Archive for the ‘Contracting Legal & Technical’ Category

SAM is the System for Award Management. SAM is combining nine systems that the federal community and those who want to do business with the government use regularly. The nine systems are: FedBizOpps.gov, PPIRS, eSRS, CCR, ORCA, FPDS, EPLS, Wage Determinations OnLine.gov, and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. SAM will streamline processes, eliminate data redundancies, and save money through consolidated operations.

When will SAM launch?
SAM is being deployed in phases.
Phase 1- May 2012: CCR/FedReg – Central Contractor Registration/Federal Agency Registration
ORCA – Online Representations and Certifications Application
EPLS – Excluded Parties List System
Phase 2 – 2013-2014: eSRS/FSRS – Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System/FFATA Subaward Reporting System
FedBizOps – Federal Business Opportunities
WDOL – Wage Determinations Online
CFDA – Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Phase 3 – TBD: FPDS-NG – Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation
Phase 4 – TBD: PPIRS/CPARS/FAPIIS – Past Performance Information Retrieval System/Contractor
Performance Assessment Reporting System/Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System

What’s Next?
- Acceptance Testing will begin in late March
- Training will be available online in early May
- SAM Phase 1 will be available to users in late May 2012

What Can You Expect in May 2012?
- After migration, all the capabilities in CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS will be available at SAM.gov – 1 login!
- Users will be automatically redirected from the legacy systems to SAM
- Users will specify a user ID and password (can be the same as the one you use now) – the system will guide users through the process
– Existing CCR/FedReg, ORCA and EPLS data will be moved to SAM
– The process of logging in will connect you with the data you have permission to view now
– Publicly available data will still be publicly available
- Registering entities will experience a streamlined process
– Data and process will be integrated into logical groupings (e.g., Core Data, Representations and Certifications)
– Registration purpose will be captured at the start to guide data entry
– Process steps will be reordered to improve efficiency (e.g., TIN match, CAGE validation, POC collection)

What Should You Do Now?
- Review SAM information on http://sam.gov
- Direct any SAM-related questions to AskSAM@gsa.gov
- For interfacing systems
– Use the interface specification and other information available at http://sam.gov
– Ask to be added to the interfaces distribution list by writing to AskSAM@gsa.gov
- Plan to review SAM training materials when available online beginning in early May
- Review your organization’s CCR/FedReg and EPLS administrators and users to verify access requirements and/or roles

41 North Carolina Businesses Graduate from Defense Contractor Academy

CHARLOTTE (MAR 12, 2012) – The North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) is pleased to announce the graduation of 41 North Carolina businesses from the 2012 Spring Defense Contractor Academy (DCA), held at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte.  The DCA offered advanced instruction and a certificate of completion to existing, small business defense contractors to provide the tools the need to grow the defense contracting portion of their business portfolio.  Graduating businesses completed a series of nine classes over a nine-week period, beginning on January 19, 2012 and ending March 15, 2012.

“The Defense Contractor Academy provides the advanced skills businesses need in federal business development, competitive processes and federal contracting procedures to grow in the federal marketplace – and to grow jobs in North Carolina,” said Scott Dorney, Executive Director of the NCMBC.

Graduates of the 2012 Spring Defense Contractor Academy at CPCC include:

