4. FA701424R0026_Performance_Work _Statement (Attachment 3).pdf

FA701424R0026 Judge Advocate Litigation Support Service: Attachment 3

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

FOR

SUPPLEMENTAL LITIGATION SUPPORT

SERVICES

17 June 2024

CUI

Contents

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

1.0.1 Overview:

1.0.2 Scope:

1.1 SPECIFIC TASKS:

1.1.1 Hardcopy Document and Media Collection:

1.1.2 Hardcopy Document Preparation and Indexing:

1.1.3 Hardcopy Scan to Digital Image / OCR (including Microfiche Scanning):

1.1.4 Blowback:

1.1.5 Photocopying:

1.1.6 Hardcopy Document Coding:

1.1.7 Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Collection:

1.1.8 Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Processing:

1.1.9 Standard Databases:

1.1.10 Hosting:

1.1.11 Managed Review Services:

1.1.12 Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Production:

1.1.13 Program and Project Management Support:

1.1.14 Hardcopy and ESI Collection, Processing, and Loading Support:

1.1.15 Managed Review Support:

1.1.16 Pre-Trial, Trial, and Post-Trial Support:

1.1.17 Specialized Professional Services:

1.1.18 Other Services:

1.2 Management:

1.2.1 Change Management and Communication:

1.2.2 Written Reports:

1.2.3 Status and Management Report:

1.2.4 Project Kick-off/Planning Session:

1.2.5 Prioritization Plan:

1.2.6 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings:

1.2.7 Subject Matter Report:

1.3 Personnel:

1.3.1 Personnel Special Qualifications:

1.3.2 Labor Category Description, Education, and Experience Requirements:

2. SERVICE /DELIVERABLES SUMMARY

2.1 Service Summary

2.2 Deliverables

2.3 Quality Control:

2.3.1 Customer Complaints:

2.4 Quality Assurance:

2.5 Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

2.6 Information Disclosure:

2.7 Markings:

3. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION/PROPERTY

3.1 Government Furnished Property, Equipment, Material, Information, or Services:

3.2 Government Provided Equipment / Office: None

3.3 Other Direct Costs (ODCs):

4. GENERAL INFORMATION

4.1 Hours of Operation:

4.2 Place of Performance:

4.3 Period of Performance:

4.4 Security Instructions

4.4.1 Physical Security

4.4.2 Information Security:

4.5 Contractor Travel:

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees:

4.7 Organizational Conflicts of Interest:

4.8 Transition Plans:

4.8.1 Transition-In:

4.8.2 Transition-Out:

4.9 Employee Accountability & Turnover

4.9.1 Staffing of Contractor Personnel

4.9.2 List of Employees

4.9.3 Contractor professionalism

4.10 Miscellaneous Paragraphs

4.10.1 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

4.10.2 Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

4.10.3 Privacy Act

4.10.4 Records

4.10.5 Safety Concerns

4.10.6 Project Policy

4.10.7 Inherently Governmental Functions

4.10.8 Ethics

4.11 Non-Personal Services

4.12 Emergency Operations/Mission Essential Personnel/Continuation of Essential Contractor Services During Crisis

4.13 Records and Data

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

This performance work statement (PWS) is for an indefinite-delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) non-personal services contract to provide professional legal support services for the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) for the Department of the Air Force (Air Force).

Professional legal support encompasses a wide range of professional services and products that help attorneys collect, organize, review, analyze, and produce information for litigations, arbitrations, investigations, Congressional inquiries, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and other legal proceedings. The professional legal support shall span all stages of a matter, from pre-filing investigation and early case assessment (ECA), through complaint, discovery, trial, and the appeals process.

1.0.1 Overview:

The Contractor shall provide all administrative, logistic, professional, and technical labor, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, technology, and other items and non-personal services necessary to support the range of professional legal services outlined within the contract. The types of professional legal support required under this contract will generally fall into the following worldwide services:

1. Hardcopy Document and Media Collection

2. Hardcopy Document Preparation and Indexing

3. Hardcopy Scan to Digital Image and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) (including

Microfiche Scanning)

4. Blowback

5. Photocopying

6. Hardcopy Document Coding

7. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Collection

8. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Processing

9. Database Creation, Maintenance and Utilization

10. Hosting

11. Managed Review Services

12. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Production

13. Program and Project Management Support

14. Hardcopy and ESI Collection, Processing, and Loading Support

15. Managed Review Support

16. Pre-Trial, Trial, and Post-Trial Support

17. Specialized Professional Services

18. Other Services (Language Translation and Document Storage).

The Contractor must utilize appropriate physical and data security procedures through the life cycle of the project, beginning when the Contractor takes possession of the hardcopy, media, and/or ESI. The Contractor must be able to sign a declaration or affidavit, and/or provide oral testimony that describes and supports efforts by the Contractor to preserve data integrity during the decryption of files, when required by the COR, Government attorney responsible for the litigation matter supported by the relevant task order (the Managing Attorney), or relevant Court or Arbitration.

