52.212-1 and 52.212-2 Instructions to Offers and Evaluation Criteria (2).pdf

Instrs., Conds., and Notices to Offerors

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO RESPONDENTS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION USING LOWEST

PRICED TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA) SOURCE SELECTION PROCEDURES.

1.0 Program Structure and Objective

1.1. The Government plans to award a single contract for E-3 panel/textile refurbishment. E-3 panel/textile refurbishment will primarily include E-3 interior ceiling, sidewall, bookcase, acoustic panels, and cabinets refurbishment including all labor, materials, tools, equipment, parts, transportation, and any incidentals.

1.2. Budget/Funding Information

Funding will be obligated for the Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) for the base period, to include the phase-in period.

2.1 General Instructions

2.1.1. This source selection will be utilize Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable source selection procedures. Contract award will be made to the offeror who is technically acceptable with lowest evaluated price. This section of the Instructions to Offerors (ITO) provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by the ITO and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. Any Offeror who submits an incomplete package may be considered ineligible for award.

The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and appendices including the attached technical order excerpt and technical factors. Non-conformance with the instructions provided in the ITO may result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation.

2.1.2. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror's proposal.

2.1.3. Elaborate brochures, documentation, binding, detailed artwork, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

2.1.4. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Section A of the model contract/solicitation. The offeror shall make a clear statement in Section A of the proposal documentation volume that the proposal is valid until this date.

2.1.5. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Unless the offeror requests otherwise, the Government will destroy extra copies of such unsuccessful proposals.

2.2. General Information

2.2.1. Point of Contact

The Contracting Officer (CO) is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. Written requests for clarification may be sent to the CO at the address located in Section A of the model contract/solicitation.

2.2.2. Debriefings

The CO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range, whereupon they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing.

However, offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal. The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in accordance with FAR 15.503. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing must make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

2.2.3. Discrepancies

If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions. This reservation includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal.

FA810120Q0009

2.2.4. Electronic Reference Documents

All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) web site at http://www.fbo.gov. Potential Offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

2.2.5. Amendments to Solicitation

If this RFP is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged and in full force and effect. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment and provide confirmation upon submission of the offeror's proposal. Any unacknowledged amendments in the offeror's proposal are subject to solicitation provision FAR 52.212-1(f).

2.2.6. Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals Proposals and modifications to proposals shall be submitted in sealed envelopes or packages in paper media and electronic media addressed to the CO at the address shown in Section A of the model contract/solicitation, and showing the time and date specified for receipt, the solicitation number, and the name and address of the offeror.

2.3. Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits

2.3.1. The offeror's proposal must show solicitation number, name, address, and telephone and facsimile numbers of the offeror and electronic e-mail address if available.

2.3.2. A Team List of the offeror's primary Point of Contacts shall be submitted in each volume using the format shown in Attachment 2 of the ITO.

2.3.3. The offeror's technical proposal shall address the information listed for Factor 1 and Factor 2 below. The offeror shall submit 1 hard copies and 1 electronic copy of the proposal. The technical proposal shall not exceed 10 pages. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal and (for paper copies) will be returned to the Offeror as soon as practicable. Page limitations may also be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs). The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the offerors. Each page shall be counted except the following: blank pages, title pages, tables of contents, tabs, indexes, glossaries, and those noted in the Proposed Organization Chart as unlimited.

2.3.4. Page limit for Factor 2 Price, and Contract Documentation is 10 pages.

2.4. Page Size and Format

2.4.1. A page is defined as each face of a sheet of paper containing information. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches, not including foldouts. Page line spacing shall be 1.5 lines. Except for the reproduced sections of the solicitation document, the text size shall be no less than Arial 12 points. Tracking, kerning, and leading values shall not be changed from the default values of the word processing or page layout software. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom and 3/4 inch side margins. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume. These page format restrictions shall apply to responses to Evaluation Notice (ENs).

These limitations shall apply to both electronic and hard copy proposals.

2.4.2. Legible tables, charts, graphs and figures shall be used wherever practical to depict organizations, systems and layout, implementation schedules, plans, etc. These displays shall be uncomplicated and shall not exceed 11 x 17 inches in size.

