693JJ318R000015_-_Question_and_Answers.pdf

Request for Proposals - 693JJ318R000015

# Contractor Questions Government Responses

Pg. 71, Evaluation Criteria states “The

Technical factor is more important than

Past Performance, and when the two non-price factors (Technical and Past

Performance) are combined, they are approximately equal to Cost/Price.”

However, this is inconsistent with Pg. 72 where it states, “Proposed prices will be evaluated but not scored. The price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements and market rates.” Is

Cost/Price a factor in the scoring or is it just for cost reasonableness evaluation?

Cost/Price has been removed. A price analysis will be used to evaluate prices. As stated in Section

M.2: Proposed prices will be evaluated but not scored.

Does the Government expect one ID/IQ contractor to be able to support all the labs identified in the RFP? Is the ability to support all the labs identified in the RFP part of the evaluation criteria?

The successful offeror must be able to provide support for the entire requirement. Please see the revised submission and evaluation criteria in regards to supporting all of the laboratories identified in the RFP.

Exhibit J.1. has 74 labor categories. Can the Government provide guidance on which of these are on-site (at TFHRC) and which can be off-site, as that has an impact on our loaded rates?

Please see the amended Exhibit J.1 and provide both on-site and off-site rates.

The RFP denotes Key Personnel as the

Program Manager and the four Lab

Managers. However, the staffing descriptions beginning on Pg. 14 and

Exhibit J.1 do not have labor categories for the four lab managers. Which of the labor categories does the Government consider applicable to the Lab Managers?

Please see the amended RFP and Exhibit J.1.

Does the Government anticipate issuing separate task orders for each lab or does the Government anticipate grouping labs within a single task order? Is it possible the Government would split staffing within a single lab under multiple ask orders?

The Government will issue Task Order Proposal

Requests as it identifies needs.

Are there expected to be non-lab related task orders released under this ID/IQ contract?

Yes. The Government will issue Task Order

Proposal Requests as it identifies needs.

Pg. 6 of the RFP has Communications and

Outreach as part of the Scope of Work.

(e.g. “Prepare marketing materials to promote laboratories, programs, and projects such as fact sheets, videos, conference exhibits, posters, etc.”

However, there are no labor categories associated with this Scope. Which labor category does the Government expect these types of activities to be covered under?

"Prepare marketing materials to promote laboratories, programs, and projects such as fact sheets, videos, conference exhibits, posters, etc."

has been removed from the RFP.

Will the Government please confirm that the NAICS code for this requirement is

541715, with a size standard of 1000 employees.

The NAICS codes assosciated with this requirement is 541715/Size standards in number of employees: 1,000

If FHWA anticipates final solicitation release on 15 February, should the due date for questions to the Government be later than 1:00 pm 15 February as shown in para L.14?

Questions were due by 1 PM Eastern Time (EST), on 02/15/2019.

On Page 13 of 72, under Staff

Competencies/Capabilities (GEO) lab, 7th bullet, some text seems missing. Should it say “manage data?

Page 13 of 72, under Staff

Competencies/Capabilities (GEO) lab is to

"manage data" and is corrected in the final RFP.

FBO Announcement notes the NAICS code as 541380 and in Section K, Page 58, it is listed as 541715. Please clarify.

The NAICS codes assosciated with this requirement is 541715/Size standards in number of employees: 1,000

Page 2 B.1 - No cost reimbursable task orders appear to be possible. Please confirm.

The task orders placed under the contract will be

Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), Time & Materials

(T&M)/Labor Hour (LH), or a hybrid of both types based on a determination by the

Contracting Officer (CO) at the task order level.

Page 56 provides Key Personnel listing.

Please clarify the position requirements for the four Laboratory Managers.

Please see the revised final RFP and Exhibit J.1.

Page 35 G.12 – “Evaluation of past performance will be based on the past performance data in each awardee’s proposal” Past Performance Data does not seem to be required (see Page 67 –

Part IV). It is unclear how the Government will use Past Performance data from the proposal, if it is not required to be submitted (from Past performance

Questionnaires). Does the Government want only the names and contact numbers of references, which they will then contact themselves? There is also a “page limit” of

10 pages for Past Performance, under

Volume II (see Page 64, of 72 L.11). Please clarify.

Offerors are not required to submit past performance references as stated in Section L.

The amended RFP has been revised accordingly.

Page 64 L.11 states that Volume I is in two parts – but three parts are subsequently listed. Please clarify.

