1202SC21Q0001 Type 2 - Round 2 Q and A.pdf

1202SC21Q0001 - Type 2 Crew Q&A #2

***Note these questions and answers are for clarification only and do not constitute a change. Any change to the requirement/solicitation will be addressed in amendment 3 and the conformed solicitation.

1. Question: Are 12, 11 or 8 passenger 4x4 vans allowed? In California most(if not all) extended vans sold are set up for no more than 12 passengers from the factory.

Answer: Yes. If the van is 4X4 (all-wheel drive) and not classified as a 15 passenger/high capacity van.

The intent of this requirement is for the safety of the fire fighter. If a van has the same chassis size and/or are similar in length and width when parked side by side as a 15-passenger van, then it would not be allowed. Any van having the potential to carry passengers and/or cargo the same as a 15 passenger/high capacity van is not allowed.

2. Question: Do you want Chainsaw task books ; Cover sheet, sign off and evaluation included with resume packet for each Key Personnel? Or just the S-212 certificate? Or is none of it necessary? Then we just list the S-212 on classes taken training list?

Answer: No. The Government only verifies the qualifications of the Key Personnel. The contractor certifies that the personnel utilized meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation and resultant agreement. Any contractor certification that is found to be misrepresented will result in termination of the agreement and possible further action.

3. Question: CRWB A is listed as a Primary crew boss on a National crew. CRWB A is also listed as an Alternate for a Type 2 crew. If awarded the NCC, we will need to have a different CRWB as the alternate for the Type 2 crew. If we explain who that will be as clearly as possible will that be ok/possible?

Answer: Primary Key Personnel are not interchangeable. However, alternate key personnel are not evaluated at time of award. Therefore, a change to the alternate could happen if an exception at C.9 is met.

4. Question: Would you please extend the due date?

Answer: No. The Government does not intend to extend the closing date.

5. Question: I am a bit confused on Exhibit D.9. section RX/Wildland fire Experience.

should this section include most recent incidents?

Answer: This section should include all firefighter experience for the individual.

6. Question: If we don’t have to list our alternate CB how we to utilize him/her in a hurry.

Example: Bob (CB) is CB on a fire, during this fire he has a family emergency and must leave asap. How are we supposed to use the alternate right away if their paperwork hasn’t been inspected yet? Does the fire supposed to allow the change, or do we get demobed off the fire or put on hold until someone has signed off on the new guys credentials?

Answer: If a company wishes to have an alternate CRWB then that individual must be submitted as such. All alternates are considered Key Personnel and must meet the requirements of Key Personnel. Any substitutions and/or replacements must be done in accordance with Section C.9 of the solicitation and resultant agreement.

7. Question: If you list a crew boss and an alternate, can the alternate work for other contractors?

Answer: No. Key Personnel are company and crew specific. Key Personnel are not interchangeable.

8. Question: Are FFT1’s interchangeable within the same companies awarded crews?

Answer: No. FFT1’s are not considered key personnel and may be utilized on different crews of the same company only.

9. Question: Are all Vans excluded on this contract regardless if they are 12 passenger vans and not 15?

Answer: See answer to question 1.

10. Question: B.5.3 A contractor may use the same person[nel] to bid both the 2ia and the 2 contracts. If considered (request clarification of language- change to “awarded” or “agreed to”) the Type 2 BPA will be cancelled.

Answer: The crew (key personnel) must be awarded under the Type 2 IA IDIQ not just considered.

11. Question: C.24.c.1 Response Time: “...will have a maximum of 2 hours to begin travel.”

amend language to may have at maximum of 2 hours unless otherwise requested by the ordering unit.

Answer: The language at Section C.24 (c)(1) will be updated in Amendment 3 to read :

(1) Upon receiving a dispatch call, the Contractor has one (1) hour to confirm availability. Once confirming availability, the Contractor is required to meet the Date and Time Needed (DTN) as specified on the Resource Order.

12. Question: D.1.24 If an incident accepts a crew of 18-19 without the requirement to bring to 20 within 24 hours (as agreed upon in writing at the time of resource order), why is travel time not paid? The order is considered filled.

