Attachment13 Q and A.pdf

Janitorial Services Amendment 0001 dated 09/27/2024

U.S. Embassy Berlin, Germany

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (Q&A)

1. Q: Could you provide a rough estimate of the total square footage for the Chancery (Pariser

Platz), Clay Annex, and Curtius Annex? Additionally, could you specify if the annexes have multiple levels?

A: Please refer to the solicitation Section 1 – I. Building Statistics. The Clay Annex has 4 levels. The Curtius Annex has 3 levels.

2. Q: What is the anticipated start date for the contract? Understanding the timeline will help us in planning for local resources accordingly.

A: The contract may be issued in October/ November 2024. The services shall start on

January 1, 2025.

3. Q: Are there any specific certifications or qualifications required for contractors to be eligible for this contract? This information will help us ensure compliance with all necessary requirements.

A: Please refer to the solicitation Section 3 - Instructions to Offerors (Proposal Submission) and Section 4 – Evaluation Factors.

4. Q: We noticed that two contractors provided overlapping janitorial services during the same timeframe at the U.S. Embassy and Annexes in Berlin. Were the overlapping services and agreements tied to COVID-specific cleaning or disinfection needs.

A: The requesting and contracting office are not aware of an overlapping of services.

5. Q: As we prepare for the upcoming solicitation, should we expect similar enhanced cleaning requirements (like specialized disinfection or deep cleaning), or will the services go back to a more standard scope?

A: Please refer to the solicitation Section 1.IV Specifications/ Statement of Work.

6. Q: Is this contract open to vendors in the US? If so, can we include the price of the business formation into the contract? Or is this only exclusive to businesses already licensed and operating in Germany?

A: In accordance with DOSAR 652.242-73 AUTHORIZATION AND PERFORMANCE

(AUG1999) offerors shall provide written certification that authorization to operate and do business in the country which is the place of performance has been obtained.

The offeror shall provide a copy of the permit, or registration documentation demonstrating that the offeror has authorization to operate in Germany.

7. Q: The documents contain a calculation error for the floor space. There should be 2,650 m² in the “Plastic” line – the floor space does not fit in any file (including the price file). It should be

18,709.00 m² instead of 18,679 m².

A: The table under solicitation Section 1.IV- I. Building Statistics has been updated. Please refer to solicitation amendment 0001.

8. Q: Could you please provide us with the floor plan?

A: No floor plans are available under this solicitation.

9. Q: Are subcontractors allowed?

A: As per solicitation Section 3 - Instructions to Offerors (Proposal Submission), the offerors shall provide a list of Subcontractors (if applicable) and describe in detail which works will be performed by them. Specify the percentage of work that will be performed by the sub-contractor and provide explanation of how the offeror intends to coordinate performance to meet the standards of the SOW. If the offeror will not use sub-contractors, that shall be explicitly stated in the proposal

10. Q: What is the transition period allowed?

A: The contract may be issued in October/ November 2024. The services shall start on

January 1, 2025.

11. Q: Is there a storage area on site to store materials (cleaning supplies, etc..)?

A: Small cubicles for a cleaning cart and small storage shelves are available in each location

(Chancery, Clay and Curtius).

12. Q: The VAT and DBA costs that must be input into the Price schedule, are they going to be evaluated against the overall bid value or do those two cost items not impacting our offered rate?

A: Yes, VAT and DBA costs are part of the price evaluation.

13. Q: Will there be an official handover process for the transition from the current contractor to the new contractor?

A: No

14. Q: Who is required to provide the Schufa information? Is it the company or its owners, or the individual employees assigned to the contract? If it applies to employees, this could be challenging due to German labor laws and data protection regulations (GDPR). Could you confirm whether it is mandatory for employees to provide this information?

A: It is mandatory for the personnel who will deliver the services to provide the Schufa information as part of the security clearance process to access Government facilities.

15. Q: What type of confirmation or documentation is required to demonstrate that we are operating legally? In Germany, some companies only need to submit a declaration of compliance with collective agreements. Would this be sufficient?

business in the country which is the place of performance has been obtained.

16. Q: Could the Contracting Officer clarify whether any of the newly added or expanded tasks in the current solicitation were performed under the previous contract? This would help us better understand the scope and ensure accurate pricing and resource allocation.

A: The contracting office does not track the changes between the previous and the current requirement. Offerors shall place their prices based on the current requirement as specified in the solicitation Section 1.IV Specifications/ Statement of Work.

17. Q: In the event of employee replacements due to illness or the hiring of new staff during the contract period, how much notice is required, and is approval from the Contracting Officer necessary for new hires?

A: As indicated in solicitation Section 1.IV.E General Conditions and Building Access, Contractor shall have seven (7) calendar days to submit to the COR, a list of personnel, and supervisors assigned to this project who will require access to the site for the Government to conduct all necessary security checks. The same process applies to new hires during the contract before a replacement is executed. It is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that there is enough cleared personnel in case of illness or other contingencies to access the sites and conduct the expected service as indicated in the SOW.

18. Q: Attachment 5 Price Sheet – Do we understand correctly: we should enter in your price sheet in cell D17 ("price/lot") a year per unit? Only then would the total price in cell H13 be correct for one year, given the bi-weekly service, right?

A: That is correct. The price to be inserted in Attachment 5, Price Sheet - Cell D17 is the price to provide the service per one Lot. The price reflected in Cell H13 is the total price for one year for the Carpet Runners service.

19. Q: Can we adjust the price if there is any change in the German government law or labor union regulations (like in Solicitation part G.4 – Wages) that affects the minimum wage

(minimum of primary payrate)?

