07 TAB B Encl 4 QASP RSAC-24-005-SVC504_21Nov24 (1).pdf

Portable Toilets

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

Contract or Solicitation TBD

Date Prepared:

21 November 2024

1. OVERVIEW

1.1. Purpose. The purpose of this plan is to identify the methods and procedures the Government will use to ensure it receives the services/products the Portable Toilets Contract as identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

1.2. Intent. The intent of this plan is to hold the contractor accountable for quality control and to encourage the contractor to take appropriate steps to control and improve quality. The contractor is responsible to develop an efficient methodology to ensure it meets and/or exceeds the required thresholds of service as outlined in the PWS. The Government intends to perform surveillance on this contract in accordance with this Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) but reserves the right to monitor the contract in any manner necessary, at any times necessary, and at all places necessary to ensure that the rendered services conform to contract requirements. The Government reserves the right to perform quality assurance at the subcontract level and perform quality assurance at the contractor's place of business, if applicable. Non-conforming services discovered with subcontractors will be addressed with the prime contractor for resolution.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

2.1. Scope of Work. The Contractor shall maintain Portable Sanitary Toilets. This includes but not limited to Standard units, Handicapped units, Hand wash stations, holding tanks, and relocation as identified in the PWS.

2.2. Contract. The Government will award a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Contract.

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1. To fully understand the roles and the responsibilities of the parties (Government and Contractor), it is important to first define the distinction in terminology between the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan and the Government’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. IAW FAR Part 52.246-1 -- Contractor Inspection Requirements, the Contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth by the contract and follow-on task orders. The Contractor develops and submits a Quality Control Plan (QCP) for Government approval in compliance with contract deliverables. Once accepted, the Contractor then uses the QCP to guide and to rigorously document the implementation of the required management and quality control actions to achieve the specified results.

3.2. The QASP, on the other hand, is put in place to provide government surveillance and oversight of the Contractor’s quality control efforts to assure that it is delivering timely and effectively those products and services specified in the contract or task order. The QASP is not a part of the contract, and is not intended to duplicate the Contractor’s QCP. The Contractor shall submit a QCP covering areas that are important for successful contract performance. Upon approval of a Contractor’s QCP, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) should revise the QASP based on the contractor’s QCP. The COR shall not revise Performance Objectives, Standards, and Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) in the QASP.

3.3. This plan shall provide the COR with a proactive way to avoid unacceptable or deficient performance and provide verifiable input for the required performance report via the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).

3.4. The QASP is a tool; therefore, it remains a living document through the contract and/or task order performance period. Upon approval of the Contracting Officer (KO), unilateral changes to the QASP may be made as needed. The Contractor does not have to be made aware of planned revisions. The entire QASP is not part of the contract. While certain portions such as “performance objectives” and “maximum allowable degree of deviation from requirement AQL,” may be part of the PWS, the method of surveillance, surveillance calendar, schedule, and frequency of surveillance and inspection are not.

3.5. The Contractor, not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract. The role of the Government is to monitor the effectiveness of the Contractor’s quality control plan to ensure contract quality standards are achieved. (See FAR Part 46 – Government Contract Quality Assurance).

Government Personnel:

Contracting Officer (KO) - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter, administer and terminate contracts on behalf of the Government. The KO is the only person who can legally commit the Government and only the KO, as the Government’s agent, can modify the contract/order. The KO is the final authority for determining the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance. KO decisions arising under or relating to the contact are final.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – An individual designated in writing by the KO to perform specific technical and administrative functions within the scope and limitations of their written appointment (e.g., surveillance of contractor’s performance, accept services). The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or authorize any changes to the order/contract or in any way obligate additional funds by the Government, such authority rests solely with the KO.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Appointment Module (JAM) and Surveillance and Performance Monitoring (SPMs) modules are web management tools for the appointment of CORs. These modules allow a perspective COR, COR Supervisor and Contracting Officer to electronically process nomination of CORs for one or multiple contracts. The modules are available through Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) at Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (eb.mil).

