PRIME, Inc.
M I D A S
PRIME, Inc.'s SEAPORT ENHANCED CONTRACT WEBSITE
PRIME, Inc. a small business and 8(a) company was awarded the SEAPORT Enhanced contract (Contract No. N00178-04-D-4015) on April 5, 2004. The contract was awarded for Zones 1 (Northeast) and 2 (National Capital Region).
TASK ORDERS
No Task Orders have been awarded to date. 07/10/2010
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS
No Technical Instructions have been issued to date. 07/10/2010
TEAM MEMBERS
The PRIME, Inc. Seaport Enhanced Team includes one other company - Anteon Corporation (www.anteon.com) , a nationally renowned large business with approximately 7,600 employees at over 100 offices and revenues of over $1 billion. Using only one subcontractor minimizes paperwork and management time, allowing the PRIME Seaport Team to focus on the work at hand. At the same time Anteon's extensive and experienced workforce provides a ready national resource via this vehicle.
PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES EXPERIENCE
PRIME, Inc.: PRIME, Inc. T/A Marine Innovations, Designs And Solutions - Past Performance
Anteon: http://www.anteon.com/index_level2_es.html
CUSTOMER POINTS OF CONTACT
Mr. David Tychman, Code 3324, NSWC Carderock, (301) 227-5824
QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM
PRIME, Inc. is a dynamic small business in a dynamic industry and has been supporting the Navy and other government agencies such as Coast Guard and NASA over the last 9 years. Through our contract support for Navy Programs and through our individual careers, our senior personnel have observed first-hand many management and quality assurance approaches within programs and projects varying from complex to very complex. The Navy in general has been quite open to innovations in management of quality through such initiatives as TQM, Baldridge, ISO, Value Engineering, BPR, etc. In the post-Acquisition Reform environment, many of the new management processes, only studied before, have been formalized and have resulted in innovative contracting such as was seen in Seaport I.
Because of its small size, PRIME, Inc. has found it easier to adapt to the Navy’s changes and its reorganizations and aligned some of its quality management practices in the last few years to our main customer, the U.S. Navy. Our commitment to the Navy performance-based initiative is reflected in the company’s Performance Review Plan and Bonus Plan, which take into account similar factors as the Navy does in assessing contractor performance. The model where an employee was rewarded for logging 1900 or so hours a year is archaic, and a performance-based reward model spurs the contractor employee in the right direction. Quality, at PRIME begins at the individual employee level and doing it right the first time. To achieve the acceptable threshold of quality, performance is tied to quality assessment and reward. Our management policy for senior employee assessment and reward is based on the following criteria:
Cost Performance - Of major importance in evaluating an employee’s commitment to cost controls is the employee’s cost planning and her timely, complete and accurate reporting on cost. In addition, the employee’s efforts in the area of cost reduction/cost avoidance, e.g. innovative approach to performance of assigned task to minimize the cost, and demonstrated ability to keep the cost of work to be performed in line with the contract estimated cost, is considered.
Schedule Performance – Of equal importance is the employee’s ability to meet deadlines and whether all deliverables are submitted on time, ahead of schedule, or late, meeting or exceeding requirements and submitted in a format that is complete, clear, concise, technically accurate and easily understood. Any required corrections should be very minor in nature and expeditiously and cheerfully corrected. The employee’s early identification of problem areas, and his accomplishments in overcoming problems to maintain schedules are also considered.
Technical Performance - Of major importance in evaluating the employee’s technical performance will be the demonstration of commitment by the employee to meet the requirements of the task order and any technical instructions issued there under. Specifically, the employee’s response to tasking and accuracy of work produced is evaluated. In addition, the employee’s approach to solving problem areas presented by the customer is evaluated as a measure of competence.
Management Performance – Traditionally this category was reserved only for employees who were high up in the company organizational structure and with a certain minimum years of experience. In our management model, all employees are managers or potential managers. They have to manage the performance-based task or sub-task at hand with an eye towards cost control. The company is committed to providing the authority necessary to achieve project goals to all levels of employees. What is observed for this category is that communication is clear, directions are understood and the employee always facilitates rapid exchanges of information with both technical and contractual personnel, in order to meet project goals. Also the employee has to effectively integrate all functional area requirements into an overall team effort in order to optimize program efficiencies.
The Warfare Centers are also assured the benefit of the overall corporate and project experience and best practices databases developed from our performance of similar type of work subsequent presentation at professional forums. We will not only coordinate with PEO, NAVSEA Directorate, and Warfare Centers representatives to ensure that solutions are based on best practices but will offer our extensive integration experience with multiple platforms and programs such as the LPD 17, JCC(X), LCS and DD(X) programs.
In summary, PRIME, Inc. is committed to quality/excellence and cost-savings in that order, leading up to a performance that is worthy of the best that the Navy expects. Our quality is evident in the performance of our work.
