AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- The 31st Contracting Squadron hosted an Industry Day conference for approximately 50 potential contractors in Pordenone, Italy, Nov. 9, 2018.
“This was the first Industry Day we’ve done in a few years and it was an opportunity for us to learn and observe how the Italians do business, as well as for them to learn more about us,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Stoermer, 31 CONS contract manager. “We were able to extend an olive branch to the construction industry and ultimately work toward a better working relationship.”
During the conference, the contracting squadron offered information about several processes, held an open forum and also participated in one-on-one sessions with the contractors.
“For the first time in the history of Aviano, we are offering a Multiple Award Construction Contract, which is a five-year contract awarded to five or six different contractors,” said Ivana Barac, 31 CONS contract specialist. “During that five-year period, the contractors that have been previously selected will be able to compete against each other for each project we have available.”
The idea behind the MACC is that it will streamline the process of awarding projects and lead to hiring contractors who are genuinely interested in performing each task, Barac continued.
While many contractors may be interested in the projects offered on Aviano Air Base, not every company is fully prepared for all that is required.
“There are several hardships that come with working in a restricted area and following U.S. rules that these companies might not know about,” Stoermer said. “Normally these contractors can just show up at any off-base construction site and complete the job, now they have to plan weeks in advance to be able to get access to the base.”
According to Barac, these contractors also have to be prepared to follow codes and regulations for both the U.S. and Italy, as well as Air Force Instructions and Department of Defense rules.
Currently the process for a single contract that needs to be awarded starts off with a 30-day solicitation of the project and is followed by a review of each company’s proposal.
“The issue is you don’t know who is going to respond back and you don’t truly know the qualifications of these individuals, which makes it very time-consuming to review each package,” Stoermer said. “With the MACC, we’ll be able to choose from companies who have already been reviewed and who are already prepared to work on base.”
Starting around March 2019, contractors will be available to submit their proposals for the MACC to the 31 CONS.
“Once we post the advertisement, it will include instructions on how to submit proposals and also explain how they will be graded,” Stoermer said. “Some factors include technical capabilities, experience, past work performance and also their pricing structure.”
With this new way forward, Aviano Air Base has an opportunity to develop reliable local partnerships to help maintain facilities that support the mission, while also providing a large amount of work opportunities to our local businesses and communities.
Once the advertisement is posted, proposals can be submitted by visiting https://www.fbo.gov.