In January 1994, the GSA’s Public Buildings Service formed a 50-member working group comprising PBS personnel from the regions and Central Office, National Industries for the Severely Disabled (NISH), the NISH-associated Community Rehabilitation Program, and the Committee for Purchase from people who are blind or severely disabled. The working group reviewed and evaluated the requirements that added value, were cost effective and maintained quality. NISH agreed to provide services that are compatible to private sector commercial providers using less staffing, to re-examine the frequency of performing custodial tasks, to search for alternate techniques to accomplish existing work tasks more efficiently, and to work within a budget when preparing its scope of work. The first report of the working group was issued in December 1994.
The partnership improved communications, explored the pricing methodology of JWOD contracts, improved the overall quality of contracts through measuring customer satisfaction, adapted requirements and processes to meet customer demands, and established a mechanism to resolve problems before they became conflict. The partnership venture fostered a cooperative effort between all the entities to produce a Guide to JWOD Contracting in PBS. This initiative captured the best policy award in the FY-97 GSA Achievement Award for Real Property Innovation.
For more information, contact Mr. Gerald Zaffos at (202) 208-6091 or via e-mail at gerald.zaffos@gsa.gov.
