S01 12FPC324R0005 Questions and Answers WA Conservation 20240221.pdf

1. We would like to know if this is a brand-new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services.

A1. This is a new requirement.

2. If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

A2. This is a new requirement.

3. Please confirm the number of FTEs.

A3. The maximum number of FTEs will be 20 at one time.

4. Are all FTE's considered key personnel, therefore offerors shall submit resumes for all individuals proposed to this project?

A4. Resumes will be required for Task Order requests but not for this IDIQ proposal.

5. Can you please provide an exhaustive listing of field offices and locations of which the Conservation Planners will support?

A.5 A map is attached to revised PWS Rv7. Dated 6 Feb 24. This was posted on SAM on 13 Feb 24 as a new solicitation 12FPC324R0005 but referencing this original solicitation.

6. Would the Government clarify if all Conservation Planners are considered Key Personnel and, therefore, require resumes? If not, would the Government please clarify who the Key Personnel who will require resume(s) is/are?

A.6 All Conservation Planners are considered Key Personnel and will require resumes at the time of a Task Order request. Resumes are not required at time of IDIQ award, refer to the latest solicitation that was posted on SAM on 13 Feb 24 as a new solicitation 12FPC324R0005 but referencing this original solicitation.

7. Please clarify will all the F.T.E. position be based off this Standard Position Description for the Wage Determination?

A.7 All F.T.E. position will be based on the Standard Position Description provided in the solicitation.

8. Based on the Grade Determination utilizing the Factor Levels, will all the F.T.E. position be at a GS- 0457-11 Soil Conservationist Step 1 equivalent?

A.8 That will be the minimum. 30090 - Environmental Technician is the labor category in the WD.

9. Will a Program Manager be necessary for this solicitation?

A.9 Contractor will be required to provide quality management services for all contracted staff and will be required to have a point of contact for the IDIQ for communications with the CO and COR.

10. Instructions to Offerors indicates the offerors shall identify the key personnel. Can Key Personnel names be identified on a spreadsheet? Or do Key Personnel Resumes need to be uploaded in RFP Packet for Submission?

A.10 The requirement to provide key personnel was removed in the latest solicitation. Resumes and specific names are not required, refer to the latest solicitation that was posted on SAM on 13 Feb 24 as a new solicitation 12FPC324R0005 but referencing this original solicitation.

11. Does the contract require services in multiple counties?

A.11 Refer to Attachment #1 of the solicitation posted on 13 Feb 24 for a map of the State NRCS Washington Administrative Areas to be covered. The contract will be awarded by service areas that cover multiple counties.

12. Is the incorporated AWD the highest paying AWD for the state? If so, is this AWD to be used as the minimum wage base for all positions and in all counties in the state? If not, please provide all applicable AWDs for the locations of performance. Please also indicate the estimated hours worked in each location. This is needed for budgeting and recruiting purposes. This also allows for fair comparisons in the price evaluation.

A.12 Yes, this would be the minimum.

13. Please specify the applicable labor category to be used under the Wage Determination. This will allow for proper classification of services, fair payment to the contract employees, compliance with DOL occupation conformance requirements, and the fair evaluation of pricing across contractors. We believe 30090 - Environmental Technician is the most appropriate labor category based on the statement of work.

A.13 30090 - Environmental Technician is the labor category.

14. Please explain how deductions will be calculated based on partial month vacancies.

A.14 Task Orders will have a POP that will start at the beginning of the month, payments are invoiced monthly and will only be paid if the position is filled.

15. Please provide more detail regarding a contractor’s proposed training program. It is unclear based on the existing instructions and evaluation criteria what the government is seeking and how the government will evaluate and rate bidders.

A.15 If the contractor does not already have all qualified personnel on staff, the contractor will be required to train staff to meet the requirements of a Conservation Planner Level I and Level III. Refer to the P03- PWS document sections 3.1.2, 2.2.2 and 3.1.9 for additional information on training requirements.

16. For example, the instructions state to respond whether a contractor has the willingness to train additional staff. We have the ability to train, however the requirements are unclear. What constitutes additional staff? Eg, ACES students, Conservation District Techs, NRCS staff, other contract staff, etc.

A.16 If the contractor does not already have all qualified personnel on staff, the contractor will be required to hire and train additional contracting personnel to fulfill the contract requirements.

