The contractor’s performance during the first half of the second option year was rated favorably by
Department of Energy employees who provide oversight for the contractual performance areas. The
work performed by the contractor was in compliance with contract requirements, and the employees
are competent and qualified to perform tasks in their respective areas. Personnel were responsive to
DOE’s requests and, in some instances, were able to anticipate requirements based on their tenure with
the SPR. Infinity Management was viewed positively as well, and provided timely support when
requested. The work accomplished by Infinity Technology during this period was beneficial to the
mission of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The contractor’s response to the pandemic has been exceptional. Despite not being permitted to
participate in regular telework, the contractor has seamlessly adjusted to a maximum telework posture
and has successfully supported DOE from home. This is most likely attributed to exercises conducted by
contractor management requiring their employees to test remote access at different frequencies
throughout the year. This ensures operational readiness of the staff to respond to events that disallow
them from working in the physical office. The adjustment period was minimal and the support from
management has been unfaltering. While the pandemic comprises only a small portion of the rating
period, the adaptability of the staff to ensure contractual obligations were met is indicative of the
quality of service DOE has continually received throughout the duration of the contract.
Infinity Audit continues to deliver excellent support when collecting audit responses and researching
information. They regularly provided detailed analyses of OIG/GAO/FFPO Internal Audit reports and
assessments and participated in work involving cost analyses, procedural audits, and the CFO’s yearly
Internal Controls and Evaluation cycle. In the yearly Risk Profile process, the SPR was not required to
submit a Risk Profile directly to the CFO. However, Infinity Audit generated a deliverable despite the lack
of requirement which was useful in supporting Fossil Energy’s deliverable to the CFO. Required
deliverables related to the CFO’s Internal Control and Evaluation cycle were submitted before the due
date and the submissions were first-rate. Audit support regularly attends meetings and reviews related
to current and future SPR projects which allows them to stay current with work being performed at the
SPR. Responses to queries from DOE were always timely, accurate, and informative.
Finance employees have taken a proactive approach to assisting DOE with important deliverables
related to budget formulation and execution, oil sales, Life Extension 2, and Program Office requests.
They compiled data for the FY 2022 Budget Request and produced final documents that were submitted
to Program Office by the scheduled dates. They have provided support on budget execution tasks such
as the FY 2020 Annual Operating Plan, financial monthly analysis and reporting, and processing of
funding as allotments are received. The staff has also successfully completed special projects from DOE
that required coordination with multiple DOE employees in different departments. For the Life
Extension 2 Program, Infinity Finance has reviewed the monthly cost and obligations to ensure accuracy
of planning and execution. They also attend weekly Life Extension 2 status meetings to be aware of what
is occurring with the program. Their reports have been used to brief upper management to successfully
showcase data about the program. They are innovative and provide recommendations to improve
3 productivity. The attention to detail exhibited by the Finance employees ensures the SPR is properly
executing appropriated funds and planning financial outlays accordingly.
In the area of Drawdown Assistance, the SSC supported the FY 2020 Mandatory Sale during this rating
period. For the sale, Infinity IT assisted DOE with posting information to the external site which had to
be updated often. They have also supported DOE on COVID-19 initiatives including posting RFPs for oil
purchases and exchanges and have been responsive to multiple changes in direction from DOE. Infinity
demonstrated a knowledge of the Crude Oil Tracking and Valuation System (COVATS) and successfully
created invoices so that DOE was able to approve and forward to customers for payment. The assistance
provided for drawdown activities was extremely beneficial to the SPR fulfilling its mission and supported
a successful oil sale.
The services provided by the Infinity Information Technology group have been received with much
praise from all departments within DOE. During this rating period, the IT group converted and created a
significant number of workflows and have been responsive to changing priorities during the pandemic.
DOE expressed an emergency need to automate a number of processes to function electronically since
the SPR is operating at a maximum telework status and the contractor responded promptly to fulfill the
requests. One notable workflow converted during this evaluation period was the Consent Request
Workflow. Initially, DOE sought out a cost estimate from an external vendor because the process was
extremely complex and would be a difficult undertaking. The proposal was well above the government
estimate so Infinity stepped in and was able to design, build, and deploy the workflow using existing
resources with minimal cost to the government. This was not only a benefit to DOE to have the
workflow operational, but represented a significant cost savings for the task.
Infinity has also provided Skype for Business training to all DOE employees which has proved essential
for DOE to continue its mission during the pandemic. They have assisted users with questions and access
problems related to working remotely and have ensured that their staff is able to support DOE while
working from home. Additionally, the IT group has worked on tasks to support the Life Extension 2
program. This includes efforts to have wireless internet at the SPR sites and rugged tablets for
employees. With the support of SSC IT, DOE IT was able to continue the rugged tablet pilot program that
consisted of a 60-day pilot at each SPR site. The contractor was an integral part of the rollout process
and delivered the kick-off presentation to users at Big Hill and West Hackberry. The pilot was
successfully completed in March in part because of the excellent support provided by Infinity.
The IT employees are knowledgeable and work on their own to learn current technologies in
information technology. They are receptive to requests that require training to learn additional skills to
complete the tasks successfully. The staff is eager to assist DOE with any technology-related questions
and are a huge benefit to the successful operation of the SPR.
