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Hmmm, this topic has been cussed and discussed, but I can’t find the right thread. Anyway…Raytheon has put up a “transition” page which includes a FAQ and news update items.
http://rpsc.raytheon.com/Transition.cfm
Interestingly, the second “update” was the statement that the new contract won’t be announced until November…
I love the updates, going from August 3rd to the 4th, I guess things change in 24 hours!
August 4, 2011 – The new support contractor is now scheduled to be announced in November 2011. The transition will begin at the contract award and is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2012.
August 3, 2011 – The new support contractor is scheduled to be announced by September 2011. The transition will begin at the contract award and is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2012.
I think they really wanted to say the announcement will be November of 2012! 😀
I’m surprised the August 5th update wasn’t posted, it could have read:
August 5, 2011 – The new support contractor is now scheduled to be announced some time in the future or maybe never, we just don’t know when. The transition will begin at the contract award and is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2012 or 2013 or 2014.
At the National Science Board meeting, Karl Erb also announced the support contract award schedule: There would be final discussions with the proposers in mid to late August…followed by final proposal revisions to be received in mid to late September, and award not later than mid November.
Hmmm, that doesn’t leave much room for the next scheduled schedule slippage…
Right now November 15th is the new award date announcement, then the other two bidders left have 10 days to file a formal protest and the protest period goes on for 100 days, until a judge makes a ruling, that brings us to roughly February 25th or about when the last flight will be leaving McMurdo before the winter.
I was told each bidder left, CH2MHill, KBR, and Lockheed Martin, has 10 people each already through the PQ process and ready to deploy to be the on-Ice transition team for their respective company and that they should be down in early December.
The last transition, we only had Raytheon and the transition summer before went relatively smooth. Raytheon made a lot of changes to the old ways once they got the contract. All the safety stuff was new. It was weird at first being so safety conscious about everything, but it’s the norm now.
The previous contractor was a bit loosey goosey when it came to consistanty. Raytheon dropped the hammer and brought us more or less into the 21st century HR world. It was a hard change for lots and many dropped the program. In the end, now that the Raytheon way is the norm, I hope it stays the same.
@Iceman wrote:
Right now November 15th is the new award date announcement, then the other two bidders left have 10 days to file a formal protest and the protest period goes on for 100 days, until a judge makes a ruling, that brings us to roughly February 25th or about when the last flight will be leaving McMurdo before the winter.
I was told each bidder left, CH2MHill, KBR, and Lockheed Martin, has 10 people each already through the PQ process and ready to deploy to be the on-Ice transition team for their respective company and that they should be down in early December.
Lockheed Martin is still in? For some reason I thought they’d already been turned down; good news though, I’ve heard from some other people that Lockheed would be a good company to work for.
Just a few updates, basically what I put up on my http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/ncs/ncs.html ever lengthening page on the subject.
There were FOUR contract amendments posted in September on the https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=335674ca5d2d19df42bec42559715783&_cview=0 GSA contract web site. Mostly they provided an opportunity for the number crunchers with KBR, CH2MHill, and Lockheed Martin to break out their #2 pencils and spreadsheets one more time, for another final submission of year-by-year costs (all the way to March 2025). The data was due 30 September. One of the data items in the amendments (they are now up to amendment #16!) was an updated list of USAP subcontracts and leases that are part of the contract. Everything from the Xerox machines and ATM…to the N B Palmer…to…the lease on the RPSC building in Centennial. Which is up on 30 April 2012. No one has negotiated an extension. And it may be too late. So…where will the new contractor set up digs? Not much time here. One place I heard mentioned was Colorado Springs.
Also…the schedule on the http://www.nsf.gov/about/contracting/rfqs/support_ant/index.jsp NSF contract site was adjusted on 2 September to indicate that the evaluations/negotiations would run to 30 September and the contract award would be in November.
Oh, and the http://rpsc.raytheon.com/updates.cfm RPSC “Transition” page was updated on 4 October to reflect a mid-November award schedule, and the FAQ was also revised.
I just found out my office at south pole station is going to a turn-over person for the new contractor! Way to get off on the right foot with me, bounce me out of my office! Good times! I’m pullnig for CH2m, but will be ok with either them or lockheed.
-NateI just did a quick keyword search for “Antarctica” on the career pages job search for KBR, CH2MHILL, and Lockheed Martin. Only KBR had any jobs listed-2 for transition managers and specialists. Hopefully it means nothing…
@Wanderer wrote:
I just did a quick keyword search for “Antarctica” on the career pages job search for KBR, CH2MHILL, and Lockheed Martin. Only KBR had any jobs listed-2 for transition managers and specialists. Hopefully it means nothing…
I heard going back to 2009, even before the “shortlist” came out, KBR was already talking about how they will be the ones eventually getting the contract. Maybe they were a little optimistic, or like most of these gov’t. contracts, they know it’s going to go to the lowest bidder.
Now did KBR purposely lowball their bid in order to get the contract, maybe, I guess we’ll see in a month. I sure hope that if KBR did ridiculously underbid over the CH2MHill and Lockheed bids, that NSF would really review that bid and deem it “unworthy”, but they probably won’t.
I was one of the people who were really surprised KBR made the “shortlist”, but then again, if their bid was amazing low, then it makes sense they are still in it.
People that thought it couldn’t get worse than Raytheon, well there’s always KBR, how many current lawsuits do they have against them from former workers in Iraq and Afganistan?
If KBR does get the contract (the other two might do this as well), I expect them to cut all the salaries both for full and contract workers by at least 10%, after they pay out the already agreed upon Winter 2012 contracts, carried over from RPSC. The reason KBR or any of the three left, will do that, is it increase their profit, especially if they underbid.
Sure both full timers and contractors will probably quit or not come back, but they’ll find people (probably not too competent though) to replace them, especially in this economy. Just learn as you go, isn’t that what most people do in the program anyways!
@Sciencetech wrote:
You’re such an optimist.
😉
I prefer the term realist!
(I hope it doesn’t play out like I think it will play out)
Back in 09 I heard one of the KBR senior management team give a speech in Iraq in which he told the crowd that they were doing everything possible to get new contracts to keep the KBR masses in Iraq employed in the wake of the loss of LOGCAP IV. He said they were even pursuing the contract for Antarctica. I shudder to consider the Ice populated by the average KBR worker here in Iraq. To be fair there are a few good people here and the lazy ones may not be attracted to Antarctica…My own belief is that KBR wants the Antarctic contract as a showpiece to try to offset the ongoing negative publicity from the lawsuits and negative media coverage. I have met several KBR folks who were told by HR that KBR has the Antarctic contract. I still hope that they are wrong. Enjoy working for Raytheon while you still can:)
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