November/December 2007

Reflections Of A Retired Purchasing Officer On Buying Apparatus

By Doug Cleveringa

As the person who was responsible for preparing specifications and purchasing fire department apparatus, I explored and used a number of different methods for the process. Some worked better than others. It seemed each time I was told to go buy a truck, I came up with a new and improved way to do it. Here are some of the purchasing methods:

a.) Writing specifications from scratch. b). Letting manufacturers write the  specifications. c.)  Searching for tailboard bids. d.) Searching off a consortium listing of tailboard bids. e). Inviting bids off a consortium listing of tailboard bids. f.) Emergency purchasing.

For those who are new at the process, these methods may help you in preparing your own specifications.

Specs From Scratch

The most common method in my experience for apparatus purchasing is to write specifications from scratch. Although it is the most time consuming and labor intensive, it is the most likely way to have an apparatus built that meets the department’s specific needs.

Committee work and research are the keys to getting the job done correctly,  as is the case with most purchasing    methods. However, where the other methods depend on most of the research being handled by someone else, writing specifications from scratch requires that your committee do most of the work.

For the first engine I purchased, my committee and I wrote the specifications from scratch. We had some guidelines to follow from our department’s purchase of a quint a couple years earlier, but for the most part we put together our own design.

I remember going to the preconstruction meeting, and everything seemed fine. Then we attended the final inspection and the manufacturer said, “I don’t know where you guys came up with a 156-inch wheelbase, but we were able to do it.”

Brian and I looked at each other, and then we thumbed through the specifications. Sure enough, it said 156-inch wheelbase. I do not know if the mistake was mine or was a typo from the secretaries. The wheelbase on an engine is normally around 170 to 200 inches.

Due to our mistake, it took the manufacturer extra man hours in design and fabrication to change the wheelbase. I do not know how much more it cost us. As a result, the engine turns on a dime, but has a very rough ride. Now, with laptop computers on board, the officer cannot accurately punch keys due to the bouncing of the cab.

Writing specifications from scratch requires very careful, accurate handling.

Manufacturer Specs

Next, I tried letting a manufacturer write the specifications for me. I contacted a half dozen apparatus builders and requested engine specifications. After the committee read through the packages, we selected the one that best met our needs. Then we took out everything that made it specific to that manufacturer and tweaked a few things to make it our engine.

Sometimes if specifications are too tight, it will eliminate manufacturers from bidding just because they have no means to meet the requirements. Finally we advertised for builders and sent out the bid packages.

As with writing specifications from scratch, there is a lengthy process involved in this purchasing technique. Depending on local purchasing guidelines, the buyer must usually advertise for interest; send out bid packages; have a formal bid opening; and then award the contract to the lowest bidder.

Sometimes you can get around the lowest bidder by looking at the exceptions taken. If exceptions taken cause the apparatus to fall too far out of specifications, then that package can be rejected. All manufacturers will have some items they take exception to, so rejecting packages based on exceptions ends up being subjective.

Anything subjective in your process can lead to charges of favoritism and protests. Charges such as these can cause you to start all over advertising for bids.

Searching for tailboard bids helps you to streamline the process a little and perhaps enables you to save some money. The negative effect is that it can reduce the customization of the apparatus to your department’s needs.

Tailboard Bids

The tailboard bid is the process of purchasing an apparatus off someone else’s bid process. Let’s say Anywhere City is buying six engines from John Doe and Sons Fire Equipment. Because they are buying so many units, they get a price break of five percent.

If your department is able to tailboard bid and add one more unit to the production list, that five percent cost savings can be passed on to you. Some things that need to be considered are your local purchasing laws and processes. For instance, our city requires that the originating contract state that another agency is allowed to purchase off the contract and that reasonable changes can be written into the specifications.

The biggest advantage in purchasing off a tailboard bid is the reduction in time it takes for the process. You do not need to write specifications, advertise for bids and send out bid packages. It is assumed that all that has taken place with the originating contract.

A Consortium Listing

More recently in my pursuit of easier purchasing processes I found a consortium listing of tailboard bids. The one I purchased off for our last six apparatus was the Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC). I am not promoting this as better than any other that might be available, it is just the one I happened to use and the one that my city accepted.

HGAC has a list of several manufacturers available with a wide variety of apparatus to choose from. You can find it at hgacbuy.com or ask your salesperson if they have anything on the HGAC.

Different states have different requirements as to purchasing off tailboard bids, so you will need to know what the requirements are in your state. We are allowed as many published options as we want and unpublished options up to 25 percent of the base price.

Published options are those options that have already gone through a bid process for that apparatus. Unpublished options are options that have not been bid on. Your sales person will be able to give you a list of the published options available.

Inviting Consortium Bids

During my last search for a custom engine and quint, I looked up the apparatus manufacturers listed on the HGAC. Then I located salespeople for our area and invited six different ones to provide apparatus specifications.

We sorted through the specifications to see which apparatus met our requirements and fell within our budget. Then we picked the engine and the quint that best suited us and wrote the agreement.

Since it was on a tailboard bid, remember, we did not have to choose the lowest bidder.

Emergency Purchasing

In my 27 years in the fire service there were two instances when our department was able to make an emergency purchases of apparatus. An emergency purchase is made when unforeseen circumstances make it necessary to make a purchase that has not been budgeted. This may be due to accident or, in our case, maintenance problems where the repair cost greatly outweighed the value.

To find the most suitable apparatus, vendors need to be contacted to see what is available. Demonstration units are circulated throughout the country to generate interest in buyers. These become available for sale, usually with very low mileage.

It may take some research to find one that would come close to matching your department’s needs and be somewhat similar to the rest of the fleet.

You will need to be flexible, for no demo will match your needs exactly. Although there is no budget to stick to, we are always held accountable to make the most fiscally responsible decisions for our communities.

Use caution when purchasing a demonstrator unit that is still in production. The sales person will promise that design changes can still be made. However, once an apparatus is in production, the reality is that design changes are very difficult to fulfill and may be time consuming and very expensive as well.

Although this is only a partial list of purchasing techniques for fire apparatus, it should help a buyer when making a purchase.

Use the list as a guideline, an informational resource or a basis for developing your own creative ideas.

Remember that whatever process you use, it must meet the purchasing guidelines of local, state and federal agencies.

(Editor’s note: Doug Cleveringa is a former division chief of operations for the Lake Havasu City Fire Department (LHCFD) in Arizona. From 1991 until his retirement this summer, he wrote specifications and purchased apparatus for the department.)