Attachment 4- SECTION L-M.pdf

SECTION L: INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.1 Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Respondents for Proposal Preparation This acquisition will utilize the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) approach. While the Government strives for maximum objectivity, the evaluation process by nature is subjective, and professional judgment is implicit throughout the entire process. This section of the SIR provides guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by this SIR and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. Any Offeror who submits an incomplete package may be considered ineligible for award. The offer shall also be compliant with the requirements as stated in Section K and the applicable attachments (Section J). Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this SIR may result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation.

The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror's proposal.

L.2 Point of Contact The Contracting Officer (CO) is the point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. Email will be used to transmit such information. Communication and exchanges of information between the Government and the offerors will be controlled by the CO. Written requests for clarification may be sent to erick.i.martinez-abril@faa.gov.

L.3 Amendments to the Solicitation If this SIR is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended will remain unchanged and in full force and effect. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment and provide confirmation upon submission of the offeror's proposal.

L.4 Incorporation of Representations and Certifications Certain representations and certifications must be made by the offeror and must be filled in as appropriate. The signature of the offeror on the face page of this SIR constitutes the making of certain representations and certifications. Award of any contract to the offeror shall be considered to have incorporated the applicable representations and certifications by reference.

L.5 Instructions for Preparation of Proposals Screening Information Request: This section shall contain a copy of the solicitation duly executed by an official authorized to bind the offeror along with references.

• Volume I: This volume shall contain requirements outlined in the evaluation factor and subfactors. Volume I should include Technical - Factor 1.

• Volume II: This volume shall contain requirements outlined in Relevant Experience – Factor 2.

• Volume III: Price: This section shall contain Contractor pricing. The Price Proposal must be submitted as a separate and complete volume and tabbed separately for each document contained therein. The Price Proposal will provide information to the FAA for analyzing pricing as well as preparing the contract document and supporting file for the successful offeror. Completion and submission of the required documents indicates that the offeror has read and agrees to the entirety of the terms and conditions contained in the solicitation for the price proposal. This volume should be sufficiently detailed in support of the proposed pricing to demonstrate price reasonableness.

Note: The Government anticipates that pricing of this action will be adequate and balanced. The Contracting Officer may require upon request "other than certified pricing data" deemed necessary to adequately evaluate the reasonableness of the price. Examples of "other than certified pricing data" include: competitive published lists, published market prices, similar quote and/or copies of actual vendor quotations received.

L.5.1 Proposal Volumes must include:

• Volume cover should designate volume title and number with Source Selection Sensitive and Proprietary Markings.

• Title page must include solicitation number, Prime Contractor name, Unique Entity ID (UEI) number and address; and point of contact name, telephone number, and electronic email address.

• The offeror’s proposal must address the information as described in L.5 above for each volume.

• Proposals will be submitted electronically. All volumes should be submitted in electronic format via e-mail.

Each volume should be submitted in separately marked electronic files.

• Glossary (as needed): Offerors must include a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations in each volume, with an explanation for each. The glossary must not be used to define techniques and approaches and will not be evaluated.

• Submitted documents must follow the naming conventions below. Do not forget to put your company name in the spot in parenthesis. Where you have more than one document for the volume, please differentiate at the end of the naming convention, please keep the characters down as much as possible.

Offers must be received via email marked as follows:

MARK EMAILS:

Solicitation No. 6973GH-26-R-00213 Vol X (Insert Company Name)

L.6 Evaluation Factors The source evaluation shall be conducted based on the following factors listed below:

Factor 1: Technical Approach The Offeror must show that they have current capabilities for assuring performance in all aspects of the SOW with an emphasis on program management and technical support to include but not limited to the following:

• Provide a dedicated POC to organize, plan, schedule, implement, control, analyze, and report on all objectives of the contract, from initial planning stages through Government acceptance and completion of the contracted deliverable(s). The POC must have sufficient corporate authority to direct, execute, and control all elements of the requirement.

• A detailed description of how quality control measures will be maintained throughout the audit.

• Designated and experienced auditors for the manual physical accounting and logging of each aircraft part.

• Participation in informal meetings with Government POC to provide status updates.

• Comprehensive reports that accurately reflect physical inventory and report discrepancies.

If any of the information required is not included in the form then the Offeror will be considered non-responsive and evaluated as unacceptable.

Factor 2: Relevant Experience The Offeror must show that they have capabilities for assuring performance in all aspects of the SOW with an emphasis on high volume, aircraft or other industrial type parts auditing utilizing experienced, qualified and certified personnel with technical capabilities to provide services as outlined in the SOW. The Offeror must show the experience of the proposed team, including sub-contractors, on projects described in the SOW for the Aircraft Parts Inventory Audit. Experience with high volume (25,000 or higher number of parts audited) auditing procedures must be provided. The Offeror must provide at least three (3) examples demonstrating physical aircraft or other industrial type parts auditing experience.

