Questions and Answers 6973GH-18-R-00119-0001.pdf

SIR 6973GH-18-R-00119 Amendment 0001 May 25, 2018

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

REGULATORY STANDARD

INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES

Q1. I'm seeing the location as Oklahoma. Do you feel it’s beneficial for us to bid on this solicitation you sent if we are located out of a different region? Will some of the work be allotted to our region?

A1. A greater majority of the work will need to be performed at the FAA Academy at MMAC in OKC. The contractor will need to quote in accordance with the solicitation’s main performance location.

Q2. Does the Presolicitation posted as solicitation number 29975 on FBO contain requirements similar to an existing contract or will this be a new requirement? If possible, please provide the current contract number.

A2. It is a solicited as a follow-on contract to DTFAAC-13-D-00076.

Q3. SIR Page 61/71: Proposals and modifications to proposals must be submitted in electronic format via e-mail. Along with the electronic submittal of the offer four (4) hard copies of volume II are required. SIR Page 62/71: The offeror (you) must submit responses to this SIR by the following electronic means…your offer must arrive at the place and by the time specified in the SIR. We will not be responsible for any failure attributable to transmitting or receiving the offer, unless if falls under section (a) of AMS provision 3.2.2.3-14 “Late Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals of Submittals”.

Question: Given the entire proposal will be sent via electronic means does the “Last Submissions” only apply to the electronic submission? If the four hard copies arrive after the due date but the electronic arrives on time does that meet the intent of the requirement?

A3. Amendment 0001 adds AMS provision 3.2.2.3-14 as it was inadvertently left out of the original solicitation. The full text of this provision is included in this modification and it clearly lays out how it applies to physical mail. The clause applies to both electronic and physical mail.

If the hard copies arrive after the due date then this clause would apply and may be accepted only if it meets an exception under section (a).

Q4. SIR Page 58/71: Offerors must submit a draft Quality Control Plan with their Technical Proposal for Government evaluation. Question: Quality Control Plans can be quite extensive.

Does the required draft Quality Control Plan count towards page count?

A4. The Draft Quality Control Plan will not count against the 40 page maximum. See amendment 0001 for a change in wording in section L.6, to state this will be excluded from the page count.

Q5. SIR Page 58/71: The Contractors Past Performance should include documentation for a minimum of three (3) relevant and recent past and present contracts. SIR Page 68/71: The Government will evaluate and assess the offeror’s past performance record on a minimum of five

(5) relevant and recent past and present contracts. Question: Will the Government clarify the minimum past performance citations required?

A5. This was an administrative error and is corrected under provision SECOND on amendment 0001 of this SIR. There should be a minimum of three (3) relevant and recent past and present contracts.

Q6. SIR Page 11/71: For the first 90 days of contract performance, the Contractor must not substitute personnel for the individuals whose resumes or other personal qualification were submitted with its offer.

SIR Page 38/71 3.6.2-40 Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers: The contractor and its subcontractors must, except as otherwise provided herein, in good faith offer those employees (other than managerial and supervisory employees) employed under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of award of this contract or the expiration of the contract under which the employees were hired, a right of first refusal of employment under this contract in positions for which employees are qualified. Question: To comply with Executive Order 13495 (Non-Displacement of Qualified Workers), the successful bidder must offer qualified incumbent service employees a job before extending offers to any qualified non-incumbents. Additionally, the RFP requires that bidders submit resumes for the employees we intend to hire, and that we execute the contract with those specific employees. These requirements are in direct conflict with one another. In order to comply simultaneously with the E.O. and the RFP, all bidders must submit incumbent resumes exclusively. However, as incumbent employees are prohibited from sharing their resumes (i.e. by a non-compete agreement with the current contractor), no non-incumbent bidder will be able to provide qualified resumes that satisfy the RFP and comply with the E.O. If incumbent employees, who are difficult to identify and contact in the first place, will not apply to a competitor in order to protect their current employment, all non-incumbent competitors are at a significant and unreasonable disadvantage with no clear remedy. It also invalidates competitive commentary in regard to an individual bidder company’s HR capabilities, so that no clear distinctions are evident, as the only valid resumes are predecessor employees. Request the Government remove the resume requirement to level the playing field with the incumbent.