Foldout pages shall fold entirely within the volume, and count as a single page. Foldout pages may only be used for large tables, charts, graphs, diagrams and schematics; not for pages of text. The following limitation only applies to the Technical Volume. Text intended for evaluation within all figures, charts, tables, and graphs, to include imbedded images, shall be no less than Arial 8-pt. These limitations shall apply to both electronic and hard copy proposals. Any text within figures, charts, tables, and graphs which do not meet this requirement will not be considered in the evaluation. These limitations shall apply to both electronic and hard copy proposals.

2.5. Electronic Offers

The content and page size of electronic copies must be identical to the hard copies. When discrepancies exist between the written hard copies and those provided in electronic format, the written hard copies will take precedence in all cases. The electronic copy shall be submitted on a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). The electronic copies of the proposal shall be submitted in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Word 2010, MS Excel 2010, MS-Project 2010, and MS-Power Point 2010.

2.6. Pricing Information

All pricing information shall be addressed ONLY in the Price Proposal and Contract Documentation volumes. Work hour estimates, and material kinds and quantities may be used in other volumes only as appropriate for presenting rationale.

2.7. Distribution

The "original" proposal shall be clearly identified as "E-3 Panel FA810120Q0009". Proposals shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer and emailed to:

2ndLt Scott Thomas scott.thomas.25@us.af.mil

Telephone: 405-739-4162

3.0. Factor 1 - Technical

3.1. General

The Technical proposal should be specific and complete. Legibility, clarity and coherence are very important. Your responses will be evaluated against the Technical subfactors (or "criteria", if subfactors aren't used) defined in Addendum to FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation Factors for Award. Using the instructions provided below, provide as specifically as possible, the actual methodology you would use for accomplishing/satisfying these subfactors. All the requirements specified in the solicitation are mandatory. By your proposal submission, you are representing that your firm will perform all the requirements specified in the solicitation. It is neither necessary nor desirable for you to tell us so in your technical proposal. The technical proposal should only address the requirements of the subfactors listed below. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation.

3.2. Format and Specific Content

3.2.1. Technical

In the Technical Volume, address your proposed approach to meeting the minimum performance or capability requirements of each technical subfactor. All factors and subfactors contained in the technical proposal are directly taken from the Technical Order 1E-3A-2-7 and must be followed with no deviance. They all are of equal importance.

3.2.1.1. Subfactor One: Experience working with and repairing aircraft interior panels made of Nomex honeycomb.

The Offeror shall provide a description of its company's experience working with and repairing aircraft interior panels made of Nomex honeycomb for the E-3 panel/textile refurbishment program. This shall include a plan for repairing/recovering Nomex honeycomb panels with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

3.2.1.2. Subfactor Two: Chemical Requirements

The following chemicals shall be used in the E-3 interior panel/textile refurbishment process; no substitutes shall be acceptable:

a) Adtech 15-3 or EC-3524 AB Potting Compound

b) Methyl Propyl Ketone

c) Bostik 7132R and Boscodur #24 The Offeror shall provide a plan for handling all chemicals with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

3.2.1.3. Subfactor Three: Experience making vacuum bags from Polyvinyl Alcohol film.

Each individual panel shall be vacuum sealed with a pressure of 10 to 20 PSI and curring at 120 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 4 hours or curring at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. All panels shall be properly sealed with no wrinkles, bubbles, or voids. The Offeror shall provide a plan for making vacuum bags from Polyvinyl Alcohol film with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

3.2.1.4. Subfactor Four: Experience using and installing Dacron cloth.

The vinyl will be a perforated acoustic vinyl, must be white in color and is the only vinyl that shall be used on the E-3 interior panels. The Dacron cloth must also be white in color to match the vinyl. The Offeror shall provide a plan for using and installing Dacron cloth with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

4.0 Factor 2 - Price

4.1. In the price volume, the Offeror shall provide the following information in addition to the pricing in Supplies or Services and Prices/Cost Section (Part B) of the solicitation. These instructions are to assist you in submitting information required to evaluate the reasonableness of your proposed cost/price. Compliance with these instructions is mandatory and failure to comply may result in rejection of your proposal.

4.2. General Instructions

Information beyond that required by this instruction shall not be submitted, unless you consider it essential to document or support your cost/price position. All information relating to the proposed price including all required supporting documentation must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the Cost/Price Volume. Under no circumstances shall this information and documentation be included elsewhere in the proposal.

