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   Starting the Procurement Process
   1. Generally, procurements at the Laboratory can be initiated using the following methods:
      1. Checking the Laboratory's Excess Property for the item or material required
      2. Online ordering through eBuy, the electronic commerce ordering system for low-value catalog items available to all Laboratory personnel with an LDAP account
      3. Online or fax ordering through B2B Systems Contracts with designated suppliers
      4. Requesting a Division PCard cardholder to purchase low-value, nonrestricted supplies
      5. Submitting an electronic eProcurement (ePro) requisition through the PeopleSoft/Oracle Financial Management System (FMS) for one-time purchases of unique items not available from eBuy or B2B
      6. Placing a release against a pre-established blanket subcontract, if authorized
   2. Refer to the Step-by-Step Buying Guide on the Procurement Web site for detailed information on these procurement methods

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   Procurement Process Flowchart The following is a flowchart of the Laboratory's overall procurement process:
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   Purchase Actions Placed by Procurement The following are some of the types of purchase actions placed by Procurement:
   • Architect and engineer (A&E) services
   • Aviation services (special purchases)
   • Blanket subcontracts for goods and/or services
   • Books, periodicals, and other publications procured by the Information Technology Division library under blanket subcontracts established by Procurement
   • Chemicals (special purchases)
   • Computer or Automatic Data Processing (ADP) equipment (special purchases)
   • Construction work
   • Consultant agreements
   • Contract labor (special purchases)
   • Cost-type subcontracts (primarily for research and development)
   • Environmental subcontracts
   • Exchange/trade-in/upgrade of equipment or personal property
   • Fabrications
   • Firm-fixed-price or firm-fixed-price level of effort (LOE) subcontracts
   • Industrial gases, e.g., helium (special purchases)
   • Intra-University Transactions (IUTs) for work at University of California campuses
   • Isotopes (special purchases)
   • Leases and rentals of equipment and other personal property (special purchases)
   • Leases for real estate rentals (special purchases) (for off-site space procedures, see RPM Section 1.20[D])
   • Maintenance (some items)
   • Personal service agreements
   • Precious metals (special purchases)
   • Repairs (some items, special purchases)
   • Software licenses (special purchases)
   • Subcontracts with other DOE laboratories, facilities, or contractors; these subcontracts are sometimes called DOE Contractor Orders
   • Subcontracts with government agencies or organizations for special materials not commercially available — DOE approval is required (special purchases)
   • Telecommunications (special purchases)
   • Utility services (special purchases)

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   Transactions Not Permitted as a Procurement (prohibited or restricted by the UC-DOE Prime Contract)
   • Advertising (except for specific or unique procurement actions like construction and Laboratory employment notices)
   • Aircraft purchases
   • Alcoholic beverages
   • Business cards
   • Contingent fees
   • Contributions or donations
   • Entertainment expenses
   • Fines or penalties
   • Lobbying costs
   • Memberships in social, dining, or country clubs
   • Motor vehicles
   • Narcotics (illegal)
   • Ornamental items (e.g., pictures, plants)
   • Parking spaces on an individual basis
   • Promotional items, memorabilia, models, gifts, and souvenirs
5. Borrowing
   1. Arrangements to borrow equipment or material from other government organizations are processed by Property Management. Employees must submit a Borrow Summary form to Property Management for authorization prior to delivery of any borrowed equipment or material on site.
   2. Arranging for property to be borrowed from a commercial vendor for testing in anticipation of acquiring the property is the sole responsibility of the division. The division is responsible for documenting the borrow arrangement in writing, adequately addressing the Laboratory's liability, and managing and controlling the asset until it is either returned to the vendor or formally acquired. All property coming on site, regardless of purpose, must be cleared by an Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) safety officer. Borrowers should contact their Division Safety Liaison to facilitate clearance.

