Defense Acquisition Regulation (DAR)
SUBPART 42.3--CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION OFFICE FUNCTIONS
42.301 General.
When a contract is assigned for administration under Subpart 42.2, the
contract administration office (CAO) shall perform contract administration
functions in accordance with this regulation, the contract terms, and,
unless otherwise agreed upon in formal cross-servicing arrangements (see
42.101(a)), the applicable regulations of the servicing agency.
42.302 Contract administration functions.
(a) The following are the normal contract administration functions to
be performed by the cognizant CAO, to the extent they apply, as prescribed
in 42.202:
- Review the contractor's compensation structure.
- Review the contractor's insurance plans.
- Conduct post-award orientation conferences.
- Review and evaluate contractors' proposals under Subpart 15.8 and,
when negotiation will be accomplished by the contracting officer, furnish
comments and recommendations to that officer.
- Negotiate forward pricing rate agreements (see 15.809).
- Negotiate advance agreements applicable to treatment of costs under
contracts currently assigned for administration (see 31.109).
- Determine the allowability of costs suspended or disapproved as
required (see Subpart 42.8), direct the suspension or disapproval of costs
when there is reason to believe they should be suspended or disapproved,
and approve final vouchers.
- Issue Notices of Intent to Disallow or not Recognize Costs (see
Subpart 42.8).
- Establish final indirect cost rates and billing rates for those
contractors meeting the criteria for contracting officer determination
in Subpart 42.7.
- Attempt to resolve issues in controversy, using ADR procedures
when appropriate (see Subpart 33.2); prepare findings of fact and issue
decisions under the Disputes clause on matters in which the administrative
contracting officer (ACO) has the authority to take definitive action.
- In connection with Cost Accounting Standards (see Part 30 and 48
CFR Chapter 99 (FAR Appendix B))--
- Determine the adequacy of the contractor's disclosure statements;
- Determine whether disclosure statements are in compliance with
Cost Accounting Standards and Part 31;
- Determine the contractor's compliance with Cost Accounting Standards
and disclosure statements, if applicable; and
- Negotiate price adjustments and execute supplemental agreements
under the Cost Accounting Standards clauses at 52.230-2, 52.230-3, 52.230-5
and 52.230-6.
- Review and approve or disapprove the contractor's requests for
payments under the progress payments or performance-based payments clauses.
- Make payments on assigned contracts when prescribed in agency acquisition
regulations (see 42.205).
- Manage special bank accounts.
- Ensure timely notification by the contractor of any anticipated
overrun or underrun of the estimated cost under cost-reimbursement contracts.
- Monitor the contractor's financial condition and advise the contracting
officer when it jeopardizes contract performance.
- Analyze quarterly limitation on payments statements and recover
overpayments from the contractor.
- Issue tax exemption forms.
- Ensure processing and execution of duty-free entry certificates.
- For classified contracts, administer those portions of the applicable
industrial security program designated as ACO responsibilities (see Subpart
4.4).
- Issue work requests under maintenance, overhaul, and modification
contracts.
- Negotiate prices and execute supplemental agreements for spare
parts and other items selected through provisioning procedures when prescribed
by agency acquisition regulations.
- Negotiate and execute contractual documents for settlement of partial
and complete contract terminations for convenience, except as otherwise
prescribed by Part 49.
- Negotiate and execute contractual documents settling cancellation
charges under multiyear contracts.
- Process and execute novation and change of name agreements under
Subpart 42.12.
- Perform property administration (see Part 45).
- Approve contractor acquisition or fabrication of special test equipment
under the clause at 52.245-18, Special Test Equipment.
- Perform necessary screening, redistribution, and disposal of contractor
inventory.
- Issue contract modifications requiring the contractor to provide
packing, crating, and handling services on excess Government property.
When the ACO determines it to be in the
Government's interests, the services may be secured from a contractor
other than the contractor in possession of the property.
- In facilities contracts--
- Evaluate the contractor's requests for facilities and for changes
to existing facilities and provide appropriate recommendations to the contracting
officer;
- Ensure required screening of facility items before acquisition
by the contractor;
- Approve use of facilities on a noninterference basis in accordance
with the clause at 52.245-9, Use and Charges;
- Ensure payment by the contractor of any rental due; and
- Ensure reporting of items no longer needed for Government production.
- Perform production support, surveillance, and status reporting,
including timely reporting of potential and actual slippages in contract
delivery schedules.
- Perform pre-award surveys (see Subpart 9.1).
- Advise and assist contractors regarding their priorities and allocations
responsibilities and assist contracting offices in processing requests
for special assistance and for priority ratings for privately owned capital equipment.
- Monitor contractor industrial labor relations matters under the
contract; apprise the contracting officer and, if designated by the agency,
the cognizant labor relations advisor, of actual or
potential labor disputes; and coordinate the removal of urgently required
material from the strikebound contractor's plant upon instruction from,
and authorization of, the contracting officer.
- Perform traffic management services, including issuance and control
of Government bills of lading and other transportation documents.
- Review the adequacy of the contractor's traffic operations.
- Review and evaluate preservation, packaging, and packing.
- Ensure contractor compliance with contractual quality assurance
requirements (see Part 46).
- Ensure contractor compliance with contractual safety requirements.
- Perform engineering surveillance to assess
compliance with contractual terms for schedule, cost, and technical performance
in the areas of design, development, and production.
- Evaluate for adequacy and perform surveillance of contractor engineering
efforts and management systems that relate to design, development, production,
engineering changes,
subcontractors, tests, management of engineering resources, reliability
and maintainability, data control systems, configuration management, and
independent research and development.
- Review and evaluate for technical adequacy the contractor's logistics
support, maintenance, and modification programs.
- Report to the contracting office any inadequacies noted in specifications.
