ML20249A225
| ML20249A225 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/05/1998 |
| From: | Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | PRESIDENT OF U.S. & EXECUTIVE OFFICES |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9806160197 | |
| Download: ML20249A225 (5) | |
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 e
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June 5, 1998 l
CHAIRMAN The Vice President c/o National Performance Review 750 lith St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear ; r. Vice President:
In response to President Clinton's memorandum of April 21,1998, directing agencies to streamline the granting of internal procedural waivers, and to adopt, where appropriate, some of the best practices of other agencies in this regard, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is pleased to provide the enclosed report. The NRC fully supports the President's initiative, and our report includes information on how we will continue to pursue the streamlining effort.
The NRC has established a Procurement Reinvention Laboratory (PRL) which has endeavored to adopt best practices to facilitate innovation and provide excellent customer service for the procurement process. The PRL has succeeded in minimizing many Agency-imposed and some Federal requirements governing the acquisition and procurement processes. As a result, times for competitive procurement have dropped significantly. Details of the PRL are provided in the attached report.
The Agency also has begun streamlining some of its human resources procedures, an example of which is outlined in the report.
Should your staff have any questions, the NRC point of contact is Mr. Paul E. Bird, Director of the Office of Human Resources. Mr. Bird can be reached at 301-415-7516, or through e-mail at
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PEB@nrc. gov.
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l Sincerely, g
Enclosure:
As stated l
n 9906160197 990605 PDR COPMS 95tCC CORRESPONDENCE PDR Ch E_
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l U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REPORT AND PLAN REGARDING STREAMLINING THE GRANTING OF INTERNAL WAIVERS The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has implemented streamlining activities in the following areas:
1.
PROCUREMENT REINVENTION LABORATORY Under the Agency's Procurement Reinvention Laboratory (PRL) which was established in November 1993, the NRC has endeavored to adopt best practices to facilitate innovation and provide excellent customu service for the procurement process. Some of the major achievements in this regard have been:
In 1994, the NRC received authority from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to waive the Commerce Business Daily synopsis requirement set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This authority permits NRC to waive the requirement to synopsize proposed competitive procurement for certain research and technical assistance, in order to test the hypothesis that the procurement process can be significantly improved with a streamlined procedure. The waiver authority, which has continually been successful in reducing processing time without reducing awards to small businesses, was renewed in 1996, and is expected to be renewed in the summer of 1998.
When establishing the PRL, duplicative reviews were eliminated and authority to streamline intemal procurement procedures was delegated. Multi-level concurrences, the Contract Review Board (which previously helped prevent duplication of work under more than one contract), stand-alone documents for standard determinations and findings, and a mandatory requirement for preaward audits were all eliminated. In addition, Contracting Officer (CO) authority thresholds were raised and CO authority was delegated to lower levels. Also, the dollar thresholds were raised for submission of noncompetitive procurement to the Competition Advocate and (prior to Federal wide reforms which had the same effect) for GSA's delegation of authority for IT purchases.
The Procurement Executive designated an Advocate for Procurement Reform in 1995 to l
ensure that NRC takes full advantage of streamlining opportunities. This individual j
assists the Agency in instituting a procurement culture which emphasizes responsible risk taking and creating an environment which stimulates new ideas.
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e The NRC Acquisition Regulation (NRCAR) was designed to minimize Agency-imposed requirements. Valid requests for deviations from NRCAR and the Federal Acquisition Regulation can be approved quickly, because supervisory Contracting Officers report directly to the Head of the Contracting Activity (who has authority to grant individual deviations from the FAR and NRCAR).
NRC has been a leader in pioneering the use of oral presentations. Under this e
innovation, each offeror's proposed key personnel make an oral presentation to the NRC Source Evaluation Panel, in lieu of submitting a detailed written proposal. Proposers submit a cost proposal, resumes for key personnel and, if necessary, a brief description of their technical approach to supplement the oral presentation. Evaluators then rate each presentation, including limited supplemental information provided during the presentation, and make a selection. The results of a customer survey indicated that competitors and NRC staff alike welcome this innovation as a process that saves significant time for all parties and provides evaluators with a better understanding of offeror capabi'ities. This innovation was recently incorporated under the FAR and adopted on a Federal-wide basis, o
NRC has established and embraced a BankCard program to empower employees to independently make purchases of goods and services valued at $2,500 or less.
