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January 8, 2019 By AMK

Contracting workforce at forefront of Army savings

New Year’s resolutions take on many forms. Whether it’s kicking a bad habit, curbing meals to lose weight or perhaps a making a greater effort to keep in touch with family and friends beyond the occasional social media post, a new calendar year often begins with the best intentions. 
A contract specialist with the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) office at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston discusses Army contract opportunities with two local small business representatives during an industry outreach event in November at the University of Texas at San Antonio Procurement Technical Assistance Center in San Antonio. The event provided contracting guidance, briefings and breakout and match-making sessions with MICC contracting personnel. (Photo by Ryan L. Mattox)

Such intentions may also call for an evaluation of spending in hopes of socking away a little more in retirement accounts or building a coffer for future tuition needs of soon-to-be high school graduates. Similar efforts to save across the government also begin with individual resolutions and don’t necessarily require meticulous analysis.

Introduced as a replacement for the Army Suggestion Program, the Army Ideas for Innovation, or AI2, program became fully operation in 2017 and strives to capitalize on A innovative and creative solutions put forth by civilian and uniformed members of the service that contribute to cost savings, increased productivity and improved processes.

The call for innovative solutions by the government aimed at realizing cost savings isn’t necessarily a novel concept. In fact, a lesser known workforce goes about that task as its daily endeavor. Members of the Army Acquisition Corps possess a combination of requisite education, experience and certification levels vital in carrying out their duties to include contracting. They make up about 34 percent of the Army acquisition workforce consisting of approximately 38,500 professionals responsible for developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining equipment and services to meet the Army’s present and emerging needs.

Contracting officers in the 1102 career series and Soldiers in the 51 Charlie military occupational specialty at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command make up a subset of the Army Acquisition Corps. They are responsible for acquiring equipment and services that support service members from the time they voluntarily raise their right hand in solemn oath to serve this nation through retirement as part of the Soldier for Life initiative.

In fiscal 2018, MICC contracting officers and Soldiers executed almost 30,000 contracts valued at more than $5 billion. This included contracts for professional scientific and technical services, administrate support, remediation services, construction, manufacturing, educational services, accommodations, food services, and utilities just to name a few. MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, ensuring installation readiness with many daily base operations support services, readying more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which governs processes for acquiring contract goods and services by the DoD as well as all executive agencies, serves as the bible for contracting professionals. It prescribes policies and procedures for negotiating contract awards using other than a sealed bid. By using one or a combination of source selection approaches, MICC contracting officers obtain the best value in a negotiated acquisition.

Employed by contracting officers every day, negotiation tactics can spell significant savings and increased benefit for the Army both on a smaller scale for relatively low-dollar buys through reverse auction as well as with complex acquisitions. As many government contractors discover, skillful negotiation benefits both their respective industry interests and the government as each strives for innovative pursuits to meet operational priorities and focused efforts.

The significant role by MICC contracting professionals in the transition of rotary aircraft maintenance services between contractors at Fort Rucker, Alabama, earlier this year illustrates the value the contracting workforce bares on the Army’s efforts to save costs. The innovative approach to the $4.7 billion contract presents the potential for 191,000 extra flight hours over the next 10 years, according to the GAO, estimated at a DoD benefit of $876 million.

MICC contracting professionals also contribute to government savings by reducing opportunity costs that take on a not-so-tangible form. Efforts by the command to standardize acquisitions for full food services and base operations this year offer enterprise-wide solutions for not only decreasing bid and proposal costs but also dramatically curbing touch labor and procurement acquisition lead time.

Not only does the contracting workforce save the Army money, but also those savings – both tangible and intangible – allows leadership from supported organizations to redirect those funds and resources toward other mission priorities. As trusted business advisers to their mission partners, MICC contracting professionals are dedicated to the timely delivery of contract goods and services in support of Soldiers and the Army’s commitment to readiness.

