Small Project Design

We have received 3 solicitations from companies that offer to set us up as scheduled providers with the GSA for a (hefty) fee.  Sounds like something we ought to be able to do on our own.  Anyone have any experience with this?
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Christopher Carley AIA
C. N. Carley Associates
Concord NH
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HaHa!  me too! 

The guy who called me said that ultimately a GSA scheduling submission is 375-450 pages long and 'most people don't  know how to prepare a proper submission like we do...blablabla, We've got 15 years successful experience at preparing these...blablabla... we can get this govt money for you...blablabla..." I sort of felt like I was listening to late-nite desperate TV ad...

The thing that irked me about this particular company - it was like pulling teeth to find out EXACTLY who they are, where they are, what they do, what guarantee there is, and what the fee it.

bottom line:  Yes, it likely more involved than a DOT pre-qualification package, or a SBA 8a application...BUT... $7500 for something they will prepare in '3-4 weeks'?  Suppose $100/hr for their consulting services, that's only 100 hours (2 1/2 weeks).  Suppose 2x the time (learning curve) to DIY, 5 weeks at what ever you billing rate is (do the math... AIA can't post hourly rates for architects, but the US Govt can).

No I have done it - still thinking about it; I have done the SBA 8a thing, and it was 10 times WORSE than taxes...AND they still have yet to respond.

What are you thinking about doing?

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Lisa Stacholy AIA
LKS Architects, Inc.
Dunwoody GA
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Christopher-

I would strongly advise you not to do this for several reasons:

1) There is no schedule for architecture or engineering services.  This is prohibited by the Brooks Act.  AE services have to be solicited "publicly", although different agencies use different tools to do this.

2) A GSA schedule does not guarantee any firm or company work, it just gives them another tool for marketing for work.  In my research there are many firms/companies who never get any work from their GSA schedule.

3) The GSA schedule paperwork is actually fairly manageable once you learn about the schedule(s) you are interested in.  Speak to the people in your local PTAC (Professional Technical Assistance Center) office, and they will likely be able to guide you through it if there is a schedule you find of interest.

I believe many of these people are hucksters who will promise the world.  If you really feel compelled to use one of these services I would advise you to find out which firm(s) they have worked with, speak to those firms, and also look into it yourself.  There is a website where you can research sales on GSA schedules.

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Gregory Nagel AIA
Architect
Milwaukee WI
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My response to getting one (or several) of these calls was to ask, "OK, if we start bidding on GSA projects, what sort of projects are out there and are we a good fit?  Would we have a chance of winning a contract and if we do, could we make money on it?"  So, I went to the GSA website, waded through it, ended up I-can't-remember-where, played with the search parameters, and finally came up with a list of what appeared to be current project listings.  Not surprisingly, nothing there looked like anything I would try bidding on, even if we were "qualified" or "listed" or whatever that fee goes towards.

The other issue, which I haven't answered to my satisfaction, is: What exactly is expected by the GSA in terms of work product and project process?  Let's say you get the classic "tiny firm" project: a tenant space office build-out: what, above and beyond what you do for a commercial project, has to be done for a GSA project?  For your first and second time through, how much extra time are you going to spend learning the GSA's system and requirements?  In other words, how much should you expect to make/loose learning the ropes?

I would be very interested to hear from small/tiny firms that successfully work for the GSA....

(Also, am I the only person who pictures the office set of "Glengarry, Glen Ross" while these cold callers are talking?  I know perfectly well that these folks are probably "independent contractors" sitting at home with a VOIP line, but I can't help thinking of Alec Baldwin somewhere in the background staring at these poor schmoes...)

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Thomas H. Donalek AIA
Douglas Schroeder Associates
Chicago IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-21-2011 10:08
From: Gregory Nagel
Subject: GSA Consultants


Christopher-

I would strongly advise you not to do this for several reasons:

1) There is no schedule for architecture or engineering services.  This is prohibited by the Brooks Act.  AE services have to be solicited "publicly", although different agencies use different tools to do this.

2) A GSA schedule does not guarantee any firm or company work, it just gives them another tool for marketing for work.  In my research there are many firms/companies who never get any work from their GSA schedule.

3) The GSA schedule paperwork is actually fairly manageable once you learn about the schedule(s) you are interested in.  Speak to the people in your local PTAC (Professional Technical Assistance Center) office, and they will likely be able to guide you through it if there is a schedule you find of interest.

I believe many of these people are hucksters who will promise the world.  If you really feel compelled to use one of these services I would advise you to find out which firm(s) they have worked with, speak to those firms, and also look into it yourself.  There is a website where you can research sales on GSA schedules.

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Gregory Nagel AIA
Architect
Milwaukee WI
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