Learning Activity #1

You are a government Contracting Officer's Representative, and the Contracting Officer has given you a draft of what may be a unilateral change order. The first "ballpark" estimate reveals that costs may increase by $5-10M. Delivery will likely be set back by 3-6 months. Far more stringent inspection requirements will be involved. Experts within your agency disagree wildly on the impacts. You know the contractor has remedies if they judge the change to be outside the scope of work. How will you advise the CO to minimize delays to achieving contract outcomes beyond impact of the change itself?

Learning Activity #2

You are a Contracts Administrator for a Contractor. One of your engineering managers found an inconsistency in the specification on a FFPsolicitation(i.e., pre-award). He said the worst case could be a $3M loss for defaulting on the spec. You asked him what if the government modified the specs or the price after the award. He beamed, "My division will likely make $3M in profit!" Your CEO wants to win this one because it will lead to more orders from other agencies as well as commercial firms! What is your advice on how your firm should proceed?

Readings:

Part 43 - Contract Modifications