36E77618Q0049-003.pdf

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION FINANCIAL REVIEW – TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

1. What is the estimated number of SMEs and Medical Center contracting and engineering staff that will need to be interviewed? (Page 3, Section D, a., A)

Answer: The VA estimates around 8 staff members for 4 VAMC projects – total of 32 staff members.

2. How many previous audits, studies and congressional reports pertaining to VA Major Construction projects for the past ten years will need to be reviewed? (Page 3, Section D, a, B)

Answer: The VA estimates not more than 5 audits, 5 studies, and 5 congressional reports were completed for the last 10 years.

3. What is the estimated number of all RFI that resulted in project cost and schedule changes? (Page 3, Section D, a, C)

Answer: The VA estimates less than 30 RFI’s that resulted in project cost and schedule changes for each project.

4. What is the quantity of approvals that resulted in “significant reprogramming actions totaling over $110 million”? What is the quantity of “Judgment Fund” of approvals for the reimbursements totaling $210 million? (Page 3, Section D, a., D and second paragraph above D)

Answer: The VA estimates less than 10 for the approvals of “significant reprogramming action…”, and less than 10 approvals of “Judgement Fund”.

5. What is the average number of progress payments made for the projects to be reviewed? (Page 4, Section D, a., Q and second paragraph above D)

Answer: Assume the average is 60 progress payments per project.

6. Is it possible to make the progress briefings, 1(a) & 1(b), deliverables? Currently, there is one payment for Task one…120 days (90 days plus 30 days for payment) after the project starts. Is it possible to have 4 deliverables (PMP approval, 50% progress briefing on deliverable 1a & 1b, and final report) for Task 1?

(“Note” on page 6, “a 50% progress briefing of Deliverable 1(a,b), 2(a,b), 3(a) and 4(a,b) shall be provided within 45 calendar days of contract award)

Answer: Prompt payment will be made upon completion of Deliverable One, which includes deliverables 1a. – 1e.

7. How quickly after the contract award will data access be granted?

Answer: This should be accessible within 2 weeks (estimated).

8. There are 32 projects on attachment B. Two of the projects are hospital construction for Biloxi and New Orleans. Is the inclusion an error? If not an error, how will those two sites affect the work completed in Task One? (Attachment B)

Answer: Please exclude those 2 projects.

9. Is it possible to make the progress briefings, 1(a) & 1(b), deliverables? Currently, there is one payment period for Task two…210 days (180 days plus 30 days for payment.) Is it possible to have 3 deliverables (PMP approval, 50% progress briefing on deliverable 2a & 2b, and final report) for Task 2 (“Note” on page 6, “a 50% progress briefing of Deliverable 1(a,b), 2(a,b), 3(a) and 4(a,b) shall be provided within 45 calendar days of contract award)

Answer: Prompt payment will be made upon completion of Deliverable Two, which includes deliverables 2a. – 2c.

10. What is the number of Major Construction Projects (MCPs) that have occurred over the ten-year period referenced? Also, what is the estimated number of financial transactions per line item? (Page 4, Section D, c. Task Three)

Answer: The list of the projects is shown in Attachment B. the estimated number of financial transactions per line item is around 10 for the 4 projects, but less than 5 for the projects listed in Attachment B.

11. Is it possible to make the progress briefings, 1(a) & 1(b), deliverables? Currently, there is one payment period for Task three…210 days (180 days plus 30 days for payment.) Is it possible to have 2 deliverables (PMP approval, 50% progress briefing on deliverable 3(a) and final report) for Task 3?

(“Note” on page 6, “a 50% progress briefing of Deliverable 1(a,b), 2(a,b), 3(a) and 4(a,b) shall be provided within 45 calendar days of contract award)

Answer: Prompt payment will be made upon completion of Deliverable Three, which includes deliverables 3a. – 3b.

12. What is the number of Major Construction Projects (MCPs) that have occurred over the ten-year period referenced? Also, what is the estimated number of financial transactions per line item? (Page 4, Section D, c. Task Three)

Answer: The list of the projects is shown in Attachment B. The estimated number of financial transactions per line item is around 10 for the 4 projects, but less than 5 for the projects listed in Attachment B.

13. Is it possible to make the progress briefings, 1(a) & 1(b), deliverables? Currently, there is one payment period for Task four…210 days (180 days plus 30 days for payment.) Is it possible to have 3 deliverables (PMP approval, 50% progress briefing on deliverable 4(a), 4(b), and final report) for Task 4?