The Offeror must complete a minimum of three (3), but no more than five (5), "Experience Information" forms, attached to the SIR (Section J, Attachment in response to this factor). All blocks must be filled in and all data should be accurate, current, and complete. All projects submitted must have been underway or completed within the last five (5) years through the closing date identified on the SIR. Each project provided must be valued at or over $150,000.00. If the Offeror does not have prior prime contracts to cite, then the Offeror may cite instances on which it has served as a primary subcontractor.

If any of the information required is not included in the form then the Offeror will be considered non-responsive and evaluated as unacceptable.

Factor 3: Price The Offeror must submit pricing in accordance with Section L.7. Price will be evaluated in accordance with Section M.7.

L.7 Submission of Pricing Data It is anticipated that pricing of this action will be adequate and balanced; therefore, offerors are not required to submit pricing data. However, if after receipt of proposals it is determined that adequate price competition does not exist, pricing data will be required.

If it is determined that adequate price competition does not exist, the offeror shall provide current, complete and accurate pricing data upon request from the contracting officer.

Offerors must complete and submit Section B, Supplies or Services in the Government format as provided.

All information relating to the proposed price including all required supporting documentation must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the Price Volume. There should be a narrative whereby the contractor describes in detail every element that builds up the pricing that will be shown in the price breakdown spreadsheet. It is incumbent upon the contractor to arrange and encompass all travel in the firm fixed-priced line item.

• Authorized Individuals: The offeror must provide the name, title, telephone number, and e-mail for the individual designated as the central point of contact for this volume of the proposal.

• Offeror’s Schedule B submitted for award consideration must not include any proprietary markings (other than as required for procurement sensitive markings) or revisions, qualifications, or alterations to the bid schedule. Such markings, if not removed, may eliminate the offeror from further competition.

• Offerors must provide contract line item pricing based on the unit and total price for each line item they are proposing.

• Offeror must provide a cover letter in the Price Volume, which includes total proposed amounts by area, contract year and the total proposed contract amount for all years.

• Within all Excel spreadsheets, Offeror must include all proposed formulas and calculations rounded to two

(2) decimal places. Offeror should avoid using value only type cells to the maximum extent possible. If links are utilized within the spreadsheets, the Offeror must supply all linked or referenced files.

Spreadsheets and/or individual cells must not be protected.

L.8 Relationship Between Sections L and M Your attention is directed to the functional relationship between Sections L and M of this SIR. Section L provides information for the purpose of organizing the proposal and is not intended to be all-inclusive. Section M describes evaluation factors for award. Since the Government evaluation of proposals will cover all areas identified in Section M, proposals should address all such areas for evaluation.

L.9 Proposal Acceptance The FAA reserves the right to consider as acceptable only those proposals submitted in accordance with the requirements set forth in the SIR which demonstrate an understanding of the complexity and scope of the requirements. The FAA further reserves the right to reject, as unacceptable, proposals deleting or altering technical requirements.

L.10 Contractor Proposal Information This SIR is not to be construed as a contract or commitment of any kind. The Government and the FAA shall not be liable for payment of, nor reimburse offerors or contractors for any costs incurred in the preparation and/or submittal of a proposal in response to this SIR or resultant task order. All proposal preparation and/or submittal costs are at risk of the offeror or contractor.

L.11 COMMUNICATIONS WITH OFFERORS

a. During the source selection phase, the purpose of communications is to promote best value outcomes for agency acquisitions by reducing risk, increasing value, and ensuring mutual understanding between the FAA and offerors about all aspects of a procurement. Communications will be conducted at the CO's discretion. This includes the discretion to determine the timing and scope of communications and with whom. Communications may be held with some, all, one, or none of the offerors. Under AMS, there is no right to “meaningful discussions” or a cause of action for “unequal communications.” Instead, at his/her discretion, the CO will communicate with similarly situated offerors. "Similarly situated" is dependent on the circumstances and does not mean that each communication with each offeror is the same; instead, the communications are specific to the individual offeror but do not provide an unfair advantage to the offeror. The CO will determine which offerors are similarly situated for the purpose of any communications. Communications are intended to be flexible, interactive, and tailored as appropriate to the offeror involved in the communications. Communications may continue throughout the process for multiple reasons, including but not limited to addressing minor omissions, clarifications, and for purposes of persuasion, alteration of assumptions and positions, and give-and-take. Communications may apply to price, schedule, technical approach (including all non-priced factors), strengths, weaknesses, risks, and other terms/conditions of the proposed contract. Information disclosed in oral or written communications may be considered in the evaluation or re-evaluation of an offeror's proposal/submittal (s). The CO has the discretion to request revised proposals as a result of communications. Communications may lead to the identification of new strengths, weaknesses, or risks and may lead to the reassessment of offerors and their relative scoring or ranking.

Communications with one offeror do not necessitate communications with all offerors.

b. Requests for waivers to requirements may be considered and may be the subject of communications. The SSO/CO maintains the right to waive requirements at any time without notification to the offerors, so long as the waiver does not change the essential character or condition of the procurement.

SECTION M: EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 Basis of Contract Award and Number of Contracts to be Awarded The Government intends to make a single award from this Solicitation. Award will be made to the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable (LPTA) offeror deemed responsible and whose proposal is responsive to the solicitation requirements.

