Ohio State Cleaning Contracts: DAS Cooperative Procurement

Ohio's Department of Administrative Services (DAS) consolidated its procurement search tools into a single portal, OhioBuys, at the start of 2022, replacing the older scattered procure.ohio.gov pages for current contracts, awarded RFPs and ITBs, State Term Schedules, and the state's MBE and EDGE contract listings, according to a DAS OhioBuys migration bulletin. If you clean state office buildings, university facilities, or agency field offices anywhere in Ohio, OhioBuys at ohiobuys.ohio.gov is where you register, search open solicitations, and track State Term Schedule contracts that other public agencies can piggyback on.

State Term Schedules versus one-off RFPs

Ohio negotiates State Term Schedule (STS) contracts directly with a manufacturer or service provider, often pricing them off GSA schedule rates or a supplier's most-favored-customer terms rather than running a from-scratch competitive bid every time. Establishing a new term contract typically takes 90 to 120 days from initiation to execution, per DAS's own vendor handbook guidance, and once in place, any eligible state agency can issue orders against it without a separate solicitation. For janitorial services specifically, the more common path is still an agency-level or DAS-run competitive RFP for a defined facility or portfolio, since custodial labor is harder to standardize into a fixed-price schedule than commodity products.

OhioBuys organizes solicitations by document type, so a vendor searching for janitorial opportunities should filter specifically for Requests for Proposals and Invitations to Bid rather than relying only on keyword search, since some agency postings use generic titles like "facility support services" that would not surface under a plain "janitorial" or "custodial" search term. Registered vendors can also set up saved searches and email alerts tied to specific commodity codes, which is a more reliable way to catch a new posting than checking the portal manually on a schedule.

MBE set-aside and EDGE: two different diversity programs, don't confuse them

Ohio runs two separate, differently structured supplier-diversity programs, and mixing them up in a proposal is a common and avoidable mistake. The Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program, under Ohio Revised Code sections 125.081 and 340.13, is a true set-aside: state agencies are directed to identify purchases that in aggregate represent roughly 15 percent of the state's total purchasing value and reserve those specific procurements for competition only among certified MBE vendors. DAS's Office of Equal Opportunity administers certification, which must be renewed annually, and can be reached at 614-466-8380.

The Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity (EDGE) program, enacted under Ohio Revised Code 123.152 in 2003, works differently. It is a goal-based program rather than a reserved set-aside, targeting roughly 5 percent of state purchases across supplies, services, professional services, IT, and construction/architecture-engineering categories toward EDGE-certified small and economically disadvantaged businesses. EDGE certification is handled through supplier.ohio.gov and is free; more recent guidance describes a two-year certification term, though older program materials referenced participation caps running up to a decade, so confirm current terms directly with DAS before assuming which cycle applies to your business. In the most recent full reporting year available, Ohio reported 18.79 percent MBE utilization, worth roughly $296.8 million, and 4.23 percent EDGE utilization, worth roughly $190.9 million, statewide.

Prevailing wage: where Ohio genuinely differs from New York

Ohio's prevailing wage law, codified at Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4115, sections 4115.03 through 4115.16, governs "public improvements," meaning construction, reconstruction, demolition, and similar building trades work on public projects. New construction triggers the prevailing wage requirement at a threshold of $65,853, and remodeling work triggers it at $20,955, figures set as of January 1, 2006 and adjusted biennially since. What Ohio does not have is a distinct building-service-employee prevailing wage statute analogous to New York's Labor Law Article 9 for routine janitorial and custodial service contracts. That means most standalone Ohio cleaning service contracts are priced at market wages set by the contractor rather than a mandated prevailing rate, which simplifies labor cost modeling but also means wage competition among bidders can be sharper than in a prevailing-wage state. If your scope bundles cleaning with any construction-adjacent trade work, such as carpet replacement, painting, or floor refinishing tied to a capital project, check whether that specific portion crosses into ORC 4115 territory before pricing it at market rates.

This distinction trips up bidders who have worked in New York or a similar prevailing-wage state and assume the same building-service coverage applies in Ohio. It does not, unless a specific state agency term contract or local ordinance layers on its own wage floor. Some Ohio municipalities have adopted local living-wage ordinances covering city-contracted janitorial work even where state law does not require it, so a bidder targeting city or county buildings, rather than state agency buildings, should check the specific local code in addition to Chapter 4115.

What Ohio agencies look for in a competitive proposal

DAS and individual agency RFPs for custodial services typically evaluate staffing plans, references, EDGE or MBE participation where applicable, and price, with Buy Ohio's 5 percent in-state preference sometimes shifting the effective ranking of close bids toward Ohio-headquartered companies. A technical narrative that documents specific production rates for the facility type being bid, including square footage per cleaner per shift, restroom service frequency, floor care rotation, reads as more credible to an evaluator than generic language about "thorough, reliable service."

1. Staffing and supervision plan: shift structure, supervisor ratios, and coverage for callouts specific to the facility
2. EDGE/MBE participation plan: certification status or subcontracting commitments documented with specific percentages
3. References: three comparable public-sector or large commercial accounts with verifiable contacts
4. Buy Ohio documentation: proof of in-state manufacturing or operations if claiming the preference
5. Quality control plan: inspection cadence, documentation method, and corrective-action timeline

Frequently asked questions

Where do Ohio state janitorial solicitations post? OhioBuys, at ohiobuys.ohio.gov, replaced the older procure.ohio.gov pages as of January 2022 and now hosts current contract searches, awarded RFPs and ITBs, State Term Schedules, and MBE/EDGE contract listings.

Is Ohio's MBE program a set-aside or just a goal? MBE is a true set-aside under ORC 125.081/340.13, reserving an aggregate share of state purchases, roughly 15 percent, for competition among certified MBE vendors only. EDGE, by contrast, is goal-based rather than a reserved set-aside.

Does Ohio require a prevailing wage for janitorial service contracts? No, not in the way New York does. Ohio's prevailing wage law under ORC Chapter 4115 applies to public construction and improvement work, not routine building-service labor, so most standalone cleaning contracts are priced at market wages.

What is the Buy Ohio preference worth on a bid? It applies a 5 percent price preference in favor of Ohio-based bidders during evaluation, under ORC 125.09 and 125.11.