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   Special Treatment Items
   1. Special-treatment items, including hazardous, controlled, and special materials, require special internal approvals or safety measures. These items may only be purchased when the specified requirements are met. Certain items in this category may not be purchased using a PCard or a B2B Systems Contract, and must be requested with an ePro requisition. Special-treatment items allowed to be purchased through the eBuy application are automatically routed to the designated organizations for approval or review. EBuy users must still comply with safety and other requirements associated with purchases of special-treatment items. Refer to the Special Treatment Items on the Restricted Items List.

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   Precious Metals
   1. Eight DOE-identified precious metals — gold, silver, platinum, rhodium, palladium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium — are restricted-issue items. Purchases of precious metals must be requested by ePro requisitions authorized by career Laboratory employees, and must be made through Procurement's designated precious-metals procurement specialist.

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   Fabrications
   1. Equipment or materials unavailable from commercial sources may be fabricated at the Laboratory by job order or outside the Laboratory by a subcontract. The OCFO/Budget will determine whether a fabrication should be charged to an operations equipment account. Requests for such determinations should be accompanied by a statement indicating the need for the item, a description or drawing, the desired fabrication schedule, and a cost estimate for fabrication or installation.

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   Construction and Architect-Engineer (A&E) Subcontracts
   1. Subcontracts for architect-engineer services will be performed in accordance with the requirements of the LBNL Laboratory Procurement Standard Practices Manual. Selection of subcontractors will be based primarily on the offeror's professional qualifications, specific experience and competence, and past performance. Cost, price, or other factors may also be considered in the selection of A&E subcontractors. With the exception of design-and-build subcontracts, no subcontract for construction work will be awarded to the subcontractor that prepared the design, or its subsidiaries or affiliates, unless approved by DOE.
   2. Subcontracts for construction will be performed in accordance with the requirements of the Laboratory Procurement Standard Practices Manual and applicable laws and regulations. In the event of a conflict between state of California and federal requirements, federal requirements will be given precedence. Subcontracts for construction, alteration, or repair of Laboratory facilities are subject to the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which requires that laborers and mechanics receive no less than prevailing wages established by the Department of Labor.

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    Blanket Subcontracts
    1. Blanket subcontracts are used when a recurring need for goods or services is anticipated. They enable quantity discounts to be obtained and Laboratory stocks to be maintained at minimum levels, and help avoid the administrative cost of issuing multiple subcontracts.
    2. Product analysis, market analysis, and/or prior purchasing history are used to determine whether a blanket subcontract is advantageous to the Laboratory. Consideration is also given to socioeconomic subcontracting goals. Blanket subcontracts are often placed by Procurement for Laboratory-wide requirements. Any product or service requested by an authorized technical coordinator under a blanket subcontract is called an "order." Most blanket subcontracts have a listing of Laboratory personnel authorized to place orders and their level of authority.

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    Acquisition of Excess Property
    1. The Laboratory is authorized to obtain used equipment or materials from government excess-material lists. The EH&S Division must be consulted when such an acquisition involves a potential hazard. Requirements for equipment or sensitive property must be coordinated with the OCFO/Property Management Group after or concurrent with these consultations. Requests for procurement of excess property are processed by Procurement.