Contractors will not be required to train any personnel outside of the contractor’s staff.

17. What specifically is the government seeking in a proposed training plan? We require additional information related to the scope of work, training timelines, quality assurance requirements, and evaluation criteria.

A.17 Contractor will be required to provide staff to meet performance objectives and tasks outlined in the PWS section 3.1. If all staff cannot meet these objectives and tasks the contractor will be required to train staff and a training plan is needed.

18. Who does the government request to administer the training? An offsite / remote person at the corporate office or an onsite Conservation Planner? If a contract Conservation Planner is intended to train during the course of their normal workday, their wages would have to increase for the training period based on the applicable AWD and associated DOL occupation classification to compensate for the change in job duties.

A.18 Contracted staff will have access to all NRCS trainings through AgLearn (internal NRCS training program) and in person NRCS trainings, as available, for achieving the Conservation Planner Certifications. No contracted staff will be responsible for being an instructor for or leading trainings.

19. Please specify the appropriate AWD labor category to be used for training under the contract. We suggest 15095 - Technical Instructor/Course Developer.

A.19 An AWD labor category is not required for this solicitation because the contracted personnel will not be leading any training.

20. Are priced training hours to be included in the total firm fixed price proposal? If so, how will bidders' prices be evaluated? We suggest adding a separate line item for training on a per hour basis for a fair price evaluation of all bidders.

A.20 Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training. They are required to attend trainings for Conservation Planner Certifications as part of the normal requirements of these positions.

21. If Conservation Planners perform training duties, we highly suggest changing the contract to labor hour to allow us to bill for specific training hours at one rate and Conservation Planning hours at another rate. This would be the most cost-effective model for the government.

A.21 Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training.

22. How many hours is the government seeking for the training program?

A.22 Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training. Contractor will be required to provide staff to meet performance objectives and tasks outlined in the PWS section 3.1. If all staff cannot meet these objectives and tasks the contractor will be required to train staff and a training plan is needed. Hours of training for contracted personnel are within the FTE hours and do not require a separate program.

23. Please clarify how a contractor's willingness to train affects the government’s evaluation of their proposal with respect to technical acceptability. For example, if a bidder chooses not to train additional staff, does that count against their Factor 2 evaluation? Are they no longer technically acceptable or just less so? How much does training account for in the evaluation? Conversely, does the willingness and capacity to train give a contractor a higher rating? Since this is not a best value evaluation it is very confusing as to how contractors will be rated. It appears that contractors who don't train and contractors who do train can both be technically acceptable. Is this correct? It seems like a contractor who doesn't provide training, and is therefore cheaper, may be rated higher under a low price technically acceptable evaluation than a contractor who proposes training. It is unclear how bidders are fairly evaluated in this area.

A.23 If the bidder does not have certified Conservation Planners at the time of the proposal, the training in Evaluation Factor 2 will be used to determine the capability and capacity of the bidder to provide the number of Conservation Planners to a Level III Certification throughout the contract timeline.

24. Does the government intend to allow a billable phase-in period for a contractor who proposes training to develop materials consistent with current programs, software, policies, and procedures?

A24. Personnel may still perform some PWS duties while training to become a certified conservation planner. The contract personnel are not expected to deliver training on current programs, software, policies, or procedures.

25. Section 2.4 of PWS - Travel states that same day travel may require contractors to utilize personally owned motor vehicles. Use of POVs to locations that are not at the main worksite require reimbursement. Based on our prior experience on service contracts with NRCS field offices, we propose that Conservation Planners coordinate with NRCS staff to utilize the government vehicles when they need to go to the field. That would limit POV usage and associated reimbursement costs. Is this approach feasible for any or all of the field offices? Has the government assessed whether or not field offices have government vehicles available for use? To develop our pricing, we need to understand what percentage of the time POVs are expected to be utilized, the expected annual mileage, and any additional annual travel costs. If this cannot be provided, the government should stipulate a Not to Exceed amount for all bidders (by location) to fairly evaluate price proposals to include mileage, hotel, parking, and other reimbursement items. There is simply not enough information available for a bidder to develop pricing for these CLINs.