A6. There is no minimum requirement for resumes, just that individuals whose resumes or other personal qualification were submitted with the offer should not be substituted. The awardee will have the opportunity to hire qualified incumbent service employees at phase in. The requirement for the Core Group is that you must have at least (4) full time ISS positions in your technical proposal. To clarify this better Sub-Factor 2.2: Composition of Core Group has been changed.

See the amendment wording for more information.

Q7. SIR Attachment 4 Propose FFP Costs – Excel Spreadsheet lists the required number of courses to be taught for each of the next five years. Question: Will the Government provide the historical class schedule to assist bidders in determining appropriate manpower requirements?

A7. Historical information along with projected requirements was utilized to come up with the number of courses in this spreadsheet. Giving historical information would not assist in proposing these courses as we are telling you what we are projecting for the future. The manpower requirements should be based on the projected requirement.

Q8. PWS 1.4: Contractual services are anticipated to be conducted for the FAA from July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2023. Question: Does the Government have an updated estimate on the start date for Phase-In?

A8. These dates were our initial anticipated dates. Dates can change as the procurement process is underway as different situations may adjust the schedule, therefore we cannot provide a definite date for phase in at this time. That being said it will not occur prior to July 1, 2018. At award these dates will be updated to actuals.

Q9. Is Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, applicable to all work performed, including all hours and labor categories, under this contract?

A9. In accordance with the Department of Labor “The paid sick leave requirements of Executive Order 13706 and the proposed regulations apply to employees performing work “on or in connection with” covered contracts and whose wages under those covered contracts are governed by the DBA, SCA, or FLSA, including employees who qualify for an exemption from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions.” To find more information on EO 13706, or any other related questions you can go to the following link:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/eo13706/faq.htm#employee_coverage-1.

AMS does not have a clause specifically for this Executive Order. Clause 52.222-62 is a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The FAA is not subject to the FAR. The FAA is subject to AMS.

The Contractor will be accountable to all provisions in accordance with the Service Contract Act as described in AMS Clause 3.6.2-28.

Q10. Reference: Section B, page 3, paragraph B.3 Schedule B Proposal Table, Section L, page 55, paragraph L.5.(a), Table L.1 Proposal Organization and page 56, L.5.(c) Contract Documentation – Volume I.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/eo13706/faq.htm#employee_coverage-1

With regard to the offeror’s proposal, Volume I, Contract, is Section B (as provided as separate .pdf file) to be inserted into Volume I, Contract Documentation, between the current Page 3 and the current page 4 of the submitted file, or should it be submitted as an appendix to the Contract volume?

A10. Section L.5(c) states that the Sections B & K may not be given a chance to revise these sections. So it is important to ensure there are no errors prior to submission. Section A (front page form) should be included in your proposal as part of Volume I as described in table L.1.

Section B will not be required for Volume I. Volume IV will require Section B along with supporting information as described in the solicitation.

Q11. Reference: Section L, page 55, Table L.1 Proposal Organization. Is it the Government's intent that the Table of Contents and Evaluation Factor Matrix each be a tabbed entry?

A11. For the electronic submission, no, but it should be clearly organized and be divided by volume. For the hard copy technical proposal it is preferred if you tab this to aid the technical evaluation.

Q12. Reference: Section L, page 55, Table L.1 Proposal Organization The table indicates that the Past Performance Proposal volume has a single Tab identified as Tab Number D (a continuation from Tab Numbers from volume II), and the table also indicates that the Cost/Price Proposal has a single Tab identified as Tab Number E which would be a continuation of the Tab Numbers from both volume II and III. Please clarify: Should each of these volumes be tabbed per L.5.(e).1 and L.5.(f)?

A12. If you just intend to submit this section as electronic it is not necessary to tab it, but please clearly name it. If you intend to submit your entire proposal as a hard copy, please do tab it.

There is no requirement for the Past Performance section to be provided as a hard copy, and the electronic copy is preferred.

Q13. Reference: Section L, page 55 Table L.1 and Section L, page 56, paragraph L.5(c) Contract Documentation – Volume I. Does the Government require SIR Sections A-K in Volume I or just Sections B and K?

A13. See answer A10.

Q14. Reference: Section M, page 66, paragraph M.1 SIR Process Overview. Does the Government require a copy of the offeror’s 8(a) Certification Letter? If so, should the letter be included in Volume I?

