Incumbent Honeywell FM&T Only Company With Reps at Conference
Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
1/9/2015
A preproposal conference and site tour for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus procurement this week drew representatives from just one company, incumbent Kansas City contractor Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, NS&D Monitor has learned. The public and press were barred from attending the preproposal conference and site tour, which was open only to representatives from companies that filed a non-binding Intent to Submit an Offer with the agency, and the low attendance at the event raises questions about the likelihood of competition for the plant management and operating contract.
Industry officials had already wondered whether there would be competition for the contract because of a strong emphasis on past performance, a lack of technical approach required, and a focus on nuclear manufacturing in the Request for Proposals. That, combined with the daunting task of competing against Honeywell, one of the top performing contractors in the weapons complex in recent years, has fueled speculation that companies could shy away from bidding for the contract.
‘No Surprise’
The contract drew initial interest from top Pentagon contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and Raytheon along with IBM and Babcock & Wilcox. Those companies, however, appear to be shying away from bidding, according to industry officials. “I don’t think anyone should be surprised here—NNSA clearly should not be,” one industry official said. “They wrote the RFP in a very specific way, scheduled and restricted the preproposal conference in a very specific way, and the result is a very specific outcome: One bidder. No surprise.”
Several other industry officials were pessimistic about the chance for competition on the contract, though one official said the way the RFP was written—without a requirement for a technical approach—lessened the importance of showing up for the conference and site tour. “Since it doesn’t ask how you’d run it I don’t think you have to be there,” the official said. “If I was going to do a stealth bid I’d probably not go.”
NNSA Had Expected Competition
The NNSA did not respond to a request for comment on the attendance at the preproposal conference. NNSA spokeswoman Shelley Laver previously said the agency received interest from “several potential offerors” after issuing a Request for Information in June. “The RFI also requested industry input on potential barriers to competition as well as suggestions to streamline and improve the procurement process,” Laver said in November. “NNSA considered the input from industry in its decision and in its approach to the competition, and NNSA believes the resulting procurement will be highly competitive.”
What Impact Did Closing Conference Have?
The decision to bar the public and press from the preproposal conference and site tour represented a change in approach from previous NNSA procurements. While preproposal conferences and industry days for previous major NNSA procurements at Y-12/Pantex, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and the Nevada National Security Site were open to the public and press, Laver said the event was closed because the agency is in an active procurement.
A Request for Proposals was released in December, and proposals are due Feb. 10. “Any exchanges of information, to include pre-proposal meetings, must be consistent with Federal procurement integrity requirements laid out in FAR 3.104,” Laver said. “The pre-proposal conference is being held to exchange information with potential offerors to better their understanding of the Government’s requirements and allow them to determine whether or how best they can satisfy those requirements.” Laver said it is the “norm throughout the Federal Government” to limit the preproposal conference to “interested parties,” which federal acquisition requirements define as “potential offerors, end users, Government acquisition and supporting personnel, and others involved in the conduct or outcome of the acquisition.”
Industry officials questioned the decision by NNSA, suggesting that an open conference could help competition. With small business participation being one of the three main evaluation criterion for the RFP (past performance and key personnel are the other two), one industry official said he was baffled that there wasn’t an open conference that would allow small and disadvantaged companies a chance to network with potential prime bidders. “There’s no logic that I can think of to not allow people to go into an unclassified meeting in an unclassified conference room,” one industry official said. “Having it open can only get broader wisdom out there about what’s going on and theoretically increase the potential for good competition. I don’t see any compelling reason to restrict participation to the public meeting part of it.”
