Competitive Bid | The Contracting Education Academy

November 13, 2018 By AMK

PA bill would open door to competitive school construction bids, away from cooperative purchasing

Pennsylvania state representative Jesse Topper has introduced a bill that would open major construction projects to competitive bidding, reports The Inquirer of Philadelphia.

The bill, which is with the State Government Committee, was precipitated by a study from research firm Ducker Worldwide that found from 2005 to 2010, schools across the state wasted more than $100 million in taxpayer money on roofing by using cooperative purchasing rather than competitive bidding.

The proposed bill would outlaw cooperative purchases for construction projects, which the bill’s backers say will save money, especially for public schools having financial troubles. One school district received a roofing bid from a cooperative for $2.4 million, whereas an open bid for the same project totaled $1.4 million.

Still, many Pennsylvania school officials say cooperative purchasing agreements have merit, offering quality assurance, consistency and reduced maintenance, reported The Inquirer. They also say that open bids, unlike cooperatives, don’t take design costs or project monitoring into account.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/pennsylvania-bill-would-open-door-to-competitive-school-construction-bids/541536/

January 7, 2016 By AMK

Viewpoint: Reverse auctions don’t help agencies or taxpayers

Dozens of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of America’s small construction firms— whether minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone or just plain old small business—agree: using reverse auctions to procure construction services for the federal government does not save money, does not encourage quality and does not help small businesses.

Reverse auctions do not guarantee the lowest price for a contract. Rather, like in “The Price is Right” game show, they guarantee that one business will underbid others by just one dollar. A bidder has no incentive to offer its best price and may never have to offer its lowest price. Nevertheless, business do offer their best price for low price technically acceptable procurements and other contracting approaches conducted through sealed bids, where competitors do not know their competitor’s price. Data reporting any bid savings is, therefore, highly questionable.

Reverse auctions do not make sense for the procurement of many contracts, particularly those for professional services and especially construction services.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/12/viewpoint-reverse-auctions-dont-help-agencies-or-taxpayers/124791/

July 20, 2015 By AMK

DHS audit: School district awarded $50 million in disaster funds without competition

A Homeland Security Department (DHS) audit found that a northeast Kansas school district awarded $50 million in federal disaster funds to rebuild facilities following a 2008 tornado without using a full and open competitive process.

However, the DHS inspector general said it deferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision that the costs were “fair and reasonable for the work performed” under government regulations that allow for exceptions, according to the June 24 report released publicly last week.

Still, IG said the agency had better options and should remind Kansas of its responsibilities to make sure grant recipients are aware of federal regulations and monitor such activities to ensure compliance. It also said the state, which administered the funds, should also inform the Chapman, Kan., school district that it must comply with procurement requirements otherwise future FEMA reimbursements could be at risk.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/kansas-school-district-awarded-50m-disaster-funds-without-open-competition/2015-07-10

June 30, 2015 By AMK

Long-time in coming, OFPP reverse auction memo rings hollow

Anne Rung, OFPP administrator, has released a six-page policy memo basically reminding agencies of best practices to keep in mind when using this tool.

But the only real instruction to agencies is for them to send her office a point of contact by July 10.

“OFPP seeks to work with agencies to identify the essential management data points (e.g., price paid for item, fees paid (if any), number of bidders and level of interactive bidding) and mechanisms for collecting and aggregating information in a manner that leverages technology and avoids the need for manual collection,” Rung wrote in the memo. “For your awareness, as a further step, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council will open a case to develop coverage on the use of reverse auctions in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and will address the guidance in this memorandum, as appropriate.”

The rest of the memo doesn’t necessarily address any of the long-held concerns by the Government Accountability Office, lawmakers and vendors.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/517/3875528/Long-time-incoming-OFPP-reverse-auction-memo-rings-hollow

December 30, 2014 By AMK

House lawmakers call for OFPP to issue reverse auction guidance

House lawmakers are pressing the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to update the Federal Acquisition Regulations to detail how best agencies should use reverse auctions.

Reps. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairmen of the Veterans Affairs and Small Business committees, respectively, wrote to Anne Rung, OFPP administrator, Dec. 4, asking for a FAR case to be opened immediately to address reverse auctions.

“As you may well know, while our two committees recognize that reverse auctions, when properly used, may deliver savings to the taxpayer, we have long been concerned that some are misusing this tool to evade competition and compliance with other procurement regulations,” Graves and Miller wrote in the letter obtained by Federal News Radio.

Graves and Miller highlight findings from the December 2013 report from Government Accountability Office as well as recent GAO bid protest decisions detailing agency struggles with reverse auctions.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/517/3765084/House-lawmakers-call-for-OFPP-to-issue-reverse-auction-guidance

Pennsylvania state representative Jesse Topper has introduced a bill that would open major construction projects to competitive bidding, reports The Inquirer of Philadelphia.

A Homeland Security Department (DHS) audit found that a northeast Kansas school district awarded $50 million in federal disaster funds to rebuild facilities following a 2008 tornado without using a full and open competitive process.

Anne Rung, OFPP administrator, has released a six-page policy memo basically reminding agencies of best practices to keep in mind when using this tool.

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