Government Procurement articles from December 2007

Government Procurement archives from December 2007

Transformation for a worthy customer.(CABLE VISION)
December 1, 2007... Our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of the world risk life and limb every day for our country. When it comes to the agencies and programs that support their mission, these brave men and women deserve nothing less than the best. ...

FAR amendment calls for ethics clause in federal contracts over $5 million.(NEWS)
December 1, 2007... If you want to do business with the federal government, you need to be an ethical company. That's the gist of a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) amendment that requires all federal contracts over $5 million to include a clause...

Chevy Tahoe hybrid named Green Car of the Year.(FLEET BEAT)
December 1, 2007... Green Car Journal has unveiled its 2008 Green Car of the Year. And the winner is... an SUV. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lauding its fuel economy--which, according to EPA ratings, rivals that of a four-door sedan in city driving--a panel of...

Battery pack integrated.(BRIEFS)
December 1, 2007... Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Ener1 Inc. said that it has successfully integrated a lithium-ion battery pack into a modified Toyota Prius. According to the company, the battery pack could double the energy produced by existing nickel metal...

Wireless system aids police.(BRIEFS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Wall, N.J.-based BIO-key International Inc. has won a contract to provide Easton, Pa., patrol units with a MobileCop wireless mobile data system. Officers throughout Northampton County, Pa., use MobileCop to instantly query federal and state...

GPS for snowplow drivers.(BRIEFS)
December 1, 2007... This winter, some snowplow drivers in Columbus, Ohio, are driving trucks outfitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. As part of a pilot project, the City of Columbus and the Franklin County Engineer's Office installed the GPS...

Maximize relationships with software providers: getting the most value from software procurement means going beyond the transaction.(SOFTWARE PROCUREMENT)
December 1, 2007... Given their complexity, contracts for software procurement, such as human resources and finance management applications for administration, are weighted by more than just price. A purchase of this type requires that government agencies...

There's more to procurement than price: in Tucson, Aris., a solicitation for interview transcription services showed that ...(OUTSOURCING)
December 1, 2007... The Tucson Police Department faced a formidable challenge. The department had a backlog of more than 800 recorded interviews that needed to be transcribed. Prosecutors, public defenders and the courts needed verbatim transcripts of these...

Performance-based contracting advances small-business goals: by implementing a job order contracting (JOC) program for construction and renovation projects, public entities can boost the involvement of minority-and women-owned businesses.(CONTRACTING)
December 1, 2007... Throughout all levels of government, publicly funded organizations and agencies have an obligation to be wise stewards of the funds with which they are entrusted. This obligation goes beyond implementation of sound accounting and financial...

Report: more cities have green building programs.(GREEN NEWS)
December 1, 2007... According to a study conducted by the American Institute of Architects, the number of cities with green building programs since 2003 has risen from 22 to 92--an increase of 418 percent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In an effort to spotlight...

Bicycle organization working in tandem with government bodies.(GREEN NEWS)
December 1, 2007... Would more of us pedal to work or a local attraction if we could store our bikes safely when we got there? One organization, the Bikestation Coalition, thinks the answer is yes, and the coalition is partnering with municipalities, transit...

Roon's impact has been felt globally.(PROFILES IN PROCUREMENT)(Bud Roon)
December 1, 2007... I can't think of a better person to be featured in the inaugural "Profiles in Procurement" than Dr. Bud Roon. I consider him a role model, a mentor and a hero. In addition to serving as purchasing director for the State of Colorado and for the...

Two states award contracts for mobile medical facilities.(CONTRACTS)
December 1, 2007... To meet emergency preparedness needs, contracts were recently awarded by the State of Idaho's Health Department District Four, as well as Suffolk County, N.Y. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Worth more than $850,000 combined, the contracts...

U.S. Army extends language learning.(CONTRACTS)
December 1, 2007... Thanks to a $4.2 million contract renewal, Internet-based language learning will continue to enhance training for an estimated 1.4 million U.S. Army personnel worldwide. Awarded to Arlington, Va.-based Rosetta Stone Ltd., the contract...

Tennessee captures red-light violations.(CONTRACTS)
December 1, 2007... After a competitive bid process, the City of Germantown, Tenn., has selected Providence, R.I.-based Nestor Traffic Systems Inc. to continue providing a video-based system for detecting and proving red-light violations. Under the contract,...

Massachusetts renews bus-shelter contract.(CONTRACTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has granted a five-year contract extension to Cemusa for the installation and maintenance of bus shelters. According to Cemusa, which is based in Madrid, Spain, the original agreement was for...

Make paper work for you: we spend too much time asking for paperwork that is unnecessary to achieve our primary goal--acquiring goods and services for our employer.(MARKS ON PAPERWORK)
December 1, 2007... I hate paperwork! I despise excessive paperwork! Every time I see a pile of papers, I hear a noise in the background. It's the sound of the nameless Egyptian who created sheets of papyrus by pounding them together and letting them dry in the...