36C78622R0044 Amendment 0001.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 7

0001 N/A

36C786

Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration Contracting Services 18434 Joplin Road Triangle VA 22172

36C786

Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration Contracting Services 18434 Joplin Road Triangle VA 22172

To all Offerors/Bidders 36C78622R0044

08-24-2022 X

X X

X 1

The purpose of this amendment is to answer Question 1 through 30 and change the close date and time. The remainder of the questions will be posted when answered.

See the following pages for the Q&A.

The new close date and time are September 16, 2022 at 4PM EST.

Katherine Iacovelli Contract Officer

X

36C78622R0044 508 Document Compliance

Question 1 - 30

I am going to start with the answer first since the question has much to read and others may be looking for the same answer but thinking of phrasing the question differently.

A) Short answer: the Trusted Tester requirement stays.

The vendor may be confused. All the documents we’re talking about are web documents (e.g. PDF’s embedded on web pages), either posted on the web already and need to be made compliant so they can be re-posted to the web, or new documents that come along that will need to be made compliant by the vendor so that we can post them to the web.

Q) While we understand that the Trusted Tester certification sets a clear measure of capability to evaluate web content for Section 508 conformance, it is not clear how Trusted Tester certification relates to evaluation of, and remediation of non-web document content. The DHS Trusted Tester process and certification is intended for “web content”, and does not include non-web documents as defined by Section 508. It does not include remediation guidance.

Per https://section508coordinators.github.io/TrustedTester/about.html

Trusted Tester A standardized approach for manual inspection of Web content for conformance with the Revised Section 508 Standards.

Web Content Tests Only This test process covers web content only.

Trusted Tester versions 4.x and older were developed for the original Section 508 standards, which had separate requirements for web and software. With the Revised 508 standards applying WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA to web, software and other electronic content, combining software and web in one test process was the original plan.

However, because the Revised 508 Standards has other requirements for software in addition to WCAG 2.0, and software testing tools were not yet available, the software test process will be separate. While it is not as common due to HTML5 capabilities, software elements are still found with web content in web applications. To test the software elements, use the software test process.

Similarly, any other operating systems, browser or platforms such as mobile tablets, must be evaluated using other testing procedures.

Per https://www.access-board.gov/ict/ E103.4 Defined Terms Non-Web Document A document that is not: a Web page, embedded in a Web page, or used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

I would like to suggest the government remove trusted tester from the requirements since it is not necessary and will add additional cost.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsection508coordinators.github.io%2FTrustedTester%2Fabout.html&data=05%7C01%7C%7C527116e805b440f2eb9508da8b5f2fdd%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C637975538178493616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=h9axYzUYa96erDa2uWHtPhgwNmrItTMoZ5zCOBBtJx8%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.access-board.gov%2Fict%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7C527116e805b440f2eb9508da8b5f2fdd%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C637975538178493616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=r0QkHjypFVsJphZcuY6H2uXFv7B4MbtXYZ9pORiZM18%3D&reserved=0

2) Would the VA consider extending the proposal deadline in order to provide vendors additional time to respond once answers are posted?

A) Yes, the close date will be extended to September 19 at 4:00 EST.

3) The SOW suggests that the VA will submit PDF files for remediation. Can the government confirm only PDF files are being remediated? Will any of the provided documents be remediated as Word, Excel, or PPTX?

A) The SOW clearly states in Para 2.1 that: These documents include but are not limited to Microsoft Office products (Word, Microsoft Excel, Power Point, Publisher, etc.), Adobe Acrobat PDF files, Adobe Creative Suite products and InDesign products.

4) What is the expected turnaround time for each package (individual task order)?

A) A Task Order is a funding document which lasts for a year. It has nothing to do with turnaround times of the documents you receive. The turnaround times for the documents are clearly noted in the PWS.

5) Attachment 2 instructions indicate - Any subcontractors to be used shall also include three forms each.

Will the VA consider a total of 3 past performances (irrespective of prime or sub)?

