Attachment 2 - Answers to Technical Questions.pdf

36E77622Q0007 – VISN 21 CM/PM CAM - Answers to Technical Questions

1. Attachment 1 - Performance of Work Statement on page 17 - Section 10 General Professional Contractor Staff Education & Experience Requirements, Item 10.1 - Positions all state “See Combined Synopsis/Solicitation pages 2 & 3 Evaluation of Offers” - Pages 2 & 3 do not have any reference to that statement, please clarify.

ANSWER: Referenced personnel requirements to be evaluated is in 1- a through g, as applicable.

2. Page 17, Section 10 - Item 10.1 list the following position that are not listed on the Pricing schedule:

A. Licensed Architect

B. Controls Technician 1

C. Controls Technician 2

D. Electrician

Please clarify if these will be included in the Pricing Schedule and the schedule amended to include these positions.

ANSWER: These positions will not be included.

3. Page 17, Section 10 - Item 10.1 listed for the following position are duplicated:

A. Project manager - #2 and #14

B. Admin Assistant - #4 - #8

ANSWER: Acknowledged

4. Pricing Schedule - lists position different than Page 17, Section 10, Item - 10.1

A. Positions required on the pricing sheet do not match the Project Synopsis or Attachment 1.

Could you please clarify exactly which positions are required for this submission?

ANSWER: Positions on pricing schedule govern and are those that will be required. Only minimum general requirements will be evaluated (Combined Synopsis/Solicitation page 3Evaluation of Offers) were position specific requirements are not listed.

5. Are resumes required for all 14 positions listed on the pricing sheet?

ANSWER: Yes

6. If resumes are required for all 14 positions, can you please clarify what qualifications you arelooking for in each candidate?

ANSWER: Evaluation of resumes will be based on criteria in Combined Synopsis/Solicitation pages 3; 1 – Technical Evaluation. Any positions without a specific requirement outlined in Combined synopsis/ Solicitation or PWS will still require “18) MINIMUM OF 5 years’ experience and a high school graduate or higher for all other positions proposed”.

7. Would selection for this solicitation cause a conflict of interest with the VISN 21 Design and Planning IDIQs?

ANSWER: VISN Office’s primary use for this contract will not be for the preparation of procurement documents so there would be very limited to no situations were an A/E on the V21 IDIQ would gain an advantage which would preclude them from proposing on that specific project.

8. Requested services in the scope of work do not match the bid schedule staff pricing list. Will the government clarify how the scope of work document is related to the bid schedule staff price list?

ANSWER: The scope of work defines the general confines of the work we anticipate to work within for the contract and the bid schedule is the specific personnel and annual quantity of time that we expect to require of this contract in support of VISN office operations.

9. Is this a task order contract or will it be performance of the scope of services as listed at the fixed price? In other words, is the intent to establish fixed total price or labor rates for work on task orders to follow?

ANSWER: This will be a stand-alone Firm Fixed Price Services Contract.

10. Is there a list of projects we should plan the teams around? List for each site?

ANSWER: The work is really revolving around supporting the VISN 21 capital asset manager (CAM) office

11. Will the contract be for the scope of work listed in the SOW at the total of the price schedule?

ANSWER: The contract will be for the total of the price schedule to provide the hours outlined to complete work in support of CAM office the within the confines of the SOW.

12. Is the Price schedule related to the scope of services or is it just to provide a basis for evaluating price? If not, how will price be evaluated?

ANSWER: Price will be evaluated based on total cost given the provided hours required for each position. The hours required were selected based on amount of support we are likely to need in each area to enhance the CAM office program within the confines of the SOW.

13. Are technical and price equal or is technical more important? Being that this is a Best Value, is technical more important than price?

ANSWER: The Technical Evaluation and Past Performance factors, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price.

14. The requirements for staff positions, list of positions, and qualifications are different in the scope of services, the price list attachment, and the combined synopsis/solicitation. Please clarify which qualifications we are to use and which list are we to use for resumes?

ANSWER: Use the Pricing Schedule attachment provided as the position list.

15. As this contractor will be a major consultant to the VA have you considered a qualifications based selection process? The solicitation states the selection criteria is best value.