Contract Administrator – The official government representative delegated authority by the Contracting Officer to administer a contract. This individual is normally a member of the appropriate Contracting/Procurement career field and advises on all technical contractual matters.

Property Administrator – Not Applicable (N/A)

Contractor Personnel:

https://piee.eb.mil/

Quality Manager- Promotes quality achievement and performance improvement throughout the organization. Develops, implements, communicates and maintains a quality plan to bring the Company's Quality Systems and Policies into compliance with quality system requirements. Direct the activities of quality personnel to measure key quality characteristics of processes from inception to completion. Establishes the standards of service for customers or clients.

Program Manager- Responsible for running complex programs and projects. Supervises the project team and manages conflicts within different departments. Plans and sets project goals and milestones and develops risk management strategies. Defines resources and schedules for the implementation of the program. Clearly defines requirements and sets targets accordingly. Recognizes areas for internal improvement and develops plans for implementing the improvements.

Name Title Phone e-mail B. Chad Raney COR 256-842-0035 brian.c.raney.civ@army.mil

4. CONTRACT QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

4.1. Quality Control Program. The Contractor's Quality Control Program requirements are defined in paragraph 1.5.1 of the PWS. The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP) that complies with the requirements of the contract and outlines how it will ensure the Government will receive all the services required by the contract at the specified quality level.

4.2. Government Quality Assurance. The Government will perform Quality Assurance oversight of the Contractor and Contractor’s QCP IAW with this QASP to ensure acceptable levels of contract performance are achieved and that the Contractor is performing acceptable levels of Quality Control to ensure fully acceptable services are provided.

5. GOVERNMENT SURVIELLANCE

5.1. Methods of Surveillance include but are not limited to:

• 100% Inspection - This is an inspection method whereby all outputs are monitored.

This method provides the best indication of contractor performance and the most documented basis for determining contract payment actions. However, it requires extensive COR resources, and, therefore, is not practical for most service requirements. 100 percent inspection is preferred when the PWS requirement is so critical that nonperformance would pose a direct risk to the safety of personnel or property, or when the work occurs infrequently, and the output population is small.

• Random Sampling - When a service is performed relatively frequently, and a statistically valid sample can be selected for audit. The most appropriate method for frequently recurring tasks. Random Sampling is a means of evaluation by observing or inspecting some part (a sample), but not all, of a population or lot of the contract requirements to assist the government with determining whether standards set forth in the contract have been met. This tool is not the Contracting Officer’s only option nor is the tool usage mandatory. When performing random sampling, an updated version of ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 shall be normally used to determine the sample size and the acceptance and rejection numbers.

• Periodic Sampling - This method, sometimes called "planned inspection," consists of the evaluation of tasks selected on other than a 100 percent or random basis. It may be appropriate for tasks that occur infrequently, and where 100 percent inspection is neither required nor practical. A predetermined plan for inspecting part of the work is established using subjective judgment and analysis of agency resources to decide what work to inspect and how frequently to inspect it.

• Customer Feedback – Not necessarily a valid method of surveillance, but a good indicator for areas surveillance should be conducted or intensified. The COR may design a customer survey questionnaire to be used as an essential part of a well-publicized customer complaint program. In time of resource constraints, the use of customer surveys provides an effective and efficient means of monitoring contractor performance. Customer surveys should only supplement other surveillance efforts and be analyzed by surveillance personnel trained in validating customer complaints. Customers should be made aware of minimal contractor performance requirements to be sure that customer responses to surveys are valid indicators of actual contractor performance. The COR must investigate each customer complaint and validate the accuracy before any action will be taken.