Please see the revised final RFP: This volume shall consist of three parts. Parts I , II, and III shall be bound together. No Price data shall be included in any part of Volume I.

Page 64 L.11 also states under Volume 1

Part II that the Staffing Proposal/Resumes are not to exceed 30 pages. On Page 65

Part II, the RFP requires Staffing and

Contingency plans along with "Master

Staffing Matrix that denotes key personnel and the staffing proposed, along with capabilities/credentials". With up to 15 pages for key personnel resumes, it is our opinion that 30 pages are inadequate to address the government requirements effectively. Also, please clarify if the government wants the proposing contractor to assign a specific candidate for all the levels under each of the positions in the proposal.

Please see the amended RFP with the following language: (b) Part II - Staffing Proposal/Resumes -

Resumes are limited to three pages per key personnel. Resumes are not required for non-key personnel. Staffing proposal/Resumes are not to

Exceed 35 - pages. Also, Please see the revised

Section L.11 - Part II – Staffing Proposal/Resumes.

Solicitation 693JJ318R000015

Section L.11, page 64 - Reference “Volume

I – Technical Proposal” Paragraph states, “Parts I and II shall be bound together.”

Question: What does this mean, since there are three Parts required for this volume? I would assume all three parts will be bound together as the volume.

Please see the revised final RFP: This volume shall consist of three parts. Parts I , II, and III shall be bound together. No Price data shall be included in any part of Volume I.

Solicitation 693JJ318R000015

Section L.11, page 67

Reference Part IV – Past Performance.

Paragraph states, “Offerors are not required to submit past performance references.” Question: If we do not submit

Past Performance references, what will go in Part IV?

Please see Section M.2 (b)

Ref. Sect. I – Contract Clauses page 56 -

Are any of the Key Personnel (or non-key personnel) required to be a US citizen? or have a security clearance?

Please see Section I - 1252.237-70

QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES.

(APR 2005)

What records of the previous contractors will be made available to the new contractor? (e.g. lab data, unpublished technical reports, records of meetings, emails)

All technical data is saved by each laboratory on its own electronic filing system. Technical data includes, lab data, unpublished technical reports, lab meeting notes, email relevant to the conduct of the research, etc

Is there a time period for which records must be retained after completion of the contract?

Techncial data records are retained from the start in accordance with lab specific filing protocols, so at the end of the contract all techncial data is retained by the Government.

How do interested vendors obtain a copy of the presentation file that was used at the PPC?

As stated in the Pre-Proposal Conference, the presentation is attached to this amendment.

Who are the incumbent contractors for each of the four current lab contracts (STR, GEO, NDE, HYD) and what are the contract numbers?

NDE:

Contractor: Engineering & Software Consultants, Inc.

Hydraulics:

Contractor: Genex Systems, LLC

Geotechnical:

Contractor: Engineering & Software Consultants

Structures:

Contractor: Rao Research and Consulting, LLC

Draft RFP Section L.8 states that three contracts will be awarded. Please clarify and provide detail on how the work specified Section 3 will be allocated among the three contracts. For example, (1) Will operation of one laboratory be assigned to each of two contracts and the other two laboratories assigned to the third contractor, (2) Will multiple contractors share operations of the same laboratories, or (3) Will some other arrangement be made. A clear understanding of each contractor’s responsibilities will be critical to offerors’ ability to respond to the proposal instruction on Draft RFP Page 65 to “..demonstrate an understanding of the issues involved, the approach to addressing such issues, and the unique experience of the offeror’s team to address such considerations” as well as

Part II - Risk Mitigation Plan.

Please see Section C.3 Scope (Questions 2 and 3).

The Government will issue Task Order Proposal

Requests as it identies needs. Task Orders will be awarded under a competitive process (Question

1).

Four of the five Key Personnel (the four

Laboratory Managers) identified in Draft

RFP Clause 1252.237-73 Key Personnel are not included in Draft RFP Section C.6

Staffing. Please provide position descriptions for those Key Personnel.

Please see the amended RFP and Exhibit J.1.

Can the same individual be proposed for multiple Key Positions?

Yes

Draft RFP Section L.11 (Page 64) says that

Part IV Past Performance of proposal

Volume II is limited to 10 pages. However, RFP Section L.11 also says on Page 67 that

"Offerors are not required to submit past performance references." Please clarify what information offerors should provide in Part IV Past Performance.

The amended RFP has been corrected. Offerors are not required to submit past performance references.

