Compliance System FAQs

In order to find out if a company and/or firm is a registered certified-MBE or WSSC Water-Approved SLBE; a prime vendor should check the WSSC Water Supplier Portal System.

Currently, the Commission’s MBE program recognizes the certification from the following five (5) agencies:

• Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT)
• Prince George’s County Government Supplier Development & Diversity Division (SDDD)
• Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CR/MSDC)
• District of Columbia’s Local Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DC-LSDBD) Please note that WSSC Water only recognizes the "Disadvantaged" (DBE) classification of the District's program.
• Women Presidents’ Education Organization (WPEO)

We suggest that if there is any doubt regarding the status of a firm’s certification or WSSC Water-Approved SLBE status, please contact the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion at 301-206-8800 or email [email protected]

To determine a MBE or SLBE requirement on a Solicitation, you may visit the WSSC Water Supplier Portal System website.

1. Go to the “View Bid Opportunities” Tab.
2. Go to the “Solicitation Number” column.
3. Click on the Solicitation Number that is highlighted in Blue.
4. Look at the “Type” heading, which will indicate if there are any MBE and/or SLBE requirements.

If you have any additional questions or require more information, contact the Procurement Office at 301-206-8866.

WSSC Water’s Web-Based Compliance System is on the Oracle E-Business platform. This integrated Compliance System provides real-time contract performance data with monitoring and tracking capabilities and an easy to navigate layout with real-time reports.

To gain access to the Web-Based Compliance System, please log on to www.wsscwater.com and click on the drop-down menu for “Business & Construction” and click on Contracting & Business Opportunities. Scroll down and look on the right-hand side of this screen under the heading “Supplier Portal.” Click on the WSSC Water Supplier Portal System. You can also use this link WSSC Water Supplier Portal System.

When you go to the logon screen, you will click on “logon assistance” and the system will prompt you so that you can obtain your user name and/or password.

Please contact the Procurement Office at 301-206-8866 or email [email protected].

No, the Web-Based Compliance System is very intuitive and user-friendly, training is not mandatory to use the system.

Training is offered periodically by the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion (OSDI). Training is free but requires registration, please contact [email protected] for additional information on training dates and times. You may attend the training as often as you prefer.
 

All vendors who are actively working on WSSC Water-funded Contracts as a Prime or Subcontractor must start reporting after the award of their Contract. The frequency of reporting will remain the same in accordance with WSSC Water Contract language.

Suppliers/Vendors on active WSSC Water-funded Contracts with subcontracting reporting requirements will be deemed non-compliant per the contract language.

The new Web-Based Compliance System requires that the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion enter a vendor’s approved subcontract plan prior to the release of the NTP (Notice to Proceed). Note that submission of a subcontract plan to the Procurement Office and validation of subcontractors by the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion will remain the same.

If a company exceeds the MBE and/or SLBE subcontracting requirement, it will be reflected in the Web-Based Compliance System, once all payments have been validated as received by the subcontractor.

The Web-based Compliance System captures the date that a WSSC Water Purchase Order was issued for the Prime and/or Subcontractor’s work based on information provided by the WSSC Water Disbursements and Accounting system.

Yes. All subcontracting (including Majority, MBE, and SLBE), must be entered into the Web-Based Compliance System.

Note: If there are any subcontracting requirements, a subcontracting plan must be submitted to the Procurement Office and the Web-Based Compliance System must be used as a reporting tool. The Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion is responsible for entering all approved subcontracting plans into the Web-Based Compliance System.
 

The Web-Based Compliance System will allow the Prime to submit payment information to the Subcontractor for less than the invoiced amount but will not allow for a check amount to be greater than the amount invoiced.

Subcontractors may acknowledge/validate partial payments from a Prime.

As a Subcontractor, you have an option. If you were expecting to receive payment for the invoiced amount and did not receive full payment, you do not have to report the partial payment. The Subcontractor may accept the partial payment and make note of it in the reference box, or not accept the partial payment.

When the Prime logs into the Web-Based Compliance System they will locate the purchase order number for the contract. Once they locate the number they will see a list of the subcontractors on the contract. They will select the subcontractor’s name and post the payment against the invoice entered by the subcontractor.

The Subcontractor may correct the error; however, once payment from a Prime is acknowledged/accepted, the Subcontractor cannot provide further updates.

The steps take place after Contract award.

Yes. Vendors may generate a list, although there is no guarantee of “certification” of MBEs (certified and non-certified) and WSSC Water-Approved SLBEs. To access this information, vendors should login to the WSSC Water Supplier Portal System.

Yes. The Web-Based Compliance System is web-enabled to monitor, track and report all subcontracting compliance requirements of both the Prime and Subcontractors. It tracks all subcontract participation requirements, allows payments to be documented by the Prime and Subcontractors and enables the validation of payments by Subcontractors.

If the subcontracting requirement found in the Web-Based Compliance System is different from the Contract requirement, please contact the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion at [email protected] to confirm that the requirement is correct.

Yes. The Web-Based Compliance System is a tracking tool. Subcontractors must submit their invoices to the Prime for payment. Subcontractors must report invoices and confirm/validate receipt of payment in the Web-Based Compliance System.

No. A Subcontractor will not be able to use the Web-Based Compliance System to view if the Prime has invoiced WSSC Water. A Subcontractor may contact the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion at [email protected] or 301-206-8800 to inquire about payment status.
 

No. A Subcontractor will not receive a payment acknowledgment, only the Prime will receive this information from WSSC Water.

If there is a balance on an invoice found in the Web-Based Compliance System, there is no need to submit a new invoice.

Yes. As system enhancements are needed, WSSC Water will upgrade the system. Otherwise, if you have any suggestions and/or comments that would improve the Web-Based Compliance System, please let us know by submitting via e-mail to [email protected].

Yes. However, the amount of information available will be minimal. Once the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion has entered an approved subcontracting plan into the Web-Based Compliance System, the Prime will have access to more information.

The Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion enters subcontracting plans into the Web-Based Compliance System within 5–10 business days after approval. If there are issues with the information and there is a need for further review, the turn-around time may be longer.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the Subcontractor to validate payments in the Web-Based Compliance System.

The Procurement Office is responsible for the cancellations through the Oracle System.

The vendor can log into the WSSC Water Supplier Portal System to update their profile, contact information, certification(s) etc. If assistance is needed, please contact the Procurement Office at [email protected] or 301-206-8866.

No. Information cannot be removed from the Web-Based Compliance System.

Note: Purchase Order Number = Contract Number in the Web-Based Compliance System. If you do not have the Contract/Purchase Order Number, try searching for the information by entering the Contract Name in the “Contract Name” field. Otherwise, contact the Procurement Office and they will be able to provide the Contract Number and/or the Purchase Order Number.

On average, it takes 30 days for WSSC Water to pay the Prime.

Yes. A Subcontractor may submit invoices to the Prime at the time that the services were rendered. Timely submission of invoices for completed work is encouraged.

Contact the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion by emailing [email protected] with the invoice number(s), amount(s) and Purchase Order number(s) listed in the Web-Based Compliance System. The OSDI Compliance team will work with the WSSC Water Project/Contract Manager and/or Administrative Contract Manager to resolve the issue.

Yes. Prime vendors interested in electronic payments should contact WSSC Water's Disbursements Group at 301-206-7076.

The Procurement Office is responsible for assigning the name of the Contracts.

Contact the Office of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion and the Procurement Office immediately.