1.0.2 Scope:

The JAGC provides a full range of legal services to the Department of the Air Force and combatant commands. The JAGC represents the interests of its clients in civil, administrative, and criminal justice processes involving a broad range of practice areas including military justice, environmental, aviation, international, tort, medical, civilian and military personnel, administrative, third party litigation, and acquisition law in various forums such as federal and state courts, courts-martial and administrative boards, commander-directed investigations, safety and accident investigation boards, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relation Authority, and the Government Accountability Office. These matters require the JAGC to collect, review, analyze, and produce increasingly large volumes of hardcopy documents and Electronically Stored Information (ESI), including controlled unclassified information (CUI) up to and including Impact Level (IL) 5 information as defined by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA); utilize pre-trial, trial, and post-trial support including recording, court-reporting, and transcription services; and utilize other professional legal support services (e.g., legal research and writing, translation and transcription, trial support, and expert consulting/testimony).

This contract shall serve as a flexible and responsive solution to meet such large scale and/or urgent professional legal support needs in support of the JAGC mission. Individual task orders issued under this contract may support any Air Force office on a local, nationwide, or worldwide basis.

1.1 SPECIFIC TASKS:

These requirements are intended to provide the JAGC with professional legal support services to augment its existing in-house litigation support for large scale, surge, or other cases that require resource support.

1.1.1 Hardcopy Document and Media Collection:

1.1.1.1 Collection – Hardcopy:

(a) The Contractor shall provide hardcopy document collection services from various Government and non-Government sites, within the Continental United States (CONUS) or Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS). Hardcopy documents may be at the file, folder, red well, or box level, and will ultimately be collected for organization, preparation, and unitization services for scanning into electronic format. The Contractor shall have established chain of custody and quality control procedures in place. The Contractor must have procedures in place to record and account for all hardcopy documents collected.

(b) Cost of travel should not be included in the cost basis for work performed under this Section.

1.1.1.2 Collection – Media:

(a) The Contractor shall provide media collection services (including, for example, CDs, DVDs, thumb-drives, and/or HDDs) as part of or in addition to hardcopy document collection from various Government and non-Government sites, CONUS or OCONUS. Media will ultimately be collected for ESI processing as outlined in Section 1.1.8. Contractor shall have established chain of custody and quality control procedures in place. The Contractor must have procedures in place to record and account for all media collected.

(b) Cost of travel should not be included in the cost basis for work performed under this Section.

1.1.2 Hardcopy Document Preparation and Indexing:

1.1.2.1 Organize, Prepare, Unitize Document Collection:

(a) The Contractor shall provide document organization, preparation, and unitization services, as required by the PWS and contract. By default, document unitization, in this context, refers to identifying and marking the boundaries of "documents" within the collection, where a document is defined as the smallest fastened unit in a bundle; that is, these documents will be defined by the physical attachment (staples, clips, rubber bands, etc.) of pages within the collection. This type of unitization does not require the Contractor to determine true "logical document" boundaries. The intent of this is to prepare a collection for high-speed image scanning by Government staff on a Government machine. However, where required by task order, the Contractor may be required to unitize based on logical document boundaries, whereby the Contractor will need to review the text of the documents to identify where the boundaries of a document are. In this circumstance, the COR will work with the Contractor to identify the additional cost per unit.

(b) Prior to image scanning, the Contractor shall prepare the collection for scanning by removing staples and other bindings, and by marking the boundaries of documents by inserting bar code or target sheets prior to the beginning of each document, where a document is defined as in (a), above. The COR will provide guidance as to the type of marker or slip sheet which should be used. The COR may also require additional preparation of the collection for image scanning, such as replacing double-sided documents with single-sided copies, replacing oversize documents such as maps with standard size copies (or standard size copies of the legend, for example), grouping together documents which require special handling during the image scanning process, such as legal-size documents, onionskin, fanfold computer paper, etc.

(c) Original source documents will need to be reassembled to their original state after scanning; Contractor preparation of the documents must anticipate this. In the case of several documents fastened together, for example, the Contractor will also need to mark where the larger fastening unit begins and ends, to enable reassembly of the larger fastening unit after scanning.

(d) Note that this is essentially the same document preparation work which the Contractor would be required to perform were the Contractor doing the image scanning on its own high-speed scanners. That means that if the Contractor is doing the scanning, the Government will not also order this "Document Preparation/Unitization," since these services are already included in the image scanning requirements under Section 1.1.3

(e) The Government may require that this work be performed on site in Government space, or at the Contractor's facility. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing all necessary supplies, including target/slip sheets. These supplies are not separately billable; cost for them must be included in the cost basis for the unit prices offered.

