Government stakeholders learn more about Corps of Engineers during workshop

Photo By Elizabeth Lockyear | ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- William Frazier, (left), site manager with the Dept. of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management, speaks with Phillip Roybal, architect in the Albuquerque District’s Construction Branch, during a workshop for Military and Interagency and International Services stakeholders, June 12, 2019. The workshop was designed to give stakeholders a better understanding of what services the Albuquerque District provides, and how the district operates and conducts business.  

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, UNITED STATES

06.18.2019

Story by Elizabeth Lockyear 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Approximately 10 representatives from various military and other government agencies attended the first Military/Interagency and International Services Stakeholder Workshop sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, June 12, 2019, at the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resource Center.

The workshop was designed to give the stakeholders a better understanding of what services the Albuquerque District provides, and how the district operates and conducts business.

“I very much enjoyed participating in the Military and IIS workshop event,” said Phillip Roybal, architect in the Albuquerque District’s Construction Branch.

“Participation in this event helps our office, Construction, by providing our customers and potential customers with a better understanding of how we preform oversight – preform Quality Control and Quality Assurance during construction – on their projects and how we deal with contact changes during construction,” Roybal said.

While the Albuquerque District conducts regular outreach events to small businesses seeking to work with the Corps of Engineers, this was the first such event designed for the district’s Military and IIS stakeholders.

“It was worth my time,” said William Frazier, site manager with the Dept. of Energy in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Frazier said that he appreciated the opportunity to see the faces of people he had not met in person before, and getting more detail about the structure and hierarchy of USACE was helpful.

Leaders from several discipline areas within the Corps’ Albuquerque District opened the event with an overview of the district with a focus on structure, capabilities and services offered, and the process of doing business with the district. Summaries of the district’s services and capabilities were provided to each attendee in brochure form.

National Nuclear Security Administration contracting officer Maria Barela said that it was a beneficial event to attend.

Barela said that while her agency is using the Albuquerque District to build a new $174.7 million, 330,000 square-foot structure to house 1,200 NNSA employees, she didn’t know about some of the other services offered by the Albuquerque District and she is interested in the possibility of utilizing some of those services in the future.

The Corps’ Albuquerque District processes approximately 700 contracting actions on average each year. The process for contracting is complex with several regulations and requirements, and can take a considerable amount of time to award a contract.

Events like the Military and IIS stakeholder workshop facilitate face to face conversation that can help smooth these processes for both the Army Corps of Engineers and the other government agencies the Corps works with.

“Having an overview of our contracting process gives the customer an understanding of the regulations we have to comply with and the small business requirements that we have to follow,” said Kathleen Mayer, acting chief, Contracting Division.

“It is helpful for my office when the customer understands the contracting process so they know what is required to get a contract awarded,” Mayer said. “When the project manager sends the customer the project schedule they will have better understanding of the milestones.”

The workshop also included a meet and greet, where stakeholders could go around to different tables and meet with representatives from the Albuquerque District’s Contracting Division, Construction Branch, Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering Branch, Project Management Branch, Design Branch, and the Technical Support Branch.

• Date Taken: 06.18.2019
• Date Posted: 07.15.2019 17:19
• Story ID: 328330
• Location: ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US
• Hometown: ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US