Source: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5004231/contracting-workforce-forefront-army-savings

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, Army, cost savings, DoD, FAR, GS-1102, industry day, industry days, innovation, MICC, Mission Focused Contracting, outreach event, small business, source selection

November 5, 2015 By AMK

Relationship building at core of acquisition success

A Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) contracting officer took advantage of a recent temporary duty visit to conduct a source selection evaluation board at the Presidio of Monterey, California, to foster new customer relationships benefitting the command’s MICC 2025 transformation efforts.

Amber VanHoozer said that in addition to completing a successful evaluation board for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s curriculum development, she wanted to seize the opportunity to meet customers she is supporting from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as part of the realignment of workload.

A source selection evaluation board is an element of a contract’s pre-award peer review. The review includes an assessment of the pre-solicitation, solicitation and contract award documents to validate sound business practices. VanHoozer and representatives from MICC-supported activities on POM discussed various contract actions in detail including which acquisition documents required updates, outstanding documents needed by MICC-Fort Sill to process requirements, and revision of milestone dates associated with various requirements.

“The visit was very productive. Not only did I have an opportunity to meet and work with my contracting counterparts at the POM, but also I met many of the customers I will be working with in the future,” VanHoozer said. “We conducted an effective source selection evaluation board and worked through many issues on upcoming procurements. I do not believe the value of such a visit can be overstated.”

While at POM, she also met with the director of the logistics readiness center as well as the food service team to discuss upcoming procurements, establish milestones and review performance work statements. The visit with the food service team included a tour of the new dining facility under construction that is projected to open in mid-2016.

“Personally touring the facilities gives me a better understanding of the magnitude of work that will be included in this procurement,” she said.

Additional stops included visits with the installation’s resource management staff and staff judge advocate office to review upcoming solicitations. Self-described as a “hands-on” contracting officer, VanHoozer said she enjoys getting to know and helping to educate customers on contract requirements.

“I feel it is extremely important to get out from behind the desk and visit the areas where contract work is being performed,” she said. “This gives contracting a new meaning, it actually brings a contract to life for the contracting officer and contract specialist working the requirements.”

She said the response from customers has been equally constructive and allows for the reciprocal benefit of better understanding the mission of supported activities.

“This trip provided a valuable opportunity to meet our customers face to face and foster the important working relationships that support future success. Although the contracting process follows a number of standardized steps, understanding the functions and missions supported by each contract adds to the complexity of the task,” the Lawton, Oklahoma, native said.

Kay McKinzie, director of MICC-Fort Sill, agrees that face-to-face interaction enhances those working relationships, adding that virtual communications tools can still create a physical distance that separates people and impacts the relationships.

“Whether the customer is asking for help from us or we are asking for support from the customer, familiarity with one another enhances the exchange,” the director said.

Following her TDY, VanHoozer accepted a position as division chief at MICC-Fort Sill that will encompass support of a variety of contracts for customers she just previously met at the Presidio of Monterey.

McKinzie said the MICC 2025 plan has already been implemented in terms of the contracting office’s support of POM contracting actions greater than $150,000. She added that to ensure the success of MICC 2025, VanHoozer and the rest of the contracting team at Fort Sill are focusing on establishing working relationships that are benefitting both MICC-Fort Sill and the customer.

“Developing working relationships with the customers we support is critical to the success of our mission. Most customers really look for support locally and are not happy when an off-site office assumes that support,” McKinzie said. “That unhappiness is the direct result of the lack of relationships they typically experience when the support is off-site. Whether it be in your hometown or office, the more personal relationships result in quicker support and a willingness to ‘help a friend.'”

VanHoozer, a 2001 graduation from Cameron University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, began her civil service career in 1998. She has served as a contracting officer for more than six years and is Level III certified in contracting, which is compliant with the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act to execute contracts on behalf of the government. Prior to joining the MICC, she served in a variety of positions with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in which she developed an understanding of the payment process as it relates to acquisitions.

Source: http://www.army.mil/article/155703/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, Army, contracting officers, DFAS, DoD, internal customer, MICC, relationships

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