Prezmil2020

Don, Thanks for the information. I checked FAI's website but couldn't find the course under FAI or DAU classroom courses. I understand that the course is new so perhaps it has yet to be added to the training schedule?

Good Morning, I am interested in taking the CON 090 course but am not familiar with the process of applying for a DAU course as I am employed by a civilian agency. I was told that civilian employees are allowed to attend these courses "if there is room available". I tried calling the DAU help desk but no one picked up. I believe Mr. Don Acquisition is the instructor for this course so hopefully he will be able to shed some light on this for me. Thanks in advance. Prezmil2020

Vern, I was wondering if you had any additional material that you would recommend novice contracting personnel to read?

Another lesson learned! Thanks for the information. Again, I was taught that if you are the ACO you perform admin duties. If you are the PCO, you perform the procuring duties. If you are the COR, you peform specific duties delagated by the PCO. Unless you have the formal, signed COR delegation letter you cannot be the COR. I was taught that the formal, signed COR delegation letter can only be sent to those who took the COR courses. With the information provided above, I will inform our division and hopefully put this to rest.

Good Evening, Our office is debating the following: It is good practice to have the Requesting Activity provide the COR; however, what if nobody took the required course(s) to be certified as the COR? Can the Contracting Officer, even though he/she did not take the required COR training courses, be a COR? I was told that a Contracting Officer does not have to take the specific COR courses to be a COR because the Contracting Officer is already warranted and took other acquistion courses and should know the work to be performed as a COR. I have not found any regulation from DAU, FAI, or OFPP to substantiate this. It makes sense for the Contracting Officer to not be the COR but I was hoping if anyone can shed some light on this. Thanks in advance. Prezmil2020

Good ol' Legal Counsel.

Good Afternoon, I was taught that I needed to use the word 'Shall' when describing a Contractor's obligation and the word 'Will' when describing a Government obligation. The reason told to me is that shall is imperative, as per the FAR and will is open to discretion. What that discretion is I don't know. Furthermore, the FAR states for one to look up shall when defining the word 'must'. My personal take on this is that: 1. Must and Will are interchangeable when talking about an obligation by any party in the present tense. 2. Must and Shall are interchangeable when talking about an obligation by any party in the future tense. Any opinions? Prezmil2020

Vern, I, too, am new to the contracting workforce. I read the documents described above and am ready for more. Prezmil2020

Let me make sure I am understanding you correctly. I can negotiate the FFP of each labor category and parts that make up each unit and when the Government needs to have one serviced the Contractor will send me a FFUP for that specific instrument and that will be the total FFP for that instrument? We also agree that the FFUP can change depending on what needs to be repaired on each instrument, correct? Lastly, while I negotiate the FFP of each labor category and parts before the contract is awarded I will not know how many instruments will ultimately be needing services performed on them. Is a solution to have the Government obligate funds by quarter based on an estimate of how many instruments may need to be serviced that quarter? As each instrument is worked on by the Contractor and accepted by the Government than the Government will pay for those services from that MIPR, essentially drawing down from the funds. If there is money left over it gets carried over into the next quarter. At the end of the base period (one year), if there is money left over, the Government deobligates the rest, correct? Prezmil2020

I have a follow-up question. Our funding official is questioning how the task order will be established as FFP (if that is the route I go). Essentially, the Government requires the Contractor to service each instrument, diagnose each instrument if something is found to be wrong with it, and repair the instrument if the Government agrees that it is below the Beyond Economic Repair cost (a percentage of what it would cost to buy new). Historically, the Government has sent approximately 55 instruments to be serviced, diagnosed, and/or repaired. However, the Government does not know how many specifically will need to be serviced, or diagnosed, or repaired each year-all it knows is that there are 190 in theatre and at any point something may break. With that said, would it make sense to: FFP the servicing portion of the PWS, FFP the diagnosing portion of the PWS, and FFP the repair portion of the PWS? If so, how would the Government fund this? Would a MIPR for an estimate of 55 for the year suffice? What if the Government doesn't send to the Contractor 55 instruments? I have yet to take Appropriations Law courses and funding is still new to me. Thanks. Prezmil2020

That makes sense to me. With that said, if the Contractor quotes me a price for repair for a specific unit is the task order still considered FFP as the repair price of each unit may change depending on what is wrong with it or is it T&M? My understanding of FFP is that the price never changes and the Government is responsible of paying the total amount agreed upon when the contract or order is awarded and the Contractor is responsible for delivering or performing what is required by the Government. As the Government doesn't know how many units will need to be repaired other than a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 400+ or the scope of repair for each unit, would it still be FFP if each unit is priced that way? Prezmil2020

Carl, You are 100% correct. I did some additional market research and am having doubts as to whether or not the services are awarded under the contract. I had asked for additional information and am waiting for this. Thanks for the advice. Prezmil2020

There is a new requirement to the PWS. In addition to the standard maintenance of each system, the Requiring Activity would like the Contractor to assess each system and inform the Government if it needs to be repaired. If the costs to repair the system are less than 65% of purchasing a new system, than the Contractor shall repair the system. How would you solicit and award the repair element of the PWS? Again, this will be a sole-source buy under FAR 8.4 with the manufacturer of the system. Until the system is assessed, the Contractor and the Government won't know what parts need to be replaced or repaired. The Requiring Activity is standing firm (no pun intended) that the award be firm-fixed price but the variance in level of effort to fix one system versus another system can be rather large. Any thoughts?

