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An Unofficial Guide to Being a Federal Personal Property Disposal Specialist

Dan Tobin, CPPS, FAA &Kim Doner, CPPM, SRA International

The Job“What exactly does a Federal Personal Property Disposal Specialist do?”

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Official ResponseA Federal “Personal Property Professional” Disposal Specialist is an individual that is required to provide guidance on how to promote the use of excess and surplus personal property through redistribution, donation, sales, abandonment, destruction, or other final disposition.

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The Reality

Marketer

Policy

GuruEnvironmentalist

Technician

Professional

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The Role of the “Disposal Specialist”• Screen and research the type, quantity, age, condition, and

various uses of the property and its component parts;• Compare property information with the missions, functions,

and property requirements of various activities or divisions within the agency;

• Contact potential users locally, nationally, or internationally, depending on the type, need, use, and condition of the property

• Analyze the means and costs to transport and handle excess property;

• Promote the use of excess property by explaining the program to anyone in the agency that may generate, or have a need for excess personal property.

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They must know:• Policies, programs, regulations, and

procedures• Environmental factors, regulations, and

processes • Property Characteristics• Merchandising techniques • Documentation and record keeping

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The “Rules”• Property disposal policies, programs,

regulations, and procedures– Federal Management Regulations 102-35,

36, 37, 38, and 39 (at a minimum)–GSA Property Bulletins– Executive Orders (12999, 13514)– The Stevenson-Wydler Technology

Innovation Act of 1980– Agency policy, processes, and procedures

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Stevenson Wydler Technology

Innovation Act of 1980• The Act allows the direct transfer of research

equipment to be used for technical and scientific education and research activities.

• All accredited public and private K-12, colleges, universities, and certain non-profits whose primary mission is education and/or scientific research.

• The Agency determines what qualifies.

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Success!!!!

Agricultural Flight Simulator transferred to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for use in their Department of Entomology. Original acquisition cost $554,000.00.

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Report Excess to GSA• Include complete item descriptions• Accurate Condition Codes• Include Photos where possible• Act as if you own the property (as a

taxpayer, you do!) and report it as if you were personally selling it on eBay!

• Remember, whatever you put into GSAXcess rolls over to your sales center of excellence!

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A/D• This is the least preferred method of disposition

and must have a written determination and clear audit trail.

• Use it only when other methods have been exhausted, were unsuccessful, or are uneconomical to pursue.

• Follow all processes contained in FMR 102-36, section 300 which can be found at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/public/site/FMR/file/Part102-_36.html/category/21858/#wp2019967

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Environmental Considerations• 41 CFR 101-42, Utilization and Disposal of Hazardous

Materials and Certain Categories of Personal Property• 49 CFR, Hazardous Materials Regulations (U.S. DOT)• 40 CFR, Protection of the Environment (U.S. EPA)• Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA)• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)• Clean Air Act (CAA)• Clean Water Act (CWA)• 29 CFR, Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(OSHA)• 10 CFR, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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Characteristics

• Validate Federal Stock Classes• Validate Condition Codes• Verify Acquisition Costs• Understand the use of the property• Know who the users are• Identify alternate uses

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IT Equipment• Exchange/Sale???• EO 12999???– CFL???

• Media Sanitization• Other FEA

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National Security

• Communication Equipment– Air to ground radios

• Navigation Equipment• Surveillance Equipment

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Merchandising Techniques

• The “Property Specialist” must become a “Merchandising Specialist”.

• Know alternate uses• Know who uses the property• Be willing to “cold call” potential customers

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State Agency For Surplus Property

• NASASP - http://www.nasasp.org/ • Scott Pepperman!!!! Telephone: 717-389-

5100, E-mail: ExecutiveDirector@nasasp.org

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Public Airports• The authority to transfer federal surplus personal property

to a Public Airport comes from 49 USC §§ 47151-47153. http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/49C471.txt

– Transfers are made without reimbursement to the United States

Government.– Federal agencies may transfer personal property needed for the

administration and maintenance of a Public Airport.– The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends which property

should be transferred, but the General Services Administration (GSA) makes the final decision.

– FAA Airports Regional or District Offices must approve the transfers.

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Users and Screeners

• USA-FEPP – http://www.usa-fepp.org– Stevenson Wydler Technology Innovation Act– Grants

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Document and Report

• Document, document, document• SF 122, 123, 120, 27, 97, 126• Local forms

• GSA BULLETIN FMR B-27, Annual Executive Agency Reports on Excess and Exchange/Sale Personal Property dated July 22, 2010

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Other “Things” You Need to Know• Cannibalization vs. Reclamation• Storage techniques• Problem solving• ACRONYMS!!!! (Don’t assume)

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Cannibalization vs. ReclamationKnow the difference between cannibalization and reclamation and when each is appropriate.

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Cannibalize/CannibalizationMeans to remove serviceable parts from one item of equipment in order to install them on another item of equipment.

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Reclamation

• There are two types of routine reclamation.• Programmed• Nonprogrammed

• Once the required parts are removed from the asset, then the residual equipment would be normally be classified as scrap.

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To Sum It Up!A Federal Personal Property Disposal Specialist should have an expert knowledge of disposal programs, policies, processes, and methods. They should function as technical authorities for their agencies. They should study workload reports to monitor the amount of property received and allocated, the time it takes to dispose of property, and the effectiveness of the disposal methods used. They should devise and suggest ways to improve operations within their agencies.

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Questions

• Questions….questions….questions….questions….