ANSWER: Award shall be made to the offeror whose quote offers the best value to the government, considering technical capability, past performance, and price. The government will evaluate information based on the procedures authorized in FAR Part 13.106-2 – Evaluation of Quotations of Offers.

16. Item 2.1 D in the PWS - Purchase & Hire seems to indicate one of the tasks issued could be to provide temporary construction labor. Will providing temporary construction labor be a requirement of this contract?

ANSWER: No, please remove any reference to Purchase & Hire.

17. Item 1 of the Solicitation Notice appears to indicate that we need to create a Team for each site listed and provide a resume for each individual of each Team. Is this accurate? This will be hard to do since a specific task is not identified. Please specify the resumes that are required to submit.

ANSWER: No, support for the sites will be indirect. This contract is only to support the VISN CAM office and therefor support the sites within the VISN but only one team is to be provided.

18. The qualifications required in Section 10 of the PWS– General Professional Contractor Staff Education and Experience Requirements are much different than those outlined in the Solicitation. Please clarify which requirements will govern.

ANSWER: Where conflicts exist please use the solicitation as governing.

19. The pricing sheet is only good for one year. The contract has four option years. Can you issue pricing sheets for the option years?

ANSWER: A 2% increase for inflation will apply to each additional Option Year.

20. The firm that lands this contract, are they precluded from pursuing separate construction management IDIQ or BPA's let by the individual campuses?

ANSWER: No

21. In the Evaluation of Offers section on page 5 under Past Performance, it states that Past Performance must be from completed projects within the last 5 years. Will the government extend the past performance to project completed within the last seven years?

ANSWER: No

22. In the Evaluation of Offers section on page 5 under Past Performance, it states that Past Performance must be from completed projects within the last 5 years. Will the government consider including past performance projects that similar but currently on-going?

23. Please confirm our understanding is the place of performance is primarily off site with travel to the identified locations in Section 1.5 Place of Performance as required.

ANSWER: Confirmed.

24. Please confirm our understanding that Attachment 2 Pricing Schedule is for base year only, not for base plus all 4 option years.

ANSWER: Yes. There will be a 2% increase for inflation added to each additional Option Year.

25. In our experience on federal contracts a professional engineering or architecture license in the state the facility is located is not required since the work is performed on a Federal Government property. Please consider if the requirement in Factor 1 Technical Evaluation for licensed in the state(s) can be relaxed to simply having a license in any state.

ANSWER: A state license is required.

26. The EMR rate requirement seems more applicable to a construction contract than a services contract. Would the Government consider removing that requirement?

ANSWER: Yes, exclude requirement.

27. In consideration of our clients' time, is it acceptable to submit a previously completed PPQ for a project?

28. If the PPQ is signed by our client and returned to us, is it acceptable for us to include with our proposal instead of asking them to submit it directly to you?

ANSWER: Yes.

29. For the requirement that “Personnel will have five or more years of field experience,” please clarify which labor categories in the Pricing Schedule it applies to. It does not appear to apply to Admin Assistant, Electronic Healthcare Records Manager, or SharePoint/Computer Web Master at a minimum. Is your focus for this requirement the construction and project management disciplines?

ANSWER: All individuals filling a position on the pricing schedule will need at least 5 years of experience.

30. For the requirement that “Personnel will provide up to three references,” is the Government requiring employment references by individual employees, or references of the overall firm’s qualifications? It does not make sense to provide individual employee references for our current employees.

ANSWER: Either is acceptable if an individual had involvement with a project for which makes up the experience that the reference is being provided from. References should still be listed with each individual resume.

31. The Technical Evaluation paragraph contains conflicts in qualification requirements to the Basis of Technical evaluation paragraph. Please clarify which section controls.

ANSWER: Where conflicts exist (and the position is on the Pricing schedule) the technical evaluation should govern.

32. The RFP states “Award shall be made to the offeror whose quote offers the best value to the government, considering technical capability, past performance, and price.” Please clarify the relative importance of the technical factors to price.

ANSWER: The Technical Evaluation and Past Performance factors, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price.

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