- Perform engineering analyses of contractor cost proposals.
- Review and analyze contractor-proposed engineering and design studies
and submit comments and recommendations to the contracting office, as required.
- Review engineering change proposals for proper classification,
and when required, for need, technical adequacy of design, producibility,
and impact on quality, reliability, schedule, and cost; submit comments
to the contracting office.
- Assist in evaluating and make recommendations for acceptance or
rejection of waivers and deviations.
- Evaluate and monitor the contractor's procedures for complying
with procedures regarding restrictive markings on data.
- Monitor the contractor's value engineering program.
- Review, approve or disapprove, and maintain surveillance of the
contractor's purchasing system (see Part 44).
- Consent to the placement of subcontracts.
- Review, evaluate, and approve plant or division-wide small, small
disadvantaged and women-owned small business master subcontracting plans.
- Obtain the contractor's currently approved company- or division-wide
plans for small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small business subcontracting
for its commercial products,
or, if there is no currently approved plan, assist the contracting
officer in evaluating the plans for those products.
- Assist the contracting officer, upon request, in evaluating an
offeror's proposed small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small business
subcontracting plans, including
documentation of compliance with similar plans under prior contracts.
- By periodic surveillance, ensure the contractor's compliance with
small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small business subcontracting
plans and any labor surplus area contractual requirements; maintain documentation
of the contractor's performance under and compliance with these plans and
requirements; and provide advice and assistance to the firms involved,
as appropriate.
- Maintain surveillance of flight operations.
- Assign and perform supporting contract administration.
- Ensure timely submission of required reports.
- Issue administrative changes, correcting errors or omissions in
typing, contractor address, facility or activity code, remittance address,
computations which
do not require additional contract funds, and other such changes (see
43.101).
- Cause release of shipments from contractor's plants according to
the shipping instructions. When applicable, the order of assigned priority
shall be followed; shipments within the same
priority shall be determined by date of the instruction.
- Obtain contractor proposals for any contract price adjustments
resulting from amended shipping instructions. ACO's shall review all amended
shipping instructions on a periodic,
consolidated basis to assure that adjustments are timely made. Except
when the ACO has settlement authority, the ACO shall forward the proposal
to the contracting officer for contract
modification. The ACO shall not delay shipments pending completion
and formalization of negotiations of revised shipping instructions.
- Negotiate and/or execute supplemental agreements, as required,
making changes in packaging subcontractors or contract shipping points.
- Cancel unilateral purchase orders when notified of nonacceptance
by the contractor. The ACO shall notify the contracting officer when the
purchase order is canceled.
- Negotiate and execute one-time supplemental agreements providing
for the extension of contract delivery schedules up to 90 days on contracts
with an assigned Criticality Designator of C (see 42.1105). Notification
that the contract delivery schedule is being extended shall be provided
to the contracting office. Subsequent extensions on any individual contract
shall be authorized only upon concurrence of the contracting office.
- Accomplish administrative closeout procedures (see 4.804-5).
- Determine that the contractor has a drug-free workplace program
and drug-free awareness program (see Subpart 23.5).
- Support the program, product, and project offices regarding program
reviews, program status, program performance and actual or anticipated
program problems.
- Monitor the contractor's compliance with the requirements of environmental
laws including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C.
6901, et seq.) and other
environmental requirements as specified in the contract (see Part 23).
Responsibilities of the contracting officer shall include--
- Verification of contractor compliance with specifications requiring
the use of environmentally preferable and energy-efficient materials and
the use of materials or delivery of end items with
the specified recovered material content. This shall occur as part
of the quality assurance procedures set forth in Part 46.
- As required in the contract, ensuring that the contractor complies
with the reporting requirements relating to recovered material content
utilized in contract performance.
- Administer commercial financing provisions and monitor contractor
security to ensure its continued adequacy to cover outstanding payments,
when on-site review is required.
(b) The CAO shall perform the following functions only when and to the
extent specifically authorized by the contracting office:
- Negotiate or negotiate and execute supplemental agreements incorporating
contractor proposals resulting from change orders issued under the Changes
clause. Before completing
negotiations, coordinate any delivery schedule change with the contracting
office.
- Negotiate prices and execute priced exhibits for unpriced orders
issued by the contracting officer under basic ordering agreements.
- Negotiate or negotiate and execute supplemental agreements changing
contract delivery schedules.
- Negotiate or negotiate and execute supplemental agreements providing
for the deobligation of unexpended dollar balances considered excess to
known contract requirements.
- Issue amended shipping instructions and, when necessary, negotiate
and execute supplemental agreements incorporating contractor proposals
resulting from these instructions.
- Negotiate changes to interim billing prices.
- Negotiate and definitize adjustments to contract prices resulting
from exercise of an economic price adjustment clause (see Subpart 16.2).
- Issue change orders and negotiate and execute resulting supplemental
agreements under contracts for ship construction, conversion, and repair.
- Execute supplemental agreements on firm-fixed-price supply contracts
to reduce required contract line item quantities and deobligate excess
funds when notified by the contractor of an
inconsequential delivery shortage, and it is determined that such action
is in the best interests of the Government, notwithstanding the default
provisions of the contract. Such action will be taken only upon the written
request of the contractor and, in no event, shall the total downward contract
price adjustment resulting from an inconsequential delivery shortage exceed
$250.00 or 5 percent of the contract price, whichever is less.
- Execute supplemental agreements to permit a change in place of
inspection at origin specified in firm-fixed-price supply contracts awarded
to nonmanufacturers, as deemed necessary to protect the Government's interests.
- Prepare evaluations of contractor performance in accordance with
Subpart 42.15.
(c) Any additional contract administration functions not listed in 42.302(a)
and (b), or not otherwise delegated, remain the responsibility of the contracting
office.
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