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| 11. Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act- The Davis-Bacon Act requires that construction laborers and mechanics employed directly at the work site be paid not less than the prevailing wage rates as determined by the Department of Labor (DOL) in a wage determination. The act's requirements and the applicable wage determinations must be included in Berkeley Lab's construction subcontracts.
- The Service Contract Act requires that service employees (as defined) under a service subcontract be paid not less than the minimum wages and fringe benefits determined by the DOL in a wage determination. The act's requirements and the applicable wage determination must be included in the Berkeley Lab's service subcontracts.
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| 12. Employment Eligibility VerificationFederal contractors, subcontractors, and second-tier subcontractors are required to enroll in the federal government's employment eligibility verification program (E-Verify), and to use it to verify the employment eligibility of their employees assigned to the contract or subcontract and of all new hires working in the United States. Berkeley Lab includes this requirement in its service subcontracts as applicable, and verifies the subcontractor's enrollment in the E-Verify program. Anchor |
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| 13. Aviation ServicesAll charter and lease agreements between aviation service subcontractors and Berkeley Lab must adhere to the safety policies and procedures of DOE Order 440.2B (Aviation Management and Safety) or its successor order. Anchor |
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| 14. Human Subjects ResearchNo research involving human subjects may be initiated without both a project assurance and approval by the cognizant Institutional Review Board (IRB). At Berkeley Lab, the IRB is the Human Subjects Committee. The requester or technical representative must coordinate any potential subcontracts with human subjects research well in advance with the Human and Animal Research Committees (HARC) Office at the Berkeley Lab. Procurement-related responsibilities of the requester or technical representative are detailed in the Customer Guide Human Subjects Related Procurements located on the Procurement Customer Guide web page. Anchor |
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| 15. System for Award Management- Enrollment: Subcontractors are required to enroll, and maintain annual registration, in the federal government's System for Award Management (SAM) database within 30 days of subcontract award. Failing to register or maintain registration is considered a breach of subcontract, and may result in contract termination.
- Debarment: The Berkeley Lab is not permitted to do business with a supplier that has been debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment, unless pre-approved by the DOE. The SAM database tracks suppliers who have been debarred by the federal government.
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| 16. Sustainable Products and EPEAT®- Berkeley Lab is committed to sustainable environmental stewardship. "Green" Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) should be specified when purchasing items for Berkeley Lab. When ordering items on eBuy, look for green alternatives by following the "recycled" links or searching for "remanufactured" products. Links to EPP resources are provided on the Sustainable Procurement web page of the Procurement website.
- EPEAT®-registered certification is required for specific electronic equipment. A product search is available on the EPEAT® website. Any non-EPEAT® item must be purchased through an ePro requisition with an explanation for approval.
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| 17. Property- The majority of property at Berkeley Lab is federal government owned. Government-furnished property (GFP) is property owned by the federal government and made available to a subcontractor for its use during performance of work under a specific subcontract with Berkeley Lab. The term includes government-furnished equipment and government-furnished supplies. Subcontractor-acquired property (SAP) is property that a subcontractor acquires as a directly reimbursable item of cost for use in the performance of the subcontract.
- Berkeley Lab is responsible to DOE for managing all federal government property in its possession. If GFP and/or SAP will be used by the subcontractor in the performance of the subcontract, the requester should inform Procurement at the beginning of the procurement process so that the specific property can be identified in the subcontract. The only exceptions are GFP that will be:
- Incorporated in the final deliverable, for example, providing copper to be used by subcontractor for a fabrication; or
- Consumed during the performance of the subcontract.
- If the specific property can be identified at the beginning of the procurement process, the requester must provide:
- A detailed item description(s) (make/model).
- Quantity of items.
- The federal government/Berkeley Lab property identification number(s).
- The approximate acquisition value(s).
- Because Berkeley Lab is responsible to DOE for managing all federal government property in its possession, procurement actions involving GFP and/or SAP must be coordinated with Procurement and Property Management throughout the process, from requisition to subcontract closeout.
