construction contracting, special testing, special consultants, etc. Visit the Procurement section of this Web site for additional information.

You may attend a public bid opening or public meeting pertaining to this process. After bid documents are publicly opened or QBS documents complete by award of a contract, the results are public records and may be viewed upon written request. Also, you may view the Awarded Bid List on this website. View Procurement on this website for additional information. After an award made through the QBS process, finalist firms may request a debriefing by Procurement Services staff. Requests will be granted and scheduled solely at the discretion of Procurement Services. Bid Room Video

Panorama GSFIC Bid Room Panorama Finance Bid Room