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CONTRACTING
SERVICES
The Contracting Services (CS) group of the
Denver Service Center (DSC) is the largest contracting office in the
National Park Service (NPS) and serves the Associate Director for Professional
Services in Washington, DC.
BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES  
The NPS has migrated to an electronic commerce
environment for the majority of its acquisition/procurement activity.
If you want to do business with the National Park Service (or any Department
of the Interior (DOI) bureau), detailed guidance and registration information
is found on our electronic commerce site at http://ideasec.nbc.gov.
When you access the web site, you can:
- Review all requirements posted by DOI
bureaus and offices
- Search for and read any open RFQ, IFB
and RFP
- Quote on RFQs before the posted closing
dates
- Receive electronic awards and notices
for RFQs
- Download solicitation packages and drawings
as desired.
There is no cost to you for this service.
Competing for business with NPS and DOI electronically is painless
and simple. To take advantage of future opportunities electronically
with NPS and DOI, you must:
- Obtain a valid Dun & Bradstreet Number
(D&B) from Dun & Bradstreet through the Internet (http://www.dnb.com)
or by calling them at 1-800-333-0505. Only vendors with valid D&Bs
may submit a quote.
- Register your firm at our electronic
commerce web site http://IDEASec.nbc.gov.
Central registration will not only alleviate
the need for you to submit a separate bidder's application to each
office, the information can be used to notify you when we have a requirement
within your capability. You have control over updating the information
about your firm so that we can match your capabilities electronically
with our needs.
Using 4.0 or newer versions of Microsoft
Internet Explorer or Netscape provides the best results. Your local
Small Business Administration should also be able to help you and provide
access to a personal computer if you do not have one.
Business and Economic Development
(BUDS) Program
If you are a small, disadvantaged, women-owned
business, or an 8(a) contractor and wish to pursue contracting opportunities
with NPS, please contact our Business Utilization Development Specialist
(BUDS), Rosemary Ortiz. We are regularly seeking construction and
architectural and engineering firms to perform work for the National
Park Service. For more specific information on these contracting opportunities,
call (303) 969-2112 or e-mail Rosemary_Ortiz@nps.gov
Department of Interior, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
http://www.doi.gov/osdbu/
Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/
OUR
SERVICES   
Besides being the designated contracting
office for the majority of the line item construction programs of NPS,
the CS group provides a wide variety of services to parks and regions
in the national park system, as well as to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service (Department of Agriculture).
- Solicits, negotiates, awards, and administers
IDIQ Professional Services contracts and purchase orders (under $100,000)
for:
- Construction planning (design)
- GIS services and geotechnical engineering
- Plant propagation
- Noise and vibration evaluation
- Archeological investigations and
evaluations
- Hazardous material surveys
- Aerial photography and topographical
surveying
- Utility surveys
- Construction management
- Financial analysis services
- Boundary and construction layout
surveys
- Transportation and traffic engineering
- Historic resources
- Cultural landscape inventories
- Ethnographic resource studies
- Artifact analysis
- Environmental assessments
- General Management Plans
- Negotiates, awards, and administers task
orders against existing contracts to accommodate the needs of in-house
project managers, regions, parks, and other agencies
- Solicits, evaluates, negotiates, awards,
and administers construction contracts (generally over $100,000)
for the NPS line item construction program, as well as the Fee Demonstration
Program and other fund sources
Harpers Ferry Center maintains a searchable
online database of the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ)
contracts for use by the entire service (http://165.83.219.72/hafe/hfc/idiq.cfm).