A25. The availability of Government Owned Vehicles will be very limited due to workload demands and staffing increases. The contractor will need to provide or reimburse their personnel with transportation to conduct local travel to the field in accordance with section 2.4 of the PWS. Same day travel is expected for field work on average of 2-3 days per week. Overnight / long distance travel will depend upon the contractor’s proposed training plan for the provided personnel.

26. We also need to know the expected percentage of POV utilization by location because candidates will need to have reliable transportation. If a candidate only has a small Prius or sedan, they may not be able to perform field work if a POV is required in specific areas.

A26. The contractor will need to provide or reimburse their personnel with transportation to conduct local travel to the field in accordance with section 2.4 of the PWS.

27. Please provide details regarding any required travel. Is travel expected for field work, going to the State office to get a badge, to attend NRCS trainings, etc.?

A27. Same day travel is expected for field work on average of 2-3 days per week. Overnight / long distance travel will depend upon the contractor’s proposed training plan for the provided personnel.

28. What if use of the GOV is not permitted at all due to repairs, etc.? Will the government modify the contract to increase travel funds for that particular office in the future?

A28. Availability of Government Owned Vehicles (GOV) is expected to be limited. From PWS section 2.4 Travel for details, it is assumed that the contractor will need to provide or reimburse personnel for use of their own motor vehicle.

29. What is the current estimated wait time for contractor staff to receive access credentials with lincpass (HSPD-12) and logins for necessary software (Protracts, CART, Conservation Desktop.).

A29. Estimated time for Lincpass is dependent on timing for paperwork provided by the contractor’s staff. Background check and security clearance may take up to 4 weeks. Logins for necessary software will be after Lincpass is acquired and typically takes less than one week.

30. Is there any page limitation other than the 2 pages limitation per each resume?

A30. Page limitation was eliminated with the posting of 12FPC324R0005.

32. How is past performance rated for a firm that did not perform services in the Washington state area previously? Does a lack of work in the area or specific planning experience make a firm not technically acceptable? The wording in the RFP suggests firms with work in the area will be rated higher. Please explain if this is correct and how past performance will be rated.

A32. The Government will be giving a technical rating of “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable”. A factor will be proof of being capable of staffing this type of service in the areas listed.

33. (Solicitation, Factor 1) Would the government consider changing this factor to evaluate vendors’ staffing plan/capability to include track record of incumbent capture during transition? All positions being key personnel provides unfair advantage to the incumbent and limits competition.

A33. There is not an incumbent, this is a new requirement. The Government wants to ensure the contractor is capable of staffing this type of service in this particular area.

34. (Solicitation) Lowest price technically acceptable devalues quality and experience and raises risk.

Would the government consider a tradeoff best value competition to minimize risk and receive best value/quality services?

A34. Thank you for your comment. The current version is lowest priced, technically acceptable.

A34. The Government intends to award one and up to ten IDIQ contracts based on LPTA. The technical factors consider the contractors ability to staff this type of position in the areas identified.

35. (Solicitation) Please provide the page limits for each factor, if applicable.

A35. Not applicable.

36. We are unclear about the number of FTEs as it relates to pricing and Key Personnel resumes.

A36. The maximum number of FTEs at one time will be 20. The pricing for the proposal is for one (1) FTE.

37. The SF1449 is asking us to provide the monthly cost of one (1) FTE for the base year and each option year. However, in both the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation, paragraph (v) on page 1, the third column in the table (titled “Yearly FTE’s (Not to Exceed)) and the Proposal Sheet on page 21 indicates 15 FTEs for the Base Year, 20 FTEs for Option Year 1 and 2 and 10 FTEs for Option Year 3.

a. Can you clarify if this requirement is for 1 FTE, or the multiple FTEs as indicated in the table.

b. Are we to submit a firm fixed price for one FTE as indicated in the SF 1449?

c. Are we to submit a firm fixed price for the number of Yearly FTE’s indicated in the Proposal Sheet?

A37abc. The maximum number of FTEs at one time will be 20. The pricing for the proposal is for one (1)

FTE.

d. Factor 1 Personnel Qualifications/Technical Capability states, “The offeror shall identify the key personnel to be utilized as Conservation Planners to fulfill the requirements as identified in the Performance Work Statement” Can you clarify if one Key Personnel resume is required, or 15 Key Personnel resumes are required in our proposal as indicated in the Proposal Sheet on Page 21.

