AFFARS IG5336.91

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Informational Guidance

IG5336.91
Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer
Requirements (SABER)

January 2004

IG5336.9100 General

IG5336.9101 Scope

This guidance provides suggestions and procedures designed to assist contracting officers and civil engineers in the award and contract administration of Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirements (SABER) contracts. The guidance contained herein is informational. Contracting officers and civil engineers are encouraged to adapt their SABER-like acquisitions and processes to meet their local needs and the local environment.

IG5336.9102 Definitions

(a) SABER contract generally means a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract. A SABER contract includes a collection of detailed task specifications that encompass most types of real property maintenance, repair, and construction work. SABER contracts normally include options for work in years beyond the initial performance period. The significant features of a SABER contract are:

(b) SABER minimum design means a design effort that is incidental to accomplishing the required task. The extent of the design will depend upon the complexity of each task. Generally, however, if the contractor needs to hire the services of a registered architect or engineer to accomplish the design effort, it is outside the parameters of minimum design. The contractor will have to provide sufficient design documentation to substantiate the proposed approach for the task. This documentation may include any or all of the following:

(c) SABER delivery order (DO). Prices for individual SABER DOs are a result of applying the contractor’s coefficients to items covered by the UPG and negotiating prices for items that are not included in the UPG. These non-prepriced items (NPIs) must be within the basic intent and general scope of the contract and be negotiated separately from UPG items prior to issuance of the DO.

IG5336.9103 Purpose of the SABER Program

(a) The purpose of the Air Force SABER program is to expedite contract award of civil engineer requirements by reducing civil engineer design work and acquisition lead-time. SABER is best suited for non-complex, minor construction, and maintenance and repair projects that require minimum design. Larger, more complex requirements may be better suited for Multiple Award Construction Contracts (MACC), task specific ID/IQ contracts (i.e., paving), or stand-alone one-time contracts. Contracting officers should use sound business judgment in selecting the best acquisition strategy for construction projects and should not pick a strategy solely on ease of execution.

(b) Benefits of a successful SABER program include:

IG5336.9104 Limitations to the use of SABER Contracts

(a) General. SABER is not appropriate for large, complex construction projects that require extensive design effort or for predominately single skill/material projects for which competitively awarded contracts or single trade ID/IQ contracts would be more cost effective.

(b) Architect-engineer (A-E) services.

(c) Non-personal services. Non-personal services subject to the provisions of the Service Contract Act (e.g., a DO solely to install carpet when the labor involved exceeds $2,500) are not SABER requirements. The Department of Labor (DOL) has jurisdiction over whether a particular requirement is classified as construction work subject to Davis Bacon Act or services to which the Service Contract Act applies. DOL guidance provides that services such as carpet installation, landscaping, asbestos removal, and building demolition may be performed as construction when the work is incidental to a larger construction project. If the preponderance of the work is non-personal services, even though there may be some incidental related construction work, the project falls under the Services Contract Act and is not a candidate for SABER.

IG5336.9110 Acquisition Planning

IG5336.9111 SABER Working Group

(a) Successful SABER programs require a team effort. CE, Contracting and other affected functionals should form a multi-functional team to plan and implement SABER acquisitions.

(b) The SABER multi-functional team should concentrate on:

IG5336.9112 SABER Specifications and the UPG

Based on the SABER requirements and budget as established, the Base Civil Engineer (BCE), prepares the SABER program specifications. These include the master specification and the technical or guide specifications. The master specification describes the overall scope of the SABER Program and is part of Section C in the RFP. The technical specifications define specific construction standards for tasks to be ordered under the contract and form the basis for developing line item work tasks in the UPG. After developing the specifications, the BCE chooses the UPG.

IG5336.9113 Request for Proposal (RFP)

The SABER RFP should closely mirror the format and content of a large construction solicitation. Unique features of a SABER RFP generally include the following:

IG5336.9121 Processing Civil Engineer Project Orders After Contract Award

(a) The SABER project manager should issue project orders that:

(b) Site visit. The SABER project manager/inspector, contracting officer representative, using organization, and contractor should normally conduct a scope validation/site visit for each project order to discuss topics such as:

(c) Contractor’s project order proposals. The contractor develops a detailed price proposal by identifying necessary tasks in the UPG, verifying as-built drawings, refining quantities, pricing NPIs, preparing working drawings, and developing performance times. The SABER program manager may need to answer questions from the contractor and clarify technical aspects of the project.

(d) DO negotiation.

IG5336.9122 Adding non-prepriced items (NPIs) to the Contract

(a) Negotiating prices for NPIs and incorporating them in a DO does not incorporate the items into the contract for subsequent use as a priced item. To permit subsequent use, the contracting officer must incorporate prices for NPIs by supplemental agreement into the SABER contract itself, in which case they become pre-priced items under the contract. This may occur with an annual update to the UPG or separately at another time during the year.

