Inadequate Manpower or Improper Equipment

These are very fact-intensive defenses which place a heavy burden of proof upon the government. In response, the contractor should show how it arrived at its manpower level and why specific pieces and quantities of equipment were utilized. If possible, the contractor should show that other causes, not its fault, were responsible for the problems and that manpower and equipment utilization was adversely affected by those other causes. It would also be helpful for the contractor to demonstrate its successful performance on other similar projects using comparable manpower and equipment. Finally, the projections in the government estimate should be compared to the contractor’s pre-bid projections and to what was actually required to complete the project.

Updated: July 22, 2018