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    Emergency Circumstances
    1. In the event of emergency circumstances outside of normal working hours, when normal procurement methods are not available, employees are permitted to purchase low-value items by using a Laboratory travel charge card, when on travel status, or a personal credit card or cash when in the local area.
    2. An emergency circumstance is any circumstance requiring that a procurement be made in order to avoid, eliminate, or reduce imminently hazardous or destructive situations involving persons or property, including the potential loss of important experimental data or hardware.
    3. Travel Charge Card. When on travel status, employees are allowed to use their Laboratory travel charge card for the purchase of low-value items needed in the course of their work during the travel. The limit on miscellaneous business expenses while on travel is determined by the traveler's division/department based on business need. Reimbursement requires submittal of a travel expense report approved by the original approver of the trip. Pre-trip approval is required. The required documentation (receipts, etc.) and limits are governed by the Laboratory travel policies contained in RPM Section 11.08, Travel and Expense Policy.
    4. Personal Credit Card or Cash. Purchases made under emergency circumstances using a personal credit card or cash are reimbursable by filling out a Request for Issuance of Check (RFIC) form, which must be approved by an authorized signer on the Laboratory's Signature Authorization System. The RFIC form requires the employee to certify that the expense is allowable and represents official Laboratory business. Although prior approval is not required, the form must be signed by the employee's supervisor or a higher-level official. Original receipts are required.
    5. Request for Issuance of Check. The RFIC process is used by on-site Laboratory locations when other means of procurement are not possible. Requests for reimbursement to Laboratory employees or third parties for allowable goods and services are processed using the RFIC form. The request is submitted to the OCFO/Accounts Payable for approval and processing. See Financial Policies and Procedures-RFIC.
    6. To receive reimbursement, the purchase must satisfy the following conditions:
       1. The item or service is not available through one of the methods in the Step-by-Step Buying Guide.
       2. The item or service is not on the Restricted Items List, except for properly authorized employee safety shoes.
       3. The vendor is not on Procurement's Employee-Vendor List (potential conflict of interest) or the GSA Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) database.
       4. The purchase is supported by a cash receipt or other appropriate proof of payment.
    7. When the purchase is made in California, the vendor must be advised that the Laboratory holds California state sales permit SR CH 21-835970 (also known as a Resale Certificate) and California state sales tax does not apply.

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    Lead Times
    1. For the procurement process to work most efficiently, the following procurement lead times should be considered:
       1. The requisition lead time (i.e., the time it takes the requester to prepare and submit a complete and approved requisition package to Procurement)
       2. The lead time that Procurement needs to obtain and evaluate offers, conduct negotiations as necessary, and award a subcontract for the requirement. Refer to the Procurement Award Lead Time Chart for typical processing times.
       3. The subcontractor's performance lead time necessary to deliver the required goods or services
    2. If the requirement is urgent, explain the emergency to the procurement specialist as soon as possible. If accelerated performance from a subcontractor is required, the requesting organization may have to pay for premium time, and costs may substantially increase.
    3. Additionally, requesters must notify Procurement of planned acquisitions of $500,000 or more as far in advance as is reasonably possible, but at least 30 days prior to submitting a requisition. See D.3.1.d, below.
    4. The Procurement Award Lead Time Chart does not include all approvals and other determinations that may be required before a particular subcontract may be awarded. When any other factors exist, they should be addressed in the requisition, with the appropriate checkboxes marked, comments added in designated sections, and the necessary attachments or documentation included, to ensure more efficient processing of the procurement.
    5. A procurement specialist knowledgeable in the specific type of procurement requirement and the associated industry can be consulted to obtain an estimate of the subcontractor's performance time before submitting the requisition to Procurement. See the Procurement Liaisons List.

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    Subcontractor Safety
    1. The Laboratory is required to ensure that subcontractor personnel who perform work at Laboratory facilities do so in a safe manner in compliance with applicable regulations (PUB-3000, Chapter 31, Nonconstruction Safety Assurance for Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests). Before subcontractors can perform "hands-on work" (see PUB-3000, Section 31.5.3) at Laboratory facilities, a Subcontractor Job Hazards Analysis and Work Authorization (SJHAWA) for Non-Construction Activities form must be completed and reviewed by EH&S. Typically, the requester obtains and fills in the first part of the SJHAWA form. This is then sent to Procurement as part of the ePro requisition. Upon award of the subcontract, Procurement provides a Web link for the SJHAWA to the subcontractor for completion. The subcontractor identifies safety risks involved for the work on the SJHAWA. Further information about subcontractor safety requirements is available on the EH&S Non-Construction Safety Assurance for Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests at LBNL Facilities Web site.

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