Service/recharge centers reallocate the costs of providing specialized products or services to the end-user (another activity, project or department). An approved recharge rate is developed on the basis of the direct cost of the product or service plus the shop’s operating costs over the course of the center’s fiscal year. Centers are operated with the intent of breaking even at the end of the cycle.
The GI has three service/recharge centers:
Electronic Shop (EShop) provides skilled electronics support to the specialized research activities of faculty and staff. The recharge rate for this shop is based on the billable hours required to support the level of activity necessary to complete the project.
The EShop website is located at: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/admin/eshop
Machine Shop (MShop) provides high quality, specialized design and manufacturing work in support of research activities of faculty and staff, often focusing on design and fabrication of precision instrumentation and one-of-a-kind pieces of equipment. The recharge rate for this shop is based on the billable hours required to support the level of activity necessary to complete the project.
The MShop website is located at: http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/services/machineshop/index.html
A GI work order, 1-series for EShop (range 1000-1999) and 2-series for MShop (range 2000-2999), is established by the end-user outlining the required scope of work to be performed or the item to be developed/built by the shop’s personnel. The shop staff will direct billable hours and non-labor costs necessary to complete the requested work effort to the GI work order number. The shop recharge rate is charged to the work order’s funding source (restricted or unrestricted fund) as a service item (account codes - EShop 3091 and MShop 3092) tagged with the shop’s series work order number. Direct labor is not charged to the funding source, but the service is recharged via a service journal voucher (“JV”entry) based on the number of billable hours charged by the shop personnel on their bi-weekly timesheet. Items purchased to support the requested work are charged at cost via the shop’s series work order number. F&A on restricted awards is applied at the time entries are posted to the award with the F&A rate determined by the restricted award’s established rate.
General Science & Engineering Time & Material Center
(a.k.a., Miscellaneous AR) is GI’s mechanism for the billing of small value (<$5k) non-recurring minor science and engineering activities to external funding sources. This center’s activities range from minor analyses to scientific or engineering collaboration to reimbursement of requested travel by external sources. A GI work order, 7-series (range 7000-7999) is established by the end-user outlining the required scope of work to be performed; the assignment of the GI staff member doing the activity; and the funding agency’s billing information. The funding agency’s intent to pay paperwork, such as a PO, email, or award documentation, is attached to the 7-series work order.
The GI staff will direct labor and non-labor costs necessary to complete the requested work effort to the GI’s 7-series work order number. Items purchased to support the requested work are charged at actual cost via the GI work order number. F&A is not applied to these charges. If the EShop or MShop services are needed in the performance of a Miscellaneous AR work effort, a 1-series or 2-series work order is generated and linked to the 7-series work order number. EShop and MShop activities are charged at each service center’s external shop rate via recharge to account codes 3091 (EShop) or 3092 (MShop).
The GI Business Office will direct bill the funding agency each quarter for the actual cost of the work performed to-date. Payment is received from the funding agency and applied as revenue against the 7-series work order number.
GI maintains an online status reports for all work order charges by individual work order number at: http://reports.gi.alaska.edu/wo/.
GI also has established Enterprise Centers including Chaparral Physics and the Alaska Satellite Facility Enterprise. Sales prices for products sold by these Enterprises are based on market conditions. Enterprises must write a business plan. Chaparral’s price list and conditions are found at http://www.gi.alaska.edu/facilities/chaparral/infrasound and information on the ASF Enterprise is available at http://gi.alaska.edu/facilities/asf.