Solicitation_QandA_062111.docx

SVTC Solicitation No. 696940 – Questions and Answers July 22, 2011 QUESTIONS IDENTIFIED IN BOLD LETTERING INDICATE THE SOLICITATION HAS BEEN UPDATED PER THE ANSWER PROVIDED.

1. The current schedule has questions due July 28th and the response due August 8th, which leaves very little time for the industry to react to answers. Please provide answers to questions on a rolling basis to maximize the industry’s ability to react to the FBI’s answers.

a. Questions are being addressed and answered on a rolling basis.

2. If the FBI is not able to provide answers on a rolling basis, please extend the due date by two weeks.

a. See #1. The due date will not be extended as of July 21, 2011.

3. Thinking of the cost of production, does the FBI require one original and three copies of all four volumes?

a. Yes.

4. Section L requires respondents to addresses Key Personnel in several places: L.1.3.1(a), L.1.3.3(b), and L.1.3.3(d). As there is a page limitation requirement, can Section L be changed so offerors are only required to provide this information in one place?

a. Section L only requires key personnel to be addressed in the Staffing Plan which is in one place.

5. With the page limitation requirement and Section L.1.3.3(d) opening the door for any number of key personnel to be proposed we are requesting that resumes not be included in the page limitation so as to keep parity with respondents.

a. Section C of the solicitation only requires two Key Personnel to be utilized. It is up to the discretion of the offeror to provide the key personnel information requested while meeting the page limitation requirements.

6. Regarding L.1.3.5(f), will the FBI allow the answers to the Acquisition Risk Management questions to be included in Volume I with the rest of the Section K responses in order to keep the Section K responses together?

a. The Acquisition Risk Management questions may be included with Section K responses as long as the Security Plan properly references those responses.

7. The RFP requires effectively the same information to be provided in two (2) separate places: L.1.3.1(c) and L.1.3.2(c). Please clarify what is required in these two sections.

a. L.1.3.1(c ) is referring to the technical aspects of the contract while L.1.3.2(c ) is referring to the management of contract.

8. Section L.1.3.1(a) seems to be asking offerors to describe how they will address each of the Section C requirements. Section L.1.3.1(b) seems to be asking for information on a smaller portion of Section C. With the page limitation requirement in mind, please clarify the differences between these two requirements as one appears to be a subset of the other.

a. L.1.3.1(a) is looking for how the offeror will approach the work in Section C and L.1.3.1(b) is looking for how the offeror will achieve the mission objectives. They are very closely related and are listed in the same category.

9. Please define and list “functional area objectives” as referred to in L.1.3.1(b)?

a. The functional area objectives are as listed in Section C.2.2.

10. Please define and list “minimum requirements” as referred to in L.1.3.1(b)?

a. The minimum requirements are the work, tasks, and contractor responsibilities listed in Section C.

11. Please define and list “constraints” as referred to in L.1.3.1(b)?

a. Constraints are the limitations placed on contract performance (i.e. working hours, clearances, quality control requirements, etc.)

12. Minimum requirements are referred to in section L.1.3.1(b). Please distinguish among the requirements that are part of the minimums, mandatory, and optional.

a. Any item listed as minimum or a requirement is mandatory. Any item that is optional would be specifically identified as optional.

13. Please define the constraints mentioned in Section L.1.3.1(b).

a. See #11.

14. Please provide data on the number and types of systems and MCU’s, locations and call data/profiles.

a. All equipment is listed in Attachment 3.

15. Please provide clarification regarding the requirements for the Program Manager; must the PM be on-site, full-time at the Clarksburg VOC or available on an as-needed basis?

a. Requirements of the Program Manager are listed in Section C.2.2.C. It is up to the discretion of the offeror to determine the allocation of time on-site.

16. Please detail the security requirements (levels of personnel clearance: Secret, TS or TS/SCI) for on-site work at locations other than Clarksburg VOC and FBI HQ/JEH?

a. Tasks at locations other than Clarksburg VOC and FBI HQ/JEH will require the Contractor to provide personnel with a minimum of a Secret clearance to perform the following services within specified timelines at FBI offices and facilities world-wide. Absent specific direction in a task order that a TS/SCI clearance is required, the Contractor may assume that requirements to perform assigned tasks will require personnel with Secret clearances.

17. Is the intent to have the CTS-Design and Install technicians on-site at all times or is this for the upgrades per incident?

a. It is up to the discretion of the offeror to decide the extent of time necessary for the captioned labor categories to meet the requirements listed in Section C.

