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Halliburton and KBR Accused

HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
edited February 2004 in General Discussion
UNFAIRLY. Fox news is reporting that the government is checking into overcharging for meals served to troops in Kuwait. The contract calls for feeding a ESTIMATED number of troops and the complaint is that there are fewer actual meals being served, but KBR is charging for the CONTRACTED ESTIMATE! Wow, they are fulfilling the contract and get slammed! [:(]

Gee whiz--you bid on a contract containing an unknown (your financial risk if you are wrong BTW), the government reviews your estimate and AGREES with it, and then you perform the contract. Nothing is wrong, nothing is criminal, nothing is unfair. Everyone is 100% right AFTER the situation.

Dheffley: I apologize. [}:)]





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Comments

  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,446 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    CBS just had this on the news. Haliburton having their fingers in the till again. How bout' it Cheaney.. are you in the White House tonight?
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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    BTT





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  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,446 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BTT
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    An estimate is just that, An estimate, only the real figures should apply on payment.. Could have been Higher, could have been lower. Only pay for what ya get[:D][:D][}:)]

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    "I dont care how thin you make a pancake, it still has two sides"

    "A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows.
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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    Classic: Gotta disagree. Who pays for spoilage if the estimate is over? Who pays for premium if estimate is lower? That's why the agreement is for the ESTIMATE--and believe me, the USG reviewed the data carefully and AGREED with the estimate.

    I bid and won a USG contract where, among other things, the USG wanted the availability of my crew 24/7/365. We reached an agreement where I could bill out the scheduled ESTIMATED hours of labor monthly WITHOUT providing the actual labor. We were still held to contract performance for the other tasks, and the "overage" was made up whenever the crew was called in--without overtime pay. There was no other way one could get people to willingly be available 24/7/365 otherwise--and Uncle knew it too. Was it fair? Yes. Was it equitable to all parties? Yes. Did we make a "killing" on the labor? No, because the emergencies arose 3-4 times a year (usually on a weekend to boot!) and we met the contract requirements. I paid the overtime to my employees directly without billing the USG.

    When dealing with an unknown, everyone involved assumes a portion of the risk. [}:)]






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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    I worked in procurement for the Government, and breakage and spoilage was always factored in the Estimate for goods and services, someone in that business should know the percentage of FOOD spoilage , I know the Army before contracting to civilian sources for their food, and preperations of food, distrubited the food themselves with the spoilage figured in, so instaid of a dozen eggs ya got 14 eggs[}:)]

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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    Classic: So, what was the cost of a USG dozen of eggs (14 versus 12) get charged?

    I also think the estimate was based on the number of troops to be fed--and Uncle didn't have a firm clue on its troop movements (or it was classified) and that variable caused the estimate to be higher. Usually, as you know, the estimate and the actual are very close because the bidders/bid reviewers know their jobs.





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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    It used to be number of troops plus 10% when the army conducted their own ration system, and had their own cooks, then they went with civilian contractors and it was by the meal, IE 300 men equaled 900 meals a day, and I can say that on any given day maybe 100 of those men did not eat in the Mess Hall.

    Should the contractor give back the money of 100 meals a day, just because the GI decided to eat at the snack bar?? After all that was 100 meals they didnt serve[^][}:)][}:)]

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    "I dont care how thin you make a pancake, it still has two sides"

    "A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows.
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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    quote:Should the contractor give back the money of 100 meals a day, just because the GI decided to eat at the snack bar?? After all that was 100 meals they didnt serveNope. Contractor was ready, willing, and able to perform the contract. [:D]





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  • victorlvlbvictorlvlb Member Posts: 5,004
    edited November -1
    Hairy you must of jumped to the other side of the fence.There are all kinds of formulas for bidding contracts.The bottom line is if you promise to deliver 10 apples and ten oranges that you deliver them.If it takes fourteen eggs to deliver twelve eggs then the extra two eggs are added into the bid.If you had bid to have three shifts working on your 24/7 contract, and only had one shift working,then say the overtime came out of your pocket.Give me a break!Three shifts with benifets compared to one shift with overtime ...Yeah right.I was born at night but it wasn't last night.
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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    victor: I'm sorry my explanation of the overtime potential of 24/7/365 was unclear.

    The USG wanted the right to call me and my employees to work ANYTIME of the day or nite. Our normal work schedule was 8:00-17:00, Monday thru Friday. However, I had the right to charge the USG for a SET number of manhours monthly--whether or not that number was an actual. The difference was made up when we were called in to work for an emergency; and the employees received their normal pay and I paid the overtime differential to them. We did not charge the USG any overtime. I hope this clears up whatever confusion I may have caused.





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  • victorlvlbvictorlvlb Member Posts: 5,004
    edited November -1
    Hairy I thought the worst at first..sorry.
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  • HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    victor: Thanks for allowing me to clarify. I appreciate it.





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