(“Note” on page 6, “a 50% progress briefing of Deliverable 1(a,b), 2(a,b), 3(a) and 4(a,b) shall be provided within 45 calendar days of contract award)

Answer: Prompt payment will be made upon completion of Deliverable Four, which includes deliverables 4a. – 4c.

14. The paragraph states the resumes of all proposed professional and technical personnel are to be included in the technical proposal. Where should these be included in Volume I and can these not be considered part of the page count? (a. Section I, 1)

Answer: Resumes for all personnel shall be included in Volume I – Technical. If additional pages beyond the 50 are needed, please borrow from the Volume II – Pricing page count, making the page count total of both Volume I & II 70 pages.

15. Should we put the offeror name in the file name? (P.7, Naming of Volumes in Table)

Answer: No, please follow the simple naming process provided in the quote preparation instruction.

16. The instructions state the Volume II should be Pricing.xls. The 20-page limit seems to imply there would be a discussion of assumptions in a pdf volume. Could you clarify the volume type and page maximums for Volume 2? (P.8, Type of Files for Each Volume)

Answer: Please use the Pricing.XLS file (even if you change the file format) for submitting pricing. It is Attachment 3. It can be included as part of your Volume II – Pricing, which should include your pricing, assumptions, discounts, labor categories and rates. Since much of this will be typically PDF or Word files, Volume II – Pricing does not have to be an XLS file. If additional pages beyond the 50 for Volume I, please borrow from the Volume II – Pricing page count, making the page count total of both Volume I & II 70 pages.

17. Should we disregard the reference to travel expenses? (P.9 (2), second sentence)

Answer: #2 of the Volume II – Pricing should read “At a minimum, the quote submitted shall be entered on the priced Pricing Schedule below. Any costs associated with Reports/Deliverables shall be included in the CLIN price and not separately priced. Travel will be left as $20,000.00.”

18. Is the $20,000 amount outside of the project target cost? (P.9, CLIN 5, Travel)

Answer: Travel is part of the estimated cost.

19. Is travel reimbursed or is it part of the FFP? Section G of the PWS indicates that it is reimbursed which conflicts with the directions on submitting the CLINS.

Answer: The contract will Firm Fixed Price, but deliverables based. This means the contractor will be paid for work completed and travel expenses incurred and not as a lump sum.

20. Will travel beyond $20,000.00 be reimbursed?

Answer: The VA does not anticipate travel costs beyond $20,000.00. Any travel beyond this will be approved on a case by case basis.

21. In attachment A, deliverable number 4 requires a report at 900 days. Should this be 90?

Answer: Yes, Task 4 should read “Biweekly progress reports; Briefings and presentations at 90, 135, and 180 calendar days.”

22. During this particular contract performance period, will the VA be required to furnish information, access to staff, documents and general responses to questions in a timely manner? If so, what will that be?

Answer: The VA assumes 2 week advanced requests are necessary to furnish information, access to staff, documents and general responses to questions.

23. Task 3 requires use of FMS in order to view financial transactions. Does this imply that the contractor will; 1. Be given access timely by the VA, and 2. Will the contractor be required to data-mine FMS themselves going back 10 years for all of the mentioned funding line items for every VHA presence?

Does the current version of FMS have full accounting data that goes back a full 10 fiscal years?

Answer: Assume contractor will have a read-only access to the FMS without VHA presence. Assume the current version of FMS have all the accounting data. Not all the project accounting data go back 10 years, but for the bidding purposes, assume the data were populated for the last 10 years.

24. Task 3 section D requires the contractor to collect information for additional process detail where needed. In order to better estimate the level of effort that this will take, and since reprogramming of funds appears to have been very commonplace, and each instance will need some additional information, does the VA have an approximate aggregate number of how many times funds have been reprogrammed in the 4 specific major construction budget line items over the past ten years?

Answer: Assume that reprogramming was done less than 10 times for each project.

25. This project encompasses a major review of 4 significant projects, a high-level review of an additional 32 projects, and then a budget line item review of 4 specific areas of major construction for all of the VHA which has 170 VA Hospitals that preside over more than 1200 delivery locations. In estimating we have to assume each hospital had just 1 single reprogramming of funds in the past 10 years (which we believe to be an extraordinarily conservative estimate), that will mean there are 170 instances that have to have extra diligence and be investigated and charted. How did the VA arrive at the time and cost estimate for this endeavor?

Answer: Please do not expand the scope more than the project listed in the scope (4 major + 30 projects listed in attachment B).