5.2. Monthly Surveillance Schedule. The COR will develop a monthly schedule of surveillance activities based on the Performance Standards as outlined in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) (Attachment 1) as well as any other critical contractual requirements determined to be higher risk requiring oversight. The surveillance outlined in the monthly schedule will be as detailed and in-depth as necessary to provide the government with the objective quality evidence required to support acceptance of the services provided by the contractor. The schedule will provide planned periodic surveillance during all required hours of the contractor’s operation. The schedule is “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and is not releasable to anyone other than authorized government personnel. The schedule will identify the method of surveillance, the date of inspection, place of inspection, activity to be monitored, and who will conduct the surveillance (dates and times can be altered without a formal change to the schedule if all inspections are performed). The monthly schedule will be completed no later than seven calendar days prior to the beginning of the period it covers, and a copy forwarded to the KO for information and review.

5.3. Inspection instructions/checklists. The COR will develop inspection instructions/checklists for all planned inspections which may require special instructions on how to perform the inspection, what observations should be made with specific details of what to look for to identify acceptable performance.

5.4. Documentation of Inspections. All inspections/observations will be documented and will include as a minimum date and time, who performed the inspection, what was inspected, to what standard and the results. Successful or exceptional performance will be documented as well as deficiencies in contractor performance. Documentation will be maintained for future reference, audit, proof of inspection and past performance documentation.

6. Non-Conforming Performance. The COR will notify the contractor, in person, each time an unacceptable observation has been recorded and ask the Contractor to correct the problem or re-accomplish the service. The COR will record the contract requirement, the specific deficiency to the requirement, the date and time it was discovered, and have the Contractor initial the entry. The Contractor will be given a timeline after notification to correct the deficiency in accordance with requirements of the contract. Deficiencies that cannot be corrected within the identified timeline will be reported to the Contracting Officer.

6.1. Customer Feedback. Customer feedback can be in any form, verbal or written but no matter the format the COR will maintain a record of the feedback positive or negative.

a. If immediate response to a complaint is required, the COR will provide the response to the requester as soon as practical.

b. The COR will investigate to determine the validity of any negative comments received.

c. If the negative comment is determined not to be valid, if possible, the COR will inform the customer of the reason(s) as soon as practical.

d. For validated negative comments that are true contractual non-conformances see paragraph 6. If this non-conformance is a more serious (systemic in nature) deficiency or a recurring deficiency that could indicate a trend the COR should see paragraph 6.2.

e. The COR will follow up with the customer regarding the corrective action taken by the Contractor, if applicable.

6.2. Contract Deficiency Reports. The COR will report more serious (systemic in nature) deficiencies or recurring deficiencies that could indicate a trend in a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) in Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (eb.mil). The Contract Discrepancy Report will state the Contract Requirement, the specific contract reference and the specific violation (s) to the requirement. The COR will forward copies of Contract Discrepancy Reports to the KO within one working day.

The KO will notify the Contractor and request corrective action to the specific non-conformance, identification of the root cause and corrective action for the root cause with a required suspense date. The KO may require the Contractor to re-perform any services that do not meet contract requirements at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor will provide a copy of the completed CDR along with their Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to the KO for review, approval, and inclusion in the contract/order file. The KO should include the COR in the review of the CAP and re-inspection of services that were found deficient to ensure the CAP included adequate root cause analysis, corrective action for the root cause and that it was accomplished in the timeframe agreed upon. The KO and COR will not consider the CDR closed until all deficiencies have been corrected and all agreed upon actions of the CAP have been completed. Contractor’s failure to follow through and complete corrective actions will be reported immediately to the KO for further action. (Note: if the COR must repeatedly perform re-inspection there could be a government re-inspection cost which could be recovered from the contractor). The COR will also follow-up after the contractor has completed the corrective action to ensure that the contractor’s corrective action was sufficient to preclude recurrence.

7. Data Analysis. COR shall perform and document analysis of available data monthly and adjust surveillance schedule as required based on results of analysis. Analysis shall be used to look for and document trends in performance which may indicate shifts in performance risk that could result in increased or reduced surveillance. Data can be based on government observations or contractor observations. Negative trends noted using government observations could result in issuing contractor a Contract Deficiency Report (CDR). Trends noted using contractor data should never result in a CDR unless the contractor is not addressing the negative trend. Documentation of data analysis will be in the Monthly COR Activity Report.

