A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/812028
NATCA NATIONAL OFFICE DEPARTMENTAL WEEK IN REVIEW April 1 - 7 , 2017 LABOR RELATIONS DEPARTMENT FAA BRIEFING REGARDING ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CHANGES On March 30, 2017, the Agency briefed NATCA regarding changes to the Acquis ition Management System (AMS). The Agency provided a PowerPoint explanation of the changes contained in the January 2017 AMS Policy and Guidance Update, which affects non - disclosure information requirements, conflict of interest certification requirements, and single - sour ce justi fication requirements. First, Contracting Officers (CO), Contract Specialists, and Legal Counsel are no longer required to sign individual "Agreement Regarding Non - Disclosure of Information Forms" for new acquisitions because they are not taking an annual ethi cs training which covers this. And second, the Program Office must provide the CO with supporting documentation to justify a proposed single source. The Agency added new requirements to the single source justification template, specifically that the signer has not "requested any proposal information from the projected single source prior to the execution of the form," and that the signer has not communicated any intent to execute a single source contract to the source prior to it becoming public info rmation. There are three instances where NATCA believes engineers will have difficulty avoiding violating the new rule: first, when there is only one utility available to provide the service (e.g. power to a radar facility); second, when there is a contr act in place and the proprietary equipment must be serviced by the supplier; and third, when there is an emergency situation. The Agency agrees that some clarification is necessary to assist engineers and COs in following the new rules. AGC Legal will cr eate a draft document and run it through ACQ management. It will then send a draft to everyone who participated in this b riefing for comment and input. NATCA is aw aiting the draft clarification. POCs: NATCA AFN ACQ AAP Representative Gwendolyn Kimbrough, L ocal ESO President Neil Bolen, and Labor Relations Attorney Suzanne DeFelice. CENTRAL SERVICE AREA PROJECT COORDINATION SOP On April 5, 2017, the Agency briefed NATCA regarding a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Technical Operations Project Coor dination within t he Central Service Area (CSA). The Agency explained that the goal of the SOP is to improve communication among stakeholders by providing them with a window into the processes for plann ing and implementing projects. The SOP does not seek to redefine Agency policy; rather, it references existing orders and best practices and assembles the information in a single place so that stakeholders will not need to reassemble the information on their own. The Agency stated during the briefing that the re are similar SOPs in the Western Service Area (WSA), and the Eastern Service Area (ESA) was using the draft C SA SOP to develop its own SOP. During the briefing, NATCA expressed its desire to see a single,