GSA Headquarters
District of Columbia
After a 107-day delay and millions wasted, GSA trashed its PLA requirement.
When contractors submitted proposals for the modernization of the Government Services Administration (GSA) Headquarters, GSA implemented a de-facto bid rigging process by giving a 10% point increase to proposers that included a PLA in their proposal. To no one’s surprise, the winning proposal included a PLA.
But, after nearly a year of protracted discussions, the selected contractors were unable to secure an agreement with labor organizations that would permit the project to be delivered on-time and on-budget. GSA had to allow the contractor to proceed without a PLA, but they requested the contractor refund the increase in costs from the PLA causes delay. In all, the futile effort to impose a PLA, increased costs by millions and created a 107-day delay in the project’s start.
How it failed
In April 2010, GSA began a two-step selection process for a GSA Headquarters’ modernization project. Qualified contractors were invited to submit proposals for the project with or without a PLA.
The scoring process, however, gave proposals with PLAs an insurmountable advantage. Any proposal that included a PLA was given a 10% bonus in the scoring process - effectively barring any non-PLA proposal from being selected.
After the award, the selected contractors were responsible for negotiating and executing a PLA and keep the project on-time and on-budget, requirements that were fundamentally at odds with each other.
Not surprisingly, the contractors were unable to execute a PLA and keep the project within the agreed upon prices. After months of delay, GSA had to allow the contractors to begin the project without a PLA.
Although proponents of PLAs claim they increase efficiency and help with cost, the PLA for the GSA Headquarters modernization resulted in a 107-day delay and millions in avoidable costs to the American taxpayer.
