New Gov Contract Bidding to Come

[usmarinemike]

I found this interesting. There is commonly discussion here about how out of control bidding is for big ticket items like new aircraft. I chose this source because Fox News sensationalised the AP story a little bit.

It uses the new Marine One birds as an example of out of control contracts and cost overruns but doesn't do details. So is OMB et al. going to hose this terrible business up worse or are we going to get this under control?

The president also mentioned that jobs that should be done by government employees but are currently being outsourced will be returned to gov't employess. Does this mean our mess halls won't be run by ex-convicts anymore? Hello mess duty. Never want to deal with that again.

 

[Uncle Fester]

No, I think it means more GS's and less contractors.

The procurement mess is a combination of bidding rules and mission creep. The low bidder wins, even though they may be underbidding because they don't really have the experience with a particular system to accurately bid a contract in the first place (see: the Marine One fiasco). Then mission creep sets in, lumping on new or different requirements that delay or in some cases completely change the timeline. Simply put, there's more money to be made in stringing out a program until it's killed, than there is in actually producing anything.

There are something like eight million threads on here about how effed up the procurement process is, though.

 

[Flash]

The president also mentioned that jobs that should be done by government employees but are currently being outsourced will be returned to gov't employess. Does this mean our mess halls won't be run by ex-convicts anymore? Hello mess duty. Never want to deal with that again.

There are a myriad of reasons that our contracting process is hosed up, I am certain HJ can fill us in on all of the details if he has a few months. One of the more absurd things to have happened recently is when contractors have provided oversight on contracts in some cases, in many others there has been much lighter oversight because the DoD staff of career contract officers was slashed in the 90's and has never recovered. This is a large part of the reason that the Coast Guard's Deepwater program became a train wreck early on, it was too big for the USCG to manage and they let the contractors make design and procurement decisions on their behalf. It didn't work, to put it lightly.

While contractors are great for some things, like mess hall staff or maintaining VT aircraft, they have no business doing other things that some have been doing for the past few years. Unless there are mitigating circumstances, and there can be in a few cases, they should not be doing operational or many direct support missions. Those are the people that they are talking about, not your ex-convicts taking out the trash.

 

[bert]

jobs that should be done by government employees but are currently being outsourced will be returned to gov't employees

Some of this goes back to the Lead System Integrator concept that has been getting a lot of attention over the last couple of years (also GAO on the FCS). The links are a little dense but can help you understand the issues. I think it is fair to say that a lot of gov't employees with oversight responsibilities wouldn't mind reforming the LSI concept but it will cost money which is already in short supply.

 

[The Chief]

No, I think it means more GS's and less contractors. ...

Yes, about 350,000 to 400,000 new GS's according to Pres Obama. They will do a fine job, I know, I was one. Could tell you stories that would curl your hair. Contractors? How about a fellow, single source contract, last 25 years, un-interrupted, that pays him $300,000 to be a computer programmer? Friends in high places, non-partisan, obviously.

Figure based on announcement by Pres Obama of intent to create 3.5 to 4.0 million new jobs, 90% which will be private sector, leaving govt with paultry 10% of the 3.5 to 4.0 millions of new jobs.

 

[knobbzy]

I own and run a federal contracting firm and could share stories that would make you laugh until you realized the total folly of it all.

My favorite story as of late is about a certain naval facility that just had some fancy new electronic barrier installed at the gate. In order to have save costs, the government elected not to have the vendor install said barrier, opting to have base employees handle the task. As a result, the vendor made it clear that the warranty would not be extended to any failure that resulted from assembly (manufacture defect warranty was still valid). During the first rainstorm after said barrier was installed it failed, and one of the base entrances came to a full stop. This resulted in a flurry of angry phone calls to the vendor, who flat out refused to do anything for free since they didn't install the barriers. Only after being threatened with a number of threatening notices and imminent lawsuit did they finally relent, and send somebody down to examine. The result was this notice to the government:

"The control unit is water resistant and can operate in a 'wet' environment. In order to eliminate any water that might pool inside the control unit it is is equipped with drain holes which allow water to drain out. Unfortunately the vendor cannot be held responsible for any damages if the Government chooses to install said drain holes UPSIDE down."

* of course I am paraphrasing -- but you get the idea!

 

[knobbzy]

Yes, about 350,000 to 400,000 new GS's according to Pres Obama. They will do a fine job, I know, I was one. Could tell you stories that would curl your hair. Contractors? How about a fellow, single source contract, last 25 years, un-interrupted, that pays him $300,000 to be a computer programmer? Friends in high places, non-partisan, obviously.

Figure based on announcement by Pres Obama of intent to create 3.5 to 4.0 million new jobs, 90% which will be private sector, leaving govt with paultry 10% of the 3.5 to 4.0 millions of new jobs.

Chief this is no different in corp, non-profit, etc world. Consultants hold this mystique about them. When your $60K jr programmer says hey "we could simplify this process" nobody listens. But when the $800/hr consultant says it, it's like the 2nd coming of christ!