FORT DRUM, New York (Jan. 13, 2015) -- The research by a contract specialist with the Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Drum, New York, led to the discovery of a more cost effective means to purchase liquid runway deicer that directly impacts the potential to increase competition and save money.
While researching an acquisition request for the liquid runway deicer E36, Moses Faciane found he could save his MICC customer more than $30,000 per shipment.
E36 can be purchased commercially at $5.40 per gallon, with typical orders totaling $245,700. The runway deicer is used at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield on Fort Drum, out of which Soldiers are mobilized.
"Anywhere from three to six shipments may be needed each year depending on how early winter hits and how long it lasts on Fort Drum," Faciane said. "Last winter we were still seeing snow in April. We've had one early blast this year and are getting ready to go back into winter again."
Use directions for E36 recommend against mixing the product with any other products in a storage tank. If it is mixed, directions call for the storage tank to be drained. Faciane found similar products that have the same chemical composition as E36, which led him to further research why other products cannot be mixed with E36 and why the Army was purchasing the product from a sole source.
He contacted other companies to collect professional assessments on the chemical composition and the affect the product would have when mixed with other products. He came to the conclusion that E36 can in fact be mixed, and that storage tanks do not need to be drained every time it is used.
Faciane found RF-11 runway deicer through market research using the chemical compound as his primary salient characteristic. RF-11 costs $4.65 per gallon, with each order totaling $211,575 a shipment. This resulted in savings of more than $30,000 per shipment. Additionally, he established competition for the acquisition, which was previously purchased through sole source.
"We encourage all our folks to come up with creative and innovative ways to conduct business on behalf of the government," said Lt. Col. Wyeth Anderson, commander of the 925th Contingency Contracting Battalion at Fort Drum. "I am impressed and proud of Moses' tenacity to pursue a more competitive and cost effective method."
Also, Faciane's research is proving valuable in an opportunity assessment study being conducted by the Air Force for recommendations on a service-wide contract open to other DOD agencies. The Air Force was also sole source purchasing E36. The MICC research has been added to the Air Force's study as additional findings to save money since the Air Force came to the same conclusion that liquid runway deicer does not need to be a sole-source purchase and can be competed.
Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, the MICC is responsible for providing contracting support for the warfighter at Army commands, installations and activities located throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico. In fiscal 2014, the command executed more than 37,000 contract actions worth more than $5.6 billion across the Army, including almost $2.4 billion to American small businesses. The command also managed more than 633,000 Government Purchase Card Program transactions in fiscal 2014 valued at an additional $783 million.
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