Fiscal year 2015 saw a shift in customers’ requirements resulting in the growth of the smaller service order contracts Huntsville Center provides for customers.
Charles Ford, Huntsville Center programs director, said he believes as installations are beginning to feel the effects of budget cuts, they have been more focused on centralized management at the enterprise level.
“We’re seeing an increase in the service contracts installations want in place to provide recurring and preventative maintenance to a lot of their mechanical control systems,” Ford said.
As of Sept. 24, Ford said most of the Huntsville Center programs with service contract increases exceeding last year’s orders were under the Installation Support and Programs Management Directorate.
Arthur Martin III, ISPM Directorate deputy director, said many of his directorate’s programs have seen an increase in business this fiscal year. Martin said Information Technology Support, Base Operations and DLA-Fuels programs have increased in the volume of contracts with Facility Repair and Renewal and the ITS programs seeing noticeable spikes in business in the last quarter of FY 2015.
“Overall, ISPM is seeing potential in a number of our programs,” Martin said. “We expect ISPM to continue staffing to the current requirements as well as the new opportunities that continue to develop. The Cyber Security, Energy Information Management, Information Assurance and Information Technology areas are leading the charge, but there are many others—like our Base Operations Program— that have the opportunity for future growth.”
Under ISPM’s Facilities Division, the Base Operations program is a relatively new program that grew from the ISPM Special Projects Program after the Army Installation Management Command leaned on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support smaller service order contracts to maintain facilities and infrastructure at certain installations.
Huntsville Center stepped in to fill the need and the Base Operations Program is currently supporting National Defense University at Fort McNair, Washington, District of Columbia; Fort Riley, Kansas; Special Operations Command South, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; and Fort McCoy Garrison and the 88th Reserve Support Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
Base Operations Program Manager, Laura Lokey-Flippo, said the real growth came to the program when the 88th RSC came to Huntsville Center with a need for an acquisition strategy to maintain operations at its more than 300 locations in 19 states in the upper Midwest.
The Base Operations Program provides operation and maintenance engineering support and contract acquisitions for our customers for everything from snow removal to grounds upkeep to whole facility maintenance, Lokey-Flippo said.
“There’s been a great need at Army Reserve sites for base operation services. Because we structure contracts to best suit our customer’s needs and analyze our acquisition approach for efficiencies and optimization while fostering partnerships with the customer to allow ownership in execution of the contracts, I anticipate this program will grow exponentially in the future,” she said.
Not only has there been an increase in smaller service order contracts at the Center this year, there has also been an increase in contracts with small businesses.
As of Sept. 29, Huntsville Center had obligated $1.6 billion with 4,360 actions. Of that amount, nearly $544 million and 2,095 actions were with Small Business. Overall, Huntsville Center exceeded each Small Business category goal, except HubZone.
“Our (Huntsville Center) goal was 36 percent and as of Sept. 28, the Center reached nearly 44 percent of its obligations going to small businesses,” said Rebecca Goodsell, Huntsville Small Business Office chief.
“Small businesses are the engine for economic growth in America. Small businesses provide jobs, innovation and competition in industry. Huntsville Center policy is a catalyst for economic growth,” Goodsell said.
“By providing ‘maximum practicable’ prime and subcontracting opportunities to small firms, we know we are having a direct impact not only on the services we provide for the Soldiers and their families, but also on the women-owned small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses and that in turn helps strengthen the economy.”
At the end of the day, Huntsville Center’s mission and functions are centered on engineering and technical services, construction management, programs and project management and innovative contracting efforts, and the Center’s customers recognize the Center can help fulfill their needs no matter what’s in the budget.
“Although our customers may have changing priorities, we’re still delivering quality products, on time and under budget, with a focus on superior customer service,” Ford said. “That’s why we’re seeing our customers coming back for our services year-after-year.”