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New program provides Lab purchasing staff with specialized training

Last year, the Laboratory purchased some $1.27 billion in goods and services. Making these purchases is much more than just looking at catalogues or Web pages, filling out a purchase request and waiting for an order to be filled. To support the diverse procurement requirements of Lab customers, procurement staff members have to develop and hone some very specialized skills.

That is why last fall, Procurement (BUS-5) began a new education and training program for the Lab’s procurement work force.

"The Acquisition Career Management Program initiative is designed to help provide Laboratory buyers with the skills they need to satisfy our customer’s procurement requirements in a timely and quality manner. The ACMP initiative is a product of the Procurement Excellence Strategic Plan that was developed to better focus BUS-5 on acquisition-related areas that need improvement, including an improvement in the training of Laboratory procurement personnel," according to Stan Hettich, BUS-5 group leader.

"The ACMP initiative, which is being led by Bennie Gonzales in the Business Operations (BUS) Division, is one aspect of our efforts to orient [the Laboratory] toward fostering a continuous improvement philosophy within our procurement processes," said Hettich.

The new training program curriculum includes a total of 25 courses on procurement-related subjects. Included within the curriculum are 13 courses that have received Defense Acquisition University equivalency. The courses within the ACMP initiative correspond closely with the courses mandated by the federal government as part of the certification requirements for procurement personnel. In addition, more than half of the program’s courses are recommended by the American Council on Education as college-accredited courses.

Hettich said the ACMP initiative includes proficiency standards for the Laboratory’s procurement work force that establish mandatory requirements in terms of training, education and experience for specific job levels. "The program establishes a graduated series of courses, plus required skills development, which leads to an individual’s Laboratory procurement certification," Hettich said.

"As an example, an SSM-2 contract administrator will have to complete a series of 10 courses, which amounts to 50 classroom days, plus hold a bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, to receive certification under the program," he said. "Laboratory procurement personnel at each job level within the structured series (GS-5/6, SSM-1, SSM-2, SSM-3, etc.) will have increasingly challenging educational and training requirements commensurate with the benchmarks established for these various grade levels," added Hettich.

"The intent of the ACMP program it to provide the level of ongoing training needed to ensure the Laboratory has [a] fully trained and professional acquisition work force needed to accomplish all aspects of the Laboratory’s procurement function," said Gonzales. He said the Lab will soon sign a 4-year contract with Northwest Procurement Institute Inc., to provide this training. "We are very serious about providing quality education and training for the Lab’s procurement staff. Having this firm under contract to us for a substantial period will help ensure we meet the training commitment we have made to our procurement work force," said Gonzales.

Gonzales noted that before the specialized training established by the ACMP initiative, procurement-related training was performed mainly in-house by Laboratory procurement staff. But since December of 2002, BUS-5 has offered 10 college-level courses that equate to 384 hours of procurement-related training. During this time, there have been 206 attendees at the various courses, many of whom have attended multiple courses in anticipation of being granted their certification, he said.

Hettich and Gonzales said the Lab plans to expand the ACMP training initiative to include procurement-related training for university technical representatives, and eventually, to include selective training opportunities for Laboratory suppliers.

"Within the next few months, we will be offering two- and three-day courses to Laboratory technical staff who are responsible for developing requirements and for administering the technical aspects of our more complex procurement requirements. The UTR training program will include instruction on subjects that range from procurement requirements development to the UTR’s role in contract oversight and administration," said Hettich.

There is no cost to Laboratory personnel enrolled in the training program. Laboratory procurement personnel can sign up for these courses or obtain more information by calling Gonzales at 7-4998 or writing to bgonz@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

-- Steve Sandoval

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