• A D Brokers & Logistics, LLC (Raleigh, NC)
• Aemilian Property Group (Huntersville, NC)
• Alotech, Inc. (Sanford, NC)
• Anointed Floorings, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
• Avioimage Mapping Services, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
• BALANCE Environmental & Safety (Charlotte, NC)
• Bright Hopes, Inc.  (Charlotte, NC)
• Bright Star Landscaping, LLC (Raleigh, NC)
• C3 Communications, Inc.  (Charlotte, NC)
• Calor Energy (Charlotte, NC)
• Carolina Siteworks, Inc.  (China Grove, NC)
• Carrothers Enterprise (New London, NC)
• Corvid Technologies (Mooresville, NC)
• Custom Hydraulics Design, Inc.  (Charlotte, NC)
• FireFold (Concord, NC)
• Gayles Aerospace Parts Co. (GAPCO) (Charlotte, NC)
• Goodrich Corporation (Monroe, NC)
• I-40 Machine & Tool, Inc.  (Statesville, NC)
• Interdyne Corporation (Mooresville, NC)
• Jones Grading & Fencing, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
• Jorlink USA, Inc.  (Greensboro, NC)
• Kings Mountain International (Kings Mountain, NC)
• Matthew Poore Leadership Group (Concord, NC)
• Metro Transportation Services (Charlotte, NC)
• Miller Machine & Design, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
• Mills Manufacturing Corporation (Asheville, NC)
• Mirati Consulting, LLC (Greensboro, NC)
• Pro-Tint, Inc. (Kannapolis, NC)
• Quantum Technology Group, LLC (Cornelius, NC)
• Security Solutions & Management LLC (Charlotte, NC)
• Shield Engineering (Charlotte, NC)
• SIB General Contractors LLC (Kings Mountain, NC)
• Sign Innovations (Huntersville, NC)
• Southern Advantage Co, Inc. (Huntersville, NC)
• Stronghaven Inc, Highland Containers Division (Jamestown, NC)
• Synergy Engineering (Charlotte, NC)
• TJF Cleaning Services (Charlotte, NC)
• Trinity Strategic Consulting, Inc. (Concord, NC)
• United Protective Technologies, LLC (Locust, NC)
• Verigent, LLC (Charlotte, NC)
• W.H. Meanor & Associates (New London, NC)

The 2012 Spring DCA was the third Academy conducted by the NCMBC and host community colleges.  “Central Piedmont is pleased to have hosted the 2012 Spring Academy, as well as a full time office of the NCMBC,” said Dr. Tony Zeiss, President of CPCC.  “Helping businesses in our area to succeed and grow jobs is what we do at Central Piedmont.”

“We held the first DCA in Spring 2011 at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC), and the second in Fall 2011 at Wake Technical Community College.  In order to provide as much access to the program as possible, we plan to execute multiple Academies each year throughout the state of North Carolina,” said Courtney Smedick, NCMBC Integrated Marketing and Training Coordinator.

The NCMBC will conduct upcoming DCAs with FTCC in Spring Lake (June), and with Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro (November).  Businesses should monitor the NCMBC’s website, www.ncmbc.us, and their federal contracting emails from www.MatchForce.org for announcements and registration for upcoming DCAs.

For more information on the 2012 Spring DCA at CPCC, please visit: http://www.ncmbc.us/Spring2012DefenseContractorAcademy.php.

IT’S NOT A FOUR LETTER WORD, BUT IT IS BAD!!!!!!!!!!!

The word is “ratification”. What makes “ratification” bad is the fact that it is a result of a Government representative making an agreement that is not binding because that individual lacked the authority to enter into the agreement on behalf of the Government. Such an agreement is referred to as an unauthorized commitment and a “ratification” is required to make it right so to speak. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) define a “ratification” as the act of approving an unauthorized commitment by an official who has the authority to do so.

Often government suppliers and providers are not aware that they have entered into a non-binding agreement until they request payment for the supplies or services they provided to the Government. Only then do they find out that the government representative who ordered the supplies or services did not have the authority to do so. Even though the supplier or provider may have been totally innocent and unaware of that fact, they are now in a bad situation. Hopefully they will be paid eventually, but not before a thorough and sometimes lengthy investigation takes place and a Government official designated by the agency ratifies the unauthorized commitment.

