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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Software Developer Lands Federal Contracts

Manufacturing management software developer MASS Group Inc. recently inked three contracts with federal government agencies. Company founder Gamal Balady said he hopes the contracts pave the way for more government work, as his team pursues more business in that sector. The Chatsworth-based company last month was awarded a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide software for the Veterans Administration Sierra Nevada Health Care System medical center and clinics, allowing hospital system staff to manage equipment maintenance, Balady said. The company also was awarded a contract for the VA’s Home Respiratory Care Program in Tampa, Fla. to provide software that helps the program track deliveries of respiratory equipment to veterans. Yellowstone National Park also selected MASS Group as a software provider this year. “They were the most competitive in price and they were technically acceptable, which means they met all the Yellowstone National Park maintenance service’s requirements,” said Randy Froelich, warehouse manager for Yellowstone National Park. The three contracts, along with another one for the U.S. Department of Defense that was awarded in late 2011, equate to big wins for the small company that has been trying to increase its appeal to government agencies in recent years, Balady said. Mass Group has been working on government-related jobs for about 10 years, but only through “Tier 1” defense contractors that include major aerospace companies. However, this round of contracts—starting with the Department of Defense — is the first time MASS Group has been able to work directly with federal government agencies. “That’s a big breakthrough for us as a small company,” Balady said, noting that the company only has about 15 full-time employees on its payroll. “Hopefully, it does open doors for us and other possibilities in the federal government.” MASS Group, which was founded in 1998, serves various markets, including the semiconductor, electronics, food and beverage and defense markets, among others. The company’s key product is its Traceability Made Easy (TME) system, which was first released in 1999. MASS Group calls TME the first cloud-based computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and enterprise asset management (EAM) system. The TMS product software allows manufacturing and engineering companies to manage inventory, asset tracking, equipment maintenance and other production details. The company has several versions of the software that focus on different key tasks. The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System will be using the TME software to handle its hospital equipment maintenance and asset management, replacing an older system, Balady said. The VA Home Respiratory Care Program will be using it to track its durable medical equipment and clinical respiratory services, he said. For the Yellowstone National Park contract, which was awarded May 1, MASS Group will be helping the park’s fleet maintenance team set up a computerized inventory control system for three warehouses that house some of the parts and supplies for a fleet of more than 650 vehicles, according to the National Park Service’s project description available at FedBizOpps.gov. Balady has spent the last three years trying to make his business more appealing for federal government contracts. He got MASS Group certified as a small business with the government and the company received its General Services Administration (GSA) certification earlier this year. The certification requires an extensive information vetting process and allows companies to set pre-negotiated rates for government customers. This makes it easier for companies to do business with government agencies and places the businesses in a special government network, Balady said. He noted that he decided to pursue government contracts more aggressively because of the economic downturn. The company had largely been working with corporate clients, including Fortune 1,000 companies. “All the private businesses were not really buying anything,” Balady said. “That’s when we said, ‘Who’s buying stuff? The government is the biggest purchaser in the world.’” MASS Group secured a five-year contract with the Department of Defense in late 2011, a significant win for the company, Balady said. The department will use MASS Group’s software to manage equipment and track key performance indicators for certain manufactured electronics, Balady said. MASS Group is going to provide software configuration, custom interfaces, training, installation and support for the department.

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