Questions and Answers_IML_For Draft RFP Only.pdf

Solicitation Number: 693JJ322R000003 Project Name: Infrastructure Materials Laboratories (IML) Support

# Reference Question Answer

On Page 76, in Section L.6 the third bullet under Part I:

ID/IQ Technical Approach references Task

Areas A through C in the SOW. However, there are no Task Areas A through C. I am guessing that this should refer to SOW

Sections C1 through C.3.

It's meant to refer to section C.3. The RFP will be revised to correct that.

RFP Section L.6, under Volume II –

Price/Cost Analysis, Part I, Paragraph B.2

"The same level of detail for the Offeror is also required for each Subcontractor(s) included in the proposal." Will the government please clarify if this instruction is for all Subcontractors, or only for

Subcontractors used for the Task Order

Proposal?

Ceiling rates for each labor catergory is expected to be established at the ID/IQ level.

RFP Section L.6, under Volume II –

Price/Cost Analysis, Part I, Paragraph B.2 on page 79

Will the government please clarify what the

"Price Matrix" is?

Attachment J.1 ‐ It will be revised to reference the attachment in the RFP.

Will the government please provide a draft copy of J.6 ‐ Task Order 0001?

No.

Given the government's intent to make multiple awards, and the Note on page 87 of the DRFP that Task Order 0001 will be awarded immediately upon award of the

ID/IQ ‐ will each IDIQ contract holder be awarded Task Order 0001?

No. Only one contractor will be awarded the first task order. Additional IML Task Order Proposal

Requests will follow award of the initial ID/IQ(s).

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Lab Manager

CCL, ABML, and APL do not have Lab

Manager Job Descriptions. Is it the intent of the government to not have Lab Managers for these Labs?

The function of the lab manager is incorprated into other labor categories in the CCL, ABML, and

APL

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Concrete Lab

Con‐RT‐3 requires an ACI Concrete Lab

Testing Technician Level 2 certification. This is a rare certification, and we have found that laboratory research experience has proven more valuable than that certification.

Would the government consider requiring a

Level 1 certification with the experience listed as the qualification for Con‐RT‐3 and allow Con‐RT Levels 4&5 to build on an ACI

Concrete Lab Testing Technician Level 1 certification?

This labor description is as intended. Labor categories and hours will be specified in each

TOPR.

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Corrosion & Coatings Lab

CCL RE‐3 states PhD with 3 years of

"additional" experience. Please confirm this is 3 years experience with PhD and not a total 8 years (This may effect Lvl 4 & 5).

CCL‐R3 is either with CCL‐RE2 plus a PhD or CCL‐

RE2 plus 3 years experience

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Corrosion & Coatings Lab

CCL RT requires a 2 year technical training school. Would the government authorize years of experience as an alternate qualification for the 2 year technical training school? This would widen the aperture for recruiting and enable flexibility in finding the right person for this critical position.

2 years of training could be either formal training at a techncial school or "on the job training"

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Asphalt Binder and Mixtures Lab

ARE‐2 and ARE‐3 requirements appear to contradict each other, can the government please clarify? ARE‐2 requires a Masters of

Science or PhD with 1 year of research experience. ARE‐3 first sentence states that it can build on ARE‐2 (allowing a Master's degree), but the last sentence states that a

PhD is required. Also, please validate that only personnel with PhDs are authorized for

Level 4 and 5 since they build on Level 3 or if employees with Master's degrees with experience are qualified for this position.

ARE‐3 requires a PhD, and 3 years of hand‐on asphalt research experience. ARE‐4 and ARE‐5 require additional experience

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Aggregates and Petrography Lab

Concrete and Aggregate Petrographer, Petrography Preparation Technician or

Highway Materials Engineer have a duty description, but no Levels with educational and experience requirements like the other lab positions. Will the government specify the level of requirements in the Final RFP?

No"levels" for the labor categories are specified beyond the specialized experience specified

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Aggregates and Petrography Lab

Materials Testing Technician ‐ there are no years of experience requirements. In the final RFP, will the government require experience as a factor or will it be solely based on the certification requirements?

Experience and/or certifications will widen the aperture to a solid recruitment approach and provide additional flexibility in hiring highly qualified personnel.

