Attachment_2_-_Instructions_to_Offerors,_Dec_6,_2018.pdf

Attachment 2 – Instructions to Offerors Waybill Sampling

The offeror shall provide the following:

Volume I shall contain the technical response to the SOW. The technical response shall include the technical approach, key personnel, and past performance.

The body of Volume I:

• Shall use a font size of 10 points or larger;

• Shall include a title page (1 page), technical approach (not to exceed 15 pages), resumes

(not to exceed 3 pages per resume), and past performance (not to exceed 7 pages). The title page shall include the vendor’s name, DUNS number, vendor’s point of contact, and a brief table of contents.

The technical proposal shall address the following technical evaluation criteria:

1. Technical Approach - The technical approach shall demonstrate the vendor’s understanding, knowledge, and approach to accomplishing the SOW tasks.

Each offeror will be evaluated on their responses to all the requirements listed in Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Statement of work.

The Offeror should consider addressing the following topics as applicable to their overall approach:

• Understanding of the requirements; reasonableness and logic of approach;

and availability of qualified staff to fulfill this requirement.

• Clarity and completeness of proposal, with explicit and detailed responses to requirements in Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Statement of Work.

• A detailed explanation of how the offeror will meet the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work.

• Quality and timeliness of the deliverables, as shown by the offeror’s responses to the Government’s requirements.

• Proof of the offeror’s ability to deliver the products/services as required.

• The ability to manage the size and scope of all the requirements set forth in the RFP, applicable to Phase I, Phase II or both, depending on the bid.

• The ability to manage the complexities of the required functions.

• Access to the Industry Reference Files identified in the Statement of Work.

• The Government will evaluate Phase II bidders’ miling proposals based on their reliability, compatibility with prior miling estimates, and documentation.

• The information technological capability to collect, analyze, and process the relevant data and produce the deliverables.

2. Key Personnel - The key personnel shall demonstrate relevant education and experience for performing work similar to the SOW tasks.

Each offeror will be evaluated on their approach to staffing and the expertise and experience illustrated in the resumes of the Key personnel proposed for the effort.

See Section 2b of the Statement of Work.

Key Personnel (Program Manager, Data Collector, Rail Network Modeler, Transportation Modeler and Traffic Assignor, Statistician, and Data Analyst) will be evaluated based on the requirements specified below. As part of its staffing analysis, the Government values existing employees more than contingent hires.

Personnel Discipline

Minimum Qualifications

Program Management (Phase I and II)

Experience handling waybill data, 3 years’ experience as a program manager

Data Collection (Phase I) Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field of study, or 3 years of related field experience

Rail Network Modeling (Phase I and II) Bachelor’s degree in transportation engineering or related field, or 5 years of related experience

Transportation modeling and traffic assignment (Phase II)

Bachelor’s degree in transportation engineering or related field of study, or 5 years of related experience

Statistical Analysis (Phase I and II) Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics or a related field of study, or 5 years of related experience

Data Analysis (Phase I and II) and Miling (Phase II)

5 years of work-related experience

3. Past Performance - Vendors providing a quotation will be evaluated on their past performance on projects of similar size, scope and relevance. Vendors shall provide the name and contact information (email and/or phone) for two (2) contracts of similar scope, size, complexity, and pertinence. Vendors may include work performed for both government and non-government clients, as well as work performed as a subcontractor.

Each Offeror will be evaluated on its knowledge and experience along with its capability and capacity to effectively deliver high quality and timely service and solutions. The offeror will demonstrate its ability to deliver the product/services as contracted.

This would encompass, for example, experience with past efforts similar in size, scope and complexity, as well as the current availability of resources (i.e.

personnel) needed to perform required tasks. Each Offeror will submit at least 2 companies and/or government agencies with which they have conducted a significant amount of business within the last five (5) years. Each offeror will be evaluated on their ability to successfully address the service requirements of the 2 companies/agencies they submit, and on how their service requirements compare to the needs of the Government as described in this RFP.

NOTE:

In evaluating an offeror’s past performance, the Government reserves: (a) the right to look beyond the Past Performance references submitted by the offeror, and the right to perform its own research into the offeror’s past performance; and

(b) the right to take into account any other information (not provided by the offeror) which the U. S. Department of Transportation and the Surface Transportation Board possess regarding the offeror’s past performance.

Other information, including information available from web searches, technical evaluator knowledge, and as may be found in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), may also be used to evaluate past performance.

Volume II shall contain the offeror’s firm-fixed price proposal by phase for the base and all option periods. The following table shall be filled out as part of the price proposal.

Period Firm Fixed Price

Base Period - Phase I (17 months)

Base Period - Phase 2 (7 months)

Option Period 1 – Phase 1 (17 months)

Option Period 1 – Phase 2 (7 months)

Option Period 2 – Phase 1 (17 months)

Option Period 2 – Phase 2 (7 months)

Option Period 3 – Phase 1 (17 months)

Option Period 3 – Phase 2 (7 months)

Grand Total for all periods

Provide details on pricing for any Subcontracts /Consultants (if applicable). The price will be evaluated based upon the pricing information provided. The level of effort, which includes all labor categories, are based on reasonable assumptions. The evaluation of each price proposal will include accuracy, completeness, and reasonableness. If the offeror is proposing for only one of the phases, state “N/A” for the phase not proposed. There is no page limit for the price proposal.

52.212-2 Evaluation -- Commercial Items (Oct 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

• Technical Approach;

• Key Personnel;

• Past Performance; and

• Price

The Government will select the proposal that represents the best value to the Government. The non-price evaluation factors listed above are not in any order of importance. All evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are approximately equal to price.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of Provision)