Contracting offices integrate workload

By Ryan Mattox, Mission and Installation Contracting Command Public Affairs OfficeApril 6, 2015

Contracting offices integrate workload
Moses Solomon checks network cables April 6 during an office move by the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Belvoir staff on Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The move is part of a MICC 2025 initiative that combines contracting workloads to prov... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (April 6, 2015) -- Contracting members at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, continue to move this week into a renovated building as part of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command 2025 initiative that combines contracting workloads to provide more effective and efficient customer support.

MICC-Fort Belvoir acquired the Installation Management Command contracting workload in support of the U.S. Army Medical Research Materiel Acquisition Activity at Fort Detrick as well as the workload of the MICC-Fort Meade contracting office, both in Maryland.

"The integration is expected to create numerous efficiencies, streamline work processes and contract execution, and optimize resources for MICC customers and stakeholders," said Maj. Andra Moore, mission support operations officer for MICC-Fort Belvoir. "Acquiring the Fort Detrick IMCOM workload will result in a significant reduction in contract operating costs of almost $1 million annually and streamline contract execution by realigning support services to the MICC, while improving the quality of life for multiple MICC team members. The end result of this integration will be one unified team that is centered at Fort Belvoir."

The workload migration calls for a small detachment of personnel still working at Fort Meade to remain close to the requiring activity with reach back capability for support and expertise.

"MICC-Fort Meade by itself was a small office supporting installation requirements at Fort Meade," Moore said. "As a result of the integration, Fort Meade employees can now focus on contracting actions while leveraging the mission support infrastructure at MICC-Fort Belvoir to execute their support functions such as reporting requirements, tasker and personnel actions, and command metric accountability."

Team members at Fort Meade now fall under one of the three divisions -- simplified acquisition procedures, services and minor construction -- at Fort Belvoir. The integration also has enabled Fort Meade members to take advantage of the human capital at Fort Belvoir when it comes to legal guidance and policy reviews for their contract actions.

To streamline Fort Meade contract actions and workload distribution, the requirements point of entry into the Standard Procurement System is now at MICC-Fort Belvoir, where a contract management cell accounts for the requirement in the Contracting Tactical Operations Center database application and then distributes the workload to the appropriate division chief based on the requirement's attributes. This allows all contract actions to be tracked, monitored and resourced during all phases of the procurement process.

The merger also improves the quality of life for multiple MICC team members, Moore said. During the initial mission analysis for the integration, it was discovered by MICC leaders that some MICC employees who worked at Fort Meade actually lived closer to Fort Belvoir.

"One member lived as close as five miles from Fort Belvoir but was driving more than 90 minutes to Fort Meade," Moore said. "To improve their quality of life and reduce their daily commute times, these employees are physically relocating to MICC-Fort Belvoir as part of the integration."

With the move, Fort Meade personnel are gaining the experience of contract operations in a larger office and a larger peer base from which to learn and share, along with better promotion opportunities within the MICC.

"To maintain continuity, these individuals will continue to work on contract actions that they were responsible for at Fort Meade, but they will also take on new actions at Fort Belvoir to provide them with depth and experience," Moore said. "Now both Fort Detrick and Fort Meade customers have a breadth of experienced contract specialists and contract officers, and staff to execute pre- and post-award actions resulting in better customer service support and faster contract execution."

Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 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. 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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