18. Can the response to the Sample Task (Attachment 9) be provided as an attachment or otherwise be excluded from the page count for Volume II?

a. The response to the Sample Task is to be provided in the Technical Approach which is captured in Volume II.

19. What position requires what level of Clearance and at what location?

a. Section C.2.2 addresses the level of clearance required for each location. TS/SCI is required at both the Clarksburg, WV and Washington, DC FBI Headquarters locations. These tasks will require the Contractor to provide personnel with a minimum of a Secret clearance to perform the following services within specified timelines at FBI offices and facilities world-wide. Absent specific direction in a task order that a TS/SCI clearance is required, the Contractor may assume that requirements to perform assigned tasks will require personnel with Secret clearances.

20. Can the government provide a list of the labor categories by location for the opportunity referenced above?

a. It is up to the discretion of the offeror to determine what labor categories to utilize to support each location in accordance with the tasks required at each as described in Section C.2.2. Attachment 12 identifies historically utilized Job Titles and Skills Descriptions. While this list may be used as a guide, it shall not be construed to be the only options for labor categories. The offeror shall take these categories under advisement and propose the labor mix that satisfy’s the government’s requirements as listed in Section C in the most innovative and cost effective manner.

21. We are unable to open the link provided on page #20 of the SOW showing the information on Federal Standard 123 “Marking for Commercial Shipment”. Would you know of an alternate location of where this information can be obtained? The link listed in the SOW is as follows: https://hvsc.gsa.gov/Marking_Labeling_Packaging/FEDSTD123H.pdf

a. This has now been provided as Attachment 6 and Section C has been updated to reflect this change.

22. Section B.2: The B-Tables identify a QTY, UNIT, UNIT PRICE, and AMOUNT. However, for CLINs 0003X, 1003X, etc. of these tables the QTY and UNIT are shown as 1 and HR respectively. Does this mean the Govt. is looking for the fully loaded HOURLY rate for the UNIT PRICE column? If so, what does the Government expect to see in the AMOUNT column? Can the Government provide an estimate of the number of hours in the Base Year for CLIN 0003 and its sub-CLINS as a basis so that the AMOUNT column can be provided?

a. The Unit Price referenced shall be the hourly rate and it is up to the discretion of the offeror to determine the allocation of hours required to meet the requirements of Section C and therefore determine total AMOUNT.

23. Will the Government please provide additional information regarding the IDIQ portion of the contract - How many hours in each labor category are estimated in the Base year?

a. Each IDIQ task may require its own unique labor categories depending on how the offeror decides to propose the work to be performed and therefore estimates would be unique to each specific offeror.

24. Section G.2(a) states that IDIQ work shall be billed not later than 30 days following completion of any specific task. This seems to suggest short, small IDIQ tasks. Is this correct? If so can the government provide additional details on the number of tasks anticipated on an annual basis, the expected size (Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staffing) and duration of such tasks.

a. This is correct. Additionally, see #23. The number of tasks and length of time will depend on demand and the offeror’s approach, however the minimums and maximums will be in accordance with the requirements of Section I.2.

25. For the optional CLINs 0005X, 1005X, etc. except for shift transition does the government anticipate the need for more than one on-site person for each location during off hours? If so, how many on-site staff are required at each location during off hours for these CLINS?

a. It is up to the discretion of the offeror to determine how they will allocate resources to accomplish the requirements of Section C.2.5.

26. Section C.1 mentions worldwide support and maintenance. Section C.2 references geographical areas outside the US where Legal Attache Offices are located. At what locations, if any, outside the US does the Government anticipate a need for permanent staffing under the IDIQ portion of the contract? Can the Government also provide an estimate of the non-permanent staffing, i.e., periodic maintenance, on-site troubleshooting, etc.?

a. The FBI does not intend for any permanent staffing at Legal Attache Offices.

27. Section C.2.1 references an incumbent contractor. Will the government please provide details on the incumbent contractor level of effort (# of FTE staff per contract year, # of task orders per year, locations supporting full-time support staff, etc.)

a. The incumbent contractor is Trinity Video Communications. It should be noted that the current procurement covers a different scope of work than is addressed in Section C of this solicitation and therefore the numbers provided will not directly compare to the requirements in Section C. Current staffing at the Clarksburg facility includes eleven (11) employees and current staffing at the JEH Headquarters includes four (4) employees.

28. Section C.2.2 provides historical workload information for Clarksburg and the JEH Headquarters. Do these numbers include the three FTE staff associated with the Firm-Fixed Price CLIN?

a. Please see #27. The CLINs listed in this solicitation do not necessarily directly correspond to the current procurement.