4.2.1. Price Reasonableness and Balance

Offeror's proposal will be evaluated for reasonableness and balance. Additionally, unbalanced pricing may pose an unacceptable risk to the Government and may be a reason to reject an offeror's proposal. Offers should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate their reasonableness The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the offeror.

4.2.2. Pricing Information Requirements

FAR 12.209 gives the requirement to establish price reasonableness in accordance with 13.106-3 (Simplified Acquisition Procedures), 14.408-2 (Sealed Bidding), or 15.4 (Contract Pricing by Negotiation), as applicable. FAR part 15 applies.

In accordance with FAR 15.403-3-1(b), prices based on adequate price competition do not require submission of cost or pricing data. In accordance with FAR 15.403-3(a), however, information other than cost or pricing data may be required to support price reasonableness. FAR 15.403-3(a)(1) provides for obtaining information other than cost or pricing data if needed to determine price reasonableness. Therefore, the FAR does not preclude the requirement for obtaining other than cost or pricing data under certain circumstances and the Government reserves the right to obtain data as appropriate. Should the CO determine proposed prices to appear unreasonable or the possibility that an Offeror does not fully understand the requirement, the Offerors may be required to support price reasonableness via other than cost or pricing data. If, after receipt of proposals, the CO determines that there is insufficient information available to determine price reasonableness and none of the exceptions in FAR 15.403-1 apply, the offeror shall be required to submit cost or pricing data.

4.2.3. Rounding

All dollar amounts except line shall be rounded to the nearest penny.

5.0. Contract Documentation

5.1. Model Contract/Representations and Certifications

The purpose of this volume is to provide information to the Government for preparing the contract document and supporting file. The offeror's proposal shall include a signed copy of the Model Contract, and Sections A through K.

5.1.1. Solicitation/Contract Form (Section A)

Completion of blocks 12, 17 and signature and date for blocks 30a, 30b and 30c of the SF1449. Signature by the offeror on the SF1449 constitutes an offer, which the Government may accept. The "original" copy should be clearly marked under separate cover and should be provided without any punched holes.

5.1.2. Supplies or Services and Costs/Prices (Section B)

Completed pricing information in Section B of the solicitation.

5.1.3. Contract Clauses (Section I)

The offeror shall provide required information to complete clauses as required.

5.1.4. Representations, Certifications, and other Statements of Offerors (Section K) The offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management website at http://sam.gov. After reviewing the SAM database information, the offeror verifies by submission of this offer that the representation and certifications currently posted electronically at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items are correct.

5.2. Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements

Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost, and specific requirements of the solicitation. This information shall be provided in the format and content of Table 6.2.

Table 6.2 - Solicitation Exceptions Solicitation Document SOO, SOW, SPEC, Model Contract, ITO, etc.

Page/Paragraph Applicable Page and Paragraph Numbers

Requirement/Portion Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken

Rationale Describe why the requirement can/will not be met

5.3. Other Information Required

5.3.1. Ombudsman

An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is OC-ALC/PKC. This does not diminish the authority of the program director or CO, but communicates offeror concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman shall maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern.

The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process; interested parties are invited to call OC-ALC/PKC at 405-736-3273.

5.3.2. Authorized Offeror Personnel

Provide the name, title, and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government.

5.3.3. Government Offices

Provide the mailing address, telephone and fax numbers and facility codes for the cognizant Contract Administration Office, DCAA, and Government Paying Office. Also, provide the name and telephone and fax number for the Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO).

5.3.4. Company/Division Address, Identifying Codes, and Applicable Designations Provide company/division's street address, county and facility code; CAGE code; DUNS code; TIN; size of business (large or small); and labor surplus area designation. This same information must be provided if the work for this contract will be performed at any other location(s). List all locations where work is to be performed and indicate whether such facility is a division, affiliate, or subcontractor, and the percentage of work to be performed at each location.

Evaluation Factors for Award

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-2

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

1.0. Source Selection (SS)

1.1. Basis for Contract Award

This acquisition will utilize Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable (LPTA) Source Selection procedures, with technical proposals. Technical tradeoffs will not be made, and no additional credit will be given for exceeding acceptability. Award will be made to the offeror who is rated "acceptable" in Factor 1 Technical has the lowest evaluated cost or price, and whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by FAR 52.212-1 and its Addendum of this solicitation). The Government reserves the right to award without discussions. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if determined necessary by the Contracting Officer.

