Huntsville Center reaches out to AbilityOne for contract closeout support

Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville
Published July 13, 2016
National Industries for the Blind employees Carlton Lane, Candace Cochran, Devin Shackleford and David Upchurch will be support Huntsville Center's contract closeout process.

National Industries for the Blind employees Carlton Lane, Candace Cochran, Devin Shackleford and David Upchurch will be support Huntsville Center's contract closeout process.

The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville awarded a task order June 29 for contract closeout services, using a strategic contract vehicle issued by Washington Headquarters Services. This task order was funded by Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy and awarded to National Industries for the Blind, through the AbilityOne Program (mandatory source).

“The task order requirement is to closeout and/or de-obligate up to 830 contracts,” said Adam Humphrey, Huntsville Center contracting officer. “These services will support the Information Technology Services program throughout the fourth quarter and will sustain the demand thereafter for the year. The task order's total funded amount is $172,342.62. The period of performance is July 6 to July 5, 2017.”

Four technicians will work remotely from an office in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The Contract Management Support Services Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) The Contract Management Support Services Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides non-inherently governmental contract closeout support and creates career-oriented, upwardly mobile employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities, to include Wounded Warriors and service-disabled veterans. This contract fulfills a critical need for the Department by reducing the contract closeout administrative workload and allowing the contracting workforce to focus resources on critical mission support to the warfighter.

“Outsourcing our contract closeouts serves two purposes,” said Jamaya “Rocky” Smith, contracting specialist at Huntsville Center.  “First, it helps the Center, specifically the Information Technology Services (ITS) Program, in closing out its over-aged contracts, which supports Objective 4c3.1 of the USACE Campaign Plan. It also allows the PDT (project delivery team) to focus more attention in serving our existing customers and their requirements. The second reason we decided to outsource was because it served as a means to support the Wounded Warrior Project through the AbilityOne Program, which supports service members and their families associated with the transition back to duty or civilian life. The service members and veterans are offered the opportunity to serve as contract closeout technicians that closeout these contracts.”

According to Huntsville Center Chief of Contracting Colleen O’Keefe, the Center is providing National Industries for the Blind access to all of the required databases and training them on local procedures.   

“We plan to be fully operable by July 15,” O’Keefe said.

The AbilityOne Program is among the nation's largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. The program is administered by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission, the operating name for the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. Through a national network of more than 550 nonprofit agencies, the program provides the federal government products and services at fair market prices. The procurement of these products and services results in employment of more than 45,000 individuals.

Huntsville Center annually processes more than 6,000 contract actions, and as projects are completed contracts must be closed out.