(f) Cost of travel should not be included in the cost basis for work performed under this Section.

The Contractor shall provide organization, preparation, and unitization services for document collections, where the COR determines this to be necessary, typically immediately prior to image capture. When the services are necessary, they are typically provided by personnel other than the scanner operators. Required services include: preparing the site for imaging operations, obtaining or arranging for any necessary furniture and equipment (including power supply, fax machines and phone lines, photocopying machines, etc.), creating detailed inventories of the collection to be imaged, preparing logs and workflow procedures, marking and recording the container numbers for the document containers to be imaged, and providing for pulling, movement, and re-shelving of document containers as required. This is usually only required for non-Contractor-site scanning operations.

(g) Documents shall be prepared and unitized for image scanning within one business day of being made available to the Contractor. Maximum required throughput rate is 300,000 pages prepared and unitized per day.

(h) Document collection sites, including field discovery sites, shall be prepared for image scanning within three business days of notification to the Contractor that the site is available.

Documents shall be inventoried, logged, prepared, and indexed for scanning within one day of being made available to the Contractor. Maximum required throughput rate is 300,000 pages organized, prepared, and indexed at a file level per day.

1.1.2.2 Box or File Level Indexing:

(a) The Contractor shall provide indexing services for document collections, where the COR determines this to be necessary, typically immediately prior to image capture. When the services are necessary, they are typically provided by personnel other than the scanner operators. Required services include preparing file and/or box level indices to the document collection. This will usually only be required when the scanning operation can be made more efficient by inserting slip sheets to capture such as file or box source, owner, title, production request information, etc., as opposed to a scanning workflow in which the scanning operator enters this information for each file. In either case, note that this information is stored and associated with each image captured; sometimes, for example, in the TIFF (Tagged Image

File Format) header.

(b) One printed copy and one electronic copy of the indices associating the file and/or box information with the correct range of image numbers are deliverable with the images. Note that the COR may also require delivery of a preliminary version of the index immediately upon completing scanning of each “container” or batch.

1.1.2.3 Number Documents:

(a) The Contractor shall number document pages sequentially, using a Bates numbering machine or computer-generated sequential number labels. Numbers must be consecutive, unless otherwise specified by the COR. Prefixes or other designations to identify site or document subpopulation may be required. Placement of the number on the document page (upper left corner, bottom center, etc.) will be consistent for a given document population.

Numbers must not cover over or obscure any of the information on the document pages.

Numbers must be placed on both sides of pages that carry meaningful information on both sides. Contractor will need to have an established quality control procedure in place. The Contractor must have procedures in place to record and account for all numbers used. This task may take place in Contractor space or elsewhere.

(b) If original documents are being numbered, the Contractor must maintain them in, and restore them to, their original order and condition, including all fasteners, bindings, etc., the only modification being the addition of the document number.

(c) Note that this Section does not apply to numbered copies of documents which are generated as blowback from digital images, or which are numbered by a photocopying machine as part of the copying process. See Sections 1.1.4, Blowback, and Sections 1.1.5, Photocopy Documents.

(d) Cost of travel should not be included in the cost basis for work performed under this Section.

(e) Cost of Bates numbering machines and/or cost of generating sequential number labels must be included in the cost basis for the work performed under this Section.

(f) Numbered documents shall be delivered within three business days of the date the documents were made available to the Contractor for numbering. Maximum required throughput is 1,000,000 pages per three-day period.

1.1.3 Hardcopy Scan to Digital Image / OCR (including Microfiche Scanning):

1.1.3.1 Scan to Digital Image – Contractor Site:

(a) The Contractor shall provide document image scanning and related services. Image scanning and related services shall be provided for Government and for non-Government documents, at Government and non-Government sites, CONUS or OCONUS, including the Contractor’s or sub-contractor’s facilities. This Section refers to document image scanning and related services at the Contractor’s or sub-contractor’s facilities. See Section 1.1.3.6 for performance requirements regarding document image scanning and related services at Government and non-Government sites.

(b) The Scan to Digital Image sections below set forth the requirements for the Contractor to perform work to produce deliverable digital image files which may be viewed on an image-by-image basis on a computer monitor, using appropriate image viewing software. The Contractor shall predominantly produce images in the format TIFF Group IV images, single page per image file, 300 dpi; if there are different requirements (i.e., output to PDF), they will be specified by the COR in the task order. Other image formats, such as PDF or multi-page TIFF, may be required on occasion; billing rate to the Government will be the same regardless of image format required. Images will be predominantly black and white.

(c) Note that if the Contractor performs Hardcopy Document Coding using these images, any costs for conversion of the digital images for use by the Contractor coding purposes, if any such conversion is necessary, shall not be separately billable, as “Image File Conversion” or otherwise.

