Construction Field Services Indirect Testing Charges
Construction Field Services Indirect Testing Charges
Materials testing and investigation is an essential component to the overall operations of MDOT. There are a number of reasons for materials testing, including verification and qualification of material products, inspections of labs and facilities for testing and acceptance of products, and field testing to ensure compliance with standard material specifications. The indirect testing template program detail reads:
The budget for the state funded required programs states the following:
- C&T Indirect Testing Charges
- This job number provides funding for the Construction & Technology Indirect Testing Program for testing performed in materials labs throughout the state that are not project specific, such as certification and verification of materials used in MDOT projects, stockpile testing, and a host of non-project specific testing that is required to maintain the integrity of the materials used in trunkline maintenance and construction.
The purpose of the Construction Field Services indirect testing budget is to cover performance, material, and acquisition expenditures that relate to a category of projects, capital program administrative testing, and/or to perform testing related work for an un-programmed project wherein the activity is not scoping in nature. This coding is not to be used for activities related to local agency projects, coding of those activities is described in the Charging Time to Local Agency Projects section.
Eligibility and Use
The following are examples of types of expenditures that would be appropriate to code to the Construction Field Services indirect testing coding. Please note this is not an all-inclusive list.
- Prequalification of vendors (salary and travel).
- Certification/verification of samples taken at a vendor’s lab/facility (salary and travel).
- Certification/verification of samples taken in the field if a project number is not available (salary and travel).
- Construction season closing process, including preparation of forms, documentation, manual updates, etc. (salary and travel).
- Lab preparation for a future construction season (salary).
- Lab supplies and materials required for testing (other operating expense).
- Lab equipment required for testing (other operating expense).
- Lab supplies and materials required for research (other operating expense).
- Calibration related expenses for testing and research equipment (salary, travel, and other operating expenses).
- Vehicle and equipment usage (other operating expenses).
- Lab qualification activities, such as proficiency testing.
- Lab accreditation activities.
- Sample collections and transport.
Inappropriate Use
It is not appropriate to use the Construction Field Services indirect testing coding to substitute or supplement administrative costs, as a substitute for small increments of activity that occurred on multiple programmed projects, or avoidance of multiple lines of coding. The following are examples of administrative costs (overhead 79900) and direct project costs that are not appropriate to code to the indirect testing project number.
Salary:
- Leave (annual, sick, other)
- Training
- Project Scoping eligible activities
- Project specific activities
- Administrative or project activities that are not directly related to materials and testing processes, as previously identified
Travel:
- Training
- Project Scoping eligible activities
- Project specific activities
- Administrative or project activities that are not directly related to materials and testing processes, as previously identified
Other:
- Telephone (Mobile or Desk) and Telegraph
- Utilities
- Rentals and Leases (Land and Building, Office Equipment)
- Consultant Fees and Compensation (Except those directly related to materials and testing.)
- Subscriptions
- Membership Dues
- Postage and UPS
- Fuel (Vehicle, Equipment, Facility Heating)
- Computer Equipment
- Office Supplies
- Conferences, Seminars, Training (Internal/External)
- Lease Payments
Staff are to use the following coding for indirect testing per this guidance:
| Development | Phase |
| Index: | Employee Standard Index ending in "5" |
| PCA: | Utilize applicable PCA (61300, 61400, etc.) |
| Project: | 132436 |
| Phase: | CC |
| Construction | Phase |
| Index: | Employee Standard Index ending in “5” |
| PCA: | Utilize applicable PCA (63100, 63200, 63500, etc.) |
| Project: | 132436 |
| Phase: | AA |