The Foreign Service Journal, January 2005

Residential Furniture at Post BY DONNA HERRIOTT Team Leader, A/LM/AQM/ IT Commerce Editor’s Note: Due to popular demand, and based onpostings on the Livelines discussion group,DonnaHerriott fromtheAcquisitions ManagementOffice offers informationon the residential furnituremanagement systemand upcoming “recompete” of the contract. She has kindly offered to answer further questions by e-mail: herriottdj@state.gov. Li velines is sponsored by the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, and serves as a forum for members of the Foreign Service community to ask questions and share advice andexperiences relating toForeignService life. Sign up at www.aafsw.org. Q: What office is in charge of the residen- tial furniture contract and how is the con- tract awarded? A: The residential furniture con- tract is awarded by the General Services Administration. The State Department’s Office of Acquisitions Management (A/LM/AQM) is responsible for the residential furniture contract. A/LM/AQMplaces orders against the con- tract to fill post requirements. The current contractwithDrexel runs throughSept. 30, 2005. A/LM/AQM, along with the Office of Interior Furnishings in the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations andmany of the regional post management officers, has beenworkingwithGSAto structure the recompete of thenewcontract. Earlier this year, A/LM/AQM surveyed PMOs from each regional bureau, the Family Liaison Office and International Cooperative Administrative Support Services, to assist us in selecting updated lines and styles to be solicited under the contract recompete program. Wewere fortunate toobtaindata fromthe surveyonopinions about the cur- rent available furniture lines, andhaveused that information in composing the tech- nical requirements for the recompete contract. Q: What criteria are used to select furni- ture, lamps and carpeting for posts? A: The criteria for selectionof res- idential furniture linesunder the recompete contract arebasedoncomments received from a broad survey, feedback received from general services officers attending the Foreign Service Institute’s GSOcourse and comments received from GSOs via cable and/or e-mail. All furniture made available under the contract meets all U.S. safety standards. Individual posts are responsible formaking the actual selec- tionof residential furniture off the contract for their respective post. Q: How are companies (like Drexel) awarded contracts? A: After all the technical require- ments have beendetermined, a competitive solicitation is issued by GSA. Interestedcontractors submit proposals and bid samples for evaluation by a technical teamcomprised of State Department and GSA staff. The proposals and samples are evaluated against pre-determined criteria as defined in the solicitation. The award is made to the contractor that best meets the criteria. Q: Wherecan I sendmysuggestionsonfur- nishing (style, color, construction)? A: Suggestions/comments can be sent to me at herriottdj@ state.gov. I will be sure to share themwith the technical teamworking on the recom- pete contract. Q: What can we do about pieces of furni- ture that are not child-friendly, such as glass-top tables and breakable lamps? A: The current residential furniture contract offers a varietyof tables throughthedifferent lineswithout glass tops as well as a variety of lamps. Q: Will we ever get less outdated styles of furnitureandmoreappealingchairandsofa upholstery? A: Thenewcontractwill offer four lines of updated furniture. A/LM/AQM has worked with Drexel to add new items to the current contract for replacement of discontinued designer items. Thenewitemswill be in theFY2005 pricing/catalog listedunder designer items andare anice alternative to the current con- temporary line (i.e., nowhite finishes). The newcontractwill offer five fabric selections insteadof the current four, aswell as updat- ed color and pattern selections of uphol- stery. Q: I don’t want to pay to repair a piece of furniture that should be disposed of due to age. What are the rules on this? A: The lifespan of the furniture is governedby factors at each indi- vidual post. Some of the factors that dic- tate the life span are: 1) conditions at post, suchas humidity, tropical climates, hot and dry climates, local air pollutionand terrain; 2) rotation cycle of staff; and 3) accompa- niedvs. non-accompaniedposts, household pets, etc. Q: Who decideswhen a piece of furniture is at the end of its lifespan? A: What happens at the endof the life span of the residential fur- niture at any given post is usually deter- mined in accordance with individual post policy. If the post determines that the fur- niture was damaged prematurely (i.e. not due to normal wear and tear), it may require the employee topay for restoration. Conversely, if thepost plans toreplace some or all of the furnitureupondepartureof the employee, the employee may not be required tocleanor refurbish the furniture. My suggestion is thatwhenyou check into post quarters, you shoulddiscuss thesepar- ticularswith theGSOand/or themanage- ment officer. ▫ JANUARY 2005 • AFSA NEWS 9 Q & A JOSH