(d) A system of creating a unique, sequential number for each page imaged will be required.

This unique number identifies the location of each document in the collection and will control document indexing, storage, and retrieval processes throughout the course of a litigation. The accuracy with which the numbering and indexing procedures are performed is therefore critical to the subsequent use of the image-based systems and products and is as important as the physical quality of the image products themselves. Scanning systems should provide for at least the following numbering options:

(1) The unique, sequential number for the image is “endorsed” onto the image, and becomes a permanent part of the image, displayed within the display frame, and printed as an integral part of the image hard copy. The number must not obscure any information on the document page, and in fact ideally lies in an "information channel" appended to the document image.

(2) The unique, sequential number for the image is uniquely associated with the image file -for example, as the image's file name, or in the TIFF header - but not actually endorsed onto the image, in such a way that the appropriate image viewing software always shows the number in association with the image and allows the user the options of printing the image with or without the number.

(e) Scanning and numbering systems must accommodate sequential, consecutive numbering for two-sided originals.

(f) The numbering system must have the flexibility to duplicate a numbering scheme which has already been used on the documents when there is one. Such flexibility must accommodate alphanumeric characters, including imbedded blank spaces, in any order and length specified by the COR for the project.

(g) Specifications and standards for digital image scanning are included in the contract.

Most scanning will be performed at 300 dpi. It is extremely important that the quality of the images be such as to ensure readability and admissibility in court, and it is extremely important that the Contractor have in place and adhere to procedures to maintain the integrity of the document collection and of the collection of digital images, so that document authenticity can be proven in court, if necessary.

(h) The Contractor shall prepare documents for image capture (i.e., remove staples, paper clips, and prong fasteners), image each page, and reassemble the documents in accordance with COR instructions. The Contractor shall control the flow of documents through supervision, the use of log sheets, and other procedures. Batches of documents must always be so controlled that a particular batch may be immediately retrieved if required. The Contractor shall maintain document integrity throughout the processing cycle. The proper collation and integrity of documents, document packets (several documents fastened together), file folders and file drawers must not be lost.

(i) The Contractor shall use an "F/L" indicator system to record information as to the physical attachments present in the original source document file. See contract for additional description of this system.

(j) The Contractor shall also ensure that all documents designated for imaging are in fact imaged and that an orderly flow of documents through the imaging process is maintained. In addition, the Contractor shall be responsible for supervising the imaging crew and for dealing with various Government and non-Government officials at field locations (including local counsel at Air Force installations worldwide, Department of Justice (DOJ) trial attorneys, other trial staff members, and opposing counsel) to gain access to and image document collections. The Contractor shall ensure that all document collections are kept secure and restore them to their original state after imaging. Supervision is not separately billable but is considered part of the cost for the appropriate units.

(k) Organizing, preparation, and file level indexing of document collections, where necessary as a separate step, shall fall under the requirements outlined in the Hardcopy Document Preparation and Indexing Section.

(l) The Contractor shall provide all pickup and delivery services associated with performing the imaging and related services. Pickup and delivery services are not separately billable.

(m) The Contractor shall employ the following techniques, to obtain the optimal image quality and throughput for source documents of differing qualities:

(1) Adjustment of scanner settings to accommodate the characteristics of different document populations, as necessary.

(2) Use of enhancement techniques of a particular scanner by the scanning technician. This will involve both hardware and software techniques and procedures.

(3) Scanner monitoring and quality control as described in ANSI/AIIM MS44-1993, Recommended Practice for Quality Control of Image Scanners, including use of test targets.

(4) Continual monitoring of image quality by the scanning operator as the images are scanned.

(5) The use of target test sheets, especially at the start of all batches of documents for scanning, when the type of source documents changes to require new scanner optimization settings, or when a scanning technician suspects hardware inaccuracy. The target test sheets shall measure the scanner performance relating to gray scales, resolution, continuous tones, precision measurement marks, linearity, rectangularity, scan size, alignment of page and text characters.

(6) Use of optical lens filters for improved image quality as appropriate.

(7) Visual comparison of sample image prints to source documents.

(n) Careful page number records shall be kept of any enhancements or adjustments made to images to ensure that legal admissibility is not a problem.

(o) Output media may include CDs, DVDs, removable hard drives, magnetic tape, etc., and will be specified by the COR. Image format will usually be TIFF Group IV, single page image per file, although other formats may be ordered on occasion. Periodic review of scanning technology will be required to maintain the highest possible standards. Output must be compatible with downstream information management use of the images in litigation.

(p) The Contractor shall provide the following as standard deliverables for each unit of digital image media produced:

(1) Two copies of the images on the output media specified. These will function as original and working copies.

(2) One hard copy of file level indices.

(3) Electronic copy of level indices, as specified by the COR.

