Procedures for Screening Equipment to be Purchased with Federal Funds

Equipment screening reports are available upon request by contacting Property Accounting by email propacct@purdue.edu. Please include details on what you are ordering, how much it cost, and the department cost center that is making the purchase.

SCOPE

The procedures set forth herein apply to equipment being acquired in whole or in part with Federal funds. Federal funds, in addition to direct Federal contracts, grants and cooperative agreements, include Federal appropriated funds such as Hatch Act funds, pass through funds such as Joint Highway, and subgrants funded by a Federal prime contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. Screening is not required for equipment being purchased wholly with non-Federal funds.

SCREENING LEVELS

Equipment acquisitions having an expected cost of $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 will be screened against departmental equipment inventory records to determine if equipment under control of the department is available to, is accessible to, and is suitable to meet the needs of the project.

Equipment acquisitions having an expected cost of $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 will be screened against school equipment inventory records in addition to departmental equipment inventory records to determine if the equipment under the control of the department or school is available to, is accessible to, and is suitable to meet the needs of the project.

Equipment acquisitions having an expected cost of $100,000.00 or more will be screened against campus equipment inventory records in addition to department and school equipment inventory records to determine if equipment under the control of the department, the school or the campus is available to, is accessible to, and is suitable to meet the needs of the project.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SCREENING

Equipment screening and documentation are the responsibility of the department or the unit purchasing the equipment.

TIMING OF SCREENING

Screening will occur on a pre-acquisition basis. For those purchases subject to the screening requirement, the requisition (University Form 12) will be accompanied by the form entitled ‘Verification of Non-Availability of Needed Equipment’ when the requisition is approved by the appropriate departments official. The form for ‘Verification of Non-Availability of Needed Equipment’ is attached as Exhibit A.

EQUIPMENT RECORDS TO BE USED IN SCREENING

Each academic department will be provided the following equipment inventory records reports for use in screening:

List of all equipment having an original acquisition cost of $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 for which that department is accountable.
List of all equipment having an original acquisition cost of $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 for which the school is accountable.
List of all equipment for the campus having an original acquisition cost of $100,000.00 or more.

SCREENING PROCESS

At the time the requisition for an item of equipment requiring screening is to be initiated, the principal investigator, with the assistance of the departmental business administrator, will identify the equipment class code range most appropriate for the item of equipment to be purchased and review the appropriate equipment record list(2) to determine if suitable equipment is available from existing inventory. For scientific equipment, the equipment class codes within the range 3000 to 3999 should be reviewed. For computer equipment the class code range 4000 to 4999 should be reviewed. For other equipment, the class code range 5000 to 5999 should be reviewed. If a suitable item is not available, the ‘Verification of Equipment Non-Availability’ form will be completed and signed by the principal investigator.

If after reviewing the equipment record list(s) it appears that a suitable item may be available, the principal investigator will contact the department having accountability for the item to determine if the item is available for use, is suitable to meet the project requirements and is reasonable accessible to the project. If after contacting the accountable department, the principal investigator determines that the item of equipment is not available, is not suitable to meet requirements and/or is not reasonable accessible, the ‘Verification of Equipment Non-Availability’ form will be completed and signed by the principal investigator.

If the equipment is available for transfer or shared use, does meet the project’s requirements, and is reasonably accessible, arrangements for the transfer or shared use of the equipment should be made with the department having accountability for the equipment. The requisition should not be further processed. No further documentation is required unless the parties to the sharing arrangement or the transfer believe such documentation will be beneficial in setting forth the conditions of use. In the event the equipment is transferred from its present location, Property Accounting Form 9 should be completed.

DOCUMENTATION

The ‘Verification of Equipment Non-Availability’ form will be completed for each item of equipment for which the screening process is negative. The ‘Verification of Equipment Non-Availability’ form will be signed by the principal investigator and attached to the requisition. The principal investigator’s certification that the requested equipment is not available, or if available, is not suitable or accessible, is sufficient to process with the procurement. The requisition will then be processed through normal University procurement channels. The ‘Verification of Equipment Non-Availability’ form will remain attached to the requisition and become a part of the University’s official procurement file.