A37d. Factor 1 was removed as a factor in the new solicitation, refer to the latest solicitation that was posted on SAM on 13 Feb 24 as a new solicitation 12FPC324R0005 but referencing this original solicitation.

38. Page 16, first paragraph of the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation incorporates the Service Contract Labor Standards Wage Determination 2015-5537 Rev. 21, dated 12/26/2023. However, we can find no labor category in the referenced wage determination that aligns with either the General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series 0401 or the Soil Conservation Series 0457. We recommend removing the incorporation of SCLS and Wage Determination from this requirement. If you determine that SCLS and Wage Determination are to be applied, please tell us which labor category from the Wage Determination should be utilized.

A38 30090 - Environmental Technician is the labor category.

39. Paragraph 2.3 of the Performance Work Statement states the PWS requires work primarily in the high IRA workload counties. Please tell us the high IRA workload counties.

A39. Personnel will be ordered in each geographical area according to program demand related to IRA programs and as indicated in section 2.2.4 of the PWS.

40. Factor 3 – Past Performance, subparagraph a. makes reference to “Past Performance Customer Questionnaire. Will you provide Past Performance Questionnaire templates for us to submit to our customers? Do you require our customers to submit their completed past performance questionnaires directly to the contracting specialist identified on Page 5 of the combined synopsis/solicitation or should they be included in our proposal?

A40. PPQs or any equivalent questionnaire identifying performance can be sent directly to the Contract Specialist listed or the Contracting Officer.

41. PWS, Paragraph 2.2, subparagraph 2.2.2 (a) and (b) state that all contract personnel shall achieve Level I Planner Certification within 6 months of NRCS acceptance of individual and working toward completing Level III Planner Certification within 12 months of achieving Level I Planner Certification. Will the NRCS make available all training modules for Technical Services Providers (TSP) in AgLearn online course to become a certified Conservation Planner for the State of Washington with no cost to the contractor? Will the NRCS – Washington State office provide the required three in person courses for Level III certification at no cost to the contractor?

A41. NRCS will make available the required AgLearn training modules at no cost to the contractor.

Contract personnel becoming a Technical Service Provider (TSP) is not a requirement of the announcement. The contractor’s willingness to train is an evaluation criterion for Factor 1 – Compliance / Capacity, Management Capability. The applicant should propose a training plan and include if they have the capability to provide the training for personnel or if NRCS will be required to complete the training requirements, including Level III Planner Certification.

42. Will approved contract personnel be able to support PWS tasks immediately upon acceptance by the NRCS (i.e. before contract personnel has achieved Level I Planner Certification)?

A42. Personnel will be able to support the PWS while completing the training requirement indicated in section 2.2.2 of the PWS.

43. Synopsis/Solicitation page 5 subparagraph (xvi) states that questions will be posted NLT February 20, 2024, which provides industry very little time to assess answers to questions and modify their proposals accordingly. We respectfully request that the proposal due date be modified at the time answers are posted to reflect a proposal due 14 calendar days from the publication of answers to questions.

A43. Q&As were extended with the posting of 12FPC324R0005.

44. NRCS would like proposals to include travel pricing in the proposed budgets. Can you provide an indication of how much travel is expected and which destinations are expected? The PWS indicates that there will mostly be day trips (60-120 miles R/T in personal vehicle), with occasional overnights (5-20 nights per year). But it doesn't state how often travel would be required.

We understand the travel budget cannot exceed $20,000 per year however we would like to refine our budget based on the following information if you can provide it:

Could NRCS either A) specify a minimum mandatory travel NTE that all vendors must include in their budgets, or B) specify a total number of day trips and total number of overnight trips anticipated per Planner per Option Year?

A.44 The estimated number of day trips as described in the PWS, would be 2 to 3 days per week throughout the year. Some weeks would be no trips while others could be up to 4 days of day trip travel.

Overnight trips would be for related trainings and will depend on the training plan for individuals. NRCS staff typically have 3 overnight training trips per year for 2 to 3 nights per trip.

45. If multiple awards are made, how will individual task orders be issued? Is there a task order proposal process? If so, please explain how bidders will compete at the task order level.

45A. The intent is to have one contractor per service area so no additional competition would be needed for task orders. However, if there are several contractors that can staff the same area, they will be competed amongst those specific IDIQ awardees.

