(a) The Executive Director, Acquisition Management, J-7 establishes and maintains the contracting clearance and oversight process as a system of internal controls and as a basis for certification of the procurement system required by Executive Order 12931.
(1) Heads of contracting activities are to provide an effective management system that assures the procurement system provides goods and services with reasonable prices, timely delivery, and required quality and that it meets the statutory, regulatory, and program needs of the Agency. A contract clearance and oversight process shall be instituted which provides oversight to monitor all phases of the procurement system. The clearance and oversight process is to ensure an effective program for monitoring, evaluating, documenting, and improving the quality of the procurement system's performance. Clearance procedures are to provide for contracting supervisory review of negotiated procurements as well as independent reviews. Contracts are to be reviewed at a level appropriate to their complexity, risk, priority, and dollar value. The clearance and oversight process will embrace five key concepts: strengthening PCO ownership of the procurement process, placing accountability and responsibility at the appropriate level, enhancing professional development, streamlining the review and approval process, and focusing on process improvements.
(2) The Contract Clearance and Oversight Office (formerly the Contract Review Office) at the Defense Supply Centers (see 2.101), organized in conformance with DLA One Book, Procurement Process - Contract Clearance and Oversight, paragraph 3.2 (formerly shown at DLAM 5810.1), is the guidance for contracting oversight. Review criteria are established by the chief of the contracting office. The establishment and/or subsequent revision of review criteria will be coordinated with the Director, Acquisition Management, (J-7) , prior to incorporation in local regulations. At all other DLA activities, the chief of the contracting office will be the focal point for oversight. For those activities with no review office, a contract review board process will be employed to review selected acquisitions.
(3) Contracting officers shall review every proposed contract (FAR 2.101) and supporting file before signing the contract and before forwarding the file for review by higher authority, if required. Documentation shall be in sufficient detail to permit reconstruction of all significant actions by a reviewer without referral to the individuals who effected the acquisition. The contracting officer is responsible for the quality of the contracting arrangement.
(b) High-visibility (Hi-Viz) acquisition surveillance is a component of the overall DLA acquisition management strategy. It is intended to ensure that acquisitions that represent the highest risk to the Agency in terms of factors such as mission criticality, financial investment, and stewardship responsibilities receive oversight at an appropriate management level. To that end, Hi Viz surveillance will be conducted and reported for acquisitions, as prescribed below.
(2) The following acquisitions will be tracked by J-72 and reported on a weekly basis to the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE):
(i) Acquisitions designated by the SPE; these may be recommended by DLA Headquarters or buying activity headquarters senior staff . Buying activities should nominate acquisitions that are known to represent a high level of risk to the Agency.
(ii) Acquisitions that would otherwise be reported at the buying activity headquarters level that are processed by the DLA Contracting Services Office will be reported to the SPE.
(3) The following acquisitions will be tracked and reported at the buying activity headquarters level:
(i) Acquisitions designated by the buying activity Commander/Director or senior staff.
(ii) Any other acquisitions not designated for higher-level reporting that have been reviewed or will be reviewed by the Agency’s Integrated Acquisition Review Board (I-ARB).
(4) The acquisitions designated in this PROCLTR must be reviewed at the level specified, but buying activities may designate subordinate levels of review for other acquisitions.
(5) Acquisitions designated for review by the DLA Director or the SPE will be reported by the buying activities to J-72 on a weekly basis at a time specified by J-72 using a J-72 prescribed format, which will be separately furnished and is subject to change. Reporting to the Director, DLA, will be accomplished either by briefing and/or report, as required. Acquisitions monitored at the buying activity level may be reported in any appropriate format. However, buying activities will be required to provide updates to the DLA Director on their Hi-Viz surveillance programs in a prescribed format on a quarterly basis, or as otherwise specified by the Director.
(6) As part of the Hi-Viz surveillance program, the buying activities will establish and maintain policies that provide for regularly-scheduled post award in-process reviews of their Hi-Viz acquisitions. Such reviews will require the participation of the contractor. At a minimum, these reviews will be conducted for each acquisition reported at the DLA Director level; these reviews will be conducted at the buying activity Commander/Director or Head of the Contracting Activity level. In-process reviews of other Hi-Viz acquisitions may be conducted at subordinate levels.
(7) Acquisitions reported to the DLA Director may only be removed from Hi-Viz surveillance with the permission of the Director. Senior leaders at buying activities may make requests for removal from Hi-Viz surveillance to the Director with copy to J-7 or may submit requests with appropriate justification through J-7. Acquisitions monitored by the SPE may only be removed from Hi-Viz surveillance with the permission of the SPE, which may be obtained by direct request or may be requested through J-72. Acquisitions monitored at the buying activity level may be removed from Hi-Viz surveillance at the discretion of the buying activities, with the exception that items subject to approval by the Agency I-ARB must be monitored through award, at a minimum.
(8) Correspondence addressing the overall direction of a contract subject to HiViz surveillance, to include correspondence with the contractor, Department of Defense officials, and Members of Congress, must be coordinated with the SPE prior to release.