Yes to both questions. The whole task order is RDT&E and the funds are still available. Prezmil2020

Good Afternoon, The Requesting Activity is asking if it can move funds from one CLIN to another CLIN during the FY? I am in the midst of checking the DoD Financial Management Regulation but thought someone here may already know the answer and where I could find out more information. Thanks. Prezmil2020

That is correct, I plan on awarding a task order against an FSS contract. I forgot to mention that the manufacturer of the instruments will not allow the Government to own the data rights, as per the Requesting Activity, therefore it is the only one who can perform the services required. This will be a sole source procurement. Does this change your procurement method? Thanks, Prezmil2020

Good Afternoon, I have a requirement for servicing and repairing Automated Integrated Survey Instruments (AISIs). The PWS reads that each instrument requires the same type of work to be performed on it: replace internal battery, external and internal adjustments and cleaning, check all seals and fitings, etc. The Requesting Activity stated that there is a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 120 AISIs that may be required each year. I am still new to contracting and would like to know how you would award this task order-FFP, T&M, FFP w/ EPA, etc. Some Contracting Officers state that it should be FFP because the risk is mostly with the Contractor but others are arguing for a T&M or LH because the Government doesn't know how many AISIs will need to be serviced throughout the year. What are your thoughts? Let me know if you need additional information in making your response. Prezmil2020

Good Morning, Our office does not have a standard, web-based software to create RFQs and RFPs. I did some research and found that some DoD agencies use PRISM. Can someone who uses this explain how it works and if you would recommend it. Also, I am interested in hearing from others who use other software packages to create solicitations. Thanks. Prezmil2020

I have a follow-on question. When requesting quotes via e-buy, do you also require the offerors to submit all of the clauses in their respective FSS contracts to ensure that you know which additional clauses, if any, need to be included in the task/delivery order? I noticed that many times the offeror does not have a copy of their complete contract on file and it holds up the procurement process. Prezmil2020

Thanks for the insight. Perhaps I was not clear in my original question. Here is the scenario: Agency XYZ wants a five-day training course to be performed in November 2009 in Washington, D.C. Market research indicates that there are at least 10 contractors that have awarded this class under an IDIQ contract (MAS contract, specifically) and they are located throughout CONUS. You can perform market research and find out how much a flight costs to D.C. from each of the 10 contractors' locations and what the per diem is for D.C. during November 2009. Is that enough information to complete the IGCE or is that overkill? Also, it is not known which contractors will submit quotes and who will eventually win an award. What if the contractor that wins is located in Alaska and in the IGCE airfare from Alaska was never calculated because it was not known at the time that a contractor from Alaska would submit a quote? Thanks, Prezmil2020 P.S. I am pretty new to contracting, as you probably could tell.

Good Afternoon, Was wondering if my peers could explain their best practices when evaluating and awarding travel in contracts and/or task orders against contracts. I have noticed that the IGCEs I review usually don't have travel included because it is not known where in CONUS the contractor is coming from so travel is hard to estimate. Any suggestions and best practices would be greatly appreciated. Prezmil2020

Not a problem. All of the procurements we work on are for commercial items (excluding A&E and Construction). Internal review requirements are as per the individual agency. I know that DoD usually has a few more individuals review the procurement. Regarding dollar threshold, let's say the following: 1. <Micropurchase Threshold 2. Micropurchase Threshold to SAT 3. SAT to $5,000,000.00 4. $5,000,000.00 to $25,000,000.00 5.>$25,000,000.00

Good Afternoon, What format do you use when posting a delivery or task order against a contract for commercial items? Do you still use the Uniform Contract Format (UCF) or the Commercial Item Format? I noticed that some Contracting Officers will always employ the UCF even if it is for a commercial item. What are your thoughts? Prezmil2020

Good Afternoon, I am conducting a study to see how long it takes on average to perform a full and open competition. While every contract is unique I am trying to get a feel for what the average times are for commercial item procurements. If possible, please breakdown the procurement process as much as possible and describe how long it takes for each task (Acquisition Planning, Market Research, COCs, RFQ/RFP, negotiations, etc.). Again, I am looking for a complete cradle to grave average. One book I read stated that it takes on average about 268 days but doesn't break it down into each phase. That's where you guys come in! Thanks, Prezmil2020

Thanks for the information. I checked some of the books out and they seem to be exactly what I am looking for. Just hope we have some money in the budget to buy a few! Prezmil2020