Contracting for Quality Facilities.
Abstract
Quality facilities are essential to the DoD and the people who live and work at defense installations. Currently, contracting for facilities is done almost exclusively with sealed-bid solicitations, low-bid awards, and firm-fixed-price contracts. Quality is managed primarily with the drawings and specifications that accompany the invitations for bids and by Government inspections during construction. We have found that less traditional contracting can improve the quality of the facilities acquired. Two examples are competitive negotiation and the use of award fees. The former makes past performance count in contractor selection. The latter promotes performance improvement on current projects. Both provide strong incentive for quality construction. Contracting officers currently find it difficult to depart from traditional contracting. They are discouraged by real and perceived barriers in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and, more significantly, by Military Service rules, regulations and policies. They are also hampered by massive documentation requirements and lengthy approval processes. We recommend that the Duty Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations) take the following actions: Propose changes and clarifications to the FAR to remove barriers that currently limit the use of competitive negotiation and fixed-price-award-fee contracts. Encourage the Services to remove similar barriers from their construction regulations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA193201
Entities
People
- Trevor L. Neve
- William B. Moore
Organizations
- LMI