In addition to Parts I, II, and III, will an

Introduction be allowed to Volume I

Technical proposal? If so, what will the page limit be for that section?

Please see Section L.11 for the total not to exceed page limits for all documents.

The FBO General Information for this solicitation lists the applicable NAICS Code as 541380, which has a small business size standard of $15M. However, Section K of the Draft RFP indicates NAICS Code

541715 will be used for this solicitation, but the size standard for 541715 is listed in the Draft RFP is $15M, which does not align with the SBA size standards effective as of October 1, 2017. If the NAICS Code

541715 is correct, it should be a 1000 employee size standard.

Will the government clarify the NAICS code and size standard for this solicitation?

The NAICS codes assosciated with this requirement is 541715/Size standards in number of employees: 1,000

Please clarify that Volume I consists of three (3) parts and that all three parts shall be bound together for submission as

Volume I.

Please see the revised final RFP: This volume shall consist of three parts. Parts I , II, and III shall be bound together. No Price data shall be included in any part of Volume I.

What is the current number of contractor staff members in each of the labs?

Geotech: 4, NDE: 4, Structures:6, Hydraulics: 10

What is the ratio (or number) of professional to technical personnel (i.e.

engineers vs. technicians) in each lab?

The approximate ratio of engineers hours to technician hours is between 1:1 or 3:2 depending on the specific nature of the work in each lab.

What was the approximate funding level for each of labs in 2018?

The 2018 funding level for each lab is not neccesarily indicative of the nominal expenduture rate of the labs.

What is the anticipated funding level for each lab in 2019 and 2020?

In accordance with Section M.2 (c) PRICE

EVALUATION - The IGCE will not be disclosed to the public. Funding levels will not be provided. All contracts will have the same ceiling amount.

Individual task orders will be issues as needs are identified.

What is the process for existing contractor personnel to transfer employment if the award is made to a different contractor than the incumbent? Is it appropriate to approach these personnel now and propose them as part of a non-incumbent team? What is the appropriate process for this approach? Is there a list of existing personnel with their associated contact information available?

Please see FAR 52.222-17 Nondisplacement of

Qualified Workers.

Is the goal of the contract to simply supply able and intelligent staff in each laboratory or is there also a need for subject matter experts to provide expert feedback to each respective FHWA PM?

FHWA provides the program management and identifies all research projects in each labs.

What are the end dates for the existing contracts for each lab? Are these for the overall contract or individual task orders?

If task orders, what are the end dates for those?

NDE – Contract expires in 3/2019. Task orders for external research continuing until 9/2019.

Structures – Contract expires in May, 2019. One task order funded through April, 2019.

Hydraulics- One task order funded through June

2020.

Geotech – Contract expires 8/2022. One task order funded through 8/2019

38 How many awards are anticipated? Please see Section L.8

Considering the timeline of the task orders for each of the laboratories, it appears that the qualifications for two of the laboratories (Structures and NDT) are more critical because of imminent end dates of their current contracts. Since

FHWA plans to phase out the current contracts on the other two laboratories

(Hydraulics and Geotech) over the next 2-3 years, it is difficult, and perhaps even somewhat disingenuous, for ANY offeror to guarantee that the staffing proposed today will be available over the next 2-3 years. Under the circumstances, should there be more weightage given in the staffing proposal for the two labs

(Structures and NDT) which will be awarded task orders in the near term?

Offerors shall propose staffing for the requirement in its entirety in accordance with

Section L, Proposal Instructions.

Can an offeror bid on partial scope, especially in light of the anticipated task order timelines, or otherwise?

Offerors shall demontrate technical capability in all technical areas.

If bidding on partial scope is allowed, will the offeror be allowed to bid on an expanded scope when the government requests proposal for future task orders?

Offerors shall demontrate technical capability in all technical areas.

Page 64 notes that Volume II of the proposal should include a Part IV for Past

Performance, not to exceed 10 pages.

Page 67 notes that for Part IV, “Offerors are not required to submit past performance references”. What is the

Government looking for in the 10 pages?

Offerors are not required to submit past performance references as stated in Section L.

The amended RFP has been revised accordingly.

Are there any required Contractor-provided materials and supplies?

Materials and supplies are typically supplied by the Government under the terms of the contract.

Contractors may have to acquire property for the

Government under task orders.

10. Can you clarify what, if any, external

(off site) research will be required under this contract?

The Government will issue Task Order Proposal

Requests as it identifies needs.