Government contracts contain provisions and clauses that protect the rights and interests of the contractor and the government. Provisions in contract also highlight the identity of the parties involved, responsibilities of each party towards the project, conditions of the contract, and termination of contract. These provisions outline that the contractor is supposed to conduct business and provide the necessary services during the contract. Also, the role of the government in the contract especially on payment and provisions on how the goods and services should be furnished.
Importance of Default Clause
Often government contracts are governed by rules and regulations since they have to keep in mind the interest of the tax payers, advance the socioeconomic goals, and encourage competition. Thus, there are clauses in the government contracts that allow the contract officer in the Department of Energy to change or terminate the contract. The default clause mainly referred to as the Termination for Default ( Smith, Currie & Hancock's, 2010) . Default Clause allows the contract officer to terminate the contract if the contractor does not offer the required services within the specified time or fails to perform some of the other provisions in the contract.
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Default Clause and FAR Delay Provision
As the contract officer it would be necessary to combine both the default clause and FAR delay provision to protect both the contractor and the government. In line with this, I would allow the contractor to specify their own termination rights. For instance, the contractor can suggest a termination right where if he/she has not finished the project in the stipulated date but has achieved a certain percentage or level of the contract provision then the project should not be defaulted. Second, I would provide a provision in the contract that time is of essence. Time of the essence provision would give the contractor the idea that he/she must strictly adhere to providing the services on time. Thus, on the government side we would keep our promise of ensuring that the widgets are remitted to the public as stipulated. Besides, I would input a clause in the contract that would consider extreme events. Extreme events would be any event that is beyond the contractors control such as acts of God, pandemic, and government restrictions ( Smith, Currie & Hancock's, 2010) . Thus, a contractor should not be in default if the failure to meet the constructs of the contract is beyond their control.
Contractual Changes
In the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) change order refer to an order written by the contracting officer to the employee. Changes clause authorizes the employee to make modifications that the changes clause allows the contracting officer to command without negotiation with the contractor. However, the changes clause is only limited to a few changes. Changes such as place of delivery, the transport, shipment method, and the design, drawings, and specification especially where the supplies are specifically furnished for the government (Jolls, 1997) . The contracting officer may face legal charges if he/she changes the payment or the payment method for any government contract. Since changing the payment method will be violating the FAR and any other relevant case laws unless it’s a bilateral change order.
Contractual changes can happen at any point in the stipulated time of the contract. However, contractual changes may impact the contractor and the government both positively and negatively. Thus, the mode of contractual change is important. Contractual modification can be done either through bilateral or unilateral mode. Bilateral mode of contractual change is the most secure method to make modification. Bilateral modification also referred to as supplemental agreement is where both the contracting officer and contractor negotiate the changes and sign the contract (Jolls, 1997) . The bilateral modification is the best option especially when modifications needed are not stipulated in the changes clause. Besides, bilateral modification is in contrast to the unilateral where the contracting officer make the changes to the contract without any negotiations with the contractor. Thus, the changes may not be favorable to the contractor.
Inspection Procedure
After approval of the contract and the contractor works on the project, the final stage is the issuance of the widgets that were being worked on. As the contracting officer of DOE, proper inspection of the final widgets is vital to ensure the products are up to standards with provisions stated in the contract. Thus, considering the project was on production of widgets that will save the public twenty-five percent on their energy bills then for efficient inspection, it would be necessary to have a technical expert to look into the widgets (Starbird, 2001) . The technical experts will ensure the widgets are ready and easy to navigate by the public. Besides, the expert has the capability to identify any issue with the widgets.
Also, a performance test would ensure efficiency of the inspection procedure. By taking a random widget from the supply then doing a performance test for a week to check whether the widget will reduce the energy bill by twenty-five percent ( Starbird, 2001) . Besides, requesting for progress reports and technical reviews while the project is still ongoing can help make the inspection procedure efficient.
References
Jolls, C. (1997). Contracts as bilateral commitments: A new perspective on contract modification. The Journal of Legal Studies , 26 (1), 203-237. https://doi.org/10.1086/467993
Smith, Currie & Hancock's. (2010). Federal government contracts and commercial contracts: A brief comparison. Federal Government Construction Contracts , 1-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470549117.ch1
Starbird, S. A. (2001). Penalties, rewards, and inspection: Provisions for quality in supply chain contracts. Journal of the Operational Research Society , 52 (1), 109-115. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601048