Answer: The travel time will be paid for the number of members agreed to prior to mobilization in writing at time of resource order. Travel time to the incident will not be paid for “additional” crewmembers necessary to complete a 20-person crew.

13. While Q. 90 refers in part to this, there is not a complete overlap. Both that question and the above refer only to those exceptions as allowed within the solicitation.

Answer: Travel time is only paid for the number of crew members agreed to prior to mobilization.

14. Question: Amendment 1 item 8 on the summary of changes refers to E.3 not E.2?

Answer: Both sections E.2 and E.3 were updated. Please refer to those sections in the Conformed solicitation document.

15. Question: Amendment 1 item 9 on the summary of changes: Isn’t Redmond a HUCC, not a CLIN?

Answer: Redmond is the city for the Host Unit Coordination Center (HUCC).

However, each HUCC is identified by Contract Line Item Number(s) (CLIN(s)).

16. Question: Please specify the “Government Estimate” in E.3.a.2 During the Q and A the

$250,000 was cited as an estimate for a crew’s service at an incident, but there was no clarification as to whether that was a 14 or 30 day assignment.

Answer: The $250,000 referenced in the Q and A was not regarding the Government Estimate. It was referenced for the dollar limit for any individual order/call in Section(s) C.24(k) and E.1(c). Please see Amendment 3 as these limits are updated to reference as follows:

The dollar limitation for any individual order/call is the dollar amount listed at FAR 13.5 (Currently $7.5M).

17. Can an alternate crew boss as bid for a CLIN be substituted immediately, or does the 15-day notification requirement still apply? If so, what is the benefit to the government?

How would it benefit the contractor to include alternates in our proposal if that is the case? While 15 days is the maximum and we understand it may be quicker than that, two weeks is a long time to sideline a resource.

Answer: See Amendment 3 for updated language.

Alternate Key Personnel may be submitted with a quote but will not be evaluated for award. Alternate Key Personnel will not be verified by the Government and added to the Crew Summary until after the first 90 days of performance unless an exception at Section C.9 applies (thus making them a substitution or replacement). After the first 90 days of performance the alternate Key Personnel listed in the Crew Summary that have been verified by the Government may be used without further notification to the Government (with the crew that they are specifically listed for).

The Government intends to review any substitution/replacements of Key Personnel as quickly as possible.

18. Question: In the round 1 Q&A document Q. 84 Google does not take into consideration bathroom breaks. How will road conditions/ Google’s real time estimates be verified (road conditions, etc.)? 20% would be a more realistic estimate.

Answer: Google Maps allows you to populate the date and time by which travel will begin. As stated in Section C.25(a)(iv) Travel time will be measured using the most direct route taken from Google Maps rounded up to the nearest 15 min increment multiplied by a factor of 1.1 (110%). (The additional 10% is provided to compensate for travel conditions that Google Maps does not take into consideration)

19. Question: In the round 1 Q&A document Q. 134 What is the benefit to the government of this restriction? NWCG provides guidance for all federal firefighting resources. This seems unnecessarily restrictive and will be detrimental to competitive government contracting, including the National 2IA.

Answer: The intent of this Solicitation and resultant agreement is to provide the services of Commercially available Type 2 Crews, and as such only the positions specifically listed therein. The Government does not have any need for any performance under this Solicitation and resultant agreement beyond that requirement.

20. Question: Q. 135 Our understanding is that while as the company we would be the insured, the contracting agency is typically the “certificate holder.” If this is the case, is the Boise Contracting office the correct information to include?

Answer: The requirement is that you have insurance. The Government is only required to be listed if Government Furnished Equipment is provided. For this requirement you do not have to list the Government as the Certificate Holder, but if you choose to do so please use the information listed in block 9 of the Form SF 1449.

21. Question: Reading the question and answers that were posted, one was regarding

"Grandfathering". Would you please clarify what "Grandfathering" means within this solicitation? For example, I grandfathered in 1995 as an SRB, with just the requirement of the S-290 and the completion of the SRB task book and have kept my qualifications current since then. So how would my qualifications be validated? Fire experience and evals? Or would I not be afforded a "go" status? Key Personnel qualified before new training requirements came into play, per the PMS 310-1, they aren't required to go back and complete that training, correct?

