GSA Labor Categories

[Acq_4_life]

The Senior Level Contract Specialist received a requirement from the Program Office for Software Development Services. The Program Office requested that these services be completed within the period of Apr. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31. 2010 at a ceiling amount not to exceed $26M. In reviewing the RFQ package, the Contract Specialist noticed that the Program Office extracted the incumbent's labor descriptions into the PWS to ensure that offerors, from the same GSA Schedule 70, propose the same labor categories and match their labor categories against those described in the PWS. This is definitely impractical for the program office to carry out especially under a competitive acquisition. What can be substituted to ensure that the RFQ remains competitive and non-tailored?

[dwgerard]

Any particular reason they do not know what labor categories they actually need? In my experience, that information was known, and many times the proposals had alternative categories based on the contractors reading of the solicitation package.

To me, it sounds like the Program Office is either lazy or simply not creative enough to figure out what they need. Both are likely to impact the solicitation in a negative way, and in other areas, so tread carefully whatever you end up doing.

[formerfed]

You need to develop labor categories with associated definitions that are independent on the incumbent's descriptions. You can do a Google search or see what other agenices are doing through a FedBizOpps search. Establish a table of labor categories with matching requirements for minimum years of experience, functional responsibilities, and education. Have offerors do a cross-walk in their proposal of their matching categories on their GSA Schedule contract.

[Guest carl r culham]

Acq_4_Life - I am a little confused by your post. Not that it could not happen, but I am having a hard time understanding your question when you state there is a PWS and that it states labor descriptions. Including labor categories seems pretty prescriptive to me from the context that a PWS expects an end result. Who cares what labor categories as long as the task is completed?

To the point of your question my counsel to folks that wish to state labor categories in a service statement of work or as specific CLINS I suggest that they use the U.S. Department of Labor SCA Directory of Occupations as much as possible and as applicable. The directory is found here -

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd...DirectVers5.pdf

Doing so not only provides a consistent title for all of the occupation expected but also provides a description of the work that the category is expected to perform in general terms. Additionally, it helps the contractors zero in on what SCA wage would apply.