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DPA MEETING NOTES
October 2003

TOPICS

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2003 MEETINGS
NOTIFY YOUR DIVISION STAFF OF DPA MEETING SCHEDULE
JANUARY 2004 MEETING
FY04 FADB ACTIVITY
YEAREND DISPOSALS
DISPOSAL REQUEST-VERIFY EQUIPMENT ID
DISPOSAL METHODS
MULTIPLE DISPOSAL REQUESTS FOR ONE ASSET
EQUIPMENT LOANS TO EMPLOYEES & EXTERNAL ENTITIES
USING THE WRONG LOAN FORM
DPA/PROPERTY OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS


NOVEMBER & DECEMBER MEETINGS - Because of the holidays, we will not meet in November and December 2003.

NOTIFY YOUR DIVISION STAFF OF DPA MEETING SCHEDULE - Be sure to notify your division staff that you need to attend DPA Meetings the last Thursday of each month, 9:30-11:00 AM. Several of you have frequent schedule conflicts because of division meetings. While schedule conflicts will sometimes be unavoidable, your division may be able to schedule some meetings to avoid them if they know you have another commitment.

JANUARY 2004 MEETINGS - The January 2004 DPA Meeting will be Thursday, the 29th, 9:30-11:00 A.M. at CG4-2020. As at the beginning of each calendar year, please bring your ideas about Property procedures that you would like to see changed. We will discuss the issues and brainstorm solutions that would work for everyone. We are obligated to comply with government regulations but do have some flexibility in how we design our procedures to accomplish that.

FY04 FADB ACTIVITY - We will begin FY04 FADB activity after the October month-end close Nov. 7th. In past years there has been a delay with beginning new FY activity because of previous FYE reporting but we think we can resume our regular schedule this year. If it doesn't work to continue with the monthly uploads, depreciation, and disposals, we will e-mail and let everyone know. Otherwise, you can expect the regular monthly FADB activities to resume early November.

YEAREND DISPOSALS - Thank you for the continued flow of disposal requests throughout the fiscal year end process. It suggests that divisions are processing disposal paperwork when equipment is pulled out of service (as it should be) rather than stockpiling.

DISPOSAL REQUEST-VERIFY EQUIPMENT ID - Before e-mailing to request disposal authorization be sure to verify that the physical asset matches the FADB record by PPE#, serial no., mfr, and model. If there is any discrepancy between the physical asset and the FAID record that should reflect it, contact the Property Office and sort out the difference before proceeding. There have been a few instances in which a discrepancy was not reconciled and the wrong record was disposed. Similarly, if your division keeps records of assets apart from the FADB that disagree with the FADB, work with the Property Office to reconcile errors.

DISPOSAL METHODS - Requests to dispose of equipment must include the method of disposal since the disposal method dictates the procedure we follow. For example, the procedure for documenting a scrap/dismantle is different than that for a salvage or donation action, or putting equipment through the GSA excess process. Please see the Property Manual on the Web for detail on the various disposal methods.

MULTIPLE DISPOSAL REQUESTS FOR THE SAME ASSET - We are receiving multiple disposal requests on the same assets. It appears that when disposal authorization is requested and granted, equipment is not disposed of and a few months later the process begins again. When you receive authorization to dispose of equipment, please remove the property tag and tape a note on the item indicating that it is ready for salvage, scrap/dismantle, or whatever disposal method was approved. Sometimes with a scrap/dismantle disposal, pieces are kept for use on other systems but still have the tag and when they are finally ready to leave UCAR, disposal authorization is requested again. This is not necessary since, at the point of dismantle, all components ceased to be part of a fixed asset and became non-fixed asset components. Therefore, on the final disposal action these components should be treated individually as non-fixed assets.

EQUIPMENT LOANS TO EMPLOYEES & EXTERNAL ENTITIES - All loans that result in UCAR-accountable equipment, both assets and non-assets, going to non-UCAR facilities (field sites are considered UCAR facilities) require documentation. Forms for employee loans and loans to other entities are on the Web and should be completed before the equipment leaves UCAR. For loans to other entities, this includes obtaining the Property Administrator signature. Some items require authorization from the sponsor to be loaned and the Property Administrator signature indicates that this point was considered and, if necessary, sponsor approval requested and granted. See the Property Manual on the Web for detail on equipment loans.

USING THE WRONG LOAN FORM - Loan forms are available on the Web through the Property Web site or the UCAR F&A Forms Library. Be sure to always use the most current version from the Web. Some divisions made copies of old forms long ago and continue to use them. Please destroy copies of old versions. Effective immediately, if the Property Office receives loans documented on old forms we will return them and request that the division reissue the loan on the correct form.

DPA/PROPERTY OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS - If you receive a request from the Property Office that you cannot address right away, please let us know when you will get to it. When we do not receive a reply we're not sure whether you actually received the request. Your reply will let us know when to expect the information requested and help us in scheduling other work related to the request.

 

Contact the Property Office at anytime with questions or for assistance.
We're here to help you manage your division's property.
Janet Campbell, ext 8858, janetc@ucar.edu; Chris Knoetgen, ext 8573, knoetgen@ucar.edu