8. Acceptance of Services. When all services have been deemed acceptable and there is documented objective quality evidence to support acceptable performance the COR will accept the services provided and authorize payment upon satisfactory completion of the work. This is done by approving the Contractor’s invoice in Wide Area Workflow, available through PIEE.

9. Monthly COR Activity Report. The COR will submit a brief monthly activity report to the KO which will include the next month’s surveillance schedule, summary of inspections performed with results, summary of customer complaints with analysis, summary of contract discrepancies, results of data analysis, recommended adjustments to surveillance, invoices accepted and any other pertinent contract activities.

10. Service Contract Reporting (SCR). DFARS 204.1703(a), Reporting Requirements Thresholds, states that SCR is required in the System for Award Management when a contract or order has both a total estimated value, including options, that exceeds $3 million and is for services in the service acquisition portfolio groups listed in Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) 204.1703. The Portable Toilets Contract does not meet the threshold at DFARS 204.1703(a)(i) and/or its Product Service Code (PSC), S205, is not listed in PGI 204.1703; and therefore, SCR is not required.

11. Quality Assurance Surveillance File: Reference ACC PAM 70-1 and the ACC COR Facts Page. The Quality Assurance, or COR Surveillance file shall contain the following as applicable:

a. Copy of the COR designation letter from the KO, any changes to that letter, and any termination letters.

b. Training Certifications for COR and refresher training.

c. Copy of the contract and all contract modifications.

d. Copy of the applicable QASP with attached schedule and checklist.

e. Copy of the contractor’s Quality Control Plan (QCP) https://piee.eb.mil/ http://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-nj/COR.html http://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-nj/COR.html

f. All correspondence initiated by authorized representatives (contractor or government) concerning performance of the contract.

g. Names, position titles and contact information of all key personnel assigned to this contract both government and contractor.

h. Monthly surveillance schedules.

i. Surveillance Checklists

j. Records of all inspections performed and the results.

k. Customer Feedback.

l. Memoranda for record of minutes of any meeting, telephone conversations and discussions with the contractor or others pertaining to the contract or contract performance.

m. Documentation pertaining to acceptance of services, reports or data.

12. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System. Documented surveillance data IAW this QASP will be used as objective data to support contractor ratings. The inclusion of detailed documented inspection results provides objectivity to the Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR). The CPAR will be prepared annually or at the end of a Task Order whichever occurs first.

13. QASP Changes. The QASP is a living document and, as such, may be changed as needed. However, the KO must approve changes. The COR will submit recommended changes to the KO for approval.

https://shortcut.dau.mil/acq/cpar_cpars

ATTACHMENT 1

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY

PERFORMANCE

REQUIREMENT

STANDARD PERFORMANCE

THRESHOLD

ACCEPTABLE

QUALITY LEVELS

(AQLs)

METHOD OF

SURVEILLANCE

PRS1 The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective

QCP.

(PWS para 1.5.1)

The contractor shall ensure services are performed IAW this

PWS.

Customer complaints shall not exceed three per month.

Periodic Inspection and customer feedback.

PRS2 The Contractor shall provide support between the hours of 0600 to 1800, days Monday through Saturday.

(PWS para 1.5.4.1)

The Contractor shall always maintain an adequate workforce, for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the PWS.

95% Compliance; no more than 2 discrepancies found per month, etc.

100% Inspection

PRS3 The Contractor shall provide services for portable toilets, hand wash units, and handicap units when notified via email of a request for service.

(PWS para 5.1)

Job Order Request document (DA Form 4283) will be used to request placement of new units, to include special event units.

100% Compliance;

Zero Deviation from standard

Periodic Inspection and customer feedback.