(Sanitized)TEST OF MOCK UP OF(Sanitized) SHELVING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00005R000100070053-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2000
• Sequence Number: 53
• Publication Date: January 5, 1971
• Content Type: MF

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25X1A
5 January 1971
MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT
REFERENCE : RE - LO - 18 - 70
1. In response to your memorandum dated 29 December 1970,
I have reviewed the reports by I have
reviewed the other reports you provided and met wit
25X1A and Messers -I am in agreement with the
findings of the engineers as stated so well by of the
25X1C in his Inspection Report dated 21 December 1970:
"During the inspection and testing, several of the details
were discussed and the vendor agreed that changes were
necessary to provide construction which complies with
contract specifications and an installation that will
be less likely to cause operational and maintenance
problems in the future."
Therefore, the only conclusion I canreach at this time is that
unless the first bidder can, within the 45 days after bid opening,
demonstrate on the mock up the acceptable charges necessary to
comply with the contract specifications he be officially rejected
and. notified of his failure to meet specifications and that bidder
number two be notified to proceed with his mock up for presentation
25X1A
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and review within the next 45 day period.
25X1 C
25X1A
25X1A
2. The fifteen paragraphs of shortcomings listed by
were similarly noted in the report by Engineer
An additional five more failures were indicated in the
reports by the service users who also
itemized the points.the engineers reported. Paragraph 20.1 in the
Specification Booklet No. 964, distributed by the
as its Invitation for Bids, was accepted by the all bidders
and it requires:
'.'An award of contract will not be made until the mock-up
is completed and, the contractor has operated it . . . without
any difficulty to satisfy the Using Service and the Contracting
Officer representative.~that the system will operate smoothly
and, satisfactorily."
Every single person that attended that mock up demonstration found.
and reported unsatisfactory conditions. It is true that the salesmen
representing the vendor promised to correct the shortcomings, (and,
no one in the world expected him to promise anything else.) But until
many of those corrections are made and demonstrated no one can be
certain that they will finally operate satisfactorily. They may or
they may not.
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25X1 C
3. report hopes the rails will not pull loose
from the floor or flake and groove when corrected; that the safety
device may work as hoped for; that the shortened carriage assembly
may not intrude into the center aisle;'and that the proposed rubber
cushion may not increase but will decrease the bounce and drift
of the shelving. We hope that resistence to the ankle high safety
device will end and it will be created and installed eventually.
It has never been shown yet and we have not yet seen the complete
device of the newly promised secondary safety mechanism which Mr.
Burford mentions. We sincerely hope that the solenoid and drive
chain can work when clean and that it is feasible and practical
for the area and chain to be installed clean and kept clean under
the floor'when you consider the cement and construction problems
25X1 C involved.
report goes on for two more pages of
corrections that need to be made to meet specifications.
4. Likewise, the User Service was equally disappointed with
the shortcomings exposed by the demonstration. They also noted.
the same faults the engineers highlighted and added these five for
your consideration:
(a) The bottom shelf was modified and changed from metal to
unfinished plywood without any consultation. We'know from
years of experience that the heavy staples in the box bottoms
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are extremely abrasive on steel and will chew that plywood
surface into toothpicks in short order. The bottom shelf
must be steel like all the others. This should be part of
the contract and not left to be corrected
later on as was suggested by RE&C.
(b) The two 172 - foot shelf units were separated by five
or so inches of space. This extends the shelving into the
center aisle. The specifications ask for a clear seven
25X1A
foot center aisle for the lift trucks and loading pallets.
The salesmen say the space can be reduced from 5 to one inch.
No one is certain whether the two units will jam when run
that-close together. This should be positively established
before we start ripping out what we have in the center.
(c) There was no ankle high safety device as specifications
require.The overide key was not installed or tested.
(d) There was no decking between the rails in the mockup.
Consequently there were no tests of ladders and trucks over
-the track opening in the aisle floor.
(e) The drifting of shelving back into the opened aisle was
not satisfactorily,explained or solved. Continuous juggling with
the motor button could trick the aisle sufficiently open for a
man with ladder to enter, only to find the second l7-foot section
had drifted closed by several inches which meant retreat from the
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aisle to the button for more punching.' Several possibilities
were speculated. It could be grease on the drive chain and
solenoid or a bouncy crash plate at the rail's end.
A cure is promised, but we have seen dozens of shelving
installations which endured months of corrective changes and
improvizings op site in the operating area. The corrective
delays and disruptions are as big a liability as is the initial
drifting problem. With several hundred references to be made
in these shelves each day we would rather wait until the
problem is corrected on the outside and a good working unit
installed.
5. I am certain the problems can be solved. The vend.or's
representatives are very agreeable about making the necessary
changes to meet the specifications. We hope the changes will
correct the problems but are not certain and won't know until
they are demonstrated. It is possible the engineers are convinced
the corrections will work and their offices will underwrite any
change orders that may be necessary later on. It would be preferable
to have these corrections accomplished and. reviewed at the mock up
before any contract is signed, because the cooperative spirit usually
dims after the ink dries.
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6. I will appreciate if we can meet wjth you and your engineers
to discuss the vendors shortcomings and determine what can be done
before the Agency contracts to get involved in a serious problem.
I feel it would be better to permit some deadline slippage rather
than rush into a product still under development. We should decide
25X1A how much of their fund and Logistics or the are ready to 25X1 C
invest in change orders or in correcting the vendor's shortcomings after
they are installed. I doubt that the User Service will have any
funds beyond the amount of the contract and that paid for professional
Engineering assistance.
25X1A
CIA Records Administration Officer
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