The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a mass modification to current Schedule holders, the administration announced on Friday. The modification align GSA’s contract terms and conditions with the new single Schedule solicitation issued Oct. 1, 2019.

“We’re right on track with MAS Consolidation,” said GSA administrator and three-time Wash100 Award recipient, Emily Murphy. “Moving to a single schedule is good for federal agencies, our industry partners, and our acquisition workforce. It's a key piece of the picture for making it easier to deliver solutions.“

The second of a three phase strategy, mass modification, will modernize federal acquisition by consolidating and streamlining GSA’s previous 24 Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) into a single Schedule for products, services, and solutions. 

The new solicitation will incorporate feedback from customer agencies, the GSA acquisition workforce and industry, including the consolidated solicitation, which features a simplified format, streamlined terms and conditions, new categories and Special Item Numbers. 

MAS Consolidation is one of the four initiatives of the Federal Marketplace (FMP) Strategy. FMP is GSA’s plan to modernize and simplify the government buying and selling experience for customers, suppliers, and acquisition professionals. The third and final phase, planned for the second half of FY2020, will complete the consolidation. 

“We are planning for a smooth transition and federal agencies should experience no disruption to their purchasing practices during the mass mod,” said Federal Acquisition Service commissioner, Julie Dunne. “We’ve been steadily training our contracting workforce to ensure a seamless transition. Soon we’ll have just one Schedule, with a single set of terms and conditions, making it much easier to buy and offer complete solutions.” 

About GSA

The mission of GSA is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government. One of its four strategic goals is to establish GSA as the premier provider of efficient and effective acquisition solutions across the government.

Raytheon has announced net sales for the fourth quarter 2019 of $7.8 billion, up 6.5 percent compared to $7.4 billion in the fourth quarter 2018, the company announced on Friday. The increase in the fourth quarter 2019 EPS from continuing operations was primarily driven by operational improvements.

“Raytheon had a very successful year in 2019, delivering record bookings, backlog, sales and operating cash flow,” said Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon chairman and CEO. “Our results reflect the continued hard work and dedication of the Raytheon team and position us well for the future.

The company made record bookings of $12.1 billion in the quarter and $36.3 billion for the year.  Raytheon announced a book-to-bill ratio of 1.54 in the quarter and 1.25 for the year. The backlog was $48.8 billion, up 15 percent year-over-year.

Raytheon generated fourth quarter net sales of $7.8 billion, up 6.5 percent, and full-year net sales of $29.2 billion, up 7.8 percent. The recorded fourth quarter EPS from continuing operations was announced at $3.16 and full-year EPS from continuing operations was $11.92.

The company reported strong operating cash flow from continuing operations of $2.8 billion in the quarter and a record $4.5 billion for the year. In addition, Raytheon reported on the acquisition of United Technologies Corp. The merger of equals has a targeted date to close early in the second quarter of 2020.

“Integration planning for the merger with United Technologies is progressing well, with the integration team developing detailed execution plans to capture revenue and cost synergies rapidly and ensure seamless operations post close. Our goal is to close the merger early in the second quarter of 2020.”

Greg Hayes, chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp., announced in Oct. 2019 that UTC hopes to close its potential $120 billion merger with Raytheon by early April 2020 and has begun planning for the integration of the two companies.

“We’re already working a detailed list of items to generate the billion dollars of gross cost synergies that we’re targeting for the transaction,” Hayes said. “I also remain very excited about the technology synergies that will result from the combination.”

Hayes announced that Otis Elevator and Carrier subsidiaries were officially separated from UTC’s corporate structure, effective Jan. 1, and both businesses are on track to finalize their spinoffs by the second quarter. He added that the spinoffs are “substantially complete from an operations standpoint.”

UTC reported $5.5 billion in profits for full-year 2019, up 5 percent from the previous year. The company’s net sales rose 8 percent to $19.5 billion during the fourth quarter of 2019.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

2020 Best in KLAS: Software and Services report has ranked Navigant, a Guidehouse company, a top performer in both the Strategy, Growth, and Consolidation Consulting category and the Value-Based Care Consulting category, Guidehouse announced on Friday.

"Providers and payers demand better performance, usability, and interoperability from their vendor partners every year," said Adam Gale, president of KLAS. "Best in KLAS winners set the standard of excellence in their market segment. Earning a Best in KLAS award should both excite and humble the recipients. It serves as a signal to providers that they should expect only the best from the winning vendors."

The Best in KLAS designation is reserved for vendor solutions that lead the software and services market segments with the broadest operational and clinical impact on healthcare organizations. 

Navigant has been recognized because of the company’s industry knowledge, accessibility within the health and technology industries. Navigant has also provided a national view of the industries and is able to  implement and customize solutions to a variety of markets.

The company has brought depth to the field and has focused on value-based care spaces in critical areas, helping others within health systems and provider groups. The recognition came from Navigant’s performance data and customer satisfaction ratings gathered in interviews with healthcare executives across the country.

"It's always thrilling to hear that we're consistently exceeding our clients' expectations in helping them strategically advance their value-based care, growth, and overall performance goals," said David Zito, Guidehouse partner and Commercial Healthcare segment leader. "This recognition is a true reflection of our employees' depth of local market and national knowledge, accessibility and engagement, and commitment to excellence."

Navigant was acquired by Guidehouse in Oct. 2019. The merger has created a unique consultancy with unparalleled scale in both regulated commercial end markets, as well as in the public sector that regulates those end markets.

