36C26219Q0355-0001001.docx

QUESTION

RESPONSE

Per SOW 2.5, services are considered scheduled services and the Contractor shall respond by telephone within 60 minutes and be onsite within 8 hours. Can you please verify that the Government is not providing workstations on site for Contractor personnel?

Reponses: Workstations will be provided to the Contractor personnel as needed.

Action: Revised Section 3.3

The SOW 2.15 and Section E, Subsection H Key Personnel do not match. 2.15.1 lists a Program Manager and/or CIH. Section E, Sub. H only lists a CIH. Is it the Government’s intent for the CIH to be the Program Manager?

Response: No, the Program Manager does not have to be the Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Action: Revised Section 2.14

Per SOW 4.2, the Contractor shall furnish materials, supplies, and equipment necessary to meet the requirements under this contract. There is no line item in the Pricing spreadsheet or Section B.3 for material costs. Will the Government be revising the Pricing spreadsheet and Section B.3 to include this line item per year?

Response: The hourly rate should be a fully burden rate to cover materials, supplies, and equipment. The Offeror shall provide an offer that is inclusive of all necessary cost in satisfying the requirement of the contract.

Estimate of Test Per Year:

Routine Test: 80 & Urgent Test: 20

Action: Revised Section 5.11

SOW 4.2 requires the contractor to send samples to certified laboratories. There is no limit to the number of samples in the solicitation, which makes it impossible for the contractor to estimate the cost for lab services. Since there is not a line item in Section B for material cost, we will need to build that cost into the labor rates.

Response: See Response #3

Schedule and unscheduled services, there is no specified turn-around time (TAT) for analysis. If unscheduled services result in a need for expedited TAT, there is an increase in cost to provide expedited analysis. Will the Government specify TAT and estimated number of samples in the solicitation to aid in appropriate pricing?

Action: Revised Section 5.11

Vendor: Aurora number Purchase Order: 36C26219P0413 6 months interim $738,406

Solicitation page 5, SOW paragraph 2.6, Unscheduled Services & Response Time, states “Contractor shall provide services as required on a 24/7 basis, to include weekend and holidays. For unscheduled services, the Contractor shall respond within sixty (60) minutes and be onsite within two (2) hours.”

How can a Contractor meet this requirement if, for instance, an employee has already worked 40 hours for a given week and the Contractor is not allowed to bill overtime and/or holiday pay, per page 5, paragraph 2.3, Overtime & Holiday Pay?

Action: Revised Section 2.3 & B.3

Solicitation page 5, SOW paragraph 2.6, Unscheduled Services & Response Time, states “For unscheduled services, the Contractor shall respond within sixty (60) minutes and be onsite within two (2) hours.”

Can this two (2) hour requirement be expanded to add more time, as the residence and/or daily VA-designated work site of the responding individual might be located more than two (2) hours away from the site where the emergency or urgent situation is located? Example: Employee lives and is assigned by the VA to work in Los Angeles, but the urgent situation is in Santa Maria, which Google indicates is 2 hours and 53 minutes (158.6 mi) away from Los Angeles via US-101 N.

Action: Revised Section 2.6

On an average work day during normal business hours performing scheduled services, will any individual on this contract be assigned by the VA to perform work at two (2) or more sites that are more than two (2) hours apart in terms of the geography and drive time, or should bidders assume that on an average work day during normal business hours conducting scheduled services individuals will only perform work at one (1) site?

Response: Primarily, services will be single site and at Site A-C. Any other site will have prior notification to make arrangements.

Action: None

Section 2.12, “Special Qualifications,” states that proposed personnel should meet OPM standards for a Safety and Occupational Health Management Series, 0018 for GS 5 or above.” There are no wage and fringe data points presented in section 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (MAY 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67). Can the Government possibly provide the data points for Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires at the GS5 level?

Action: Removed: “Special Qualifications,” states that proposed personnel should meet OPM standards for a Safety and Occupational Health Management Series, 0018 for GS 5 or above.”

Solicitation page 6, SOW paragraph 2.15.1, Program Manager states: “The Program Manager must have management experience in a safety and occupational health program and/or a Certified Industrial Hygienist.” Is the word “be” missing from this sentence, as in “and/or be a Certified Industrial Hygienist”?

Response: See response to # 2

Solicitation page 8, SOW paragraph 3.2, Facilities, states “The Government will furnish the Contractor with the conference rooms necessary to hold meetings and/or conduct training necessary to fulfill the obligations under this contract.” Can routine work be performed in these Government-provided facilities, or only meetings and conferences? If conference rooms are reserved for conferences only, where in each building can our employees plug in their laptops to sit and use the utilities (electricity and, if available, public WiFi signal) while working?

Response: See response to #1

Solicitation page 10, SOW paragraph 5.7, Indoor Air Quality Services, states: “Maintain appropriate chain of custody documentations for shipment of samples to the analytical laboratory.” Does this sentence mean maintain chain of custody documentation, maintain chain of custody over the samples, or maintain chain of custody over the samples plus the affiliated documentation?

