FINALQ_A693JJ419R000001_Aug-19.pdf

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS DRAFT RFP 693JJ419R000001 – DATA QUALITY

ANALYSIS

1. Question: The included Pricing Schedule identifies different tasks than in the

RFP. Are we to revise these to match the RFP tasks and this should serve as a guide for format?

Answer: A new Pricing Schedule will be included in the final RFP that is aligned with the tasks in the SOW.

2. Question: The included Pricing Schedule identifies ODC-Travel amounts for each year.

Are these the amounts intended/to be used, or are these associated with the sample template and ODC-Travel should be estimated and provided as part of the costing?

Answer: The ODC-Travel amounts included on the Pricing Schedule are the amounts to be provided as a part of the Price proposal.

3. Question: Task 4 heading is shown as “Optional Task 4”. Is that intentional? There is no other language in the description that makes suggest it is optional.

Answer: Task 4 is an optional task to conduct on-site training. FMCSA partners with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) for an event held every 18-months. The next scheduled training is for August 2020 (base year), then January 2022 (option year 2), and August 2023 (option year 3). The agency reserves the right to exercise the optional task.

4. Question: FMCSA has included mixed references throughout the solicitation from market research to draft RFP, yet they require offerors to submit complete proposal with pricing. Could FMCSA clarify their intent regarding this solicitation.

Answer: The initial posting was intended to serve a draft to solicit feedback on the PWS and provide industry notice of the forthcoming procurement. The proposal due date will be provided with final RFP.

5. The synopsis document states “All offers shall not exceed 25 pages.” The document further defines Section 1 as, essentially, the technical proposal, and Section 2 as the Business and Pricing proposal.

The document further states Section 2 has two major elements, the Representations and Certifications, and the Pricing. It then says that the Representations and Certifications as defined in FAR 52.212-3 shall not count towards the 25 page limit.

a. Question 5a: Is the page count for the pricing also excluded from the 25 page limit, or does it count as part of the 25 page limit.

Answer 5a: There is no page limitation to Section II: Business and Pricing Proposal.

b. Question 5b: If the pricing is included within the 25-page limit, is the bidder required to use the exact format from the document titled Pricing_Schedule_693JJ419R000001, or is the bidder free to reformat the pricing?

Answer 5b: Section II – Business and Pricing are not included in the 25-page limit. However, the format for the Pricing Schedule document has been revised and will be included with the final RFP in Excel format.

c. Question 5c: Further, if the bidder is expected to use the exact format, could you provide it to us in Excel?

Answer 5c: See attached REVISED Pricing schedule in Excel Format.

6. Question: The synopsis states “All evaluation factors that will affect contract award and their relative importance are set forth in the solicitation.” While the evaluation criteria are included in the synopsis document, they are not included in the draft PWS. Should we expect the evaluation criteria to be included in the final PWS?

Answer: The RFP/Solicitation states the evaluation criteria and the order of importance.

7. Question: There is one reference that Section 2 should contain “Business”. There is no reference in the draft PWS to any management plan or approach, other than several references to performance measures and a reference to a Quality Control Plan. We believe that a Quality Control Plan is only a part of the creation and implementation of a quality management plan. We believe that the use of our PMBOK standard management approach and our ISO 9001 approved processes provide added value to the government. Where would you envision management plan information being provided in the proposal.

Answer: Offerors shall address the technical and management approach to meeting the requirement set forth in the PWS.

8. Question: Is there an anticipated industry day or pre-proposal conference with FMCSA to cover the needs of the contract in more depth before the final RFP?

Answer: FMCSA does not intend to have an industry day or pre-proposal conference for this requirement.

9. Question: Is the anticipated training count in the draft subject to change, or are those training sessions a firm number?

Answer: The number of training sessions identified in the PWS are firm at this time.

10. Question: Is the web based training referred to in the pricing document expected to be an on demand, pre-recorded/static training, or a “live” scheduled web based training?

Answer: The pricing schedule included with the draft RFP has been revised.

11. Question: Where is the SafetyNet System hosted? Does VOLPE manage this system also?

Answer: SAFETYNET has a local client that States/FMCSA Divisions have installed on their hardware. FMCSA is moving towards a cloud-based instance. Volpe is involved in training States to use SAFETYNET. Software improvements are handled by FMCSA’s Office of Information Technology.

12. Question: Is SafetyNet a Web-based system? What database is used to support SafetyNet? Oracle, SQL Server, etc.?

Answer: SAFETYNET has a desktop client and is supported by an Oracle database.

13. Question: How is crash data from the State uploaded to SafetyNet? Does FMCSA receive an .xml file from the State or do States have an interface to SafetyNet for an online upload?

Answer: Most States create an XML extract to import into SAFETYNET. Some states that hand-enter data directly into SAFETYNET.

14. Question: Some states already updated their crash data to be compatible with MMUCC and some states haven’t updated theirs yet. Is FMCSA planning to update its MCMIS and SAFETYNET system and data uploading procedure to be compatible with MMUCC?

Will this task be part of the SOW, or will this SOW just include recommendations?

Answer: No State is 100% MMUCC version 5 compatible. FMCSA is working with States to adopt MMUCC to a greater extent. A part of the technical and consultative services within Task 1 is to help guide States through this process from a collection and extraction points of view. FMCSA will be updating its IT systems in the future to accommodate this additional data.

15. Question: In task 2, it is stated “Generally, there are eight (8) total analyses of FMCSA crash data and DataQs per year”. Does this refer to the total number of analyses of the types mentioned in Subtask 2a and Subtask 2b, and if so, what is the usual breakdown by report type (i.e., 1 annual MCMIS Field Review + SAFETYNET field reviews for 6 individual states + 1 DataQs RDR, or 1 MCMIS + 4 SAFETYNET + 3 DataQs RDR, etc.)?

Answer: This is for the total task, and not eight for each subtask.

16. Question: Will FMCSA be open to using the “Best in Class” 8(a) STARS II GWAC contract vehicle.

Answer: The population of companies with expertise in Federal and State traffic records systems is relatively small. FMCSA does not want to further limit competition.