To ratify the unauthorized commitment, the designated official must be able to say “yes” to all of the below:

(1) Supplies or services have been provided to and accepted by the Government, or the Government otherwise has obtained or will obtain a benefit resulting from performance of the unauthorized commitment;

(2) The ratifying official has the authority to enter into a contractual commitment;

(3) The resulting contract would otherwise have been proper if made by an appropriate contracting officer;

(4) The contracting officer reviewing the unauthorized commitment determines the price to be fair and reasonable;

(5) The contracting officer recommends payment and legal counsel concurs in the recommendation, unless agency procedures expressly do not require such concurrence;

(6) Funds are available and were available at the time the unauthorized commitment was made; and

(7) The ratification is in accordance with any other limitations prescribed under agency procedures.

Federal agencies take positive action to preclude, to the maximum extent possible, the need for ratification actions. Although procedures are in place for use in those cases where the ratification of an unauthorized commitment is necessary, those procedures may not be used in a manner that encourages such commitments being made by Government personnel.

Likewise, government suppliers and providers need to do their part to preclude the need for ratifications by asking if the individual placing the order has the authority to obligate the government which as a general rule is accomplished either through purchases by authorized government purchase card (GPC) holders or through the issuance of a legally binding contractual document by an authorized procurement official. Ask how and when payment will be made. Definitely ask for a written purchase order/contract signed by a Contracting Officer if the payment is not going to be made with the requester’s GPC. The individual placing the order may be slightly put off by your questions, but most will understand that you are protecting your interests, as well as theirs.

In summary, unauthorized commitments are completely avoidable and without them, there is not a need for ratifications!

PSC stands for Product Service Codes. These are legacy codes that are used in certain government procurement databases to classify products and services.   PSC Codes are still used as a searchable field in the FPDS database.

The PSC manual provides codes to describe products, services, and research and development (R&D) purchased by the federal government. These codes indicate what was bought for each contract action reported in the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).

The PSC manual has been updated to reflect changes in three areas:

1. The reporting of environmental attributes;

2. Code changes reflecting updates for technology and terminology;

3. The addition or end dating of codes.

The updated codes and reporting processes described in the manual went into effect on October 1, 2011.

For more information on PSC Codes visit: http://www.ncmbc.us/LinksFederalContractingBasicsAppropriatedFunds.php

or email Diana Potts at pottsd@ncmbc.us

The Defense Contractor Academy will offer advanced instruction and a certificate of completion to existing, small business defense contractors to provide the tools needed to grow the defense contracting portion of their business portfolio.  A series of 9 classes will be offered over an 9-week period, once a week, beginning on January 19, 2012 and ending March 15, 2012.  Each session will include presentation of material and either a panel or guest business(es) to discuss their experiences regarding the topic of the session.  If your company is interested in a panel member or a guest business, please email smedickc@ncmbc.us.

Application.  To fill out an application for the Defense Contractor Academy, visit http://www.ncmbc.us/Spring2012DefenseContractorAcademy.php.  Applications will close on January 2, 2012 at 5:00 pm.  The Defense Contractor Academy committee will review applications and notify accepted participants by January 9, 2012 at the email account listed in the application. If you have any questions, please email smedickc@ncmbc.us.

Courses.

Who can attend from your company?  Companies may send different individuals from their organization to attend specific sessions of the Academy (i.e. the chief financial officer to attend the accounting and financing classes, business developer to attend Fundamentals and Source Selection sessions, etc.).

Cost.  Once your company has been approved by the Defense Contractor Academy committee, your organization will receive an invoice for payment.  The entire course (all 9 classes, including materials) is a total of $75.00.

Defense Contractor Academy Plaque.  In order to receive the Defense Contractor Academy certificate and plaque, your company must attend 7 of the 9 classes.  On the afternoon of the final class (March 15th), participating companies will receive their Defense Contractor Academy certificates and plaques.

Questions?  If you have questions about the Defense Contractor Academy, please email smedickc@ncmbc.us.

Opportunities 2012 is a one day conference in Asheville, North Carolina designed to bring small business sellers together with buyers from the federal government and large prime contractors.  It features a “reverse” trade show, where small business owners may visit government and prime contractor booths to discuss potential buying opportunities as well as informative seminars on government contracting.