A14. While it is required that you are a SEDB/8(a) small business, the certification letter is not required in the proposal. You may provide it in volume I. 8(a) status will be confirmed by the Contracting Officer prior to award.

Q15. Reference: Section M, page 66, paragraph M.3(a)3)(i)2. Initial Screening Process. Please clarify the Technical Proposal is Volume II vice Volume I.

A15. This was a clerical error and The Technical proposal should be Volume II.

Q16. Reference: Section L, page 57, paragraph L.5(d)5) Evaluation Factor Matrix. Does the Government require the Evaluation Factor Matrix cross reference across proposal volumes or just within the Technical Proposal volume?

A16. The Evaluation Factor Matrix is only required in Volume II. It should not contain factors from volumes other than Volume II.

Q17. Reference: SIR Section L, page 56, Section L.5(b)4), Table L.1. There is a page limit of 1 for each the Table of Contents and the Evaluation Matrix. Will the Government consider permitting these entries to occupy more than a single page each? This would provide the room to present a more detailed summary of the contents allowing the reviewing team to rapidly identify where specific factors, sub-factors and other critical writings are within the document.

A17. The Government believes that contractors should be able to meet these requirements in one

(1) page each.

Q18. Reference: SIR Section L, page 61, Section L.11, second paragraph. Is it required that when hand-delivering the hard copies that a firm appointment be made with the CO for package drop-off?

A18. It is not required but if an appointment is not made the Contracting Officer may not be there to receive and secure it. It is recommended to coordinate a time for drop off with the Contracting Officer.

Q19. Reference: SIR Section L, page 58, Section L.6(b) 1) and Section M, page 68, Section M.4(c)3). L.6(b)1) indicates a minimum of 3 past performance contract references while M.4(c)3) states a minimum of 5 relevant and recent past and present contracts. Please clarify.

A19. It should be three (3) in section M.4(c)3), this was a clerical error. See the amendment for the change in this section.

Q20. Reference: Section B, Supplies or Services/Prices Table. Would the Government consider providing a set dollar amount for each year’s Travel CLIN (0007, 0012, 0017, 0022, and 0027) to ensure balanced competition? Or, may the proposal response for all Section B Travel CLINs contain TBN?

A20. Travel should not be a substantial part of this contract, and will be done on a case by case basis. If when developing your proposal you believe travel will impact your proposal, (i.e. you plan on flying in all part time employees most of the time) then this will need to be encompassed in your Cost/Price volume. Otherwise the Travel line items do not need to be proposed. There will be a Not to Exceed Amount added when the contract is awarded.

Q21. Reference: Section B, Supplies or Services/Prices Table. Is the Unit Price for the Labor Hour Categories CLINs (0004, 0010, 0015, 0020, and 0025) expected to be a total of all hourly rates from Attachment 5, Labor Hour Categories with Costs (Excel)?

A21. It is to be a total of all (lines a-w) total costs.

Q22. Reference: Section B, Supplies or Services/Prices Table If the Unit Price for each the Firm Fixed Price Courses CLINs and the Labor Hour Categories CLINs is based on a combined cost of multiple actual billable rates from Attachment 4 and Attachment 5 (respectively), the amount in the Section B table will not be a true billable rate.

Would the Government consider only requiring a Total Item Amount and NOT a Unit Price for the Firm Fixed Priced Courses CLINs (0003, 0009, 0014, 0019, and 0024) and Labor Hour Categories CLINs (0004, 0010, 0015, 0020, and 0025)?

A22. We will not consider your proposal to be complete if you do not propose a firm fixed price for each course and a fixed hourly labor rate for each labor category.

In accordance with AMS procurement guidance Firm Fixed Price is defined as “a price that is not subject to change regardless of the actual costs incurred by the contractor after award.”

The firm fixed priced portion of this effort must have a unit price as this pricing will not change throughout award.

In accordance with AMS procurement guidance Labor Hour pricing provides for acquiring …services on the basis of direct labor hours at specified fixed hourly rates. Fixed hourly labor rates include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. We cannot evaluate your proposal if we do not have fixed hourly rates for each labor category, and the awarded labor hour amount will be the billed amount.

Q23. Reference: Section B, Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses (Excel) The header of Section B, Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses (Excel) identifies the document as Appendix D. Should the identifier for this document be Attachment 4?