CONTRACTING
PROFESSIONALS' RESOURCE   
The following site was developed by a nationwide
committee of NPS contracting and procurement professionals and provides
links to a wide variety of procurement resources. http://165.83.20.6/amoeba/NPS_acq_mgmnt.nsf/
WHO
WE ARE   
DOLORES (Dolly) FERNANDEZ
Chief, Contracting Services, DSC
NPS Competition Advocate
dolly_fernandez@nps.gov |
| |
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION WESTERN SUPPORT BRANCH |
COMPLIANCE & DATA MANAGEMENT BRANCH |
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION EASTERN SUPPORT BRANCH |
WALTER SCHMIDT
Contract Specialist (Supv)
walter_schmidt@nps.gov |
ED TAFOYA
Contract Specialist (Supv)
ed_tafoya@nps.gov |
RON BAILEY
Contract Specialist (Supv)
ron_bailey@nps.gov |
Each team also consists of a full complement
of contract specialists and procurement technicians to accomplish the
work of the program.
DSC
CONTRACTING SERVICES' RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS   
1.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE   
- Problem to be Solved:
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 and the digital signature
legislation of 2000 promote the use of electronic technology to
streamline processes, reduce paperwork, and allow agencies to use
electronic "signature" rather than pen-and-paper signatures.
Printing and mailing hard copies of contract documents has become
extremely costly. The cost estimate for a recent project was $45,000
for printing alone. The expense and time impacts associated with
issuing amendments to all solicitation plan holders are also becoming
unmanageable. The potential for protests against award because
of the government's failure to properly manage amendments is always
a matter of concern.
- Actions Taken:
DSC entered into a partnership with the Department of Interior's, National
Business Center (NBC) to post construction solicitation packages
on NBC's IDEAS electronic commerce website. The contractor community
received the first electronic solicitation with overwhelming response.
Since that time, we have posted all of DSC's competitively negotiated
construction projects on the NBC website. Estimated price ranges
for these projects have ranged from less than $1,000,000 to over
$10,000,000. All contract documents are scanned and provided electronically
to all potential contractors, subcontractors and suppliers with
access to the Internet. Amendments are now issued electronically
as well and the responsibility to be aware of any and all amendments
to the solicitations has passed from the government to the potential
offerors.
- Expected Outcome:
-- Issuing amendments electronically substantially reduces the potential
for protests related to the management of amendments to solicitations.
-- Competition on these projects has not been impacted negatively due
to the electronic postings.
-- The labor and printing and mailing costs associated with issuing
solicitations will be reduced substantially.
2.
DESIGN/BUILD AND COMPETITIVELY NEGOTIATED CONSTRUCTION   
- Problem to be Solved:
Historically, the preferred method for procurement of construction
by civilian agencies has been via sealed bidding procedures. There
is a common perception that contracts awarded to the "low
bidder" usually result in poor quality work and an inordinate
number of change orders and modifications. The majority of contracts
awarded by DSC in the past have been to "low bidders." In
many instances, change orders and modifications have been the result
of design deficiencies and errors and omissions in contract documents,
which often lead to disputes between the general contractor, the
A/E designer, and the government.
Actions Taken:
DSC began using the competitive negotiation, best value trade-off procedures
in fiscal year 1999. We have chosen to use these procedures, as opposed
to sealed bidding, to more effectively evaluate past performance and
past experience of contractors. By doing so, we are able to select
contractors who provide the best value to the government, rather than
awarding on price alone. In conjunction with the best value trade-off
procedures, DSC is beginning to use two-phase design/build construction
procedures as opposed to the more traditional design/bid/build procedures.
By doing so, the responsibility for risk and cost control is transferred
from the government to the design/build contractor. The first phase
of the process is based on qualifications of the design/build team
as in the A/E selection process. The second phase utilizes competitive
negotiation best value procedures to determine an award. During the
past year, all construction projects issued by DSC have been solicited
using the best value trade-off process or the design/build construction
process.
- Expected Outcome:
Sealed bid solicitations have been virtually eliminated at DSC. By
using the best value trade-off process, we will be able to select
contractors who are best suited for our projects. We have seen,
and expect to continue to see, reductions in change orders and
modifications because of this evaluation and selection process.
In regard to design/build projects, we anticipate cost savings
as well as significant time savings on most design/build projects.
Change orders and modifications will be reduced substantially,
as we will be dealing with one contractor only. Disputes between
the A/E designer, general contractor, and the government will be
avoided, if not eliminated completely.