Opportunities has a long history including eight previous conferences and attendance has ranged between 450 and 590 participants, plus 55 or more booths for federal agencies and prime contractors.  Past conference evaluations have been consistently excellent with many small businesses, federal agencies and prime contractors reporting success in developing new business opportunities.  The event attracts media attention both before and the day of the event.

We expect similar attendance and results at this year’s event to be held Monday, March 19 at The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina www.groveparkinn.com.  The 2012 conference is being held in cooperation with Senator Richard Burr, Senator Kay Hagan, Representative Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Representative Heath Shuler (NC-11) and Representative Gresham Barrett (SC-3).

Opportunities 2012 is an excellent chance for your organization to receive exposure by registering for a booth (attached document). www.sbtdc.org/events/opportunities

For additional information on the event, sponsorship, or booth registration, please contact Clark Fields at (828) 251-6025 ext. 25 or cfields@sbtdc.org

Feel like your company needs training?  The NC Military Business Center is in the process of planning their 2012 training events and would like to know what type of training NC companies feel they need.  From basic, intermediate, to advanced training, we want to hear from you!

Please email Courtney Smedick, smedickc@ncmbc.us and provide information on the type of training and specific topics that your company would like covered.

LATE IS LATE AND THE BIGGER MESSAGE!

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.208 — Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals is very explicit that offerors are responsible for submitting proposals so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. Any proposal, modification, or revision, that is received at the designated Government office after the exact time specified for receipt of proposals is “late”.

A relatively recent GAO decision strongly supported “late is late”.

The protester argued his proposal was submitted late based on incorrect information furnished by the contracting officer regarding the acceptability of submitting its proposal after the specified closing date.  The GAO decision addressed that argument with “we have repeatedly held that oral advice that would have the effect of altering the written terms of the solicitation, even from the contracting officer, does not operate to amend the solicitation or otherwise legally bind the agency … and that an offeror relies on such oral advice at its own risk.”  That is clearly the BIGGER message!

The full report can be read at http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/404731.pdf

Rep. Kissell to Host Third Annual Federal Contracting Symposium

Pre-registration is now open for free procurement seminar

ALBEMARLE, NC  – Rep. Kissell to Host Third Annual Federal Contracting Symposium Pre-registration is now open for free procurement seminar ALBEMARLE, NC – Representative Larry Kissell (NC-08) will host the 3rd Annual Federal Contracting Symposium on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center in Albemarle. The district-wide event is designed to help North Carolina businesses gain a better understanding of opportunities in contracting and procurement with the federal government. The event is free and pre-registration is open now.

“I’m committed to providing our local businesses with every opportunity for success,” said Kissell. “This event has helped provide the businesses of our region with an in-depth look at the opportunities and channels within the federal contracting process. Our last two events were very successful, and I look forward to again showing off to the federal procurement folks some of the best and most innovative businesses anywhere in the country—those that are right here in our part of the world. Last year we had more than 250 folks from all over North Carolina and we have seen some great success stories come from those who got help through this event.”

The Contracting Symposium is being organized in partnership with the North Carolina Military Business Center, North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center, Stanly Community College, Stanly County Economic Development Commission, and the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce.

“I want to thank our partners for helping make this available to our local businesses,” added Kissell. “I want to ensure that the hardworking people of our area are given every opportunity to bid on federal procurement. I encourage all businesses throughout our area to take part in this important opportunity.”

The daylong event will include a federal contracting workshop series, as well as a resource fair for businesses interested in becoming engaged in the federal process. Agency participants will include contracting offices and agencies providing technical assistance in government procurement, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, Veterans Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service and many others. Representatives from the contracting offices of Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune will also be on hand to meet with area businesses. Pre-registration is required.

For more information or to pre-register, please contact Mallory Morris in Kissell’s Concord office at 704-786-1612 or visit http://ncmbc.us/2011FederalContractingSymposium.php.