No years of experience are required beyond the specified certifications, which would presumably require progressively more experience

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Pavement Testing Facility

PTF Lab Manager ‐ Will the government consider revising Level 2 requirements to allow for employees with PhDs to enter with the same experience requirements as a Level

1 and allow Level 3 to build on Level 2 requirements? This improves the recruitment capability of PhD graduates from universities and industry.

The PTF‐OE is a "hands‐on" operations person. It is not a researcher.

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Pavement Testing Facility

PTF‐RE‐3 ‐ with a Bachelors degree. Should the requirement be 3 additional years of experience (total of 6 years for a Bachelors and 3 years for a Masters degree)?

yes

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Pavement Testing Facility

PTF‐OE‐3 ‐ would the government allow for an entry level position for a person with a

Masters Degree? This will aid in recruitment by expanding the pool of highly qualified candidates.

The PTF‐OE is a "hands‐on" operations person. It is not a researcher.

J.2 Labor Category Descriptions;

Pavement Testing Facility

PTF‐RT‐3 ‐ would the government allow for an entry level position for a person with a

Bachelors Degree? This will aid in recruitment by expanding the pool of highly qualified candidates.

No. On the PTF experience is prioritized

17 RFP: Section I

The Key Personnel Lists only include the

Program Manager. Would the government consider adding all Lab Managers positions and/or critical positions for labs without lab managers as Key Personnel? This would ensure the government gets to validate the proposed candidate's capabilities and experience. As written, the CCL Lab could be managed by a CCL‐RE1 with basic lab experience.

The PM is the only key personnel at the contract level. Additional key personnel may be specified in the TO

18 RFP: Section L

L.6. Part 1: ID/IQ Technical Approach ‐ 3d bullet "Describe offor's technical approach to performing work described in Task Areas A through C (Section C of the RFP)". The Draft

RFP doesn't specifically identify Task Areas A, B, or C but has paragraphs a.

Communications and Outreach, b.

Laboratory Management Services, and c.

Information Management. Can the government clarify what RFP sections are

Task Areas A through C? Are offerors required to respond to C.3.1 ‐ C.3.7?

See question 1 above.

19 RFP: Section L

The Government usually requires signed letters of commitment for most staffing, especially when resumes are provided. Can you please verify that these letters of commitment are not required? It would seem appropriate to include these commitment letters, as personnel changes during the evaluation process and transition would be disruptive to the Government.

They are not currently required.

20 Labor Rate Chart and RFP Section L Can the government provide an example line on the chart?

It was uploaded to SAM as DRAFT_Labor Rate

21 Labor Rate Chart and RFP Section L

The Draft instructions for IDIQ and TO refer to the same attachment J.1. Please confirm that the Offeror is expected to submit 2 separate Excel documents (IDIQ and TO).

Interested vendors will be expected to provide a price proposal to TO 0001 in addition to

Attachment J.1.

22 Labor Rates Chart

Both the FFP and Cost Plus tabs are missing:

Concrete Lab Manager Level Pricing, Chemistry Lab Level Pricing, SME Level IV, and SME Level V.

SME IV and SME V are added. Lab Manager for each lab is on row 8 of the Attachment J.1

23 Labor Rates Chart

Both FFP and Cost Plus tabs have Line 8 with

Lab Manager. Would the government consider adding a Lab Manager to each Lab for pricing to allow for flexibility to meet the industry requirements?

This labor description is as intended.

24 L.6 Part II

The Draft RFP does not require a staffing, recruitment, and retention approach. Since this contract involves staffing and retaining a team with highly niche/qualified personnel with very narrow skillsets, any staff changeover, or Government additions to labor categories could prove to be highly disruptive to performance. Would the government consider adding a specific request for offerors to submit recruitment and retention information?

Section L.6 states the "Offeror shall…Describe the

Offeror's proposed staffing approach for the ID/IQ

Key Personnel…."

25 L.6 Part III Paragraph b and h both requests Section K information.

This will be corrected in the RFP.

26 Section L, Page 77

The second NOTE TO OFFERORS on Page 77, refers to references in Volume 2 of the proposal. It also discusses the option to include experience information in Volume II.

However, the instructions for Volume II on

Pages 78‐80 do not discuss references.

This will be corrected in the RFP.