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Increment 0113 Apr 2027Recreation Center / HVACDecision

Recreation Center HVAC renewal

A proposed $4.20 million SABER construction order tests project funding, award readiness, requirement clarity, schedule pressure, and reconciliation with another planned project in the same room.

The situation, for each audience

Keep the trainer context out of trainee packets and read-aloud materials.

Trainee facing · Read aloud

Current situation

Civil Engineering (713 CES) has submitted a certified $4.20 million requirement to renew heating and ventilation in the FOXHOUND Recreation Center. B-01 cites FY25 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds, which remain current during FY27. The requirement is being considered for award as a fixed-price SABER task order to Outer Heaven Builders, LLC, the base’s current SABER holder; no order has been awarded.

B-02 is a memorandum that also serves as the requirement's performance work statement. It describes the desired heating, heat-recovery, ventilation, hydronic, and control functions without naming a manufacturer, brand, or model. Primary mechanical equipment will be placed within the eastern wall-and-ceiling service zone. A flame-resistant canvas air-distribution duct will travel lengthwise through the main room to its western edge, where the finished bottom of the duct-and-support assembly will be fourteen feet six inches above the floor. Branches serve the bar and service area, both offices, and both restrooms, but not the storage closets or electrical utility room.

B-03 places that initial route on the Recreation Center floor plan, and B-04 applies the awarded SABER coefficients to the Government's quantity, material, equipment, and labor assumptions. The target completion date is 15 September 2027. The existing system cannot reliably serve the occupied building during sustained cold-weather operations, so meeting that date is operationally important. You receive the stage requirement in [A] at the same time, and your trainer tells you these are the only two Recreation Center requirements planned at this time. Your team must decide what, if anything, should change and whether the HVAC order is ready for award.

Trainer only · Do not issue

Facilitator context

Release at Increment 1 with [A], before either task order is awarded. B-01 is a certified requirement, not an award summary. Purpose, time, and amount are proper: the request uses FY25 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds; the appropriation remains current in FY27 and the $4.20 million amount is certified. Treat required project approval and notification as satisfied trainer facts, but still ask trainees to identify and verify them under 10 U.S.C. § 2805.

B-02 is deliberately a written, brand-neutral PWS. B-03 is the matching initial routing plan, and B-04 is a coefficient-based Government estimate rather than a contractor offer. The important facts are the eastern service zone, the low east-to-west canvas duct, the fourteen-foot-six-inch western finished elevation, and the straight central route toward the western area. The authors prepared the HVAC packet without awareness of [A], so the initial handouts do not mention the stage.

The 15 September date creates real schedule pressure. A direct comparison of A-02 with B-02 and B-03 reveals that the canvas duct and supports conflict with the stage’s fifteen-foot upper frame and support grid. Release B-05 only if trainees ask Civil Engineering to revise or reroute the HVAC requirement; it supersedes B-02 and replaces the straight route with perimeter legs around a western clearance zone. Incorporating B-05 or A-06 before award leads to [AG]; awarding without either leads to [AB].

Trainer clue bank

Regulatory signposts

10 sources

Direct trainees to a citation when they need a narrower clue. Have them apply the contract’s actual clauses, current thresholds, local policy, and the facts before treating any signpost as dispositive.

Give initially

4 records

These establish the decision without answering the factual questions trainees should identify.

B-01

Civil Engineering (713 CES) certified funding request

Presents the $4.20 million total approved project cost, FY25 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funding citation, target completion date, and proposed SABER ordering route.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
B-02

Heating and ventilation PWS memorandum

Provides the brand-neutral performance work statement: mechanical equipment in the eastern wall-and-ceiling service zone, a canvas air-distribution duct running east to west at a 14-foot-6-inch western finished elevation, and branches to occupied side rooms and restrooms—but not closets or the electrical utility room. It contains no reference to the planned stage.