Over the course of the contract period, Infinity provided key assistance to areas within DOE Technical
Assurance. PIV packets were processed in a timely manner and the staff has continually provided
valuable written notes and observations for the physical security system testing. They provided excellent
support during Force on Force exercises, Security Surveys, and Local Law Enforcement Exercises. They
4 supported the reporting of Security Survey results and provided valuable research for DOE Security
Orders. On occasion, Infinity Security has worked outside of normal hours to support the Physical
Security Program and has provided excellent support when special topics or unscheduled trips require
assistance by DOE.
Infinity ES&H assisted with presentations, researched environmental and safety regulations for DOE, and
provided links to data and reports to aid DOE in tasks that needed to be completed. During this
evaluation period, the SSC maintained the weekly ES&H action tracker, developed memorandums for
submittal to senior management and HQ FE, attended weekly meetings for numerous projects and
reviews, created a database for the Draft MOC Gap Analysis, and processed the Supplemental Analysis
of Site-Specific and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements for HQ submittal and website
posting for public viewing. The staff is very experienced in OSHA, RCRA, NEPA, and other related
program areas. They have extensive work experience in environmental and safety programs which is an
enormous benefit to DOE. Infinity was attentive to requests from all of the Technical Assurance group
and provided quality work products to DOE. Their support allows DOE oversight to be performed and
complex tasks to be executed. It is seamless, professional, and routinely relied on to promote mission
attainment.
In the area of Technical Management, Infinity assisted with numerous tasks. They provided assistance
with Project Configuration Control Board (PCCB) meetings, updated Enterprise Change Proposal (ECP)
statuses, researched historical ECPs as requested by DOE Systems & Projects, and provided help with
other technical baselines. They maintained milestone data and completed statistical analyses,
monitored and validated the M&O Contractor’s milestone statistics, and supported the overall
management of the Control Milestone Change Request (CMCR) process. All of these activities ensure
that DOE is able to properly monitor project status and any changes that occur to projected deliverable
dates.
Administrative support during the evaluation period was professional, timely, and value-added to the
project. Word Processing was extremely responsive to requests from DOE. They supported numerous
presentations and published briefing book materials when required. Despite the pandemic, the staff was
able to mail budget briefing books directly to Program Office personnel and met all delivery dates. They
did an excellent job supporting DOE Program Reviews and adapted to last minute changes in schedules
due to the maximum telework operating status of the SPR. During this rating period, effective
administrative support was provided to all areas of DOE.
Both Infinity Management and staff were rated favorably by the task area monitors during this
evaluation period. Management was viewed as professional and concerned about meeting contractual
requirements. They responded promptly to requests and assigned the correct individuals to tasks in
order to ensure the best outcome for DOE’s requirements. They have brought in resources to support
priorities and ensure timely task completion and product delivery. Management does a great job of
communicating with both the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer (CO) to
keep DOE appraised of any important matters or staffing changes that have been made. Comments
from DOE regarding the Infinity employees frequently reference the fact that employees go above and
5 beyond in response to requests from DOE and are proactive in providing support to their task areas.
Overall, the support provided, and the quality of deliverables submitted by Infinity employees and
Management met the expectations of the Department of Energy staff.
While the local staff is stable with an extremely low turnover rate over the contract, the HQ staff does
not reflect this level of durability. The HQ Vice President position which corresponds directly with the
Infinity Project Manager has had a significant amount of turnover over the life of the contract, and other
areas of the HQ staff have seen numerous changes as well. DOE’s concerns have been mentioned
multiple times over the years and the response from HQ Infinity is to paint a picture of stability with the
updated corporate structure while terminating yet another VP a few months later. In spite of the
constantly changing corporate personnel, the ability of the local staff to produce quality deliverables and
support DOE has been unaffected. The local management team effectively communicates and works
well with the COR, CO, and DOE Management.
Positive evaluations were given across the board with evaluators rating the contractor as “Exceptional”
in all reported task areas. The work products required by the task order were delivered on time and met
or exceeded the quality standards set forth by the Department of Energy. The contractor has
demonstrated a desire to improve their knowledge of their respective areas and has provided valuable
contributions to the SPR. Respondents were pleased with the support provided by Infinity Technology,
and DOE expects a high level of service to continue in the future. The operational readiness and
adaptability of the contractor during the pandemic cannot be overstated, and DOE is appreciative of
every effort the contractor has made to facilitate a seamless transition to supporting the government
remotely.
U.S. Department of Energy
As we have completed another fiscal year, I just wanted to comment on the fantastic support that Barbara, Jim and
Cindy have provided my Division. Jim Kanash volunteered some time ago to take on the coordination of incoming
invoices. He immediately organized the process, tracks their review and approval to take advantage of any discounts
offered, and basically turned a situation that was a bit of a mess into a smooth running operation. Barbara Spruill has
been invaluable in executing numerous pre-award actions as well as assisting with Jim and Cindy in executing a
large delivery order workload. Cindy, while new to the team, has also helped a great deal with our delivery order
workload and is a big help with the pre-award work.
As we concluded the FY, the Waterways Operations Product Line (WOPL) received a record amount of funding to
reduce the backlog of navigational assets needed. Barbara, Jim and Cindy were instrumental in our execution of
over $17M for the program. With the unusually high number of hurricanes this season, this effort will be greatly
appreciated to re-set the aids to navigation on our nation's waterways.
Just wanted to pass along my appreciation for the hard work and talent I receive under the subject contract.
Sincerely,
Andy Shanks
Division Chief
Director of Operational Logistics