A23. Yes, see revised document attached this amendment.

Q24. Reference: Section B, Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses (Excel) The cover page of Section B, Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses (Excel) does not contain a version and date. Would the Government consider adding a version and date to the cover page to ensure future version control?

A24. Yes, see revised document attached to this amendment.

Q25. Reference: Section B, Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses (Excel) Would the Government consider updating the CLIN numbers on the Option Year sheets of the Attachment 4, Firm Fixed Price Courses, Excel document to match the CLIN numbers from Section B?

A25. Yes, see revised document attached to this amendment.

Q26. Reference: Section B, Attachment 5, Labor Hour Categories with Costs (Excel) The header and cover page of Section B, Attachment 5, Labor Hour Categories with Costs (Excel) identifies the document as Appendix E. Should the identifier for this document be Attachment 5?

A26. Yes, see revised document attached to this amendment.

Q27. Reference: Section B, Attachment 5, Labor Hour Categories with Costs (Excel) Would the Government consider updating the CLIN numbers on the Option Year sheets of the Excel document to match the CLIN numbers from Section B and including the row containing the CLIN in the heading row to print at the top of all pages with the column titles?

A27. Yes, see revised document attached to this amendment.

Q28. Reference: PWS paragraph 2.1.2, Alternate Work Locations Will the Government provide Offerors the current FAA regulation(s)/order(s) governing telework? May we please be provided the document(s) or an external link to access the document(s)?

A28. The provisions of the Telework Enhancement Act only pertain to Federal civilian employees as defined by 5 USC 2105. Since federal contractors are not subject to this act we are requesting information on your telework program. The SIR states, “The contractor must have an established teleworking program, which must be submitted with their Technical Proposal and is subject to review by the Government.” The FAA does not have a template.

There are no regulations or orders that govern telework for contractor employees, the contract will direct that and the contractually approved telework plan.

Q29. Page 2 and 12, App. B 7.2.2.54, The position title given to App. B section 7.2.2.54 table of contents is Instructional Systems Specialist/Instructor - Course 27100199. However, the title given this same position on page 12 is Aviation Safety Inspector/Instructor. Please clarify the position title supporting course 27100199.

A29. To clarify the position title see revised document attached to this amendment.

Q30. Page 4, Phase In, SIR C.2, #3, would the Government please, consider removing the requirement to submit names and resumes of ALL personnel known at the time of proposal submission from the Transition Plan and only require "Key Personnel" resumes for the Core Group?

The reasons we ask are: (1) this requirement causes a disruption to the ongoing operations where competitors may only know how to reach incumbents for their resumes at their work number or email; (2) an offeror's Past Performance to recruit and staff other relevant contracts, including its ability to retain incumbents, should be sufficient evidence for the Government to have a level of confidence that it can staff the contract; (3) NonDisplacement of Qualified Workers 3.6.2-40 is interpreted to cause the successful offeror to provide a first right of refusal for employment, thus making the resume drill an inherent and undue advantage to the incumbent contractor, who has likely imposed certain Non-Disclosure Agreements that may preclude discussions with any other offeror, sometimes at the consequence of employment termination.

A30. See answer A6.

Q31. Page 3, SIR, C.1, Scope of Work, With travel included as part of the firm fixed price cost for courses, not only does that escalate the risk for any awarded contractor, but it also increases the Government's risk for failure as well. First, the more risk a contractor takes on pricing, the higher the probability of failure on the contract, which is not in anyone's best interest. Second, if the awarded contractor makes assumptions that do not come to fruition, it is altogether possible that the Government could end up actually paying much more instead of much less for courses. For example, if a course currently taught by instructor(s) that requires travel now, contractors would add that to the pricing for 5 years. However, if two years from now that course reverts to being taught by a local instructor who just retired in the OKC area, the http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title5/pdf/USCODE-2011-title5-partIII-subpartA-chap21-sec2105.pdf

Government still has to pay the fixed contracted price that will include travel, even though the individual did not travel.