29. Please clarify the hours of operation for both the Clarksburg and the JEH Building Section B states, “Full time staff at VOC 6 AM-6 PM M-F,” but Section C, paragraph C.2.2.A states, “The Contractor shall staff the VOC from 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. And paragraph C.2.2.B states, “The Contractor shall staff the JEH from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday thru Friday, excluding federal holidays.”

a. This has been corrected in the updated solicitation. The Clarksburg VOC must be staffed from 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays and the FBI/JEH facility must be staffed from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday thru Friday, excluding federal holidays.”

30. Section C.2.2 states “By way of historical workload information, current staffing at the Clarksburg facility includes eleven (11) employees and current staffing at the JEH Headquarters includes four (4) employees. “. Do the numbers represent FTEs for 6AM to 6PM operation? Do these numbers include program management?

a. Yes and yes.

31. Will there be any site visits included in this solicitation and if so when and what would the access requirements be for such a visit?

a. The FBI does not currently intend to provide for site visits.

32. L.3, L4: Please confirm that the time requirements are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

a. All times are to be considered as Eastern Standard Time as the two main locations are within this time zone.

33. B2 Item 0002A: Please clarify that quantity 1 is for an entire staff for 1 year.

a. That is correct.

34. B2 Item 0002B: Please clarify that quantity 1 is for an entire staff for 1 year.

a. That is correct.

35. Please confirm that no information is needed in the pricing table for the following CLINs: 0004, 0004A, 0004B, 1004, 1004A, 1004B, 2004, 2004A, 2004B, 3004, 3004A, 3004B, 4004, 4004A, 4004B.

a. That is correct.

36. This offeror recommends that the Resumes be removed from the page limit to allow us to provide more information regarding the experience of our key personnel. This offeror recommends limiting resumes to 3 pages per resume.

a. Please see #5.

37. Reference B.2 Contract Line Item Numbers 0002A and 0002B and C.2.2 Firm Fixed Price Work (CLIN 0002): B.2 lists “Full time staff at VOC 6 AM-6 PM M-F” and “Full time staff at JEH 6 AM-6 PM M-F” but C.2.2.A says, “The Contractor shall staff the VOC from 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday through Friday” and C.2.2.B says, “The Contractor shall staff the JEH from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM Monday thru Friday.” What are the applicable hours for each location?

a. Please see # 29.

38. Reference B.2 Contract Line Item Numbers 0005, 0005A, and 0005B for Base Contract Period and Option Periods lists “24x7x365 staff at VOC 6 AM-6 PM M-F” and “24x7x365 staff at JEH 6 AM-6 PM M-F”. Recommend removing 6 AM-6 PM M-F since the request is for a 24x7x365 support staff.

a. This will be corrected in the updated solicitation.

39. L.4: Is a Proposal Cross-Reference Table required in each volume?

a. No this is not required, however if it is included it will not count towards the page limitations.

40. L.4: This offeror assumes that a comprehensive Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms that covers all volumes is acceptable.

a. This is correct.

41. L.1.4: For past performance, the RFP requires a minimum of two contracts of similar size, scope and complexity. The Past Performance factor is evaluated on a Pass/Fail/Neutral scale. The RFP states that offerors without a record of relevant past performance will receive a “neutral/unknown” rating. How will an offeror with only one relevant contract be evaluated, assuming that the one reference receives a “pass”?

a. Section M.2.3.2 of the solicitation has been updated to reflect that neutral/unknown ratings may also include offerors who do not meet the minimum past performance submission requirements in Section L. The new language is below:

· Neutral/Unknown - Offerors without a sufficient record of relevant past performance in accordance with Section L. 1.4 or for whom information on past performance is not available will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance and as a result, will receive a “neutral/unknown” rating. Offerors who have no available past performance information may choose to submit recent employee work history as past performance information, but it must be relevant.

42. RFP Section L.1.3.1.d): The RFP requires the offeror submit a firm-fixed price proposal for the Sample Task in Volume II, Technical. Usually, pricing information is specifically excluded from the technical volume and only provided in the price volume. This offeror suggests that the RFP be modified and that pricing for the sample task be included only in the cost/price volume.

a. See #18.

43. RFP Section L.4: This offeror requests that the font requirement of 12-point Times New Roman be relaxed for tables and graphics to allow for 8-point Arial Narrow.

a. The 12-point Times New Roman requirement is only for text, not tables and graphics.