(4) Quality Control /Quality Assurance (QC/QA) reports showing Contractor inspection of the deliverables, and the results of the inspection.

Note that these standard deliverables are not separately billable but are part of the requirements under this Section.

(q) As specified by the COR, the Contractor shall deliver one copy of the images to a location specified by the COR for archival storage. The Contractor may be required to store the other copy at its own facility for use in providing other, subsequent litigation support services, such as blowback and document processing; this storage is not billable.

(r) The Contractor shall provide one hard copy of the file level indices along with the scanned images. These indices must be free of typographical errors. The Contractor shall also establish and maintain a comprehensive library of file level indices for all scanning work performed under the Contract. This library shall be turned over to the Government at the COR's direction, or at the conclusion of the Contract.

(s) Failure to meet turnaround times specified by the COR and as outlined in Sections

1.3.4.1 – 1.3.4.8 shall result in credit to the Government for late delivery.

(t) At the discretion of the COR, for image scanning assignments at sites other than the Contractor's (or sub-contractor's) facility, up to four Scanner Operator hours may be billable for each scanner sent to the site, to cover travel time and workstation set up.

(u) For unit rate scanning at sites outside the metropolitan Washington, DC area, including sites outside the United States, which is not performed at a Contractor (or sub-contractor) site, scanning will be ordered at the "Non-Contractor Site" rate, and the Contractor will also be compensated for travel expenses and for workstation shipping expenses according to the Government travel guidelines in effect at the time. See FAR Part 31.

(v) Note that there is no minimum order limitation or daily minimum image guarantee. In those unusual instances in which the media or the site conditions are extremely difficult, such that the Contractor cannot scan at an average rate of even 1,500 pages per workstation per day, scanning will generally be ordered on an hourly basis. See section 1.3.15.1. This must be approved in advance by the COR who will, after consultation with the Contractor, determine an acceptable minimum per-hour throughput rate requirement for that media or site.

(w) Depending on the complexity of the case, the sites, and the document acquisition task, scouting trips to survey document collections and sites may be required. Detailed scouting trip plans and post-trip reports may also be required. Scouting trips will be ordered on an hourly basis.

(x) Document screening, involving the application of established, written criteria for the selection of documents to be scanned for a particular case, will be ordered on an hourly basis.

(y) Compatibility of scanned images with existing Government optical imaging equipment is required.

(z) Maximum required throughput for image scanning is 2,000,000 images for any given one-week period.

(aa) All deliverables, including all copies of images and file level indices, as well as cross-reference files with document determination and document date information, where ordered, shall be delivered within the time frame determined by the COR in conjunction with the Contractor.

1.1.3.2 Scan to Digital Image – Contractor Site – Document Determination:

(a) The Contractor shall provide digital image scanning services, including insertion of markers, or grouping of page images to indicate logical document boundaries. Note that this is not the same as the “F/L” markers which record physical groupings and attachments such as staples and binder clips. Rather, “Document Determination,” in this context, means identifying true document boundaries in preparation for building a document database. For example, a stack of loose pages might be organized into a series of multi-page documents of varying size, or a stapled set of pages might need to be subdivided into a cover letter and several multi-page attachments.

(b) Document Determination under this Section will usually be only at a single level. That is, logical document boundaries will need to be identified, but the Contractor will not usually be required also to capture “document package” or “parent/child” information.

(c) The Government may also order digital image scanning which includes both document determination and document date. In this instance, in addition to the logical document boundaries, the Contractor shall capture the date of each document, according to established instructions for identifying document date. Date will be delivered as part of the cross-reference file which associates page image files together as a document record.

(d) The Contractor must have standard, written instructions governing document determination and identification of the document date. Instructions are subject to review and approval of the COR.

(e) Imaging requirements are the same as those described under Section 1.1.3.1; that is, for example, mostly single-page TIFFs, 300 dpi, etc. Numbering requirements are the same, as are requirements for capture of file level index information, orderly flow and maintenance of documents, and management and tracking of the scanning process. Output media may include DVDs, CDs, hard drives, etc. Pickup and delivery services are not separately billable but must be included as part of the unit prices offered.

(f) The Contractor shall provide the following as standard deliverables for each unit of digital image media produced:

(1) Two copies of the images on the output media specified. These will function as original and working copies.

(2) One hard copy of file level indices.

(3) Electronic copy of level indices, as specified by the COR.

(4) Electronic cross reference file associating pages together as documents, and document date, where applicable, for purposes of associating documents and pages with OCR, and for downstream loading of data into a document database.

(5) QC/QA reports showing Contractor inspection of the deliverables, and the results of the inspection.

Note that these standard deliverables are not separately billable.