Draft document availablePDF · 4 pages · Editable Word copy
B-03

Initial HVAC routing plan

Places the B-02 route on the Recreation Center floor plan and shows the straight central run continuing toward the western auditorium area.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
B-04

Coefficient-based independent Government cost estimate

Applies the awarded SM-SABER-01 coefficients to localized material, equipment, labor, and quantity assumptions and reconciles to the $4.20 million request.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Excel workbook

Trainer addition

2 prompts

Give only after trainees have read and discussed the event. Use it to narrow attention without disclosing the answer.

Use this addition once across [A] and [B], after trainees have read and discussed both Recreation Center packages.

Say: ‘DAFFARS 5307.103(h) reminds the acquisition team to ensure consistency among requirements, acquisition planning, market research, and solicitation documents. What should this team compare before either requirement is awarded?’ If the team already identified the completed-space conflict, credit that observation and continue without repeating the hint.

Give only after trainee prompting

1 record

Use the prompt as a release gate; close-enough trainee questions should count when they seek the same underlying fact.

Prompt / triggerHandoutExercise purpose
PromptAfter trainees identify the stage/HVAC overhead conflict and ask Civil Engineering (713 CES) to reroute or revise the HVAC requirement
HandoutB-05
Revised HVAC PWS and routing plan
Draft document availablePDF · 5 pages · Editable Word copy
PurposeSupersedes B-02 with a western overhead clearance zone and replaces the straight B-03 run with north and south perimeter legs that avoid the stage area.

What a strong analysis should surface

  1. Purpose, time, and amount are proper: B-01 uses FY25 3300 funds for a $4.20 million FY27 project. The appropriation remains current in FY27, and the amount is certified.
  2. The $4.20 million value is below SM-SABER-01's task-order ceiling, but price alone does not establish vehicle scope, ordering-period, design-percentage, or project-authority compliance.
  3. B-04 is a Government coefficient-based estimate, not a contractor quote or negotiated task-order price. Its reconciliation to B-01 does not complete price reasonableness or vehicle review.
  4. Technical confirmation that B-02 and B-03 work by themselves does not address their interface with A-02.
  5. The strongest path compares the written elevation and drawn route with A-02 before either award, then requests and incorporates either A-06 or B-05.
  6. The 15 September need date is operationally important because the failing system cannot reliably serve the occupied facility during sustained cold-weather operations. Schedule pressure makes pre-award coordination more important; it does not justify knowingly awarding conflicting work.

Available response options

2 options

Offer options in plain language and accept equivalent trainee analysis. Do not reveal the assessment labels. Use each availability gate before accepting a contextual response, and use the trainer line to redirect a superfluous answer immediately.

How to run this node: [A] and [B] are issued together before either order is awarded, and trainees are told they are the only two Recreation Center requirements planned at this time. A-02, B-02, and B-03 are available for direct comparison. Ask B1 first and release B-05 only if trainees identify the conflict and request an HVAC reroute. A request to lower the stage is handled under [A] and releases A-06. Then ask B2. Award locks in both packages in their current states.

B1Strong

Trainer asks: “Are there any changes you would suggest making?”

Available when
After the team reviews B-01 through B-04 and the jointly issued [A] packet
Trainer line
Identify the specific change and the fact supporting it. A request to reroute the HVAC releases B-05; a request to lower the stage is handled under [A] and releases A-06. Relying on post-award RFIs would make sense for an unforeseeable ambiguity, but both conflicting Government requirements are already available. What physical revision, if any, do you want?
Leads next
Apply any supported, specifically requested changes, then proceed to B2.
B2Strong

Trainer asks: “Is it ready to award yet?”

Available when
After the team has resolved or accepted the changes it identified under B1
Trainer line
Your answer locks in both current design packages. If you say no, identify the concrete unresolved change and return to B1. If you say yes, either B-05 or A-06 must already be incorporated to reach [AG]; an award with neither reaches [AB].
Leads next
No → return to B1. Yes with B-05 or A-06 incorporated → [AG]. Yes with neither → [AB].