BankCards are also used by procurement staff to make streamlined purchases up to
$25,000. Since inception of the BankCard program, NRC has completed 11,400 transactions totaling $7 million, saving approximately $600,000 in administrative costs.
For Fiscal Year 1997, in excess of 95% of goods and services required by the NRC and j
valued at $2,500 or less were purchased using the BankCard.
In Fiscal Year 1998, NRC began publicizing all proposed contract actions on the intemet o-using Department of Commerce's CBDNET, as appropriate. Procurement were further streamlined using combined CSD synopses / solicitations for simplified acquisitions and commercial contracts.
A proposed " electronic streamlining" initiative was submitted to and endorsed by the e
Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). This innovation uses the Internet to simplify and combine Statement of Work development, public notice, and solicitation phases for procurement for administrative goods and services. Pending OFPP's submission of this innovation for Congressional approval, contracting staff is developing interim plans to make use of the Internet and simplify initial evaluation of offers within existing statutory constraints.
in cooperation with the Small Business Administration (SBA), NRC is establishing e
streamlined procedures for expediting award of 8(a) contracts. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between NRC and SBA has been drafted to accomplish the following: (a) reduce the interval between the time NRC sends an offering letter to SBA and SBA acceptance of the offering to a maximum of five workdays; (b) eliminate SBA approval of contracts executed under the authority of the MOU; and (c) establish a uniform policy and procedure regarding application of simplified acquisition procedures to the 8(a) contracting process, where applicable.
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Since 1994, NRC has applied its innovative streamlining techniques to 170 procurement under the PRL. As a result, the average lead time for competitive procurement has dropped each year from 272 days in Fiscal Year 1994 to 157 days in Fiscal Year 1997. Examples of competitive procurement which benefitted from use of these innovations include:
-e Five contracts for " Review of NDE Evaluation of Pressure Vessel Material Properties" were awarded under one competitive solicitation in 33 days.
One contract for " Support to the Former Soviet Union Republics for Activities Under the e
Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and Lisbon initiatives" was competitively awarded in 71 days.
Eight contracts for " Technical Assistance for the New Thermal Hydraulic Code Planning" e
were awarded under one competitive solicitation in 104 days.
Three contracts for " Acquisition of Nuclear Architect /Engboer (AE) Technical Assistance e
for Design Inspections" were awarded under one competitive solicitation in 73 days.
One contract for " Regulatory Assistance and Support to the Regulatory Bodies of a Selected Number of Central and East European (CEE) Countries" was awarded competitively in 76 days.
One contract was awarded using the Internet to conduct non-sensitive negotiations with o
a firm located in a remote area of the former Soviet Union. As a result of the use of the
, Intemet, NRC overcame time differences, problems with mail deliveries, and language barriers, saving over six weeks in the process. OFPP cited NRC's creative use of the Intemet as a " Communication Success Story."
NRC has joined OFPP and othwr agencies to implement Federal-wide procurement initiatives through pledge projects, including performance-based service contracting, past performance, attemative dispute resolution, and incentives for outstanding performance in procurement. Of particular note, NRC staff led an inter-agency team which developed a collection format for
" Guide to Best Practices for Past Performance," and, in 1995, established a policy requiring evaluation of past contractor performance in all procurement, where feasible.
11.
HUMAN RESOURCES STREAMLINING The Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and the Office of Human Resources (HR) jointly reengineered the NMSS "new hire" process in order to reduce the time l
needed to hire new staff. The two offices established a Business Process Reengineering team l
to examine and evaluate the problem. After reviewing the current processes, various changes l
were suggested'and evaluated for feasibility. The process was streamlined and several l:
approval authorities were redelegated to lower levels. The result has been a reduction of -
approximately 45 percent in the number of days required to hire extemally. Consideration is also being given to further improvements in the process.
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OTHER AREAS A memorandum is being prepared for the heads of all NRC offices requesting that they identify
. any areas where they have adopted, or believe they could adopt, internal practices that would streamline their activities.
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