Small Business Forum Offers Participants Keys to Recovery Act Contracting
Safety, Transparency Stressed as Must-Haves in Recovery Act Contracting
Augusta, Ga. – About 600 small business owners and representatives gathered at the Augusta Marriott in downtown Augusta on Nov. 2, enthusiastic and hopeful to get pointers on how to qualify for a contract with the Recovery Act Project at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
In February, the U.S. Congress allocated $1.6 billion to SRS to hire or retain up to 3,000 people to work on cleanup projects that will reduce the footprint of the site by 67 percent, freeing space for future reuse at the project’s end in September 2011.
The small business procurement formula was revealed in the following three parts in the morning’s presentations and breakout sessions: 1. Safety is always the top priority. 2. Funding is based on performance. 3. Encourage hiring local talent and establishing an office in one of the nearby counties.
The all-day program started with overviews of the Recovery Act Project at SRS, delivered by Dr. Vince Adams, U.S. Department of Energy-Savannah River (DOE-SR) Recovery Act Portfolio manager; Garry Flowers, president and chief executive officer of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, (SRNS); and Jim French, president and project manager of Savannah River Remediation, LLC, (SRR). Ralph Holland, assistant director of Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center, Office of Contracting, U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) was the lunch-time speaker.
The thread common to the four talks was that all Recovery Act work at SRS is to be performed safely and transparently, with accountability to the public and the government. “There is unprecedented transparency,” Adams said. “Everything is open.”
Adams said contractors must operate safely, concentrate on project management, and realize that funding is based on performance if their business is selected. “If you do not perform, you do not get additional funding,” he said.
“We need good contractors, and we need safe contractors,” Flowers added in his talk. “You will be expected to comply with the same policies and procedures as the Site does.”
French, whose group joined the Recovery Act a month ago, after it was awarded $200 million of the $1.6 billion, said those involved in his projects would have to “run harder and run faster” with the accelerated cleanup schedule.
During the lunch-time presentation Holland said contractors must meet the objectives of the Recovery Act and perform work promptly and transparently.
SRS held the forum to inform and engage as many small businesses as possible to be part of Recovery Act projects at the Site.
The forum’s success was largely due to the innovative opportunity it gave small business representatives to meet face-to-face with procurement specialists from SRNS and SRR, the Site’s management and operation contractor and the liquid waste contractor at the site. These “matchmaking” sessions, each 10 minutes long, lasted 4 hours and ran concurrently with other forum events. They offered businesses a chance to present their companies to Recovery Act Project procurement specialists and obtain the information they need to qualify for a Recovery Act contract. About 600 people participated.
Throughout the day, attendees also visited tabletop displays set up by about 50 companies to both attract business and teaming partners.
Carter Wallace, with Southway Crane & Rigging in Lexington, S.C., was with one of the companies displaying its services at the forum.
“We wanted to get our foot in the door with the Recovery Act,” Wallace said. “We came here to meet procurement representatives and share what our company does best.” Wallace’s company, with offices in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida, supplies cranes and rigging equipment. “We’ve met people who were walking by and said they could use our service.”
He said the forum was a good way for small businesses to access the Site. “You can’t just go out to the Site and say, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you,’” he said.
Gary Benda, vice president for business development with Cavanaugh Services Group, Inc., a woman-owned business already under contract to dispose of 14,800 depleted uranium oxide-filled drums, felt his day was a success. “They brought us up-to-date with what’s happening,” said Benda. “We were given solid facts that are needed for companies to get started and current information for those who already are performing Recovery Act work at the Site.
“They stressed transparency and showed us where the tax dollars are being spent, which is key because the recipients are taxpayers, too.”
Jim Hussey, from the Office of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, said the forum was a great way to help Sen. Chambliss’s constituents obtain Recovery Act work. “It provides an opportunity for all businesses to know what is going on at the Site and with DOE,” he said. “I think it is great that SRS stressed the safety requirements expected of its contractors. I’m hopeful that contracts will be awarded to some of the small businesses attending today’s event.”
Joe Lewis, board chairman of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, saw a lot of familiar faces at the forum. He said the Recovery Act is making a difference to Aiken businesses. “I hope it will open up a lot of new doors as far as for contracts and procurement at the Site,” he said.
To register as a potential Recovery Act supplier, look at the business opportunities
