Revised Questions and Answers Solicitation 12639521Q0015.pdf

Revised Questions and Answers Solicitation 12639521Q0015 USDA/APHIS Helicopter Maintenance and Repair Services

Questions Received by November 16, 2020

Question 1:

1. 2.1 Scope of Work: a. Are there any other rotary wing aircraft other than the Bell 206B that are part of the solicitation?

Answer: No

Question 2:

b. Is the solicitation for five (5) Bell 206B aircraft spread through the mentioned states (Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi and possibly Iowa) or is it five (5) aircraft in each of the states?

Answer: There are a total of five aircraft that will fly between the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi. Currently the aircraft are not flying in Iowa, but that could be a possibility one day in the future but that is uncertain at this time.

Question 3:

2. 2.3 Contract Requirements:

Requirement: Maintenance must be performed at a Bell Helicopter factory approved service facility. Since becoming a Bell Approved facility is not standard due to the Bell service agreements, this will limit the competitiveness of the solicitation.

a. Will there be consideration if the Contractor is not an approved Bell Authorized facility however have the capability as a Part 145 certified repair station that is technically capable to provide the services as solicited.

Answer: This requirement to be a Bell factory approved service facility is being deleted from the solicitation changed in regards to this requirement.

Question 4:

Requirement: Contractor will have a facility located within one of the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri (and maybe Iowa)

b. Will there be consideration if the Contractor is in an adjacent state that is equal distance to all the mentioned states?

Answer: As outlined in the solicitation, the USDA intends to establish a contract in a central location to efficiently service the helicopters flying missions in states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

All vendors are welcome to submit quotes but establishing a contract with a vendor in central proximity to where the helicopters are flown would be beneficial to the Government. When evaluating quotes the government will consider many things including the proximity of the contractor’s facility to where the aircraft are flown and a central location will be more favorable.

Question 5:

c. Is the cost of the engine and replacement part of the respective ordering CLIN (e) plug in number of $750,000?

Answer: Yes, the line item (e) includes the estimated pricing of all costs for parts for repairs.

Question 6:

Will there be a published operational route map where the helicopters operate in order to establish a centrally located service facility for the program?

Answer: The flying routes are not constant and there is no set route of operations so there is no published operational route map the government can provide you.

Question 7:

The solicitation states that insurance is required. But does not state types or limits. Can you clarify this for me?

Answer: The insurance required would be the type of coverage that is industry standard for this type of service being provided and for a business working on aircraft not owned by their company, as would be the case for the contractor awarded this contract. Coverage would include among other things general liability, property damage etc.

Question 8:

We’d like to request a waiver of that requirement so that we can provide a centrally located Part 145 location to service your aircraft. We have extensive experience working on 206B aircraft as well as all maintenance manuals and parts access necessary to achieve the stated maintenance requirements.

Answer: The requirement to be a Bell factory approved service facility is being deleted from the solicitation changed in regards to this requirement.

Question 9:

Would the Government revise the RFQ / solicitation to include FAR clause FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting (DEVIATION 2020-O0008) to allow a SB prime to pursue this opportunity, with a similar SB subcontractor, without the legacy 51% prime performance requirement? Further, this prime-sub relationship would facilitate additional competition for the Government as it 'seems' there are very few (if any) qualified, SB-certified Bell factory-approved service centers that meet the RFQ requirements in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

Answer: An amendment to the solicitation is not necessary to include clause 52.219-14 Limitations in Subcontracting (DEVIATION 2020-00008) as the clause 52.219-14 Limitations in Subcontracting is included in the solicitation as checked under FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Order Commercial Items (Oct 2020). This is the most recent version of the clause posted. Please reference page 14 of the solicitation showing the clause is included in this solicitation.

An amendment to the solicitation is going to be posted to make changes in the statement of work in reference to the Bell Repair Station requirement as well as a few other changes.

Question 10:

Will a submittal for the solicitation be automatically disqualified if we are not in one of the states mentioned in the RFQ?

Answer: The answer is no. We are amending the solicitation to change the required facility location to a preference, however as stated in the solicitation it remains a preference that the contractor facility is centrally located in the geographic region where the helicopters are flown. This is also one of the factors being considered in the evaluation of quotes as outlined in the section entitled Evaluation of Quotes.

Therefore, there are no geographical limits/requirements of the contractors facility, however please be aware proximity of the contractors service facility to where the USDA aircraft are flown will be taken into consideration when evaluating the technical capability and pricing, and a contractor facility that is centrally located in the geographic region where the USDA aircraft are performing service is more advantageous to the government.

Additionally, it’s advantageous from a technical standpoint as it generally would allow for the aircraft to be repaired sooner and would translate into less time to get the aircraft back into service. Additionally, sometimes the USDA personnel are on site for maintenance and repairs. It’s also more advantageous from a pricing standpoint because the farther away the contractor facility, the more costs the government would incur to transport the multiple aircraft to and from the contractor facility every time service is needed. The additional costs would be for fuel, travel costs such as possible lodging and per diem, and staff hours to transport the aircraft. This would also apply in the event the aircraft can’t be flown, because the farther away the contractor facility, the higher the travel costs the government would pay for a contractor to travel to the USDA facility for repairs.

Question 11:

Will there be a published operational route map where the helicopters operate in order to establish a centrally located service facility for the program?

Answer: The flying routes are not constant and there is no set route of operations so there is no published operational route map the government can provide you.