1.1.1. The SSA will base the source selection decision on an integrated assessment of proposals against all source selection criteria in the solicitation (described below). While the Government Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) and the SSA will strive for maximum objectivity, the Source Selection process, by its nature, is subjective and, therefore, professional judgment is implicit throughout the entire process.

1.1.2. This source selection is conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15.3, Contracting by Negotiation, as supplemented by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), the Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS), DoD Source Selection Procedures 04 Mar 2011, and Air Force Mandatory Procedures 5315.3. These regulations are available electronically at the Air Force (AF) FARSite, http://farsite.hill.af.mil.

1.2. Number of Contracts to be Awarded:

The Government intends to select one contractor for this acquisition. However, the Government reserves the right not to award a contract at all, depending on the quality of the proposals and prices submitted and the availability of funds.

1.3. Correction Potential of Proposals:

The Government will consider throughout the evaluation, the "correction potential" of any proposal aspect evaluated as "unacceptable". The judgment of such "correction potential" is within the sole discretion of the Government. If an aspect of an Offeror's proposal not meeting the Government's requirements is not considered correctable or if the amount and/or complexity of the corrections needed to meet the Government requirement requires a major proposal revision, the Offeror may be eliminated from the competitive range.

1.4. Rejection of Offers

The Government may reject any evaluated proposal that fails to adequately address a significant portion of the requirement or contract terms and conditions. This may include rejection of a proposal that does not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the contract/program requirements and/or displays a fundamental lack of competence or failure to comprehend the complexity and risk of the program. All aspects/volumes of the proposals may be reviewed to ensure adequate resources to perform the proposed technical approach.

1.5. Competitive Range Determination

During the evaluation process multiple competitive range determinations may be made that eliminate Offerors from the competition IAW FAR 15.505. A competitive range determination may eliminate Offerors based on their initial proposal evaluation results, after discussions (if necessary), prior to issuance of the Final Proposal Revision (FPR) request, or for efficiency. If Offerors are excluded from the competitive range they may request a debriefing IAW FAR 15.505.

1.6. Discussions

The Government intends to award without discussions, but reserves the right to conduct discussions if necessary. Therefore, it is imperative that Offerors submit their best terms initially. However, if during the evaluation period it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government to hold discussions, Offeror responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs) and the FPR will be considered in making the Source Selection decision. If a Request for FPR is issued, Offeror responses to ENs for Volume I (Technical), Volume II (Price), and Volume III (Contract Documentation) must be incorporated in the FPR in order to be considered in the final evaluation. Failure to include EN responses in the FPR may result in a final "unacceptable" technical rating, or otherwise make your company ineligible for award.

1.7 Solicitation Requirements (Terms and Conditions)

Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and Performance Work Statement (PWS) requirements, in addition to those identified as factors and subfactors. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation may result in the Offeror being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and must provide complete supporting rationale. In the case that a discrepancy exists between Section L- Instructions to Offerors (ITO) and Section M-Evaluation Factors for Award, the evaluation criteria in Section M-Evaluation Factors for Award will take precedence.

2.0. Evaluation Factors

2.1.1. Evaluation factors used to evaluate each proposal:

Award will be made to the offeror proposing the combination most advantageous to the Government based upon an integrated assessment of the evaluation factors described below.

Factor 1: Technical Subfactor 1: Experience working with and repairing aircraft interior panels made of Nomex honeycomb.

Subfactor 2: Chemical requirements Subfactor 3: Experience making vacuum bags from Polyvinyl Alcohol film Subfactor 4: Experience using and installing Dacron cloth Factor 2: Price

2.1.2. Evaluation Methodology:

The Government will evaluate all factors concurrently for all proposals. Initial ratings and evaluated price will be established for each offeror. Only those offerors determined to be technically acceptable, either initially, or as a result of discussions will be considered for award. Award will be made to the lowest evaluated priced proposal meeting the acceptability standards for Factor 1 Technical, and whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by FAR 52.212-1 and its Addendum of this solicitation).