“We are delighted to welcome all of our colleagues from Navigant,” said Scott McIntyre, Guidehouse’s CEO and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “Their significant commercial market expertise in healthcare, energy, and financial services complement the public sector strengths of Guidehouse, creating a new type of consultancy focused on driving cross-market advancements.

About Guidehouse 

Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public and commercial markets with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. We help clients address their toughest challenges with a focus on markets and clients facing transformational change, technology-driven innovation, and significant regulatory pressure. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, we help clients create scalable, innovative solutions that prepare them for future growth and success. 

QTS Realty Trust has announced a partnership with American Forests, an environmental restoration organization, to plant trees with the induction of every customer agreement for data center services at no cost to the customer, in response to the increased demand for corporate support in reducing carbon emissions and its collective impact on the environment, the company reported on Friday.

“QTS has fully committed to lead the industry in minimizing carbon footprint by utilizing as much renewable fuel, reclaimed water and recycled materials as possible,” said Travis Wright, vice president of Energy and Sustainability with QTS. “By planting trees on behalf of our customers at no cost to them, we create additional value and benefit our communities at the same time.”

The tree planting program is a new addition to QTS’ expanding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program initiatives. QTS has pledged to plant one tree per month for every 100 kilowatt (kW) customer agreement throughout the term of the agreement.

American Forests’ primary campaigns are Tree-Planting for Environmental Restoration and Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit. The campaign has encouraged the improvement of  rural, suburban, and urban ecosystems through planting trees that provide important environmental and economic benefits including pure water, clean air and wildlife habitat.

“Trees are nature’s technology for regulating our climate and sustaining abundant and clean water, acting like a cleansing sponge for our air and water. We are thrilled that QTS is advancing its environmental leadership by helping American Forests deploy this natural climate and water solution all across America,” Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests.

QTS has also joined RE100, a global corporate leadership initiative bringing together influential businesses committed to 100 percent renewable electricity.  RE100 is led by The Climate Group, in partnership with CDP.

Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100 Climate Group, said, “We are pleased to welcome QTS to RE100. With its Chicago, Piscataway and Irving data centers already running on 100% renewable electricity, and others in the works, QTS is demonstrating a focus on sustainable energy resources is good for business and leading the industry to a clean energy future.”

About QTS

QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS) is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 6 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space within North America and Europe. Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities.

Kristen Baldwin, deputy director of strategic technology protection and exploitation at the Department of Defense (DDR&E(R&T)), will serve as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020 on Thursday, Feb. 6th. 

Register here for POC’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020.

Baldwin is responsible for maintaining the department’s technological advantage by reducing vulnerabilities in critical missions, programs and the industrial base. She also oversees program protection policy and related hardware and software assurance, anti-tamper, and critical technical information protection practices.

She oversees the Joint Federated Assurance Center and leads DoD’s policy and standards to provide reliable systems. Baldwin also supervises the DoD National Manufacturing Institutes and the Manufacturing Technology program.

During her keynote address, Baldwin will discuss the challenges of staying ahead of the curve in the U.S. defense sector as emerging technologies continue to influence every aspect of the GovCon industry and continue to lead to major technological advances in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Additionally, Jim Faist, director of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities of U.S. Department of Defense, will serve as keynote speaker alongside Baldwin. Following the keynote addresses, an expert panel of top GovCon executives from across the federal government and industry, including Dr. Frank Klemm from the U.S. Navy and Timothy Grayson, director of Strategic Technology with DARPA, will give their take on the challenges and initiatives currently impacting the research and development sector. 

Join Potomac Officers Club to hear the latest priorities, advancements and challenges that face the top executives from the public and private sectors. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn what initiatives top federal and industrial employees have for the future. 

Register here for POC’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020 on Thursday, Feb. 6th. 

House lawmakers released a 19-page proposal to invest $760B over five years in the country’s transit, roads, airports, broadband internet networks and other infrastructure, Nextgov reported Thursday.

“This framework is an opportunity to get our existing infrastructure working again and fund new transformative projects that will create an estimated 10 million jobs, while reducing carbon pollution, dramatically improving safety, and spurring economic activity,” according to the document.

The proposal would earmark $434B for transit and highway programs; $55B for rail transportation; $30B for airport and airway infrastructure; $19.7B for harbor maintenance trust fund; $10B for water resources investments; $50.5B for clean water; $2.7B for brownfields restoration and reinvestment; and $98B for broadband networks and public safety communications investments.

Lawmakers suggested revamping current “formula” programs to prioritize investments, improvements and maintenance of existing infrastructure. The framework also seeks to provide metropolitan planning organizations additional authority when it comes to administering federal funds.

The Department of Energy is hosting a competition with a grand prize of $3.3M to discover new additive manufacturing innovations in the field of geothermal technology.

The American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize is a four-stage challenge that allows participants to explore the applications of 3D printing in designing, producing and enhancing tools, the Department of Energy said Thursday.

The contest is intended to support the DoE’s goal to generate 26 times more geothermal power by 2050, resulting in 60 gigawatts of installed capacity. Entry is open, but not limited to, business owners, company employees, research scientists and university students and faculty.

“By creating incentives for new approaches to device design, this prize will help unlock the full potential of geothermal power as a clean, reliable, affordable energy source for American homes and businesses,” said Dan Brouillette, U.S. Secretary of Energy.

The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office is in charge of the competition.

The different phases of the competition will be managed on the American-Made Challenges platform by a partnership between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.