I've attached a R-6 inspection sheet as an example and have highlighted the classes and required dates. Please clarify if this additional training is required for a "go" status. It is my understanding this training is not required unless the individual has lost their qualifications due to currency. If that is the case, they need to go back and take any training that is a new requirement since their original qualification date, plus complete a new performance task book. Please confirm.

Answer: If an individual was qualified in a position prior to new position requirements taking affect, those new requirements would not apply if they have maintained currency in that position. Individuals falling into this category would need to provide sufficient supporting documents representing that their currency was maintained (i.e. Fire experience records or documents, evaluations, and relevant training documents etc.).

22. Question: The fire experience table in D.9 has # of Hotline Shifts, is this a requirement beyond the PMS 310-1? If so, what is the requirement? If not, is that column optional?

Answer: The hotline shifts requirement is specific to this solicitation and resultant agreement. The requirement is listed per position in Section D.1.5 of this solicitation and resultant agreement. The column for hotline shifts is required.

23. May a vendor use the attached inspection sheet, with crew modifications, or something similar, in lieu of D.9 "Key Personnel Resume Template"?

Answer: D.9 is provided as a template to submit sufficient information to verify Key Personnel Qualifications. This form is encouraged for ease and efficiency of verification but is not required. Another form or document can be used as long as it provides sufficient information for the Government to verify the Key Personnel qualifications.

24. The resume template has a table RX/Wildland Fire Experience: Provide official experience records. Please clarify, is this for the fires that were used for trainee status (PTB), and prerequisite experience?

Answer: This information is required so the Government can verify the Key Personnel Qualifications. Sufficient documentation must be submitted for that to be done.

25. "Provide official experience records", are you wanting all correlating CTR's?

Answer: No. CTR’s are only needed if an official experience record cannot be provided.

26. The accompanying Employee Wildland Fire Experience Form, is that for all their experience as a CRWB, or from 2016 thru 2020, or am I misunderstanding?

Answer: This is all experience information for the Key Personnel submitted.

27. Question: D.9 requests Contract/Agreement Number. Would this be the Solicitation

Number, or perhaps the unique crew identifier the vendor has assigned for this CRWB and HUCC/DDP? Or does it not apply?

Answer: The Contractor is required to identify their key personnel specific to a particular crew. The Contract/Agreement Number during the solicitation phase can be populated with that unique identification.

28. Question: Regarding the RT-130 hour requirement, the Type 2 Solicitation mirrored the

Type 2 IA contract, and that has been removed. Has the Type 2 IA Solicitation changed as well, or does it remain at the 6 hours? I need clarification for training schedules.

Answer: This was updated for the Type 2IA requirement as well. Please reference solicitation 1202SC21R0001 and any associated amendments.

29. Question: Years of experience is now required on the Incident Qualification Card, is that overall years or years in their current position? Since their qualification date is on the card, I'm assuming overall?

Answer: It is overall experience as a firefighter.

30. Question: Clarification: Page 98 Fire Experience appears to duplicate Fire Experience from page 97. Is it necessary to duplicate Fire Experience from page 97 to page 98?

Answer: Fire experience on page 97 is an unofficial list. Page 98 is a template that can be used for official fire experience. These forms are recommended for use or equivalent forms could be used.

31. Question: Is it acceptable to add All Hazards incidents following Fire Experience onto page 98?

Answer: All hazard experience is not considered for this requirement.

32. Question: Are the “Personnel ID CARDS” on exhibit D.4 page 1 of 4 Hand crew Inspection Form the Qualification Card/Incident Identification?

Answer: Yes

33. Question: Is the position(s) for which the firefighter is qualified and date of qualifications(s) the position which has been authorized/approved and verified by government inspector per NWCG/PMS?

Answer: It is the date they are qualified. This is separate from the Governments verification of Key Personnel.