46. Please provide all potential locations for positions under the contract. We require the locations for our recruiting efforts, potential cost development, and to provide relevant resumes in our proposal response.

46.A – Locations are identified on the map provided with the updated solicitation.

47. Please specify the applicable labor category to be used under the Wage Determination. This will allow for proper classification of services, fair payment to the contract employees, compliance with DOL occupation conformance requirements, and the fair evaluation of pricing across contractors. We believe 30090 - Environmental Technician is the most appropriate labor category based on the statement of work.

47A. 30090 - Environmental Technician is the labor category.

48. Please explain how deductions will be calculated based on partial month vacancies.

49A. Task Orders will have a POP that will start at the beginning of the month, payments are invoiced monthly and will only be paid if the position is filled.

50. Please provide more detail regarding a contractor’s proposed training program. It is unclear based on the existing instructions and evaluation criteria what the government is seeking and how the government will evaluate and rate bidders.

51A. If the contractor does not already have all qualified personnel on staff, the contractor will be required to train staff to meet the requirements of a Conservation Planner Level I and Level III. Refer to the P03- PWS document sections 3.1.2, 2.2.2 and 3.1.9 for additional information on training requirements.

52. For example, the instructions state to respond whether a contractor has the willingness to train additional staff. We have the ability to train, however the requirements are unclear. What constitutes additional staff? Eg, ACES students, Conservation District Techs, NRCS staff, other contract staff, etc.

52A. – If the contractor does not already have all qualified personnel on staff, the contractor will be required to hire and train additional contracting personnel to fulfill the contract requirements.

Contractors will not be required to train any personnel outside of the contractor’s staff.

53. What specifically is the government seeking in a proposed training plan? We require additional information related to the scope of work, training timelines, quality assurance requirements, and evaluation criteria.

53A. Contractor will be required to provide staff to meet performance objectives and tasks outlined in the PWS section 3.1. If all staff cannot meet these objectives and tasks the contractor will be required to train staff and a training plan is needed.

54. Who does the government request to administer the training? An offsite / remote person at the corporate office or an onsite Conservation Planner? If a contract Conservation Planner is intended to train during the course of their normal workday, their wages would have to increase for the training period based on the applicable AWD and associated DOL occupation classification to compensate for the change in job duties.

54A - Contracted staff will have access to all NRCS trainings through AgLearn (internal NRCS training program) and in person NRCS trainings, as available, for achieving the Conservation Planner Certifications. No contracted staff will be responsible for being an instructor for or leading trainings.

55. Please specify the appropriate AWD labor category to be used for training under the contract. We suggest 15095 - Technical Instructor/Course Developer.

55A - An AWD labor category is not required for this solicitation because the contracted personnel will not be leading any training.

56. Are priced training hours to be included in the total firm fixed price proposal? If so, how will bidders' prices be evaluated? We suggest adding a separate line item for training on a per hour basis for a fair price evaluation of all bidders.

56A - Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training. They are required to attend trainings for Conservation Planner Certifications as part of the normal requirements of these positions.

57. If Conservation Planners perform training duties, we highly suggest changing the contract to labor hour to allow us to bill for specific training hours at one rate and Conservation Planning hours at another rate. This would be the most cost effective model for the government.

57A - Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training.

58. How many hours is the government seeking for the training program?

58A - Contracted personnel will not be instructing or leading training. Contractor will be required to provide staff to meet performance objectives and tasks outlined in the PWS section 3.1. If all staff cannot meet these objectives and tasks the contractor will be required to train staff and a training plan is needed. Hours of training for contracted personnel are within the FTE hours and do not require a separate program.

59. Please clarify how a contractor's willingness or "potential" to train affects the government’s evaluation of their proposal with respect to technical acceptability. For example, if a bidder chooses not to train additional staff, does that count against their Factor 2 evaluation? Are they no longer technically acceptable or just less so? How much does training account for in the evaluation? Conversely, does the willingness and capacity to train give a contractor a higher rating? Since this is not a best value evaluation it is very confusing as to how contractors will be evaluated. It appears that contractors who don't train and contractors who do train can both be technically acceptable. Is this correct? It seems like a contractor who doesn't provide training, and is therefore cheaper, may be rated higher under a low price technically acceptable evaluation than a contractor who proposes training. It is unclear how bidders are fairly evaluated in this area.

