I hate waiting until the last minute to do things.  My wife knows that we need to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our flight takes off, or I start getting stressed.  When I have a filing deadline, I tend to submit my documents well in advance.  Sometimes, I have to wait for a client’s sign-off on a final draft, or a last tweak to an exhibit, as the minutes to the deadline tick away.  When that happens, people who know me well can see my blood pressure begin to slowly rise.

My way of doing things isn’t everyone’s.  For folks who “work best under pressure,” as they say, working right up until a deadline is par for the course.  But as one recent GAO bid protest decision highlights, emailing a proposal to a procuring agency at the last minute can be dicey because electronic deliveries are not necessarily instantaneous.  Filing shortly before the deadline closes, even by email, may result in a late proposal.

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During my first summer in Washington, D.C. many years ago, I spent a hot, sticky Fourth of July on the National Mall, eating picnic food and watching the fireworks.  I’m sure a few security personnel were around, but I took no notice of them.  Flash forward to another Fourth on the Mall—this one post-9/11.  On that Fourth, everyone entering the Mall had to pass through security before celebrating America’s birth.  I remember mixed emotions—I was glad that the government was focusing on public safety, but frustrated about standing in a long security line just to reach the Mall.

Security is a reality of life these days, especially when dealing with the government.  That’s why if you plan to hand-deliver a proposal to a procuring agency, be sure to check the agency’s security requirements well in advance of your planned delivery time, or the proposal could be rejected as late.  One contractor learned this lesson the hard way, as described in the GAO’s bid protest decision in B&S Transport, Inc., B-404648.3 (Apr. 8, 2011).

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