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| D.4 Solicitations Anchor |
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| 1. General- Procurement acquires the majority of goods and services through competitive solicitations. Procurement's involvement in the solicitation process ensures responsive, reasonable, and fair offers. It also permits discussions and negotiations with suppliers regarding all the terms and conditions of the subcontract and, in some cases, allows an offeror the opportunity to revise its offer before a decision is made regarding subcontract award. Elements to be negotiated may be limited to price, but often extend to other factors, including delivery period, payment schedule, specifications or statement of work, and patent and technical data rights.
- The requester should ensure Procurement is involved early in the procurement planning process to ensure solicitations are processed as required.
- Laboratory Procurement personnel will communicate directly with potential suppliers to ensure Berkeley Lab takes into account the terms and conditions or other requirements that might affect the purchase and resulting subcontract.
- As described in Section D.1, Overview, only Procurement personnel and other individuals with delegated procurement authority can solicit offers/proposals from suppliers that may result in the negotiation and award of subcontracts. Any solicitations performed by non-Procurement personnel may require another solicitation be performed by Procurement to ensure responsive, reasonable, and fair offers, thereby delaying the subcontract award. Any information obtained by non-Procurement personnel from a supplier on price, availability, or other product or service-related information is treated strictly as information.
- Two different types of solicitations are used at Berkeley Lab to solicit offers for evaluation with the intent of entering into a subcontract: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) solicitations and Best Value Source Selection (BVSS) solicitations.
- LPTA solicitations are used when the requirement is clearly definable and cost/price is a predominant factor in source selection.
- BVSS solicitations are used when a subcontractor will be selected based on other factors (e.g., technical excellence, methodology, or proposed personnel) and cost/price is not the predominant factor. Performance features and supplier attributes are developed that Berkeley Lab believes are desirable in meeting its objectives for the procurement. These features and attributes will serve as the basis for the preparation and the evaluation of the offers.
- Evaluation Teams
- For all BVSS solicitations and some LPTA solicitations, Procurement will establish an evaluation team consisting of the requester and other subject matter experts. Evaluation teams are small (normally not exceeding five voting members) and usually have an odd number of voting members, including the procurement specialist chairperson, to provide a tie-breaker if needed during the evaluation process.
- The procurement specialist discusses the issue of conflicts of interest with the evaluation team members and reviews the list of offerors for possible conflicts of interest. Non-Procurement evaluation team members are required to sign a Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Acknowledgment.
- Answers to any technical questions must be coordinated between the procurement specialist and the technical representative/requester. The procurement specialist must be privy to, and must participate in, all communications between the technical representative/requester and potential offerors during the solicitation phase. Any information given to one potential offeror that would constitute an unfair competitive advantage must be given to all potential offerors.
- During competitive procurements, it is important that source selection sensitive information not be disclosed prior to award to those outside the evaluation team if that information was not previously made public. Source selection sensitive information includes, but is not limited to: cost or pricing data, offerors' proprietary information, information identified by an offeror as proposal information, technical evaluations, cost or price evaluations, and finalist determinations.
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| D.5 Evaluation Anchor |
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| 1. General- Evaluation of offers/proposals may be as simple as determining the low price on a commercial item or may involve a very detailed analysis of technical, management, and cost/price criteria. For many procurements, the offers/proposals are evaluated by the procurement specialist and the requester. For more complex procurements competed using the solicitation process, an evaluation team will perform the evaluation of offers/proposals in accordance with the criteria set forth in the solicitation.
- Although the procurement specialist is responsible for conducting the evaluation, the requester has an important role in evaluating technical proposals, analyzing quantitative elements, and otherwise advising on Berkeley Lab's negotiation position. Depending on what is being purchased, the procurement specialist may request the assistance of the requester in performing a technical review or a technical analysis of the elements of offers/proposals other than cost/price, as required.
- Technical reviews are performed by the requester to evaluate a technical offer/proposal to determine whether it meets the requirements of the solicitation.
- Technical analyses are performed by the requester for offers/proposals that are more complex or require a cost analysis and involve a more in-depth analysis of the quantitative and qualitative elements of a technical offer/proposal, and potential intellectual property issues. This in-depth analysis is required to determine the need for and reasonableness of the resources proposed in an offer/proposal, assuming reasonable economy and efficiency.
