New York District - Office of Deputy for Small Business

The Army Corps of Engineers fully supports the government policy of placing a fair proportion of the Corps contracts for supplies, design engineering, construction and support services with qualified Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-owned, HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran and Veteran-Owned business. In addition, such concerns are to be afforded the maximum practicable opportunity to participate as subcontractors in qualifying contracts awarded to large business.

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1. WHAT DOES THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS BUY?

2. PUBLICIZING REQUIREMENTS

3. SUBCONTRACTING (IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES)

4. INFORMATION FOR ARCHITECT-ENGINEER FIRMS

5. LISTING OF ACTIVE PRIME CONTRACTS - ARCHITECT-ENGINEER

6. LISTING OF ACTIVE PRIME CONTRACTS WITH SUBCONTRACTING PLANS - CONSTRUCTION

7. SMALL PURCHASE (HOW TO IDENTIFY AND MARKET)

8. CORPS OF ENGINEERS DEPUTIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WHAT DOES THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS BUY?

The Corps of Engineers buys a variety of supplies, services, construction and engineering services. Examples of some of these acquisitions are provided below:

CONSTRUCTION: Barracks, dining facilities, maintenance shops, hangers, hospitals, airfields, roads, levees, dams, hazardous and toxic waste remediation, and dredging.

ENGINEERING SERVICES: Concept studies, master planning, engineering studies, all types of surveying and mapping, engineering design and construction and inspection services.

OTHER SERVICES: Trash collection, grass mowing, janitorial, oversee and maintain recreational parks, stenographic, and real estate appraisal.

SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT: Generators, turbines, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, kitchen equipment, electronic gear, petroleum products, repair parts, lumber, cement, computers and peripheral equipment, and publications.

STEPS FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH THE
CORPS OF ENGINEERS

The Army Corps of Engineers is very interested in doing business with qualified small, small disadvantaged, service disabled small business concerns and woman-owned business concerns. Below are tips to selling/marketing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

1. Visit the web site for the District(s) with which you desire to do business in order to learn about the districts’ missions and the types of services/supplies each procures. Call, write or visit the Corps of Engineers Deputy for Small Business with each district.

2. Discuss your capabilities, interest and capacities to perform with the Deputy for Small Business.

3. Be alert to the announcements of Business Opportunity Conferences, Trade Fairs and other federally attended or sponsored liaison meetings in your area. Make it a point to attend whenever possible. The Corps of Engineers is represented at most such meetings. This is an excellent opportunity to meet on a person-to-person basis with procurement and small business specialists who can assist small and small disadvantaged businesses with the selling of their services or products.

7. Visit the Corps of Engineers web sites. The Headquarters site is located at http://www.usace.army.mil . The New York District web site, located at http://www.nan.usace.army.mil , contains information about upcoming New York District projects, solicitations, contract awards, plan holders/bidders mailing lists and other general information of interest to firms seeking business opportunities with the federal government.

8. As of May 31, 1998, the Department of Defense is requiring all contractors to register in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. Contractors must be registered in the CCR before they can be awarded a DoD contract. The only exceptions will be for purchases made with the Governmentwide commercial purchase card (VISA), contracting offices located outside the U.S., classified contacts, and contracts executed to support contingency or emergency operations. Registration can be accomplished one of three ways: (1) via dial up modem at 614-692-6788 (User ID: ccrpub; Password:ub2ccri), (2) through any DoD Certified Value Added Network (VAN), or (3) via the CCR website at http://www.acq.osd.mil/ . A paper form for registration may be obtained from the DoD Electronic Commerce Information Center at 1-888-227-2423. Information may be faxed to 1-888-227-8457. You may also call the Largo Electronic Commerce Resource Center for assistance in registering at 800-397-8494. Other phone numbers for registration are: 888-227-2423, 888-352-9333, and 800-333-0505. Other web site for registration is: http://www.dnb.com.

9. DUN and Bradstreet (DUNS) numbers and Contractor Entity Codes (CECs) can be obtained by calling 800-333-0505 (8am-6pm EST). Both the call and service are free.

