Commercial item acquisition with Phil Jasper

I was pleased to have Phil Jasper, Mission Systems President at Collins Aerospace, join me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss commercial item acquisition. In the early 1990s, there was a recognition that DoD needed to streamline its business processes in order to attract commercial companies. The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 led to FAR Part 12 procedures, which exempted items determined to be commercial from various regulations such as certified cost or pricing data, cost accounting standards, and business system administration. The past several NDAAs strengthened the preference and opportunities for commercial, including the creation of the DCMA commercial items group (FY13 Sec. 831), treatment of nontraditional contractors as commercial (FY16 Sec. 857), and reduced contract clauses and flowdowns (FY17 Sec. 874). Jasper argues that commercial procedures have important benefits to DoD. First, it allows companies to bring their internal R&D for commercial customers to bear, including open systems architectures. A common avionics system, for example, was tailored for UH-60 and CH-47 helicopters saving the government over $160 million. Moreover it was delivered in just 13 months compared to a normal defense cycle time of three years or more. Similar examples in the aircraft world are found in fuel systems, heads up displays, fire protection systems, and landing gears. These commercial items have lasting benefits in terms of continued private investment throughout the lifecycle that generate capability enhancements. This helps offload obsolescence management from the government and allows it to be handled by industry. Jasper argues that commercial procedures have important benefits to DoD. First, it allows companies to bring their internal R&D for commercial customers to bear, including open systems architectures. A common avionics system, for example, was tailored for UH-60 and CH-47 helicopters saving the government over $160 million. Moreover it was delivered in just 13 months compared to a normal defense cycle time of three years or more. Similar examples in the aircraft world are found in fuel systems, heads up displays, fire protection systems, and landing gears. These commercial items have lasting benefits in terms of continued private investment that generate capability enhancements throughout the lifecycle. This helps offload obsolescence management from the government and allows military systems to be upgraded on much faster cycle times. Despite these challenges, Jasper is hopeful about continued progress in commercial item adoption. "Frankly, at the end of the day, that's what this is all about -- industry and government are aligned in common purpose and that is to get the best technology to the warfighters as fast as possible at the most affordable price and best value for the taxpayer." Amen to that. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.