404.12 - Contractor Performance Evaluations
2/20/96
OPR: Acquisition and Federal Assistance
1. Purpose. This chapter prescribes procedures for compliance with the contractor performance evaluation requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 42.15.
2. Authority. This procedure is required by Department of the Interior Acquisition Policy Release (DIAPR) 95-9 dated August 1, 1995.
3. Glossary of Terms.
A. Contracting Officer (CO) means an employee in the contracting office warranted under the procedures of SM 205.4. In this chapter the term specifically refers to the CO assigned responsibility for administration of the contract.
B. Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) refers to the person formally designated under the procedures of SM 404.11 to perform technical monitoring on a particular contract. For simplicity, the term as used in this chapter also includes the technical liaison or inspector for contracts with no formally designated COR.
4. Procedures for Construction Contracts. Contractor performance under construction contracts is evaluated upon completion (or termination) of the contract in accordance with the procedures of FAR 36.201 using the Standard Form (SF) 1420, Performance Evaluation (Construction Contracts). Evaluation is required for construction contracts of $500,000 or, in the case of default termination, over $10,000. When evaluation is required, the CO will provide instructions and the necessary form to the COR, who is responsible for performing the evaluation.
5. Procedures for Architect-Engineer Contracts. Contractor performance under architect engineer (A-E) contracts is evaluated upon completion (or termination) of the contract in accordance with the procedures of FAR 36.604 using the SF 1421, Performance Evaluation (Architect-Engineer). Evaluation is required for A-E contracts of $25,000 or more. For A-E contracts relating to construction projects, an interim evaluation will be done upon completion of the design work and acceptance of basic contract deliverables, and a final report prepared after completion of the construction. Interim reports are not required when the total duration of the effort, from A-E contract award through completion of construction, does not exceed 12 months. When evaluation is required, the CO will provide instructions and the necessary form to the COR, who is responsible for performing the evaluation.
6. Procedures for Other Contracts.
A. Preparation of Performance Evaluation Reports is required for contracts for other services and products exceeding the applicable dollar threshold indicated below, except contracts awarded to Federal Prison Industries or a qualified nonprofit agency for blind or other severely handicapped individuals under mandatory source programs of FAR 8.6 and FAR 8.7, respectively. The thresholds and dates at which contracts are covered by the evaluation requirement are as follows:
Current threshold: $1,000,000
After July 1, 1996: $500,000
After January 1, 1998: $100,000
Evaluations will be prepared by the contract's COR or by the Contracting Officer after consultation with the COR. In either case, the COR is responsible for obtaining input from a representative sample of end users of the items/services provided under the contract and for including their opinions in the evaluation. The form CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT illustrated in Figure 1 is prescribed by DIAPR 95-9 for contractor performance evaluations.
(1) Interim evaluations will be done at least annually for covered contracts with a total duration exceeding one year. Evaluation periods normally should coincide with the contract performance periods (e.g. option years). The Contracting Officer may use other performance intervals or milestones to define interim evaluation periods, provided they meet the requirement that evaluations be done at least annually. Evaluation reports will be completed within 30 days after the end of each performance/evaluation period.
(2) Final evaluations will be prepared within 30 days after physical completion or termination of a covered contract. In the case of a default termination, the Contracting Officer's termination decision will serve in place of a separate evaluation report. In the event the default is converted to a termination for convenience or a no cost termination, a final evaluation report will be prepared.
B. Review and Completion of Reports. Vendors will be provided an opportunity to review the evaluation reports and respond to comments as required by FAR 42.1503(b). After consideration of the contractor's response, a final evaluation score will be assigned by the Contracting Officer or, in the event of disagreement between the government and contractor, at a level above the Contracting Officer. The original of the evaluation report, together with the contractor's comments, will be retained in the contract file.
7. Retaining, Retrieving, and Using Evaluations.
A. In addition to the official copy retained in the contract file, a copy of each completed contractor performance evaluation report (including any contractor comments) will be forwarded by the Contracting Officer to the Office of Acquisition and Federal Assistance (OAFA), Reston, Virginia, for retention in a central file. Evaluations may be requested from OAFA by USGS Contracting Officers and will also be provided to other federal agencies upon request. Evaluation reports are considered "source selection information" (SM 401.11) and will not be provided to any non-federal party other than the contractor (FAR 42.1503(b)).
B. Past performance evaluations are considered prior to award of new contracts in determining a prospective contractor's responsibility (FAR 9.105(c)) and in evaluating competing contractors for award of negotiated contracts (FAR 15.608(a)(2)). Past performance data may also be considered in awarding simplified acquisitions (FAR 13.106-1). CO's using performance evaluation reports in the source selection process are advised to contact the CO and/or COR cognizant of the contract for more complete details, particularly when the report contains negative comments. See also FAR 15.610(c)(6).