Some further topics related to our Quality Assurance Plan are discussed below:
Responsiveness to Task Order:
PRIME, Inc. will be responsive to the Task Order. When it is received, the contractor will:
 | Assign a program manager to the delivery order. The program manager will be responsible for planning and executing the requirements of the task. The program manager will determine the expertise, tools, material, personnel, and travel required to accomplish the required task. He will determine requirements for security clearances as well. |
| Form a multi-disciplinary team with the required skill-sets, experience, security clearances and experience to develop innovative solutions in accordance with the task order. |
| Determine on-site manpower requirements. If on-site presence is required, arrange through TPOC/COR for desk, computer, internet, and telephone access. |
| Schedule a kickoff meeting with the NSWC TPOC, COR and PCO. |
| Set overarching Project Goals in alignment with Task Order and Customer expectations and communicate these goals to all project personnel. |
| Implement Microsoft tools such as Project, Outlook, Word, and EXCEL as project management and administration tools. Prepare templates for reporting and oversight at this stage so all project team members are on the same page from the outset. |
| Schedule meetings, develop agenda and presentation material, prepare meeting minutes, and facilitate meetings. |
| Implement quality assurance in accordance with the PRIME, Inc. Quality Assurance Plan. For large projects PRIME, Inc. proposes to appoint a Productivity Improvement Manager (PIM) who may also be the person trained in Quality Assurance and performing the QA function. |
| Prepare and submit monthly progress reports to the TPOC/COR |
| Schedule and conduct In –process Reviews (IPRs) with NSWC, PEO, and NAVSEA Directorate representatives |
| Develop and deliver products in accordance with the Delivery order |
| Use the guidance contained in “NSWCCS-AR-2000/01, So You Have to Write a Technical Report” for development of formal technical reports |
| Emphasize use of open standards using the principles of Joint Open Systems Task Force |
Maximizing Quality:
| Assign only fully qualified people to the delivery order and technical instruction |
| For projects above 10 man-years/year appoint a Productivity Improvement Manager (PIM) who may also be the person trained in and performing the QA function. |
| Schedule a kick off meeting with the NSWC TPOC/COR |
| All contract deliverables will be reviewed by a second set of eyes |
| Program manager will consult with PEO, NAVSEA Directorate, and NSWC subject matter experts |
| Schedule in-process reviews for major deliverables |
| Prepare minutes of meetings |
| Prepare monthly progress reports |
| Follow the procedures contained in the PRIME, Inc. Quality Assurance Plan |
| Obtain ISO certifications when our small business size grows to over 50 people |
PRIME, Inc. is focused on the customer and his requirements. The company and every employee has a strong desire to meet the customer’s needs. Cooperation with the customer is a key element of the PRIME, Inc. culture. That said, the key to responsiveness is a keen understanding of the customer requirements. PRIME, Inc. will take the following steps to guarantee responsiveness and cooperation with customers:
| Assign personnel to the task that fully understand the customer requirement. The Project Manager will, preferably, be an individual who has experience and understanding of the Warfare Center environment. |
| Monitor quality, timeliness, and quantity of work that company accomplishes under the delivery orders. Take immediate action to correct any deficiencies. |
| Encourage customer feedback and react immediately to any problem that he identifies. Propose a formalized periodic customer feedback at the kickoff meeting. |
| Encourage employee training and attendance at professional forums for latest trends, technologies and tools that could help the customer and the Program’s cost-savings goals. |
PRIME, Inc. uses the systems engineering process for problem resolution. The process is robust and can be applied to most any problem or opportunity regardless of complexity. The process is generic and should be tailored to the particular problem at hand. The process usually starts with the identification of a “need” or “desire” to resolve a deficiency or a problem. The process comprises the following steps:
| Need statement |
| Requirements analysis |
| Statement of requirements |
| Evaluation of alternatives |
| Trade-off studies (cost, schedule, performance, logistics support, survivability, etc.) |
| Refinement of requirements |
| Performance Specification |
| Detailed design and development |
| Engineering Development Model |
| Test & Evaluation |
| Certification |
| Full Rate Production |
| Fielding |
| Operation, life cycle management, maintenance, & modernization |
| Disposal |
Since we have only one team partner, this is a simple and uncomplicated process. We have chosen a team partner, Anteon (www.anteon.com) who has worked with us for several years and teamed with us on several other Navy contracts, including Seaport I. Over the years, we have mutually established workable lines of communications and trouble-shooting protocols. Our team partner is a large, successful publicly traded company and a mature Navy support contractor. Our subcontracting agreement has the flexibility to describe the efficient flow-down of requirements at the task order level, inclusive of performance criteria and incentives. Unless otherwise directed by the customer, any deliverables prepared by the subcontractor will be subjected to the same Quality Assurance scrutiny as our own deliverables. Incentives and performance criteria will be common for both prime and subcontractor, so the customer gets product assurance in a seamless manner.