Response: Maintain chain of custody over the samples plus the affiliated documentation

Action: Revised Section 5.8

Solicitation page 10, SOW paragraph 5.7, Indoor Air Quality Services, states “The memorandum for record shall be kept on the share drive and a hard copy shall be kept in an ‘Indoor Air Quality’ binder.”

a) To what shared drive does this sentence refer, and how do Contractors access it?

b) Who originates the “Indoor Air Quality binder”?

c) Where is it located and stored at each site?

d) Which VA individual usually has custody of this binder so that Contractors can access it?

Response:

a. The awardee will be granted access and be provided this information at the Post award conference.

b. GLA, Occupational Safety & Health Department will have the binder.

c. GLA, Occupational Safety & Health Department will have the binder.

d. GLA, Occupational Safety & Health Department will have the binder and department team has access

Action: Revised Section 5.7

Solicitation page 12, SOW paragraph 5.9, Required Qualification, states that some personnel “shall have an OSHA 30 Certificate” and some personnel “shall have a 40 Hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) Training Certificate.”

An issue we have found is that some individuals have completed the OSHA 30 and HAZWOPER Training, yet do not have certificates per se to prove this.

Some individuals have OSHA cards, not certificate pages, and some individuals have stated that their previous employers possess the documentation proof that they have completed the training.

Will the Government accept an individual’s self-certification, such as a signed or notarized statement formally attesting to the fact they completed the OSHA 30 and/or HAZWOPER training, if actual certificate sheets are not available?

Response: A copy of the certification or card would suffice. If none are available, then a notarized statement attesting to the fact with a brief explanation will be accepted.

Action: Revised Section 7.1 and 7.2

Solicitation page 21, Section C.7 Supplemental Insurance Requirements, (d) states: “The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to award, evidence of general liability insurance without any exclusionary clauses for asbestos that would void the general liability coverage.”

a) What is the award date so that all bidders can turn in their insurance documentation prior to award?

b) How many days prior to award is insurance documentation due? Should insurance documentation be inserted into the proposal, and if yes, where in the proposal should it appear?

Response:

a. Anticipated award date is July 1, 2019

b. Insurance will be required within 10 days of award. Do not include in submission.

Action: Revised Section 2.21

Solicitation page 35, Special Standard of Responsibility, states “Offeror shall have specialized experience performing occupational health & safety and industrial hygiene services. This requirement may be met by Offeror’s proposed subcontractor(s) possessing this experience.”

Because this contract is an SDVOSB set aside, and under the Limitations on Subcontracting regulations the SDVOSB must perform 51% or more of the labor with its own direct employees, does this allowance of a subcontractor’s experience as a substitute for 100% of the Prime SDVOSB’s experience violate Limitations on Subcontracting? Because 100% of the sub’s experience is equivalent to 100% of the SDVOSB prime’s experience, an unscrupulous sub could simply use an SDVOSB as a front. Can the Government please amend this language to ensure that only qualified SDVOSBs can win this contract on the basis of their own direct experience to prevent a fraudulent front from winning the work away from legitimately experienced SDVOSBs?

This language will not be amended. When determining if an offeror meets a special standard of responsibility regarding experience, both the offeror’s and its proposed subcontractors’ experience may be considered to determine if the special standard of responsibility is met.

However, offerors are reminded that this procurement has been set aside for SDVOSB concerns. The limitations on subcontracting described in VAAR 852.219-10 (DEVIATION) apply to this procurement. An offeror who proposes to use subcontractors who are not SDVOSB concerns to perform work that exceeds 50% of the contract value can result in a determination that the offeror is not eligible for contract award.

For the Lead/Mold/IAQ Assessment Specialist, the certification required is listed as “Lead Project Monitor California Department of Health Services (DHS) Certificate.” California states that the types of lead-related certifications in the state are as follows: Inspector/Assessor: Required for those who evaluate where there are lead hazards in public and/or residential buildings. Sampling Technician: Required for those who take samples for analysis under the direction of a certified Inspector/Assessor. Project Monitor: Required for those who oversee LRC work to make sure that plans and specifications are followed, and who test to see if lead contamination occurred. Supervisor: Required for those who supervise LRC work and enforce the work practices that ensure worker safety. Worker: Required for those who perform LRC work under the direction of a Certified LRC Supervisor. **

Based on these certification definitions from the state, can the VA accept a Lead/Mold/IAQ Assessment Specialist who bears an “Inspector/Assessor” or “Sampling Technician” certification instead, as the labor categories on this contract mainly perform reporting and sampling functions and a Lead Related Construction (LRC) Project Monitor is a different category of worker assigned to construction, not professional services, projects?

Response: Yes, Lead Related Construction Unit for Inspector/ Assessor

Action: Revised Section 7.6

**(Source: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/CLPPB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/CertAppPacket.pdf)