Questions and Answers_7.15-24 Final Clean.pdf

6973GH-24-R-00131

Questions and Answers

Question 1: SIR Provision L.5, Page 89: The Government states that when providing Past Performance each project provided must be valued at or over $1,500,000 annually. Will the Government consider lowering the threshold?

Answer 1: No, not that this time. However, in this instance, “project” is synonymous with “contract.” The contract value for the past performance example must be valued at or over $1,500,000 but individual delivery orders/task orders/studies, valued at over $1,500,000 annually, that are being performed by the offeror against a given contract may be used for your past performance documentation. Please note that while it is acceptable for more than one delivery order/task order/study issued against a contract, valued at over $1,500,000 annually can be used as past performance examples, these delivery orders/task orders/studies must be unique examples. For example, delivery orders/task orders/studies valued at over $1,500,000 annually for completely separate research activities that are applicable to this SIR in different ways will be accepted as separate past performance entries; however, a multi-year effort that carries over to two or more task orders would not be counted as more than one past performance example.

Question 2: SIR Provision M.2, Sub Factor 2c, Page 99: The Government mentions that resumes are required but makes no note of where they would be placed. Would the Government allow resumes and letters of commitment to be place in an appendix of Volume II outside of page count?

Answer 2: Yes, offerors should place the resumes and letters of commitment in an appendix to Volume II and this information will not be subject to the page count. The SIR will be amended to address this change.

Question 3: SIR Provision L.3, paragraph h, Page 87: The Government required Times New Roman 12pt double spaced in the general body of the volumes. Will the Government allow for single spacing in headers and footers?

Answer 3: Yes

Question 4: SIR Provision L.3, paragraph h, Page 87: The Government required Times New Roman 12pt double spaced in the general body of the volumes. Will the Government allow for single spacing in the Cover Page and Cover Letter?

Answer 4: Yes

Question 5: SIR Provision L.3, paragraph h, Page 87: The Government required Times New Roman 12pt double spaced in the general body of the volumes. Will the Government allow for single spacing in the Table of Contents?

Answer 5: Yes

Question 6: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In the Section B, Labor Categories listed in rows 42- 49, these Labor Categories are associated with the simulator work that is conducted on the current contract; however, the work associated with the Labor Categories is omitted from the Statement of Work (SOW). Are the Labor Categories obsolete or does the work associated with these need to be added to the SOW?

Answer 6: The labor categories are not obsolete, and the SOW has been modified to clarify that this type of work is included in the Scope. Language has been added to the SOW in Section 3.1, bullet A, sub-bullet f to say, “Assist with preparing the laboratory and/or specialized equipment for the execution of research studies.”

Question 7: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In accordance with the pricing table, the hours to be priced for an FTE is 1760, however the standard pricing computation for proposals is either 1880 or 1912. Can you confirm 1760 is the right number of hours to be priced?

Answer 7: We have changed the FTE hours in the Section B to reflect OPM’s definition of full-time hours = 2080. We are doing this with the understanding that this is the most conservative interpretation of full-time hours and should cover the unique vacation and leave policies for each company.

Question 8: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In accordance with the pricing table, the hours to be priced for a half FTE is 880, however the standard pricing computation for proposals is either 940 or 956. Can you confirm 880 is the right number of hours to be priced?

Answer 8: See above. Half an FTE according to OPM guidelines is 1040. The CLIN structure is designed to establish labor hour costs and a total ceiling amount for the year. The number of hours per labor category will be defined in individual task orders. The hours are used for estimating purposes only.

Question 9: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In accordance with the pricing table, 5 hours is the total to be priced for most of the positions. Can the Government confirm the level of effort for these positions for a year is only 5 hours?

Answer 9: All labor categories are included so that they are available on the contract, however, only the highest paying position in each category has a full allotment of hours. The rest have 5 hours as a placeholder to allow for conservative cost estimating. The level of effort for each position will be determined on a case-by-case basis within individual task orders. The hours listed in the Schedule B are only for ceiling establishment purposes.

Question 10: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In the Schedule B, rows 56-57, Rotorcraft pilots are required, however, the Labor Categories are omitted from the SOW Appendix A. Are the Labor Categories obsolete or do the requirements associated with these Labor Categories need to be added to the SOW?

Answer 10: The Labor Categories have been added to the SOW Appendix A.

Question 11: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In the Schedule B, rows 15-18, Systems Analysts are required, however, the Labor Categories are omitted from the SOW Appendix A. Are the Labor Categories obsolete or do the requirements associated with these Labor Categories need to be added to the SOW?

Answer 11: The Labor Categories have been added to the SOW Appendix A.

Question 12: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: In the Schedule B, rows 54-55, General Aviation pilot and UAS Pilot are required, however, the Labor Categories are omitted from the SOW Appendix A. Are the Labor Categories obsolete or do the requirements associated with these Labor Categories need to be added to the SOW?

Answer 12: The Labor Categories have been added to the SOW Appendix A.

Question 13: Appendix A: The SOW Appendix A and the Pricing file provide for differing levels across similar Labor Categories, where some include entry level through Senior (five levels) and others list only two or three levels. Are the missing levels intentionally omitted?