59A - If the bidder does not have certified Conservation Planners at the time of the proposal, the training in Evaluation Factor 2 will be used to determine the capability and capacity of the bidder to provide the number of Conservation Planners to a Level III Certification throughout the contract timeline

60 Does the government intend to allow a billable phase-in period for a contractor who proposes training to develop materials consistent with current programs, software, policies, and procedures?

60A - Personnel may contribute to the PWS while training to become a certified conservation planner.

The contract personnel are not expected to deliver training on current programs, software, policies, or procedures.

61 Section 2.4 of PWS - Travel states that same day travel may require contractors to utilize personally owned motor vehicles. Use of POVs to locations that are not at the main worksite require reimbursement. Based on our prior experience on service contracts with NRCS field offices, we propose that Conservation Planners coordinate with NRCS staff to utilize the government vehicles when they need to go to the field. That would limit POV usage and associated reimbursement costs. Is this approach feasible for any or all of the field offices? Has the government assessed whether or not field offices have government vehicles available for use? To develop our pricing we need to understand what percentage of the time POVs are expected to be utilized, the expected annual mileage, and any additional annual travel costs. If this cannot be provided, the government should stipulate a Not to Exceed amount for all bidders (by location) to fairly evaluate price proposals to include mileage, hotel, parking, and other reimbursement items. There is simply not enough information available for a bidder to develop pricing for these CLINs.

61A - The availability of Government Owned Vehicles will be very limited due to workload demands and staffing increases. The contractor will need to provide or reimburse their personnel with transportation to conduct local travel to the field in accordance with section 2.4 of the PWS. Same day travel is expected for field work on average of 2-3 days per week. Overnight / long distance travel will depend upon the contractor’s proposed training plan for the provided personnel.

62. How is travel cost fairly evaluated when no specific guidance is provided?

62A – Travel is not an evaluation factor.

63. How can a bidder propose a reasonable travel cost when no specific guidance is provided?

63A - The estimated number of day trips as described in the PWS, would be 2 to 3 days per week throughout the year. Some weeks would be no trips while others could be up to 4 days of day trip travel.

Overnight trips would be for related trainings and will depend on the training plan for individuals. NRCS staff typically have 3 overnight training trips per year for 2 to 3 nights per trip.

64. We also need to know the expected percentage of POV utilization by location because candidates will need to have reliable transportation. If a candidate only has a small prius or sedan, they may not be able to perform field work if a POV is required in specific areas.

64A -The contractor will need to provide or reimburse their personnel with transportation to conduct local travel to the field in accordance with section 2.4 of the PWS.

65. Please provide details regarding any required travel. Is travel expected for field work, going to the State office to get a badge, to attend NRCS training, etc?

65A - Same day travel is expected for field work on average of 2-3 days per week. Overnight / long distance travel will depend upon the contractor’s proposed training plan for the provided personnel.

66. What if use of the GOV is not permitted at all due to repairs, etc? Will the government modify the contract to increase travel funds for that particular office in the future?

66A - Availability of Government Owned Vehicles (GOV) is expected to be limited. From PWS section 2.4 Travel for details, it is assumed that the contractor will need to provide or reimburse personnel for use of their own motor vehicle.

67. What is the current estimated wait time for contractor staff to receive access credentials with lincpass (HSPD-12) and logins for necessary software (Protracts, CART, Conservation Desktop.)

67A - Estimated time for Lincpass is dependent on timing for paperwork provided by the contractor’s staff. Background check and security clearance may take up to 4 weeks. Logins for necessary software will be after Lincpass is acquired and typically takes less than one week.

68. Is there any page limitation other than the 2 pages limitation per each resume?

68A - Page limitation was eliminated with the posting of 12FPC324R0005.

69. How is past performance evaluated for a firm that did not perform services in the Washington state area previously? Does a lack of work in the state or specific planning experience make a firm not technically acceptable? The wording in the RFP suggests firms with work in the area will be rated higher but the evaluation metrics are not specified. Please explain if this is correct and how past performance will be rated.

69A - The Government will be giving a technical rating of “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable”. A factor will be proof of being capable of staffing this type of service in the areas listed.