(g) As specified by the COR, the Contractor shall deliver one copy of the images to a location specified by the COR for archival storage. The Contractor may be required to store the other copy at its own facility for use in providing other, subsequent litigation support services, such as blowback and document processing; this storage is not billable.

(h) The Contractor shall provide one hard copy of the file level indices along with the scanned images. These indices must be free of typographical errors. The Contractor shall also establish and maintain a comprehensive library of file level indices for all scanning work performed under the Contract. This library shall be turned over to the Government at the COR's direction, or at the conclusion of the Contract.

(i) Compatibility of scanned images with existing Government optical imaging equipment is required.

(j) Maximum required throughput for work completed under the requirements of this Section for image scanning is 2,000,000 images for any given one-week period.

(k) All deliverables, including all copies of images and file level indices, as well as cross-reference files with document determination and document date information, where ordered, shall be delivered within the time frame determined by the COR in conjunction with the Contractor.

1.1.3.3 Scan to Digital Image – Contractor Site – Document Determination and Date:

(a) This requirement is the same as outlined in Section 1.1.3.2, except for section “b” is modified to include:

(b) Document Determination under this Section will usually be only at a single level. That is, logical document boundaries will need to be identified, but the Contractor will not usually be required also to capture “document package” or “parent/child” information. The Contractor will be required to capture "date".

1.1.3.4 Scan to Digital Image – Contractor Site – Color Images Surcharge – Whole Container:

(a) The Contractor shall provide color image scanning and related services. The “surcharge” for these services may be ordered in addition to the requirements outlined in Sections 1.1.3.1, when all or some portion of an image scanning job is in color.

(b) This Section sets for the requirements that cover those situations in which an entire “container” is scanned in color, such as a collection of charts which must be scanned in color to retain the meaning of the charts (see Section 1.1.3.5 for requirements for "selected pages").

This situation might also include containers which are predominantly color documents, with a few black and white documents mixed in, such that it makes sense to scan the whole container on a color scanner (at the discretion of the COR). The requirements under this Section are also intended to cover those situations in which selected color documents may be removed from a container for separate color scanning, and in which the color images do not need to be reintegrated with the black and white documents to match the way they occurred in the files originally. In a situation such as this, for example, the color images might be numbered to indicate that they came out of the same container as the black and white images, but with a sequential page number sequence separate from that of the black and white images.

(c) Image format for color images will be predominantly JPEG. Other formats, such as color TIFF, PDF, etc., may be required by the COR. Proposed rates must accommodate differing format requirements.

(d) Other requirements are the same as described in prior Sections, including numbering, control and management of workflow and source documents, F/L indicators, pickup and delivery, scanner and image quality requirements, output media, deliverable items, etc.

(e) Maximum required throughput for services outlined in this Section for image scanning is 2,000,000 images for any given one-week period.

(f) All deliverables, including all copies of images and file level indices, as well as cross-reference files with document determination and document date information, where ordered, shall be delivered within the time frame determined by the COR in conjunction with the Contractor.

1.1.3.5 Scan to Digital Image – Contractor Site – Images Surcharge – Selected Pages:

(a) The Contractor shall provide color image scanning and related services. These ordered services will be a “surcharge” to those services outlined in Sections 1.1.3.1 – 1.1.3.3, when all or some portion of an image scanning job is in color.

(b) This Section is intended to cover those instances in which some documents in a container must be scanned in color, and in which those color images must be reintegrated with the black and white images to match the way they occurred in the files originally (see Section

1.1.3.4 for "whole container" requirements). For example, if the third page of a five-page document is a color chart that needs to be scanned in color, the scanned color image must be “reinserted” in the image file so that it is numbered sequentially as the third page of the five-page document, and so that it comes up in the right place when browsing through the image files. If there were, say, 50 pages in a particular container that needed to be scanned in color, the Government would, at the discretion of the COR, order the container to be scanned under the requirements in Section 1.3.4.1 – 1.3.4.8, and the “selected images” surcharge for services under this Section would be applied to the images scanned in color. In this instance, all the cost of pulling the color pages for color scanning, scanning on a color scanner, and reintegrating both the original paper and the resulting digital images must be built into the unit rates, to the extent that these steps are necessary to the Contractor’s pipeline process.

(c) Image format for color images will be predominantly JPEG. Other formats, such as color TIFF, PDF, etc., may be required by the COR. Proposed rates must accommodate differing format requirements.

(d) Other requirements are the same as described in prior Sections, including numbering, control and management of workflow and source documents, F/L indicators, pickup and delivery, scanner and image quality requirements, output media, deliverable items, etc.

(e) Maximum required throughput for image scanning services performed under this Section is 2,000,000 images for any given one-week period.

(f) All deliverables, including all copies of images and file level indices, as well as cross-reference files with document determination and document date information, where ordered, shall be delivered within the time frame determined by the COR in conjunction with the Contractor.