A) The request is for 3 each. If firms have not had at least three similar projects it should be noted in the technical write up.

6) The E.3 Instructions to the offeror are required to submit an "Organization Chart" please confirm if offerors are providing a project team Organization chart or a company organization chart.

A) The bottom of the chart should be the team, going up in a direct line to the top of the organization.

7) The RFP requests the name of each Subcontractor Supervisor/Foreman and asks for specifics on what CLINs/duties/tasks they will each perform and how employees they will each use. This is very extensive information for a response that requires a quick turnaround. Is it acceptable to stipulate that this information will be provided upon contract award?

A) No. You should know the capabilities of your firm therefore you would know what you need to sub out.

8) Pricing model: the documents refer to both pricing per document and per page. Which pricing model does the VA prefer?

A) Please use the price schedule included in the solicitation which states document.

9) Would it be acceptable to provide separate pricing for simple and complex?

A) No.

10) With the long weekend ahead, would the government consider extending the deadline?

A) Please see answer to Question 2.

11) Please clarify that the Maximum Estimated Total number pages listed of 51,920 is PER YEAR and not over the total period of five years.

A) The paragraph states year four times, the last sentence is a summary of that paragraph so it would be summarizing the pages in a year.

12) Submission information bullets state offerors are to submit samples of simple and complex documents. Can you clarify which Volume these should be an attachment of?

A) The table changed when the original Row 1 was removed, this is the corrected table:

Volume Factor File Name Page Limitations

Volume IA Technical anonymous-contains the same exact documents as Vol IB but names/ phone numbers, addresses, locations names, letterhead, anything that identifies someone or the business must be redacted

Vol IA Your firm’s name-Tech anon.doc

Volume IB Technical- personnel, subs, technical write up, Org chart, resumes, Quality Control Plan

Vol IB Your firm’s name-Tech.doc/PDF

Volume II Past Performance, Vol 2 Your firm’s name-Past Perf.pdf

1 page per reference, 3 references per prime and sub each

Volume III Price 1449, Licenses, Amendments, Reps and Certs, IT and DHS certifications, all other documents.

Vol 3 Your firm’s name-Price.pdf

No Limits

13) Please clarify that the samples are not included in the 40 pages of the Technical Volume.

A) Please see Question 12

14) Would the government consider making the contract Firm Fixed Price by document/deliverable with a total Not to Exceed Amount Per Year? With the large number of documents and varying complexity, it would benefit all parties to provide pricing per document as they are completed.

A) No, we would not consider changing to a total NTE, As was mentioned in the also posted questions from an earlier posting as well as the sentence below the Price Schedule, this is a Firm Fixed Unit Price which mean you are paid for work done by the unit in the price schedule. The unit is each and the item is document. You get paid monthly based on the number of documents we have accepted as meeting the contract standards.

15) Will the government extend the due date one week to September 16th due to the short time between Q&A and proposal due date?

A) Please see answer to Question 2.

16) Due to the page limitation, can offerors submit a list DHS Trusted Tester Certification numbers for each proposed staff member instead of a copy of their certificate?

A) Please see Question 12

17) Box 20 of the SF1449 says “This tiered solicitation SDVOSB/VOSB/SB is to award a Requirements IDIQ.” Please clarify that this contract award will be an IDIQ.

A) This will be a Requirements contract.

18) Since Box 20 states “Funding with be obligated on Task Orders.” Please clarify if funding will be provided as documents are required to be remediated or fully funded for one year.

A) The amount of funding/length of time for a TO is determined by Congress since we will probably be in a CR starting FY23. Once all CRs are over if the year is not through, the last TO will fund the remaining time/amount of documents.

19) Please clarify file naming in the table as Volume 1A says the file name should be Vol2A. Should the file name be Vol1A?

A) Please see Question 12.

20) The deliverable section lists items that to be submitted that are not document remediation and will require some Project Manager time, i.e. monthly and annual reporting. How are costs for reporting and Project Management time to be included in pricing?