Because the Government requires that travel costs be included in the FFP course CLINs, would the Government release the last five years of historical data on travel on the contract so that we have access to trends, how much travel per quarter, travel data by course offering and travel inception locations, etc.? Currently, the incumbent is the only bidder privy to that sort of information. We believe that having to include travel as part of the FFP per course without the same data the incumbent has: (1) increases risks to the Government and the contractor; (2) is patently biased toward the incumbent; and (3) given that per section M.4.(d) of the SIR, offerors are being evaluated on, “…the reasonableness of the proposed costs for the unit prices in addition to assessing the total evaluated price for performing all services,” [emphasis added], offerors other than the incumbent are starting with an extreme disadvantage relative to such unit costs and a severe disadvantage relative to the FFP course CLIN prices as a part of the total evaluated price.

A31. Firm fixed priced courses have worked without issue for the previous 5 years. The Government will continue this method as it does reduce the Government’s risk, administrative burden and promotes cost control on the part of the contractor.

Travel associated with Firm fixed priced courses is dependent on the contractor’s approach to each course. Travel information for these line items is not tracked by the Government.

Additionally, it may be considered proprietary information, as their travel may be directly associated with their method of pricing the procurement. Giving travel information for the last 5 years would not help with your proposal. Your cost per class depends on your approach to the requirement. The Firm Fixed priced courses will be held at MMAC. Travel required for Firm Fixed priced courses depends on where the contractor’s employees are located and/or if they require residence within the commuting area. There are many factors that could go into a contractor’s proposal for the Firm Fixed Priced courses that could impact the course pricing. For instance if the contractor has agreements with travel agencies this could impact the portion of travel in their firm fixed course pricing.

Q32. SOW pg. 17, 7.7.2 Information Tech Services, This section states, "The contractor must provide personnel responsible for the maintenance of the courseware revision system utilized for reporting as described in Section 11.1.4." However 11.1.4 describes requirements for Travel Reports whereas 11.1.3 describes Courseware Change and Performance Reports requirements which includes course revision data and seems more appropriate. Is this a typo?

A32. Yes, this is a clerical error. See the corrected PWS 7.7.2 attached to this amendment.

Q33. PWS 1.3 Scope of Work: Contractor personnel will support and follow the policies and procedures of the FAA Academy’s and Division’s ISO-9001 Quality Management System

(QMS). Will the Government provide the QMS as the processes that are mandated could drive manning requirements?

A33. The QMS is an internal document and not for public dissemination. It will be provided after contract award. Contractor employees complying with the QMS will not drive manning requirements. The QMS requirements are not so substantial that it would warrant adjusting your proposed manning.

Q34. PWS 10.1 Instructional Approach: All development, revision and production is done in accordance with FAA training standards, policies, and guidelines including but not limited to the latest versions of the Work Instruction (AMAWI-00007). Will the Government provide AMAWI-0007 for reference?

A34. AMAWI-00007 is an internal document and not for public dissemination. It will be provided after contract award.

Q35. Please confirm that instructors who are deemed qualified to teach a course on the current contract are also deemed to be qualified to teach the same courses on the follow on contract?

A35. Qualification may be affected if the course is revised significantly based on changes to FAA regulations, policies, etc., hence potentially requiring updating of the instructor qualifications. Therefore a definitive answer cannot be given, but in at least most cases it would be true that they would remain qualified on the follow-on contract.

Q36. Is the contractor allowed to add G&A and Fee on all travel?

A36. For reimbursable travel associated with line items 0007, 0012, 0017, 0022, and 0027 fee/profit is not allowed in accordance with AMS procurement guidance T3.2.4A3b.(1) and T3.2.4A3g. A handling fee may be allowed. Travel should not be a substantial part of this contract, and will be done on a case by case basis. If when developing your proposal you believe travel will impact your proposal, (i.e. you plan on flying in all part time employees most of the time) then this will need to be encompassed in your Cost/Price volume. Otherwise the Travel line items do not need to be proposed. There will be a Not to Exceed Amount added when the contract is awarded. If you are going to apply a handling fee then please have this in your proposal.

Q37. Attachment 1: CLIN 0007, 0012, 0017, 0022, and 0027 indicate “Travel: Government Estimate.” Will the Government provide an estimated price for this CLIN? If not, will the Government provide the information being used to determine “Government Estimate?”

A37. There is not an estimated price for these line items. There will be a Not to Exceed Amount added when the contract is awarded. The Not To Exceed amount will be based on expected reimbursable travel for that period. See A36 for more information.