Idiq Contracts Eliminate Lengthy Bidding Process: Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts provide benefits for both the government and contractors.

• Author: Swagel, Will

Bill Watterson is used to talking and thinking things out on long drives between work sites. A general contractor and the owner of Watterson Construction of Anchorage, he regularly traverses the road system to do jobs such as renovating barracks on several of Alaska's military bases-at one time having work going on at four facilities simultaneously. Watterson is used to dealing with federal government paperwork and regulations.

Three years ago, along with one other area contractor, Watterson entered into an IDIQ task order contract with the federal government, a contract which gave the two builders special opportunities and special challenges, too. This is one of many of these types of contract vehicles operating in Alaska and across the nation.

IDIQ stands for Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity and it is a type of contract that covers the delivery of goods or services over a period of time at predetermined rates. The opportunities come from a preferred status in terms of some federal contracts. The challenges come from not knowing exactly how much the government is going to ask for.

Good Estimates

Mary Sheehan of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center in Fairbanks is a government contracts specialist with experience on the other side of the table-she used to work as a contracting officer at McCord Air Force Base in western Washington. That area's prodigious rain put a strain on the roofs of the base's residential units and they needed constant inspection and periodic repair or renewal. As this was a continuing problem year after year, McCord officials decided to let out the roof maintenance as an IDIQ contract. The weather would ultimately decide how much work had to be done, but the work would go to preferred, pre-selected contractors. Sheehan says that's the way IDIQs are supposed to be used-for items or services where a reasonably good estimate can be made.

"(Even) if you are using one of these contract vehicles for something that you have a good estimate of, basically both the government and the contractor need to be careful," Sheehan says.

Bill Watterson says he keeps employees in reserve for those times the government asks him to perform tasks under his IDIQ contract.

Actually, Watterson still bids on the work-but his only competitor on this specific contract, which covers a series of projects, is Brown and Root of Anchorage. IDIQ contracts vary widely, and they may deem one or many contractors as preferred. Sheehan-whose...