A) Please see the answer to Question 1 of the document titled “Q and A from previous solicitation.” If this doe not help you see how items in a proforma can be divided into a contract by an each item format the SBA has free consultants at your local PTAP, SCORE or SBDC that will help explain it.

21) Is the document expected to be evenly spread through the POP? Would the SLA apply if a large quantity of documents is delivered at one time?

A) The frequency of submissions will vary from day to day, week to week, month to month, depending on NCA requirements, and the deadlines described in the SOW will apply to how ever many documents are submitted to the vendor

22) If PDF files are submitted with formatting issues (spelling errors, properties not provided, color contrast issues, etc.) that must be fixed so that the document is compliant. What would the VA like the vendor to do since this formatting work falls outside the remediation role?

A) The vendor is responsible for ensuring documents are fully 508 compliant including color contrast and properties and will need to work with the submitter as needed to ensure those and any other formatting issues are resolved. However, content issues such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation are not the vendor’s responsibility.

23) The SOW suggests that the VA will submit PDF files for remediation. Can the government confirm only PDF files are being remediated? Will any of the provided documents be remediated as Word, Excel, or PPTX?

A) The SOW clearly states in Para 2.1 that: These documents include but are not limited to Microsoft Office products (Word, Microsoft Excel, Power Point, Publisher, etc.), Adobe Acrobat PDF files, Adobe Creative Suite products and InDesign products.

24) Is it possible to see an example document or could the VA provide a link to documents that are public facing that we could review?

A) Here are a couple pages with multiple types of documents: https://www.cem.va.gov/EA.asp and https://www.cem.va.gov/legacy/lessons.asp

25) Can the Government provide any insight into the frequency of submission? Can the vendor expect any regularity to the submissions of documents in terms of volume of pages and cadence of submission (weekly, monthly etc.)? Or is it possible that the vendor could receive 1,000 pages that need to be remediated in 5 days?

A) See Question 21.

26) Can the VA provide any unique requirements for optional tagging such as footnotes, table notes, table references, tables of contents? If there are any stylistic preferences or any particular ways things must be done where 1 or more solutions are available and compliant? We would need to know in order to assess the work.

A) Regardless of how the vendor handles footnote, table notes, table references, and tables of contents, they must pass the Commonlook plug in test. Tagging is required for the entire document (there is no optional tagging).

27) Would the Government consider making a standalone level of complexity for interactive forms?

No. Forms are included in the Complex category.

28) Can the Government provide any guidance on the number of pages that are expected to be fillable interactive forms? There is significant work in making these Section 508 compliant which makes these pages very unique.

A) No, we have no guidance on how many pages would be included in fillable forms – the number of pages will vary.

29) Can the Government clarify if fillable forms will be provided with fields present, or will the contractor also format the document to include fields and set properties for font, color, border, calculations etc.?

A) Fillable forms provided to the vendor would be formatted by the government; the vendor would ensure the form is 508 compliant.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cem.va.gov%2FEA.asp&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8445b1dddd35482fd67208da9002852a%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C637980637733520977%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SUEyxj61mXPqDjwxP0RMAFllskLeFQ3Kb9T1mlzRH4k%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cem.va.gov%2Flegacy%2Flessons.asp&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8445b1dddd35482fd67208da9002852a%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C637980637733520977%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gxiTYUzvZwgXFvfaqr2uBCMF6KJXxytii1mZzLrv684%3D&reserved=0

30) Can the Government clarify if the forms will be "remediation ready" meaning all visual labels for required formats are present in the text labels, any custom JavaScript is provided for any required formatting for specialized content EIN numbers, or other required types that are not available as an Acrobat pre-built script? We often get forms for remediation that are not designed in an accessible way.

Would we send these back for corrections and resubmission? Or would we fix the formatting issues and then remediate?

A) Fillable forms provided to the client will be remediation ready; the vendor would ensure the form is 508 compliant.

36C78622R0044 508 Q1.pdf