Potential of ‘LPTA’ to Drive Further Innovation

In response to continued cuts in military spending, the U.S. government has chosen to follow a more cost driven approach to its contract activity over recent years. This practice is commonly referred to as Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA), and critics of the practice raise concerns that decisions on products are purely based on pricing and don’t take any other criteria into account. Some are of the view that it will only encourage military contractors to cut corners to win bids, and that emphasis on maintaining quality solutions by using quality product is lost.

Although this is indeed a valid concern, it assumes that the engineers involved in specifying are solely cost-driven. However, the more positive aspect to LPTA (and similar philosophies being adopted by other countries) is that it is likely to help push forward technological progression at the component level. With more constraints on the budgets available, contractors will look for suppliers that offer products capable of delivering the specifications needed, while at the same time using their ingenuity to make them more cost-effective. This is the type of product portfolio that Harwin’s engineering team have been implementing throughout the business.