1.1.3.6 Scan to Digital Image – Not Contractor Site:

(a) This requirement is the same as outlined in Section 1.3.4.1, except for section “b” is modified to include: document image scanning and related services at Government and non- Government sites, CONUS or OCONUS.

(b) Cost of travel should not be included in the cost basis for work performed under this Section.

1.1.3.7 Microfiche Scan (TIFF or PDF):

(a) This requirement is like the requirement outlined in Section 1.3.4.1, except this Section refers to microfiche scanning and related services at the Contractor's or sub-contractor's facilities or at Government and non-Government sites, CONUS or OCONUS. The Contractor may be required to scan all types of microfiche including standard 24X, jacketed fiche, comfiche, and either positive or negative film.

(b) For work performed at Government and non-Government sites outside the Washington, DC area, the Contractor will be compensated at the unit rate and for travel expenses according to the Government travel guidelines in effect at the time.

1.1.3.8 Scan Media:

The Contractor shall collect media (including, for example, CDs, DVDs, thumb-drives, and/or HDDs) as part of or in addition to hardcopy document collection from various Government and non-Government sites, CONUS or OCONUS (see Sections 1.3.2.1 and 1.3.2.2). The Contractor shall scan any media labels and other information on the physical media (including barcodes, SKU numbers, or other unique identifiers), and ensure that the media found in hardcopy boxes and/or files is linked by way of its chain of custody designation and/or media identifier to the source hardcopy box and/or file. If required by the COR, such media will ultimately undergo ESI processing as outlined in Section 1.3.8.2.

Contractor will need to have established chain of custody and quality control procedures in place. The Contractor must have procedures in place to record and account for all media collected.

1.1.3.9 OCR to ASCII Text - From Digital Image / Separate Pass:

(a) The Contractor shall process digital document images to produce computer-readable ASCII data via an optical character recognition scanning process. Work performed under this Section will generally be when the documents have been previously imaged, whether by the Contractor or by some other vendor, and the images must now be OCRed in a separate processing pass.

(b) OCR data will be deliverable on DVD, CD, removable hard drive, etc. Data will be delivered in a format specified by the COR, and be ready for processing and loading, most typically to an image-enabled document database. The Contractor shall retain backup copies of all delivered data for six months following delivery.

(c) The Contractor shall exercise proper precautions in handling, logging, tracking, and controlling all source and output materials (electronic image files, OCR data files, optical media, magnetic media) so that no materials are lost, all images to be OCRed are processed once and only once, and the source materials returned in the same order and condition as they were sent.

(d) When OCRed data is to be loaded into a database along with coded data, the Contractor may be required to merge OCRed and coded data prior to delivering the data files for loading.

If required, this merging activity is not separately billable, but should be included as part of the requirements under this Section. The Contractor may also be required either to subdivide OCRed text into "page" units which correspond to the original document pages, or to join "page" units of OCRed text so that the text for all pages of a multi-page document is part of a single document data file record. These activities are part of formatting the data so that it is ready to be loaded to the target application and are not separately billable.

(e) Delivery of data files and return of source materials within four business days of the date the source materials are made available for OCR processing. Rework must be delivered within five business days of being rejected and made available to the Contractor for rework.

Deliveries which do not meet required turnaround times will result in credit to the Government for late delivery. Combined maximum required throughput rate for OCR is 2,000,000 pages per week.

1.1.3.10 OCR Surcharge:

(a) The Contractor shall process digital document images to produce computer-readable ASCII data via an optical character recognition scanning process. The requirement under this Section refers to an OCR surcharge which may be applied to any of the digital image scanning when OCRing is performed in the same processing pass as the image scanning.

(b) OCR data will be deliverable on DVD, CD, removable hard drive, etc. Data will be delivered in a format specified by the COR, and be ready for processing and loading, most typically to an image-enabled document database. The Contractor shall retain backup copies of all delivered data for six months following delivery.

(c) The Contractor shall exercise proper precautions in handling, logging, tracking, and controlling all source and output materials (electronic image files, OCR data files, optical media, magnetic media) so that no materials are lost, all images to be OCRed are processed once and only once, and the source materials returned in the same order and condition as they were sent.

(d) When OCRed data is to be loaded into a database along with coded data, the Contractor may be required to merge OCRed and coded data prior to delivering the data files for loading.

If required, this merging activity is not separately billable, but should be included as part of the requirements under Section 1.3.4.9. The Contractor may also be required either to subdivide OCRed text into "page" units which correspond to the original document pages, or to join "page" units of OCRed text so that the text for all pages of a multi-page document is part of a single document data file record. These activities are part of formatting the data so that it is ready to be loaded to the target application and are not separately billable.

(e) Delivery of data files and return of source materials within four business days of the date the source materials are made available for OCR processing. Rework must be delivered within five business days of being rejected and made available to the Contractor for rework.