34. Question: Is there any other signature required on the Qualification Card/Incident

Identification other than the contractor to certify the individual has met all the training requirements of this agreement?

Answer: No. The contractor certifies that the personnel utilized meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation and resultant agreement. Any contractor certification that is found to be misrepresented will result in termination of the agreement and possible further action.

35. Question: How is this agreement going to QA/QC these Qualification Card/Incident

Identification?

Answer: These documents may be inspected at any time to ensure they meet the requirements of the solicitation and resultant agreement. The responsibility is on the contractor to ensure they meet the requirements.

36. Question: Does the Qualification Card/Incident Identification need to be typed/printed or can it be handwritten?

Answer: See Amendment 3. These cards shall be typed or printed.

37. Question: Is the Card Issuing associations not a requirement for contractors to use/utilize?

Answer: No.

38. Question: Is the use of firefighters FFT2 and FFT1 (non-CRWB) able to be used by more than one company?

39. Question: Are FFT2 and FFT1 able to have Qualification Card/Incident Identification with more than one company?

40. Question: What is the quality control measures using to which certifies that a firefighter has met the qualifications required for any positions listed on the card?

Answer: The Government only verifies the qualifications of the Key Personnel.

The contractor certifies that the personnel utilized meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation and resultant agreement. Any contractor certification that is found to be misrepresented will result in termination of the agreement and possible further action.

41. Question: Is current Qualification Card/Incident Identification only valid for the current calendar year?

Answer: The card is valid for one year from date of issue. See Section D.1.7(g).

42. Question: Is there anyone other than the contractor, to prove the card meets the government requirements?

Answer: The solicitation and resultant agreement lists the requirements for the Incident Identification/Qualification Section D.1.7(g).

43. Question: Is there a size of the Qualification Card/Incident Identification?

Answer: No. However, the requirements at Section D.1.7(g) must be on the card and able to be identified.

44. Question: A 15 passenger vehicles defined as having less than 15 seatbelts/15 passenger capability. A van removing the rear seat has met the definition and passed prior years inspections by state, federal, safety and on incident for meeting requirements. Will this continue?

Answer: No. See answer to question 1.

45. Question: Do you consider the alternate crew boss key personnel?

Answer: Alternate Crew Bosses are considered Key Personnel but are not evaluated for award purposes.

46. Question: Are you going to use the e-verify program? To what extent?

Answer: The requirements at FAR 52.222-54 will be utilized. This clause can be found here: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52#FAR_52_222_54

47. Question: Due to the power outages are you going to extend the bid date?

Answer: The Government does not intend to extend the closing date of the solicitation.

48. Question: Page 5 5.3 Unsure of the “identifiers i.e. crew-xx”, to fill in this area, please offer a more specific example.

Answer: This should be listed by each company that is offering a specific crew.

For example ABC Company Crew 1, ABC Company Crew 2, ABC Company Crew 3 etc.

49. Question: How can Google maps take into consideration road/traffic conditions if the

Dispatch/Demob is not immediate?

Answer: Google Maps allows you to populate the date and time by which travel will begin.

50. Question: What would be the difference between an individual’s experience and the official experience records? The formatting for both of these tables differs.

Answer: Fire experience on page 97 is an unofficial list. Page 98 is a template that can be used for official fire experience. These forms are recommended for use or equivalent forms could be used.

51. Question: If the company MSPA expires in May 2021 can we resubmit once it is renewed?

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52#FAR_52_222_54

Answer: Round 1 Q&A reference to see answer to question 110 was incorrectly referenced it should have stated see answer to question 109. Clarification to employment of eligible workers was provided in the answer to question 109.

There is a box in section 9 that can be checked if a contractor doesn’t have a current certificate but has applied for one. Offerors not having a certificate but having applied for one will be considered for award but will not be awarded an agreement unless the certificate is provided prior to award.

52. Question: Are you going to need employees MSPA to be submitted along with the proposals?

Answer: No. However, the Incident Qualification Card and crew manifest must list MSPA approved drivers with their MSPA driver’s license number if used. If the crew is inspected MSPA drivers will be required to present their valid certificate at that time.