Question

CONTRACTING METHODOLOGY AND TYPE SCENARIOS

SCENARIO: Karenna just returned from a Department of Defense management meeting where the dismal state of the budget was the principle topic. She gave Bob the bad news. It is four months before the end of the year closeout and two major requirements came in from the Navy Warfare Center. The funding is dismal, resources are overloaded and Bob is the only contracting officer she can depend on to be fast and accurate when it comes to complex requirements of this nature. Bob must get these requirements on contract by October 1^st. Bob must convene an acquisition team and get started right away. Bob will need to come up with an acquisition strategy to include contract methodology and contract type that will encourage efficient funds management and will motivate the contractors to watch the bottom line.

Requirement 1 -The Department of the Navy, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) has a requirement to provide Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) software support activity (SSA) for systems engineering, integration, information assurance, software maintenance, operational support, training and infrastructure support to SSC Pacific Maritime Global Command and Control System (GCCS) Family of Systems (MGF) Project and other C2 and/or C4I projects within Code 532. Period of performance includes a 3-year base period and 2-year option period. The estimated level of effort for the total requirement is 766,025 hours. The NAICS code is 541330.

Requirement 2 – The Department o the Navy, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) and Air Force have a requirement to contract for non personal services to provide all plant, labor, transportation, materials, tools, equipment, appliances and supervision necessary for the renovation of an existing aircraft maintenance hangar consisting of approximately 36,908 SF. The project includes but is not limited to the sustainment of interior walls, ceilings, sound attenuation, and internal and external durable surfaces to include roof and exterior metal panel wall replacement. Repair facility paint, floor coverings, millwork, caulk, protective coatings, wall systems, and hangar door structure. Install fire sprinkler systems, additional steel frame support, metal insulated panels, metal barrel roof, interior walls, HVAC systems, communications wiring, restrooms, millwork, utilities, access pavements, fire protection/detection, fire suppression, site work, anti-terrorism force protection measures, erosion control, drainage structures and landscape. Site work includes but not limited to site work including water, electrical, communications, natural gas, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer connections to existing infrastructure.

Task: You are the contracting officer for the acquisitions discussed above. Develop a viable procurement strategy to include determining the contracting method, contract type and risk.   As you determine the contract methodology and contract type keep in mind some concerns and limitations:

-The schedule is aggressive;

-Requirement 1 includes proprietary equipment;

-Limited funds;

-A need for quality because the requirements are vital to national defense.

-Security clearances are another important issue. Whoever win the contract have a Top secret facility clearance, either before or shortly after contract award;

-Past protest on both requirements.

Address the following questions in your response to requirements 1and 2 separately:

1. What contracting method will you use? Why?

2. What are the key risk areas of the efforts?

3. What contract type would motivate the contractor to achieve excellence and manage funds wisely? Why?

Answer 1

The requirement 1 involves working using proprietary equipments and working on more strategic services, the alliancing method should be used where team from both design team and supplier merge together and work on single mission. Here it should be used because :

a) there is high level of complexity involved.

b) the bottom line needs to be taken care of and in this structure, there can be open book accounting for both parties which should result in controlled costs.

c) both stakeholders are focussed on one single goal of the procurement

d) faster decision making

For requirement 2,Design-Bid-Build (DBB ) can be the approach used where there is less chances of risks or facing a major uncertainity because most of the tasks are regular activities. these can be governed by a service contract.

benefits are :

a) Because open bids are involved, there is clear competitive environment that is being set up here

b) costs are controlled because bid is generally given for the optimum price and quality

c) there are very less chances of corruption or rigging by officials.

Some risks that are involved are :

a) no involvement of contractor in the design phase whereas contractor could have given the valuable inputs to the design

b) it may lead to increase in schedule.