Editor's Note: Each month, The Buyers Network will be highlighting a statewide contract. This information may be helpful to you in making the appropriate contacts to the vendor or determining the types of products and services available on the contract.

SWC-DC BATT

Vendor
West Virginia Electric Supply
P.O. Box 6668
Huntington, WV 25773

Telephone: (304) 525-0361/ (800) 642-3448
FAX:     (304) 525-2726

Contract Period

In effect from September 15, 1998 through September 14, 1999. [This is the final renewal option available on this contract.]

Products Available

Products include dry cell batteries (variety of descriptions and battery sizes), flashlights and lanterns.
The contract includes a 65% discount from price list/catalog.

Delivery

Orders are to be delivered within 10 working days after receipt of the order. The contractor is required to carry an adequate stock to insure such delivery service for the duration of the contract.

Last September, representatives of the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. General Services Administration conducted a bi-annual review of the federal surplus property program in West Virginia, administered by the Surplus Property Unit.

Approximately 20 basic areas of the program were evaluated, including inventory management, physical inventory, the overseas property program, fiscal accounting system, eligibility, compliance, records management, receiving and warehousing, and distribution.

In the final report issued by GSA, the review team expressed their satisfaction with West Virginia's operation, specifically in its efforts to achieve property security and compliance.

"The West Virginia State Agency still remains one of the better managed programs for administering the donation of federal surplus property. Based on the findings of this review, it will be recommended that the West Virginia State Agency's operation be reviewed every four years in lieu of two," according to the report.

Congratulations...to Surplus Property Manager Ken Frye and his staff for their dedication to excellence.

Matt Hackworth, Purchasing Division's mailrunner, is used to making deliveries, but this time he is expecting a delivery of his own. He and his wife, Cathy, are expecting their first child this month. Our staff organized a baby shower during lunch on May 10.

Transforming from Department Store to State Offices
                     DHHR Relocates to Former Diamond Building

Over 227,000 square feet of space is currently being renovated to accommodate over a thousand employees of the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR). When the project is complete, seven floors plus the basement will be used for state offices that were previously located in and around the State Capitol Complex.

For those of our readers who have lived in the Kanawha Valley for more than 10 years, this building is often referred to by the name of the department store which, for years, resided at this location, The Diamond. But soon, instead of selling clothings, shoes and accessories, the tenants of this building will be offering services to West Virginia citizens.

According to Frank Drobot, state architect for this project, several DHHR agencies will be relocating to this site, including personnel from the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, Bureau for Medical Services, Office of Behavioral Health Services and the Office of Management Information Services and other agencies.

The exterior of the building will maintain much of its historical features, including the original light-colored brick, the canopies at the entry doors...even the flagpoles, according to Drobot. Some changes will be made to the exterior, such as the storefront windows and roofing to provide weather durability.

The interior, however, has been completely overhauled for the new office use. "The modern layout will include both private offices and open office areas of modular furniture workstations," Drobot explains. "Building systems for elevators, plumbing, heating, cooling and fire sprinklers have all been replaced with state-of-the-art equipment." Nearly 200 heat pumps on the hydronic closed loop system scattered throughout the building will be utilized.

Technologically, the Diamond Building will exceed what has been provided in current office spaces," he added. Each workstation not only has data cable for computer networking and Internet access, but also has fiber optic cable for future use. The conference rooms will have the capability for remote teleconferenning through a roof-mounted satellite and some rooms will be wired for group computer training. A 1,000 square foot Computer Network Room will monitor and troublshoot not only local computer operations, but DHHR offices statewide, Drobot said.

In addition to the office space, a parking garage is also being con-structed nearby at the corner of Capi-tol and Christopher streets.

Department of Health and Human Resources personnel are expected to begin moving into this newly renovated, state-of-the-art building by this fall.

From Need to Standard
                      Charting the Evolution of Specifications

The U.S. Standard railroad gauge (the distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Why was that odd gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and the U.S. railroads were built by English expatriates.

Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. But, why did they use that gauge? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old long-distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts.

So, who built these old rutted roads? The first long-distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Because the chariots were made for or by Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original question. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. The moral of the story: Question specifications to make sure that they fit your need. Complete your research and analyze the data. Look for the availability of the option chosen. Test the option chosen. And, only then, make the specification a standard.

§ The West Virginia State Agency for Surplus Property will conduct an absolute auction on Saturday, June 26, beginning at 10:00 a.m., at 2700 Charles Avenue in Dunbar. For more details, call 766-2626.

§ REMEMBER: The 1999 Agency Purchasing Conference will be held September 27-30 at Canaan Valley State Resort. More details on registration will be included in upcoming issues of The Buyers Network.

§ A special note of appreciation to the all agency representatives who attended the Open Purchasing Forums which were held during the month of April. Their feedback and discussion on purchasing-related issues were extremely beneficial.

§ The National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP) will be conducting its 54th Annual Forum and Products Exposition on July 23-28 at the World Trade and Convention Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For more details, call 1-800-FOR-NIGP, ext. 227 or visit NIGP's website address at www.nigp.org.

§ Details on the 1999 Agency Procurement Officer of the Year will be distributed later this summer. If you have any questions concerning this recognition program, call Diane Holley at 558-0661.

§ During the week of May 3, the Purchasing Division joined other state, local and federal agencies in celebrating Public Service Recognition Week. The Department of Administration conducted a recognition ceremony during the week to honor those employees with tenured service to the state of West Virginia. We would like to recognize our employees for their dedication to public service: [20 years] James Farmer (Surplus Property) and Sandra Joyce (CPF); [25 years] Jim Jackson (Central Office), Robert Laughlin (CPF), and Muriel Smith (CPF); [30 years] Jo Ann Dunlap (Central Office). Also honored were employees who did not miss any sick leave during 1998. Purchasing Division's recipients included Michael Kincaid (CPF), Charles Loughner (Central Stockroom) and Muriel Smith (CPF).

Information and dates (as of May 16, 1999) included in this Current Statewide Contract Update are subject to change. If you need additional information, please contact the appropriate state buyer.