(b) When negotiating prices for NPIs, ensure the prices include only direct costs. If the contract incorporates a static coefficient for the life of the contract, an economic price adjustment (EPA) clause (see Appendix A) will adjust the prices for these items in subsequent contract periods.

IG5336.9123 Funding

(a) In order to expedite year-end or emergency requirements, the contracting officer may process SABER projects up to the point of award in advance of full project funding. Prior to requesting the contractor’s proposal, the contracting officer should either obtain from the contractor a no-cost agreement (in case the order does not materialize) with acknowledgment that funds are not available, or utilize a line item for project estimating. The latter compensates the contractor for the level of effort expended in estimating, designing, and negotiating the project order in advance of full funding. Any payment the contractor receives under this line item will be offset by a reduction from the negotiated price of the DO if the project results in an award.

(b) The contracting officer normally establishes milestones for actions in support of end-of-year actions to ensure sufficient lead time for SABER review, approval requirements, receipt of preliminary SABER project cost estimates, technical analyses, and negotiations.

IG5336.9130 Options

IG5336.9131 Option Price Adjustments

There are several ways to structure SABER contracts to allow for option price adjustments. One strategy is to incorporate a static UPG for the duration of the contract and allow offerors the opportunity to propose different coefficients for each of the contract periods. Another approach is to incorporate a static coefficient, or coefficients, and update the UPG each period. A third strategy, and probably the most cumbersome and least desirable, is to incorporate a static coefficient and a static UPG. This last approach requires use of an EPA clause to adjust option prices. Appendix A contains a sample clause.

APPENDIX A

SAMPLE CLAUSE FOR SABER ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT (EPA)

(a) Coefficient(s) for SABER options under this contract will be adjusted annually to recognize variations in labor, equipment, and material costs as stated below.

(b) The Market Trends Construction Cost Index (CCI) for the city of [insert where the work is to be performed] as published in the McGraw-Hill publication “Engineering News Record (ENR)” will be used to determine adjustments to the contract coefficients for options under this contract. To determine the amount of adjustment, the contracting officer calculates the change in the index appearing in the issue of ENR published during the month prior to the effective date of the option from [the contracting officer enters the most recently published index at the time of initial contract award]. Eighty percent of this variation will be applied to [the contracting officer enters the coefficient for the initial period of the contract]. If the publication of the index should be discontinued, the parties to the contract will negotiate a replacement index or new contract provision. If a replacement index or contract provision cannot be agreed upon, the contracting officer may unilaterally determine the contract adjustment method, and the contractor may dispute the determination under the Disputes Clause. Adjustments to option year contract coefficients must be determined in accordance with the following formulae:

(c) Adjustment calculations for second and subsequent option years will each be based on the contract coefficient for the initial contract period.

EPA Coefficient-Index Matrix

Action ENR Index Adjustment Factor Coefficient
Contract Award 110.0 N/A 1.03
Option 1 115.4 1.039 1.07
Option 2 130.2 1.147 1.18
Option 3 125.1 1.110 1.14
Option 4 100.0 .927 .96

NOTE: Round calculation results as done in this example.

EPA Calculations

Column 2 - ENR Indices for the options are taken from the issue of the McGraw-Hill publication ENR published during the month prior to the effective date of the option. The ENR Index for the Contract Award is the most recent ENR index published during the month prior to initial contract award.

APPENDIX B

DELIVERY ORDER FILE CHECKLIST

CONTRACT NO: DELIVERY ORDER NO:

DATE ORDER AWARDED:

CONTRACTOR/SUBCONTRACTOR:

AMOUNT OF THIS ORDER:

Checklist Item

Yes

No

1. Does file contain properly approved and classified work request (AF Form 332)?

   

2. Are sufficient funds available and documentation contained within the file?

   

3. Is the memorandum for record of site visit adequate?

   

4. Does the file contain statement of work revisions for changes as a result of the site visit or negotiations?

   

5. Does the contractor’s proposal contain:

   

(a) Proposal for the scope as stated in the request for proposal?

   

(b) Pricing by line item in accordance with the SABER UPG?

   

(c) Non-prepriced items?

   

(d) Method of construction?

   

(e) Other items as stated in the request for proposal?

   

6. Does the file contain an adequate technical evaluation?

   

7. Does the Record of Negotiations provide sufficient detail of the negotiated variances in price, period of performance, quantities, statement of work changes, negotiated methodology, etc.?

   

8. Is DD Form 1155 complete and does it contain:

   

(a) Accounting and appropriation data?

   

(b) Scope of work?

   

(c) Period of performance?

   

(d) Any mandatory methodologies?

   

(e) Negotiated NPIs?

   

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