Materials Supplies Articles Equipment

Boolean/code flag on the award record indicating whether the procurement includes materials, supplies, articles, or equipment. In this FPDS path, the observed value can be a coded indicator such as "X", where the source description notes that "X" means not applicable.

Family: Award
Category: Legislative Mandates
Data Type: boolean_or_code_flag
Semantic Type: flag
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment
Title
Materials Supplies Articles Equipment
FPDS Path
award/legislativeMandates/materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment
Description
Boolean/code flag on the award record indicating whether the procurement includes materials, supplies, articles, or equipment. In this FPDS path, the observed value can be a coded indicator such as "X", where the source description notes that "X" means not applicable.
Business Meaning
This field helps analysts identify awards subject to or associated with legislative mandate screening tied to physical goods. It is useful for compliance reviews, market segmentation, and distinguishing supply/equipment actions from services-heavy procurements.
Example Value
X
Observed Non-Null Count
111,460,373

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment
FPDS XML Path
award/legislativeMandates/materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/legislativeMandates/materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Filter awards involving physical goods for compliance analysis
  • Segment procurements by supply/equipment versus services
  • Support rule-based reporting on legislative mandate applicability

Common Mistakes

  • Reading "X" as a universal yes when the source says it means not applicable
  • Using the field alone without checking the local codebook or paired description values

Query Guidance

In SQL, filter on the specific observed code values in your extract and document the local meaning of each code. If the field is stored as text, compare against the exact literal values present in the data and do not assume standard boolean semantics unless validated.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment AS materials_supplies_articles_equipment
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Flag distribution

SELECT
    content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment AS flag_value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__legislativeMandates__materialsSuppliesArticlesEquipment IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY flag_value
ORDER BY record_count DESC

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.