A Place Where the State Might Be Able to Cut Costs

California is now accepting bids through June 25 at 1:30 in the afternoon for “Knife Sharpening Services.”

That’s the title of Solicitation OSP 2012-8.

There are 14 pages of dos and don’t, wherefores, lists of necessary attachments and other requirements if a business wants to apply for a state contract.

Among them is compliance with a Sweatfree Code of Conduct, three references and adherence to the “Darfur Contracting Act” in which a bidder must certify they are not a “scrutinized” business as defined in Public Contract Code section 10476.

According to Section 10476, a “scrutinized company is a “company in Sudan that is involved in power production activities, mineral extraction activities, oil-related activities, or the production of military equipment.”

Companies that are not scrutinized include those which prove their  business “is conducted under contract directly and exclusively with the regional government of southern Sudan” or “conducted under a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or are expressly exempted under federal law from the requirement to be conducted under such a license.”

The cover sheet on the knife sharpening contract cheerfully says – with an exclamation mark — that all “DVBEs (Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises) and Small Businesses are welcome!”

What the state is looking for is someone to do “heavy duty industrial knife sharpening” for a “large amount of blades” on machines at the Office of State Publishing such as binderies and printing presses.

On page 15, the state details exactly what sort of knife sharpening they seek.

The bulk of the knife sharpening services will be provided to the Office of State Publishing – formerly the Office of the State Printer but still acronymed as OSP. 

“Contractor shall pick-up all designated knives at OSP once a week on a mutually agreed upon week day and time and return them sharpened to the OSP sharpened within seven calendar days.”

There will likely be emergencies, the state cautions: “When the OSP declares an emergency situation, the contractor will arrange for pick-up and return of knives to be sharpened by the contractor within 24 hours of receiving the emergency phone call. (No text or email?)

“The OSP will pay shipping expenses when shipping is required outside of normal scheduled weekly pickup and delivery.”

In addition, the contractor must “measure all knives for parallelism, check and repair all knives for bow edges, check and repair all knives for flatness bows” and “straighten all knives as required within Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (OEM) tolerance, plus or minus .002 specifications.”

Paper drill bits and reamers must also be sharpened and all knives checked for a “clean, burr-free edge.”

In the event of a sharpening problem, OSP must be immediately alerted. And the contractor shall reimburse the state for any knife “ruined or lost … through negligence, inexperienced personnel or use of inappropriate equipment to sharpen or straighten a knife.”

Bid inquiries must be in writing. 

“Good luck,” the state encourages bidders.

Estimated total for the contract: $122,000.

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