Deliveries which do not meet required turnaround times will result in credit to the Government for late delivery. Combined maximum required throughput rate for OCR is 2,000,000 pages per week.

1.1.4 Blowback:

1.1.4.1 Blowback from Digital Image – Whole Media:

(a) The Contractor shall produce hard copies from whole digital image media. The Contractor shall provide all facilities, equipment, labor, supplies, etc. for performing this work. Work ordered under this line item will not be performed at Government-funded Document Centers. Blowbacks shall be delivered in the same order as they appear in the digital media, unless otherwise directed by the COR. Blowbacks shall be performed in the following manner:

(b) Whole Container/Whole Media. Work shall generally be for blowback of entire digital media (whole CDs or hard drives, for example), or for blowback of selected entire "containers" of document images, as represented on the digital media. A "container," in this context, usually reflects the boundaries of an original source document container - box, or file drawer, for example - and typically consists of 2,000 to 4,000 consecutive pages. A full CD might hold three to six such containers. Work will usually be appropriate for high-speed image blowback equipment and will require a minimum of operator intervention.

(c) The Contractor shall provide facilities, equipment, labor, paper, and other supplies for producing these hard copies. Image media (CDs, etc.) provided to the Contractor for blowback shall be properly handled and returned in good condition. Reconstruction of blowback copies based on "first/last" image markers may be required.

(d) The quality of the hard copy must be vigorously controlled so that all information on an image appears legibly on the hard copy.

(e) Required turnaround is three business days from Contractor receipt of blowback materials. Maximum required combined throughput for blowback services referenced in Sections 1.3.5.1 – 1.3.5.4 is 2,000,000 pages per three-day period.

1.1.4.2 Blowback from Digital Image - Selected Images:

(a) This requirement is like the requirement in Section 1.3.5.1, except for section “b” outlines producing in hard copy from selected pages only from digital image media.

Blowback performed under the requirements of this Section will be performed in the following manner:

(b) Selected Images/Selected Media. Blowbacks will generally be for many selected images, or image ranges, sometimes widely scattered on the media. Depending on the circumstances, work may be appropriate for high-speed blowback equipment; however, this kind of work may require close operator attention, if, for example, documents must be blown back on a one-by-one basis, in a particular order, or based on search results which cannot be used to automatically produce blowback of selected images in a particular order.

1.1.4.3 Blowback from Digital Image - Color Surcharge - Whole Media:

(a) This requirement is like the requirement in Section 1.3.5.1, except for section “b” outlines the surcharge for producing in color hard copy from whole digital image media.

Blowback performed under the requirements of this Section will be performed in the following manner:

(b) Color Surcharge. Color hard copy from color images. This Section applies when an entire container or piece or media - CD, hard drive, etc. - needs to be blown back in color. In this instance, the entire blowback job could be run on a color printer, for example. Work performed under the requirements of this Section would be billable for the blowback pages.

1.1.4.4 Blowback from Digital Image - Color Surcharge - Selected Images:

(a) This requirement is like the requirement in Section 1.3.5.1, except for section “b” outlines the surcharge for producing in color hard copy from selected pages only from digital image media.

(b) Color Surcharge. Color hard copy from color images. This Section applies when only selected blowback pages in a job need to be in color. This Section may be applied in conjunction with other Sections referencing blowback, depending on the overall blowback job requirements; of course, the surcharge applies only to those pages produced in color.

Note that the Government may require color pages to be integrated with black and white pages for delivery; this effort is not separately billable but is considered part of the blowback cost. Color copies will typically be ordered on standard paper stock. Work performed under this Section would be billable for the blowback pages.

1.1.5 Photocopying:

1.1.5.1 Photocopy – 1st Copy:

(a) The Contractor shall provide high-volume photocopying of documents at the Contractor's (or sub-contractor's) site. The Contractor shall provide all facilities, equipment, labor, supplies, etc. for performing this work. Work ordered under this line item will not be performed at Government-funded Document Centers.

(b) Note that the default for base photocopying is B&W, and that a separate surcharge would be applied for color copying. This surcharge will apply to color copies, when they are required, and is in addition to the base photocopying price. This surcharge does require reintegration of color copies with black and white copies, as directed by the COR.

(c) The Contractor must have in place established procedures for ensuring that all incoming documents are logged, tracked, and always accounted for. The Contractor must have established quality control procedures in place to ensure that all pages are copied, that the correct numbers of copies are produced, etc. It is extremely important that the integrity of the document collection be maintained. Original documents will often have to be disassembled for copying, and then reassembled exactly as they originally appeared, including nested stapling, tabs and inserts, etc. Copies will also be reassembled to exactly match the original document collection, unless otherwise specified by the COR. Documents must also be returned in good condition.