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| 2. Cost or Price AnalysisUsing the technical evaluation information provided, along with information from other sources, the procurement specialist will analyze the proposed cost or price to determine if it is reasonable as proposed, or whether further negotiations are warranted. Anchor |
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| 3. Conducting Negotiations- The procurement specialist is responsible for conducting all negotiations with offerors. The requester's support may be required to analyze new information or responses provided by the offeror during the course of the negotiations. Working as a team, the procurement specialist and requester seek to obtain the required goods and services at reasonable prices and under reasonable terms.
- Discussions with offerors are particularly sensitive during solicitation, evaluation of offers, and negotiation. Requesters shall not have separate discussions or negotiations with offerors without the involvement of the procurement specialist.
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| D.6 Noncompetitive ProcurementsA procurement is noncompetitive when an offer/proposal is solicited from and a procurement award is made to only one source/subcontractor. Berkeley Lab uses the terms "sole source" and "noncompetitive" synonymously in describing the procurement process followed in such cases. Berkeley Lab must ensure that it competes its procurements to the maximum extent possible, consistent with efficient performance of the program mission and the nature of supplies and services being purchased. Consequently, noncompetitive (sole-source) procurements should be used only when no other reasonable alternatives exist. Anchor |
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| 1. Sole Source Justification- The requester must provide a formal sole source justification for certain types of noncompetitive procurements. See the Procurement Sole Sourcing web page for guidance on when a sole source justification is required. The Sole Source Justification Procurement Form must be used for providing these justifications. See the Procurement Forms web page to download the form.
- Generally, a noncompetitive action may be justified for the following reasons:
- Unique capability, expertise, facilities, or equipment that no other source can provide to satisfy Berkeley Lab's requirements.
- Compatibility with existing equipment and/or standardization of parts.
- Follow-on work for continued development or enhancement of a specialized system, equipment, or services when it is likely that an award to a source other than the incumbent subcontractor would result in substantial duplication of costs (relative to overall costs) that would not be recovered or would cause unacceptable delays in fulfilling the program needs.
- The identified source is acknowledged to be the leader in its field of expertise as demonstrated in reputable and valid literature, symposia presentations, etc. While normally not appropriate for commercial goods and services, this identification may be appropriate in subcontracting for research and development services.
- An unusual or compelling urgency exists that would cause an adverse or programmatic impact (generally related to schedule, security, or regulatory issues, or environmental, safety, or health issues) of such nature and magnitude that a sole-source justification is merited if there is a delay in award.
- Required to establish or maintain a source for industrial mobilization or an essential engineering, development, or research capability.
- Authorized or required by statute or international agreement.
- National security or public interest reasons.
- Unique bonding, insurance, or indemnification requirements (appropriate only if subcontractor is a large business).
- Services of an expert or neutral person for any current or anticipated litigation or dispute.
- The requester and the buyer must work together to assure that the justification is appropriate and defensible. The written sole source justification must address the following information, as applicable:
- A description of the items or services to be procured (including any important/unique features and minimum requirements).
- The reason(s) for the request with a narrative explanation of why the subcontractor, University of California (UC) campus, or DOE Facility Contractor is the only qualified source, based on the identified reason(s), including a description of any unique capabilities, experience, expertise, facilities, or equipment
- Separate analysis, including any market research that may have been performed to support the conclusion. Documentation could include proposals received, email correspondence, etc. If market research was performed, a list showing the requirements, each prospective supplier identified/contacted, and all suppliers who did not meet the requirements (and which requirement each failed to meet) is helpful.
- Whether there is potential for follow-up purchase(s) that would have to be from the same source.
- An informal justification may be requested by the procurement specialist, and if requested, must be provided for noncompetitive (sole-source) procurements under the thresholds listed above.
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| D.7 Requisition SubmittalRequisitions must be created electronically by a trained requisition preparer (see the Procurement Training & Resources website) in the ePro Purchasing Module of the Financial Management System. Requisition preparers should ensure that requisitions are filled out correctly including assigning the correct item category code and do not include Prohibited Items as shown on the Restricted Items List. See Section D.1.2, Restricted Purchases, for more detail. Requisitions and changes to requisitions are to be completed using the guidance provided in the ePro 9.2 User Guide. |