M.2 Initial Screening Process The Government will initially screen proposals for responsiveness (timeliness, completeness, and adequacy) in accordance with the requirements for documentation found in section L. Only a proposal determined to be responsive through the initial screening process will be forwarded to the source evaluation team for further consideration.

• Timeliness: No proposal or part thereof will be accepted for consideration following the closing period for this solicitation.

• Completeness: Timely proposals will be reviewed for completeness and inclusion of all documents required. Incomplete proposals may not receive further consideration.

• Adequacy: Complete proposals will be reviewed for adequacy, including proposal content and format as stated in section L.

M.3 Rejection of Unreasonable Offers The Government may reject any proposal that is evaluated to be unreasonable in terms of program commitments, to include failure to adequately address a significant portion of the requirements, contract terms and conditions, or unreasonable pricing when compared to Government estimates, such that the proposal is deemed to reflect an inherent lack of competence or failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the program.

M.4 Evaluation Methodology The vendor shall submit an offer acceptable for award in accordance with Section L, Instructions to Offerors, and the evaluation criteria outlined in Section M. The vendor shall assent to the terms and conditions of the model SIR (Sections A through K that includes the provisions, contract clauses, Statement of Work (SOW), and documents, exhibits, and attachments).

Each proposal will be evaluated based on the proposed technical approach of satisfying the requirements of the SOW and the realism and reasonableness of the proposed price.

The evaluation is a team effort. The technical team will individually review and rate a proposal in accordance with the rating criteria specified in Section M. Upon completion of the technical evaluation, the team will convene and review all evaluation findings and ratings, conduct all necessary analyses of the evaluation process, and prepare a report to the SSO. The report will outline the results of their review and analysis and shall include a recommendation as to which vendor meets the requirements for each factor based on the evaluation criteria. From these reports and the results of the price proposal evaluation, a selection will be made.

All briefings to the SSO of vendor proposals will be conducted in a manner that would preclude the true identity of the vendors from being revealed to the persons being briefed until a selection decision has been made.

M.5 Adjectival Ratings for Non-Price Factors All vendors will receive an Acceptable or Unacceptable rating for each factor of their submission. All vendors will be rated according to the rating scheme outlined in this section.

Each evaluator will use the following criteria to measure and score each proposal. Rating will reflect the extent to which the vendor has met the overall factor requirements. Upon completion of the evaluation of each factor by a member of the evaluation team, the lead technical evaluator will summarize the proposals in a manner that determines which proposals are acceptable and which are unacceptable to support. Evaluation factors will be scored as outlined below to which the Offeror has met the overall factor requirements.

Rating Definition

Acceptable The proposal meets the stated requirements. The response is considered complete in terms of the basic content and level of information the Government seeks for review.

Unacceptable The proposal fails to meet the stated requirements. The response is considered deficient in terms of basic content and support the Government seeks for review.

There is no weighting of factors under this acquisition since the evaluation method/process is Lowest Priced, Technically Acceptable (LPTA).

M.6 Evaluation of Technical and Price Proposals The Government will assign adjectival ratings stated in section M.5 for the rated proposal sections. Additionally, the Government reserves the right to obtain information outside of technical proposals that supports technical proposal evaluation.

Factor 1: Technical Approach Evaluation Criteria: The Government's Source Evaluation Team will review the technical approach of the offeror provided in response to Factor 1. Offerors must meet all of the following minimum acceptability standards to receive an "ACCEPTABLE" on this factor:

• Offeror must provide a plan in which they assure performance in all aspects of the SOW with an emphasis on program management and technical support; AND

• Provide detailed descriptions of how quality control measures will be maintained throughout the audit

AND

• Provide examples of comprehensive reports that accurately reflect the physical inventory and report discrepancies.

Failure to demonstrate the minimum acceptability standards under this factor will result in an "UNACCEPTABLE" rating and possible elimination from further consideration for contract award.

Factor 2: Relevant Experience Evaluation Criteria: The Government's Source Evaluation Team will review the project experience of the offeror, including subcontractors, on projects provided in response to Factor 2. Offerors must meet all of the following minimum acceptability standards to receive an "ACCEPTABLE" on this factor:

• Offeror must provide three (3) examples of projects that are similar to that of the work required in the project specifications and this solicitation; AND

• Each project example submitted must be valued at or over $150,000.00 and over 25,000 parts audited;

AND

• Projects submitted must have been completed, or underway, within the last five (5) years through the closing date of the SIR.

Failure to demonstrate the minimum acceptability standards under this factor will result in an "UNACCEPTABLE" rating and possible elimination from further consideration for contract award.

Factor 3: Price LPTA is applied to known, firm requirements, usually readily available in the commercial marketplace where a fair and reasonable price determination is based on adequate and balanced pricing. Therefore, price analysis will normally be used to determine the reasonableness of total evaluated price to support the selection of the lowest price, technically acceptable offeror.

M8. Responsibility Determination:

To support past performance and experience evaluation, the Contracting Officer will perform a responsibility determination. The Government will utilize the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to evaluate past performance, experience and responsibility.