In the execution phase of a public contract, between the purchasing public body and the contracting company there is a professional figure who plays a role of primary importance, acting as a “link” between the two parties: the Director of Execution of the Contract (DEC).
The DEC carries out the coordination, management and technical-accounting control activities of the execution of the contract stipulated by the contracting authority, in order to ensure its regular execution on time and in compliance with the provisions contained in the contractual documents and the conditions offered at the time of the award or trust.
The burdens and responsibilities are regulated at national level by the Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of 07 March 2018, n. 49 and subsequent amendments. and this figure, normally, corresponds to the Sole Proceeding Officer (RUP), as defined by Legislative Decree 18 April 2016, n. 50 (Public Contracts Code), with the exception of the cases provided for by the ANAC Guidelines n. 3. For the management of some contracts it is in fact necessary that these two figures remain distinct, as in the case of services with a value exceeding 500,000 euros, or particularly complex interventions from a technological point of view or which, by contract, require a greater number of skills.
In the field of food safety, the DEC is therefore a key figure for the school lunch service, as, in general, it verifies that the contractual activities and services are carried out by the company that manages the catering service in compliance with the specifications. the contract, to what is proposed in the technical-design and economic offer and to current legislation, through activities aimed at measuring the quality level objectively.
Specifically, therefore, the DEC deals with various aspects, ranging from the more strictly qualitative ones and therefore connected to operations in the strict sense, to the more quantitative and therefore economic ones relating to the order, such as, by way of example, the certificates of payment of the contract installments due to the contractor to be delivered to the RUP, the projections on an annual basis of the costs of the service and the formulation of complaints of irregularities or non-compliance where the executing companies do not comply with the provisions of the tender specifications.
As regards aspects related to quality and food safety, the DEC has the task of keeping the entire production chain under control, therefore starting from the verification of the product characteristics of the incoming products and their correspondence with what is foreseen in the tender specifications. , then continuing with the activities related to storage, which must take place in an adequate hygienic state and in compliance with the envisaged conservation conditions (refrigerated or frozen, for example).
Continuing, it monitors the production and distribution process, verifying compliance with the procedures of the Self-Control Plan in the cooking center and school canteens and the maintenance of suitable temperatures during storage, transport and display, compliance with good hygiene practices and of the processing of the personnel and the conformity of the vehicles used to transport the meals as well as the relative hygienic state of the same.
Furthermore, in general, it also deals with monitoring the outgoing product, and therefore the menu offered, both in terms of end user satisfaction and in terms of compliance with the expected weights.
A key role is also that of interface with the Competent Authorities and in particular with the local health authority, as regards the exchange of management information and the preparation and verification of menus, weights and special diets for the different categories of users. (preschools and primary schools).
It provides support in the development of Service Charters and carries out proactive and consultative functions towards the RUP in the implementation of the service, also through the preparation of technical opinions to support the Administration.
In compliance with the provisions of current legislation, the DEC documents these inspections at a hygienic-sanitary and organizational level by drafting final reports, using quality measurability criteria based on objective parameters.