Question 12:

Under schedule notes it states “The technical capability and past performance information is limited to 15 pages. If more than 15 pages are submitted only the first 15 pages will be used for the evaluation”. Please clarify if the 15 page limit is inclusive of the cover page, table of contents, table of illustrations and any other indices or are these pages excluded from the page count?

Answer: Yes, if those documents you mentioned are part of the technical capability and past performance document submitted they count towards the 15 page limit. Only the contractor pricing, technical capability and past performance information will be forwarded onto the evaluation personnel.

The purpose of the page limit is to have contractors submit concise and consolidated information and use discretion in determining what information is necessary to submit in order for the government to evaluate their quote. It’s up to your company what you chose to submit, but you may want to determine if it’s necessary to submit a table of context or indices etc.

Question 13:

Scope of Work under Section 2.1. Five (5) Bell helicopters. Will the government provide the log book and historical records for the 5 Bell 206B helicopters?

Answer: Yes

Question 14:

In Section 2.1 of the SOW it states the following: “All services under this contract are to be performed at the contractor’s facility other than services where the helicopter in not airworthy and must be repaired onsite.

The USDA does not have a facility where these inspections, maintenance, repairs and equipment installation can be completed nor can the services be performed in the facility where the USDA aircraft are parked or hangered. If the aircraft is inoperable due to mechanical issues and cannot be flown to the Contractors facility, services under this contract may be required in remote locations.” Will the Government fund relocation of aircraft to contractor’s facility if the repairs are deemed extensive?

Answer: The cost of transporting the aircraft to and from the Contractor’s facility shall be the responsibility of the Government. As indicated in the solicitation, there may be times where the contractor is required to travel to where the aircraft is located for a repair and the contractor will be reimbursed for these travel expenses under the line item (f) travel expenses.

Question 15:

In Section 2.6 Accessibility it states the following: “Additional maintenance tracking software may be required in the future at no cost to the Contractor.” What current software is the government currently utilizing for maintenance management?

Answer: We are not currently utilizing a specific software, nor will we currently mandate the use of a specific software.

Question 16:

In Section 2.10 Delivery of Services it states: “The aircraft will be delivered to and picked up from the Contractor’s maintenance facility by the APHIS, WS pilot. Non-USDA personnel are prohibited from flying the government owned aircraft. Maintenance facility will use an APHIS, WS pilot for all test maintenance flights.”

• Will government pilot be readily available for (Engine rigging) powered on checks?

• Will government pilot be readily available for track and balance of rotor system?

• Will the government allow one member of the contractor team to complete ground runups for MOCs and other inspection requirements?

Answer: Yes, a pilot will be readily available for engine rigging powered on checks and for track and balance of rotor system. Yes, approved mechanics are permitted for ground runups.

Question 17:

In Section 2.11 Parts and Labor it states: “The Contractor shall provide all parts, materials, and consumables. All parts or components which fail inspection or are nonconforming need to be replaced in accordance with FAR 52.212-4(a).”

Will the government assume the cost of all parts required by improper use and, other than fair wear and tear and acts of god “examples: lighting strikes, hail damage flood damage?

Answer: All warranties are expected to be honored, but the government will assume the cost of all required parts, except damages incurred as a result of negligence or oversight by the Contractor or as defined in 2.13.

For your reference, below is the text of FAR clause 52.212-4 (a) states the following:

(a)Inspection/Acceptance. The Contractor shall only tender for acceptance those items that conform to the requirements of this contract. The Government reserves the right to inspect or test any supplies or services that have been tendered for acceptance. The Government may require repair or replacement of nonconforming supplies or reperformance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. If repair/replacement or reperformance will not correct the defects or is not possible, the Government may seek an equitable price reduction or adequate consideration for acceptance of nonconforming supplies or services. The Government must exercise its post-acceptance rights-

(1)Within a reasonable time after the defect was discovered or should have been discovered; and

(2)Before any substantial change occurs in the condition of the item, unless the change is due to the defect in the item.

The contractor shall be aware the cost of parts is invoiced against line items (d) Parts. Reference the Schedule Notes for more information.

Question 18:

In Section 2.12 Transportation Expenses it states: “Will the Government fund relocation of aircraft to contractor’s facility if the repairs are deemed extensive?” Will the Government fund relocation of aircraft to contractor’s facility if the repairs are deemed extensive? Will the government coordinate relocation of aircraft?

Answer: The cost of transporting the aircraft to and from the Contractor’s facility shall be the responsibility of the Government. The government will coordinate relocation of the aircraft if needed.

Question 19:

In Section 1.0 Schedule of items: the lists of inspections. The list of items does not include a list of other inspections that in Chapter 5 of the 206 MM and the Rolls Royce inspections 150, 300 engine inspections and the below list of inspections:

1000-hour Airframe 60-month 300 hour and 12 month component 1500-hour component 3000-hour component

Will the above inspections and the below listed be over and above the amount of hours listed in 1.0 item 0001d: catastrophic events like over temps, over speeds, over torques and Sudden stoppages, blade strikes and Hard landings be repaired at additional cost to the government?

Answer: The government didn’t include a 1,000 hour, 1,500 hour, 3,000 hour inspections as they may not be required under this contract. If they are needed the contract will be modified to add those inspections. There is a line item for the 300 hour inspection in the Schedule of Items. If any repairs are needed these will be invoiced against the line items (d) Hourly Labor Rate Repairs and (e) Parts in the Schedule of Items.