“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson
“Relevant information for future source selection purposes, regarding a contractor’s actions under previously awarded contracts.“
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“It includes, for example, the contractor’s record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the contractor’s record of forecasting and controlling costs; the contractor’s adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the contractor’s business-like concern for the interest of the customer.” FAR 42.1501
As a small enterprise enters the government contracting venue, the phrase “Past Performance” almost immediately comes to the fore. When examining government Requests for Proposal (RFP’s) a section of the award criteria is almost always specified for past performance ratings on previous similar government work.
We have discussed meeting the initial past performance challenge for companies new to government contracting in the following discussion:
The primary purpose of past performance evaluations is to ensure that accurate data on contractor performance is current and available for use in source selections. A past performance evaluation report provides a record of a contractor’s performance, both positive and negative, on a given contract during a specified period of time.This article will focus on accessing your past performance record, and explain how the government rates a contractor’s past performance.
ACCESS
The following is an extract from the Contractor Past Performance Information Retrieval Web Site on obtaining information on your company information there: Contractor Past Performance Assessment Reporting System
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PAST PERFORMANCE REVIEW CONTENTS BY KEY ASSESSMENT ELEMENT
Below are the key assessment elements required for contractor reviews of major procurement sectors in federal government contracting. Assessment Elements for the Systems
SectorTechnical (Quality of Product) —This element is comprised of an overall rating and six sub elements.
Activity critical to successfully complying with contract requirements must be assessed within one or more of these sub-elements. The overall rating at the element level is the Program Manager’s integrated assessment as to what most accurately depicts the contractor’s technical performance or progress toward meeting requirements. It is not a predetermined roll-up of the sub-element assessments.
Product Performance—Assess the achieved product performance relative to performanceparameters required by the contract.Systems Engineering—Assess the contractor’s effort to transform operational needs andrequirements into an integrated system design solution.
Software Engineering—Assess the contractor’s success in meeting contract requirements for software development, modification, or maintenance. Results from Software Capability Evaluations (SCEs) (using the Software Engineering Institute {SEI’s} Capability Maturity Model {CMM} as a means of measurement), Software Development Capability Evaluations (SDCEs), or similar software assessments may be used as a source of information to support this evaluation.Logistic Support/Sustainment—Assess the success of the contractor’s performance in accomplishing logistics planning.
Product Assurance—Assess how successfully the contractor meets program quality objectives (e.g., producibility, reliability, maintainability, inspectability, testability, system safety) and controls the overall manufacturing process.
Other Technical Performance—Assess all the other technical activity critical to successful contract performance. Identify any additional assessment aspects that are unique to the contract or that cannot be captured in another sub-element.
SCHEDULE—Assess the timeliness of the contractor against the completion of the contract, task orders, milestones, delivery schedules, administrative requirements, etc.
COST CONTROL—(Not required for firm-fixed-price or firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment contracts.) Assess the contractor’s effectiveness in forecasting, managing, and controlling contract cost, including reporting and analyzing variances.
Management—This element is comprised of an overall rating and three sub-elements. Activity critical to successfully executing the contract must be assessed within one or more of these sub-elements. This overall rating at the element level is the Program Manager’s integrated assessment as to what most accurately depicts the contractor’s performance in managing the contracted effort. It is not a predetermined roll-up of the sub-element assessments.
Management Responsiveness—Assess the timeliness, completeness, and quality of problem identification, corrective action plans, proposal submittals (especially responses to change orders, engineering change proposals, or other undefinitized contract actions), the contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior, effective business relations, and customer satisfaction.
Subcontract Management—Assess the contractor’s success with timely award and management of subcontracts, including whether the contractor met or exceeded small business, small disadvantaged business, small business HUBZone, veteran-owned small business, service disabled veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business participation and subcontracting goals.
Program Management and Other Management—Assess the extent to which the contractor discharges its responsibility for integration and coordination of all activity needed to execute the contract, identifies and applies resources required to meet schedule requirements, assigns responsibility for tasks/actions required by contract, and communicates appropriate information to affected program elements in a timely manner. Assess the contractor’s risk management practices, especially the ability to identify risks and formulate and implement risk mitigation plans. If applicable, identify and assess any other areas that are unique to the contract or that cannot be captured elsewhere under the Management element.Assessment Elements for the Services, Information Technology, and Operations Support Sectors
QUALITY OF PRODUCT OR SERVICE—Assess the contractor’s conformance to contract requirements, specifications, quality of software product and development, and standards of good workmanship (e.g., commonly accepted technical, professional, environmental, or safety and health standards).SCHEDULE—Assess the contractor’s timeliness against the completion of the contract, task orders, milestones, delivery schedules, and administrative requirements (e.g., efforts that contribute to or effect the schedule variance).
COST CONTROL—(Not required for firm-fixed-price or firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment contracts.) Assess the contractor’s effectiveness in forecasting, managing, and controlling contract cost, including reporting and analyzing variances.
BUSINESS RELATIONS—Assess the integration and coordination of all activity needed to execute the contract, specifically the timeliness, completeness, and quality of problem identification, corrective action plans, proposal submittals, the contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior, customer satisfaction, timely award and management of subcontracts, and whether the contractor met small business, small disadvantaged business, small business HUBZone, veteran-owned small business, service disabled veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business participation and subcontracting goals.
MANAGEMENT OF KEY PERSONNEL (for Services and Information Technology business sectors only)—Assess the contractor’s performance in selecting, retaining, supporting, and replacing—when necessary—key personnel.
SUMMARY
Regular review of your past performance information system data is vital to your future marketing efforts. Please feel free to download the Guide to the Past Performance Retrieval System in the second, vertical Box Net “References” cube in the left margin of the below site.
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