3.
A/E SELECTION BASED ON SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AND INTEGRATED DESIGN
  
- Problem to be Solved:
The use of A/E's by DSC to accomplish line item construction and fee
demonstration programs is expected to increase. Integrated design
and sustainable design practices were not used as specific evaluation
criteria in the selection of A/E firms.
- Actions Taken:
Currently, all solicitations issued by DSC stress the importance of
integrated and coordinated designs, as well as sustainable design
practices, by using these as specific evaluation criteria. As we
supplement and/or replace existing A/E contracts, we are evaluating
the use of multi-disciplinary versus single discipline contracts,
to ensure that both types of contracts are available. We are also
evaluating the need for some geographic based contracts in addition
to the nation-wide contracts. We are looking at the 5-year line
item construction program and estimates for other programs, such
as the fee demonstration, to identify types and locations of anticipated
projects. We are also evaluating the need for higher contract ceilings
than those used in the past, since we will be relying almost exclusively
on A/Es for complete design services. We will continue to use the
Design Excellence Portfolio process to select firms for more project
specific requirements.
- Expected Outcome:
The Indefinite Deliver/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) A/E design contracts
issued by DSC will be awarded to leaders in sustainable design
practices. Whether the design services are for complete projects,
or for only portions of projects, the A/Es will be expected to
provide integrated and fully coordinated designs. We expect to
see a reduction in A/E design deficiencies. The geographic distribution
of lead disciplines, number of contracts, and higher contract ceilings
will more closely match the needs dictated by the 5-year line item
construction program and other programs, such as fee demo.
4.
IDEAS IMPLEMENTATION  
- Problem to be Solved:
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 and the digital signature
legislation of 2000 promote the use of electronic technology to
streamline processes, reduce paperwork, and allow agencies to use
electronic "signature" rather than pen-and-paper signatures.
The Department of Interior has determined that the Interior Department
Electronic Acquisition System (IDEAS) will be the only electronic
requisitioning and purchasing system to be authorized for use by
the bureaus within the department. A few bureaus were selected
to pilot the implementation of IDEAS. These bureaus reported an
inordinate number of problems with the system, e.g., interface
with financial and property systems and inability to provide accurate
contract award reports. IDEAS was viewed as being extremely slow,
cumbersome, and not user-friendly. At this time, complete implementation
of IDEAS on a department-wide basis was questionable.
- Actions Taken:
DSC began using IDEAS/Procurement Desktop on a limited basis in FY
1999. IDEAS was used primarily to issue requisitions and to issue
orders utilizing the simplified acquisition module. Early in FY
2000, the software provider, AMS, in collaboration with the Department
of Interior's National Business Center (NBC) and the Department
of Interior Procurement User's Group (PUG) and Technical User's
Group (TUG), met a number of times to resolve the software and
design problems. Representatives from DSC and the Denver Administrative
Program Center served as members on both the PUG and the TUG. The
efforts of the NBC, PUG and TUG have resulted in a number of enhancements
to the original program. Many of the problems have been eliminated
and the program is becoming more user-friendly. Since the beginning
of FY 2001, the Denver Service Center has fully implemented IDEAS
and is using all of the modules for requisitioning, simplified
acquisitions, and formal contracting. We have also begun implementing
the electronic commerce functionality of IDEAS. At this time, we
can post solicitations electronically and receive quotes electronically
using the simplified acquisition module; however, we are not yet
able to receive proposals from offerors electronically using the
formal contracting module.
- Expected Outcome:
All requisitions and solicitations will be managed electronically via
IDEAS/Procurement Desktop. We will expand our use of the award/obligation
and receiving report functions within IDEAS utilizing the built-in
interface with the Federal Financial System (FFS). This will improve
financial, budget, and property accountability since we will be
getting closer to single point of entry for all procurement actions.
The PUG will continue to work with AMS and the NBC to fully implement
electronic commerce, which will include the ability to receive
proposals electronically and to award all contracts with electronic
signatures.

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