SMPS Federal Procurement Lunch Recap
Posted on Dec. 2, 2022 / Event Recap / Subscribe 0
SMPS DC was excited to host a Federal Procurement Luncheon at Clyde’s Gallery Place in downtown DC on Wednesday, November 16. We had over 65 attendees listen to our panel of experts from USACE Baltimore, NIH, and the Smithsonian Institution.
The event started with 45 minutes of networking time, where old friends and colleagues caught up and new connections were made. There was plenty of time to move around the room and speak with whomever you wanted to meet.
Procurement Committee Chair Suzanne Swistak, CPSM, kicked off the main presentations with a welcome and introduced the event’s moderator, Scott Cullen, from our SMPS Gold Sponsor Axias, Inc. Scott introduced our first presenter of the day from the Smithsonian, Stephanie Felton, PE, the Deputy Director of Planning & Program Management from the Office of Planning, Design & Construction. Stephanie gave a great overview of Smithsonian, talking about their facilities, assets, locations, and organizational breakdown. She reviewed their procurement process, informing the audience that 80-90% of contracts are through 10-year IDIQ contracts. She proceeded to present us with their upcoming A/E contracts and expected construction opportunities that will be procured by the Institute in the upcoming fiscal year. She went beyond the fiscal year to discuss future projects that may be of interest to the A/E/C community. Stephanie had to leave early before the Q&A panel, but was kind enough to answer questions immediately after her presentation.
Zach Price, the Office of Research Facilities NIH Capital Construction –Silver Branch Section Chief was the next to present. Zach gave the attendees an overview of NIH, and their contracting offices, along with their mission and overview of facilities both nationally and locally. He discussed the uniqueness of NIH and their requirements from a standards perspective, having their own Design Requirements Manual (DRM). He emphasized the importance of knowing these requirements repeatedly throughout the presentation. Zach then discussed their contract vehicles; the MACC and A/E MATOC contracts are both currently under contract, with the MACC being awarded in 2019 as an eight-year contract, and the A/E MATOC as a six-year contract. He finished up his presentation by providing hints to winning work with NIH.
Our final presenter was Emily Schiffmacher, Deputy Chief, Engineering Division, USACE Baltimore, accompanied by Vivian Stone, Chief, Real Property Services Field Office Design Management Branch, Engineering Division. Emily wasted no time sharing with us all the upcoming A/E/C opportunities coming out for USACE Baltimore. She broke out the opportunities by Design/Build and Design/Bid/Build, giving us a great map of what to expect from the upcoming year. Emily informed us of new contracting policies and provided a brief update on CMMC. She finished up by discussing trends concerning cost engineering as well as specific district trends on where the money is being spent.
The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Scott Cullen from Axias. There were great questions both from our moderator and the audience, with the panel providing frank and honest answers. Overall, the event was a great success, with SMPS members networking, learning, and enjoying a great meal.
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