2.2. Factor 1 - Technical

Each subfactor within the technical factor will receive one of the ratings described below based on the criteria listed below.

Individual subfactor ratings will be used to determine the overall technical acceptability of each offeror. To be determined technically acceptable at the factor level, the Offeror must be rated acceptable in each subfactor. A final unacceptable subfactor assessment will determine an overall technical unacceptable rating. The technical evaluation will also consider risk in determining overall acceptability. Risk pertains to the potential for unsuccessful contract performance. Risk will not be receive a separate rating, rather, it will be inherent within the subfactor ratings, and the overall Technical rating. The technical ratings are defined as follows:

Rating Description Acceptable Proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable Proposal does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

2.2.1. Subfactor One: Experience working with and repairing aircraft interior panels made of Nomex honeycomb.

The Offeror shall provide a description of its company's experience working with and repairing aircraft interior panels made of Nomex honeycomb for the E-3 panel/textile refurbishment program. This shall include a plan for repairing/recovering Nomex honeycomb panels with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

2.2.2. Subfactor Two: Chemical Requirements

The following chemicals shall be used in the E-3 interior panel/textile refurbishment process; no substitutes shall be acceptable:

a) Adtech 15-3 or EC-3524 AB Potting Compound

b) Methyl Propyl Ketone

c) Bostik 7132R and Boscodur #24 The Offeror shall provide a plan for handling all chemicals with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

2.2.3. Subfactor Three: Experience making vacuum bags from Polyvinyl Alcohol film.

Each individual panel shall be vacuum sealed with a pressure of 10 to 20 PSI and curring at 120 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 4 hours or curring at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. All panels shall be properly sealed with no wrinkles, bubbles, or voids. The Offeror shall provide a plan for making vacuum bags from Polyvinyl Alcohol film with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

2.2.4. Subfactor Four: Experience using and installing Dacron cloth.

The vinyl will be a perforated acoustic vinyl, must be white in color and is the only vinyl that shall be used on the E-3 interior panels. The Dacron cloth must also be white in color to match the vinyl. The Offeror shall provide a plan for using and installing Dacron cloth with little potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, or degradation of performance, as well as identify and describe the risks of the company's approach and how the risks shall be mitigated.

2.3. Factor 2 -Price

Price proposals will be evaluated for (1) completeness, (2) reasonableness, (3) price realism, (4) unbalanced pricing, and (5) Total Evaluated Price. Offerors whose price is determined to incomplete, unreasonable, or unrealistic will not be considered for award. Additionally, an offeror's price my be rejected, if it contains unbalanced pricing to the extent it poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

2.3.1. Completeness

Proposals will be reviewed for completeness and compliance with Addendum to FAR 52.212-1. Incomplete proposals will be considered unawardable.

2.3.2. Price Reasonableness

The proposed prices will be evaluated for reasonableness. Analysis of price proposals will be performed using one or more of the techniques defined in FAR 15.404 in order to determine price reasonableness. Reasonableness must represent a price to the Government a prudent person would pay in the conduct of competitive business. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through price analysis techniques as described in FAR 15.404.

2.3.3. Price Realism

Unrealistic prices may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from the competition based on an apparent lack of adequate understanding of the requirement or failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the program. Offerors are cautioned to not use underbidding as a pricing strategy with the intention of recovering under-bid costs after contract award via Requests for Equitable Adjustments (REAs) or other devices.

2.3.4. Unbalanced pricing

Offerors' proposals will be reviewed for unbalanced pricing. The Government will evaluate any supporting information provided by the Offeror explaining variances that appear unbalanced. Evaluated offers that are determined to be unbalanced may be deemed ineligible for award by the Contracting Officer if a determination is made that lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through price analysis techniques as described in FAR 15.404. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total price, the price of one or more line items is significantly over or understated as demonstrated by application of price analysis techniques, such that:

a) There is reasonable doubt the offer would result in the lowest overall cost to the Government, even though it is the lowest priced Offeror; or

b) The offer is so grossly unbalanced; its acceptance would be tantamount to allowing an advanced payment.

2.3.5. Data Other than Certified Pricing Data

If requested by the CO, data other than certified pricing data shall be evaluated to support a determination of reasonable and balanced pricing. This information will only be requested if all other sources have been insufficient to support a determination of reasonable and/or balanced pricing.