Technical Service Center
TSC Billing Information
Since the formation of the Technical Service Center in FY95, TSC has charged for its services on an as-requested, job-by-job basis through individual service agreements. TSC operates like a business and uses both a billable labor rate and fee structure to fully recover its operating costs. The billable rate charged to a customer is the same for both regular and overtime hours worked. The table below provides the current basic billable rates for the TSC.
Table 1.— TSC FY2013 Billable Rates
| Skill Level | Grades | Hourly Rate | Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 - 10 | $61 | $488 |
| 2 | 11 - 12 | $87 | $696 |
| 3 | 13 - 15 | $109 | $872 |
What rates are projected for 2014 and 2015?
Beginning in FY2001, TSC implemented supplemental fees for certain laboratory, field, and computing services. In addition, a few of the TSC groups have adopted a higher billable labor rate to cover the costs of their broad-based higher rate services. These premium rates (TSC baseline rate plus a surcharge) and service fees are summarized below, in table 2.
Table 2.—TSC Premium Rates and Service Fees
| ORG CODE | PREMIUM SERVICE OR OTHER ADDED COST | PREMIUM RATE |
SERVICE FEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| All codes | In-house contractor services | $15/hr | |
| 86-68010 | Surcharge for interagency agreement processing (one-time fee) to be collected at the beginning of work. | $500 | |
| Additional fee for significant modifications to an interagency agreement and/or for multi-year agreements. | $100 minimum | ||
| 86-68110 | Workstation fees for structural analysis | $200/day | |
| 86-68170 | Construction tracking/scheduling to cover software & equipment | $200–500/yr | |
| PASS studies—Costs of supplies, equipment, space, and admin | $300/day | ||
|
Surcharge for materials, lab supplies, equipment, space, & maintenance | $15/hr | |
| 5-Million-Pound Test Machine | $2,500 /day | ||
| Specialized equipment use | $1,000/day | ||
| Coatings and corrosion work | $200/day | ||
| Sample storage | $4/ft2 /month | ||
| Testing and analysis field trips | $2,000/trip | ||
| Lab tour/public outreach equipment and supplies | $2,000/tour | ||
| 86-68210 | Mobilization and use of drill rigs—Equipment and storage costs | $0.20/mile + $125/hr | |
| 86-68220 | Surcharge for lab, boats and related equipment, and associated space and special utilities | $5/hr | |
| 86-68221 | Surcharge for R&D and demonstration activities directly using or benefiting from the mobile plant, pilot plant lab, bench scale lab, wet lab, or chemistry lab | $5/hr | |
| 86-68240 | Surcharge for specialized technology and equipment | $2/hr | |
| 86-68290 | Surcharge for fish lab and specialized equipment, such as boats and electronics | $5/hr | |
| 86-68320 | Trimble GPS system | $250/day | |
| PLGRs | $50/day | ||
| 86-68330 | Surcharge for geophysical and seismological equipment, storage, and maintenance | $15/hr | |
| Class V: GPS, X-hole truck, White logger | $250/day | ||
| Class IV: Crawler Cams | $200/day | ||
| Class III: Trim2d and Promax | $150/day | ||
| Class II: Seismograph, Intergraph, Gray logger, MGX logger | $100/day | ||
| Class I: UNIX, Intergraph II, Borehole cams, misc geophys equipment, temp microseismic nets | $50/day | ||
| Use of lab | $80 day | ||
| Temporary microseismic network | $3,000/sensor | ||
| 86-68440, 86-68450 | Costs associated with hydroelectric lab supplies, equipment, and space | $13/hr | |
| 86-68460 | Hydraulic lab and lab shops infrastructure surcharge—Space, equipment, supplies, and storage costs for hydraulic studies | $15/hr | |
| Hydraulic lab infrastructure fee—Space, equipment, and storage costs based on hydraulic model "footprint" | $2/sq ft/month | ||
| Hydraulic lab equipment/instrumentation fees for specialized equipment used to analyze hydraulic conditions | Contact group manager* | ||
| Lab tour/public outreach equipment and supplies | $2,000/month |
*Prices are variable for some services. Managers can provide current pricing information for these services.
TSC billable rates for outyears are conservatively estimated to cover anticipated inflation and cost of living increases in employee salaries. The rate for an upcoming year is then adjusted immediately prior to the start of a new fiscal year (normally in early September) based on better information about prior year performance and future year operating costs. Table 3 below provides a summary of the current preliminary estimate of outyear rates for the TSC.
Table 3.—Preliminary Outyear TSC Billable Rates
| Fiscal Year | Skill Level | Hourly Rate | Daily Rate |
| FY2014 | 1 | $64 | $512 |
| 2 | $90 | $720 | |
| 3 | $112 | $896 | |
| FY2015 | 1 | $67 | $536 |
| 2 | $93 | $744 | |
| 3 | $115 | $920 |
Please contact a client liaison (303) 445-2561 to help you get the most efficient services for your needs.