A: As per solicitation Section 1.V.E Laws and Regulations, equitable price adjustment may be considered for mandated items such as changes in the VAT rate (if applicable) or minimum hourly wage rate.

20. Q: You are requesting an additional price for waxing + sealing. Do you need waxing + sealing to be done 2 or 3 times? Your manual doesn't provide details on that.

A: Optional services shall be provided based on specific requests with specific square meter during the period of performance of the contract. The quantities provided are estimates only to determine the pricing. The contractor is required to quote all CLINS.

21. Q: Can we assume that the “temporary additional services” are not scheduled for weekends and holidays?

A: No. As per solicitation Section 1.IV.C temporary additional services shall take place during regular business hours as indicated in solicitation Section 1.IV.D Hours of Performance, as well as during the weekends and public holidays.

22. Q: Can we assume that the “temporary additional services” are not during the night?

A: Temporary additional services shall not be provided between 11:00 PM and 05:00 AM.

23. Q: Can we assume that the “temporary additional services” are scheduled before or after the regular cleaning times?

A: Temporary Additional Services shall take place between 05:00 AM and 11:00 PM.

24. Q: If the “temporary additional services” are not before or after regular cleaning times, can we assume that the time frame is at least 3 hours?

A: The minimum time frame for temporary additional services is three (3) hours except when the services are taking place within regular cleaning times as indicated in paragraph “D”. In the event that temporary additional services are performed within regular cleaning times, there is no minimum time frame.

25. Q: If the answer to question 25 is "no," what is the minimum time frame?

A: The minimum time frame for temporary additional services is three (3) hours except when the services are taking place within regular cleaning times as indicated in paragraph “D”. In the event that temporary additional services are performed within regular cleaning times, there is no minimum time frame.

26. Q: In your Attachment 5 Price Sheet, you mention 18,679 m² per month. On Solicitation page

28, 18,679 m² is stated as the total floor area of all three buildings. Are we correct in understanding that we should multiply this square meter figure by the number of cleanings per month and enter that value in €/m² in your price sheet?

A: The total surface area is corrected. The correct total surface area is 18,709.00 m²: The cleaning services shall be provided to the total surface area each month. Attachment 5, Price

Sheet - Cell D8 shall display the price per square meter.

27. Q: Do we need to fill out and submit Attachment 9 with our proposal, or is it sufficient to stamp it to show that we are prepared to complete it if we work for the US Embassy?

A: Security forms provided in attachment 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 shall not be submitted with the proposals. Security forms shall only be completed and submitted after award issuance.

28. Q: You require the OVQ to be signed before submission, which includes Attachments 8, 10, 11, and 12. However, this is only necessary if staff will be working at the US Embassy. Is it correct that we only need to stamp these documents to indicate that we acknowledge they need to be completed if we work at your location?

29. Q: If you require Attachments 8, 10, 11, and 12 to be submitted with the proposal, who should fill them out if we don't yet know who will be working at your location in 2025?

30. Q: Attachment 3 + 4: Form W-14 – On page 3, APPENDIX A states that Germany is one of the countries covered by an income tax treaty. Is it correct that we do not need to fill out this form because we are listed?

A: W14 form shall be submitted. In this specific case, the form shall indicate that exemption applies due to the tax treaty in place between the United States of America and the Federal

Republic of Germany.

31. Q: Attachment 3 + 4 – If we still need to submit the form, is it sufficient to stamp it since we are listed?

A: Offerors shall properly fill out the form as indicated in the instructions Attachment 4.

32. Q: There is a section on Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance in your Solicitation. We do not have such a policy. Is it correct to leave this section at zero? And on page 122 of your

Solicitation, under SUB-SECTION 2, we enter "NO" so that no further additions are required?

A: Please refer to solicitation Section 1.III.D Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance to check whether or not DBA is applicable in your situation.

33. Q: Do we understand correctly that there should be at least 2 janitors at Pariser Platz and 2 janitors at Clayallee, making a total of 4 janitors working within the 6 AM to 3 PM timeframe?

A: As per solicitation Section 1.IV.D Hours of Performance, it is the government's requirement that between 6:00 and 15:00, no less than two janitors shall be in the Chancery

Building and the Clayallee Annex. Likewise, at least one janitor shall be present at Curtiusstr.

between 7:00 AM and 13:00 PM.

34. Q: On Solicitation Page 40, you state that we must submit “licenses and permits” with the proposal. Could you clarify what exactly you mean by this?

business in the country which is the place of performance has been obtained.

35. Q: On Solicitation Page 40, you mention submitting a “trafficking in persons plan.” What exactly do you require for this? Is it sufficient to confirm that we do not need a trafficking in persons plan?

A: As indicated in solicitation Section 3 - Instructions to Offerors (Proposal Submission), Tab

(E) Trafficking in Persons Plan, per FAR 52.222-50 Trafficking in Persons and FAR 52.222-

56 Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons & Compliance Plan, the contractor shall provide a Trafficking in persons compliance plan as part of volume 1 Price proposal.

36. Q: For the “Technical Capability” section, Tab D – Contractor’s Recruitment of Third

Country Nationals, we are unsure what exactly you are asking for. Could you please provide more clarification?

A: If applicable, as per solicitation Section 3 - Instructions to Offerors (Proposal Submission), Tab (D), a Recruitment Plan and a Housing Plan shall be provided. Please refer to Solicitation section 1.V.B Recruitment of Third Country Nationals.

37. Q: Are we correct in assuming that German law and jurisdiction apply?

A: As per Solicitation Section 1.IV.Q Laws and Regulations, The Contractor shall comply with all local labor laws, regulations, customs and practices pertaining to labor, safety, and similar matters, to the extent that such compliance is not inconsistent with the requirements of this contract.