10. In order to certify itself as such, a small disadvantaged business firm must now be certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Information on this new certification requirement, as well as the new 10% price credit in bidding for non-DoD federal contracts is accessible at the SBA website, http://www.sba.gov

- A listing of all Department of Defense Prime Contractors with Subcontract Plans is located at the SBA internet address stated on the front page of this booklet. Large business concerns receiving contract awards valued in excess of the following are required to submit subcontract plans for review by the Deputy for Small Business and approval by the Contracting Officer.

The plans include goals for small business, small disadvantaged business, and woman-owned business.

- Firms can locate small, small disadvantaged, and small women-owned business firms for subcontracting by accessing PRO-Net at http://www.sba.gov. Businesses profiled on PRO-Net can be searched for by SIC codes, key words, location, quality certifications, business type, ownership race and gender, EDI capability, etc.

It is HIGHLY recommended that all small business firms register in PRO-Net, and that all large business firms use PRO-Net as a search mechanism to identify firms to achieve their subcontracting goals. Small business firms can register at the SBA website, or call their local SBA office for information on registration in PRO-Net.

1. Standard Forms 330 are available on the Internet at: http://www.gsa.gov/forms. Under Standard and Optional Forms, click on Forms by Number, and continue through the listing to the A-E forms.

They are in both Adobe Acrobat PDF and FormFlow formats. With either format, the forms can be filled in on the screen and printed out. However, the format of the forms can not be altered. This site also tells how to order the hard copy forms from the Government Printing Office.

The pamphlet describes the Corps’ A-E acquisition procedures, including how primary and secondary selection criteria are applied by preselection and selection boards, debriefings of unsuccessful firms and performance evaluations. It also contains a listing of Internet addresses relevant to A-E Contracting. This EP is very useful information for firms seeking A-E contracts with the Corps.

- Acquisitions valued between $2500 and $100,000 are required (with few exceptions) to be solicited via the Federal Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET). FACNET information can be obtained by calling 800-334-3414. The Electronic Commerce Resource Centers provide free training and information on electronic commerce. Their web site is on the front and last page of this handout. The DoD Certified Value Added Network (VAN) List can be obtained at http://www.acq.osd.mil/.

(Note: Due to the cost of subscribing to a VAN, it is highly refommended that the local Electronic Commerce Resource Center be contacted to determine the extent of FACNET use for solicitation of the types of goods or services your firm provides. Local ECRCs can be located on the internet at http://www.ecrc.ctc.com.

- Acquisitions valued at $2500 or less do not require competition and are classified as micro-purchase requirements. These requirements are generally purchased using the Government IMPAC card, currently a VISA card. For a listing of Norfolk District credit card holders, return to the Contracting Division page.

- Acquisitions valued between $5,000 and $25,000 are also posted on the buying activity's bulletin board

These individuals can assist small business firms in learning how to do business with the Federal Government. They can also provide information to large business firms on subcontract plan requirements and small business sources.

Using the SBA PRO-Net System, large business prime contractors can locate SB, SDB and WOB firms. Please note that PRO-Net is available at no charge to the private and public sector at http://www.sba.gov. For assistance in using PRO-Net, you may contact the small business specialists listed above, or Ms. LuAnn Dean, SBA Atlanta at 404-347-7587, or fax 404-347-2956.

You may obtain a listing of all Corps of Engineers Deputies for Small Business through the Organization icon at the USACE HQ internet address on the front page of this booklet.

Listing of all COE Deputies for Small Business; Access to Engineer Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (EFARS);

access to Department of the Army homepage with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, including DoD and Army Supplements

Loan information; listing of Federal subcontracting opportunities; SBA office listings; 8(a) program information; upcoming small business workshops; search capability for 8(a) contractors; POCs for identification of woman-owned business firms. Information is available on PRO-NET, SBA's new tool for locating small, disadvantaged, and woman-owned business concerns. Small Business Firms can register on-line through the SBA website. The SBA Women-Owned Business Center is located at http://www.onlinewbc.org.

Listing of offices; SBIR and STTR information; HBCU/MI and WOSB information; mentor-protegee program.

Describes Electronic Commerce (EC) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and explains what contractors need to know in order to conduct business with DoD.

Listing of Navy and Navy-related web sites. Searchable by activity title and geographical location.

This website contains information on the Small Business Innovative Research and Technology Transfer Programs.