Answer 13: Yes, the missing levels are intentionally omitted. Due to the nature of the work, some labor categories do not have an entry-level position and others do not have Senior or Ph.D. positions. Only the skill levels required for the work are included.

Question 14: SIR Section B.3: How many days in advance notice do we need approval from the COR?

Answer 14: Section 3.4 of the SOW has been updated to clarify the timeline required for COR approval of travel and materials purchases. COR approval for travel should be requested at least 14 days in advance of the travel. Materials and ODCs can be requested any time as long as they are not purchased until COR approval is received in writing.

Question 15: SIR Clause 3.8.2-22, paragraph (2)(a): Please provide the number of days.

Answer 15: The SIR will be amended to add 90 days for Clause 3.8.2-22, paragraph (2)(a).

Question 16: SIR Clause 3.4.1-12 INSURANCE, page 45 of SIR: Are the Aircraft, Watercraft, environmental insurance, and medical malpractice requirements necessary to be active on day one of the project? When does each one need to be in place?

Answer 16: All insurance requirements are required to be in place by Day 1 of actual contract performance. Please keep in mind that there is a 30-day Transition/Phase In that the successful contractor can use to obtain all required insurance.

Question 17: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, paragraph 3.4.2, Page 4: What are the historical travel lengths and locations?

Answer 17: It is projected that each Task Order awarded to the contract will include up to two (2) trips of five (5) days each to OKC for one (1) person. Historically, the total cost for a trip is under $2,500. We are estimating approximately 10 Task Orders issued under the contract per year.

The estimated amount for travel each year is revised to $50,000 in Section B in SIR Amendment 0001.

Question 18: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, paragraph 4: What labor categories have been approved for remote work and how much (1 day, 1 week, 100%, etc.)?

Answer 18: The FAA does desire the majority of the contract team to be on-site. However, the FAA COR and CO can approve telework and/or remote work as needed. Any labor category can be approved for up to 100% telework/remote work on a case-by-case basis.

Question 19: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, paragraph 5.1: How many task orders have been issued under the current contract? What are the details (FTEs, Labor categories, expiration dates)?

Answer 19: The historical Task Orders are not directly relevant to the new contract because we are going to be operating very differently than we have in the past. The prior contract only had one Task Order per year that funded labor hours on a severable basis. The new contract will be a mix of severable Task Orders and non-severable project-specific Task Orders. The FAA is projecting the award of approximately 10 Task Orders per year. The 10 Task Orders combined will utilize the labor hours designated in the Schedule B. The severable Task Orders will be for 12-month periods with an allotment of labor hours dedicated to them. The non-severable Task Orders will coincide with the length of a given research study (some up to 3 years) and will be continued until the work is complete. It is not expected that any of the labor categories in the Section B will be full-time on a single task order, but rather spread over several task orders concurrently.

Question 20: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, Paragraph 8: How many awarded TOs have been deemed mission-critical issues under the current contract?

Answer 20: Zero. This contract has not been designated as Mission Critical. The SIR will be amended in the upcoming modification to reflect this change.

Question 21: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, Appendix A, paragraph 1: What are the required PCL clearance levels for each labor category?

Answer 21: There is no security clearance required for any positions. The Position Designation determination for the contract as a whole is as follows:

Question 22: SIR Attachment 1, SOW, Appendix A, paragraph 1: Which positions fall under the Service Contract Act?

Question 22: The majority of the labor categories are not subject to the Service Contract Act;

however, potential offerors should review SIR Attachment 3, Wage Determination to ensure that the employees that are covered by the Service Contract Act are also paid at least the minimum rates applicable to the most current Wage Determination.

Question 23: SIR Attachment 2, Section B: Please confirm the estimated quantity is correct.

Are the hours truly five (5) hours per year (i.e. Aircraft Mechanic has five hours for the year).

Answer 23: No, see answer to question 9.

Question 24: Please provide the Occupation Code for the SCA labor categories.

Answer 24: The Occupational Codes are provided at:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/SCADirectVers5.pdf Question 25: Is there an incumbent? If so, are you able to provide the company name and contract number?

Answer 25: Contract 6973GH-19-D-00077 is currently being performed by Cherokee Nation 3S, LLC out of Tulsa OK.

Question 26: Will the government consider a due date extension once the Q&As are released?

Answer 26: The government could possibly extend the proposal due date, depending on all questions received as well as the length of time that it takes to provide answers to all questions received. At the present moment, the government does not have an estimated date on when answers to all current questions that have been received will be addressed.

Question 27: Regarding the submission and evaluation of past performance, is it the intent of the FAA to allow a contract task order to be submitted as a past performance and not unique to a single contract? As an example, if a contractor has multiple task orders that are relevant but are issued from the same IDIQ contract, can these be submitted as unique past performances as each of the task orders is either a different task or period in which a task was performed?

Answer 27: Yes. It is acceptable for more than one task order to be used as past performance examples under the same contract as long as they are unique examples. For example, task orders for completely separate research activities that are applicable to this SIR in different ways will be accepted as separate past performance entries. However, a multi-year effort that carry over to two or more task orders would not be counted as more than one past performance example.

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/SCADirectVers5.pdf