Mr. Edwards,
Thank you for your response to my question. This is very good information about line items that I had not considered and I will definitely alter my approach to comply with Subpart 4.10 requirements. My experience with T&M is limited (it must show with my sloppy use of terminology). So separate CLINs for Labor and Materials (where “materials” represent contract deliverables), as opposed to CLINs for Labor and ODCs.
You mentioned a Materials CLIN could describe products that are “TBD”. This was where I was going in the second part of my question and perhaps I simply should have stated so. Is it permissible for the Materials portion of a time-and-materials contract to be undefined at time of award? Both in terms of product description and price? If yes, are there any limitations? For example, can a CO simply write a Materials CLIN with all products “TBD” and then allow the Project Manager or COR to direct the contractor what products to purchase when they are needed? If the consent requirements of Part 44 do not apply, then does the CO need to approve Materials purchased? What dollar limit applies if any (could the Materials CLIN be 2X, 5X, 10X the value of the Labor CLIN)? Do the brand name requirements of Part 11 apply or can the COR direct the contractor to purchase name brand products with no justification? Buy America Act? Sustainability?
Re-reading my response here and further articulating my issue, it seems clear I'm lacking a firm handle on this issue and need to do more reading and research on my own. I continue to welcome any feedback from this community, but I think I must go back and spend more time researching this myself.