PRT engineers, Afghan contractors ensure quality construction Published May 12, 2008 By Capt. Jillian Torango Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- More than 80 Afghan contractors recently participated in a workshop hosted by the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team engineers to discuss the Commander's Emergency Response Program contracting process and to present upgraded construction standards. The annual workshop explains the bidding process and presents new quality control concepts and procedures. The engineers use the forum as an opportunity to explain any contract process differences as well as any upgrades or improvements that will be required for construction projects in the province. "By working with and providing this information directly to the contractors, they'll be able to better manage their projects," said Capt. Kenneth McGinnis, who is deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. "They'll have better situational awareness and will be better able to ensure that they provide the best project possible." The engineers guarantee they get the contractors who are most knowledgeable about the processes and requirements by limiting who can submit project bids. "Only the contractors who attend this workshop will be able to bid on PRT projects throughout the next year," said Capt. Jason M. Aftanas, who is deployed from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. "This is because they'll understand exactly what we are asking for and we know that we'll get a good quality project completed for the people of Panjshir." A few major differences were the focus of this year's workshop. The first was the completion of the bid proposals submitted by the contractors. "We will be looking for five major items now when we receive bid proposals," said Captain Aftanas. "We'll review the packages to determine if the design drawings are competent, the contractor's proposal meets the scope of work, the cost estimate is complete and within budget, and if there's a work plan that addresses a work schedule, quality assurance and control plan, and a worksite safety program." The next topic was how the engineers rank order and select the winning contractor. There are two main differences with this process this year. First, projects will eventually be evaluated on merit and not the lowest bidder. "Even though cost is important, once we rank order the bids by price and select the first 10 acceptable bids, we stop looking at the bid price," said Captain Aftanas. "It is more important to ensure we get the best project possible for the people of Panjshir." The second difference is that only five percent of the final "score" correlates directly to where the contractor is from. "If a contractor is from Panjshir, they'll receive a higher percentage than if they are from another province in Afghanistan," said Captain Aftanas. "If they are from Afghanistan, they'll receive a better percentage than if they are from another country. This is one way to ensure that it is not only Afghans helping Afghans, but neighbors are helping neighbors," he said. The third difference is all winning bid packages will now be made public. This policy is being incorporated for a couple of different reasons. "We can sit down with a contractor now, review the contractor's scores in our best value matrix, and show them why they did or did not get a bid," said Captain Aftanas. "This will help the contractors become better at their jobs as well as be able to submit better packages in the future." When the engineers discussed this new aspect of the contracting process, many of the contractors smiled and nodded. Numerous contractors said that seeing the winning packages and knowing where they fell short would allow them to be more competitive in the future. The last topic covered at the workshop was the institution of the Professional Engineering and Science Association of Panjshir Province. The association is the brainchild of Jerry Maurseth, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilian assigned to Panjshir PRT. "A professional association works together to determine agreed-upon standards and then publishes them to be used in the community," said Mr. Maurseth. "By helping the engineers of Panjshir Province create their own professional association, we're hoping to enable them to not only share ideas between themselves, but to possibly provide their expert council and guidance to members of their local governments when necessary." "This way the engineering community will be able to create and institute some of their own construction upgrades and standards just like the ones introduced at today's workshop," said Mr. Maurseth. "There's a great deal of opportunity ahead, and if we all work together we can ensure many great things can be accomplished - not only here in Panjshir, but throughout Afghanistan." "What we want the people here to remember is that we work for the government of Panjshir and we help support the governor's plans for continued stability and development," added Captain Aftanas. "By having these workshops and helping the local engineers create a professional association we are ensuring that everyone knows they can support the governor's plans as well." "I used to work at another PRT here in Afghanistan and I could immediately see differences in how projects are chosen and supported by the government of Panjshir," explained Captain McGinnis. "One of the reasons the project quality is so good here in Panjshir is the secure environment. Contractors and laborers are not afraid to work here like they are in other provinces," he continued. "And they know that when they build a good quality project here it will last for a long time."