Responses_to_Questions.pdf

Responses to Questions

Question

Number

Date

Received RFP Section Question Answer

05/25/2018 General

As the site visit date was postponed, will there be a revised due date for the proposal submission?

The Proposal due date has been extended to

June 20, 2018 at 13:00pm EST.

2 05/25/2018 Section L

Page 89, Volume II, Part IV, states “In the original of the

Volume II proposal, include a minimum of three completed Past Performance Questionnaires by the

Offeror’s customers (See Section J, Appendices).”

However, Section J contains no attachment that includes the Past Performance Questionnaires, either as a standalone document or as part of the other attachments.

Would FHWA please provide?

Please see the update to Section J as well as

Attachment 6.

3 05/29/2018 Section L

Section L page 77 paragraph L.1 states that this proposal is deliverable electronically via email to Mr. McPherson. At the top of the page is a parenthetical note directing industry to show the RFP number and closing date on the forwarding envelope or box. Please clarify the method of delivery and provide an address if hard copies are required.

The method of delivery is by electronic mail.

An amended version of the RFP has been submitted to update the Instructions clarifying this information on page 77

4 05/29/2018 Section L

Section L page 79 paragraph L.1.1 item 6 states "volumes 1 and 2 shall be bound separately". This statement also appears on page 84 paragraph L.15. If this is an electronic submittal, please clarify these statements

Please use separate attachments in your email for volumes 1 and 2. An amended version of the RFP has been submitted to update the Instructions clarifying this information on pages 79 and 84.

5 05/29/2018 Section L

Section L page 89 paragraph L.15 Part IV directs offers to submit three completed past performance questionnaires and references section J appendices. The past performance questionnaire is not included in the list of Section J appendices on page 69. Could the Government please provide this form? Please refer to answer 2 above.

Question

Number

Date

Received BAA Section Question Answer

6 05/29/2018 Section L

Section L page 89 paragraph L.15 Part IV item 3 directs offers to submit each completed customer questionnaire in a separate envelope that has been sealed by the customer. If this is an electronic submittal, please clarify how the

Government would like to receive completed customer questionnaires.

Please refer to answer provided in question 2 above.

7 05/31/2018 Section L

As the Past Performance Questionnaire does not appear in

Section J, does the Government wish to issue an

Amendment that would include the Past Performance

Questionnaire?

Please refer to answer provided in question 2 above.

8 05/31/2018 Section J

It seems the HDS system description is from 2012. Could the Government share an updated description of the HDS system, as the 2012 version is known to be incorrect?

9 05/31/2018 Section L

Traditionally, the font used for tables, figures, captions, etc.

is smaller than the body text of a document. Will the government allow a smaller font size for these text features? If so, what is the absolute minimum font size?

The minimum font size shall be no less than

10 point.

10 05/31/2018 Section L

Does the Government intend for the contractor to include a copy of the partially completed Past Performance Questionnaires that the contractor sent to references to complete? Would the

Government consider email submission/receipt of Past

Performance Questionnaires directly from contractor references to coincide with the volume submission? If so, please provide a

Point of Contact and email address.

No, as the RFP states, “Offerors are responsible for submitting customer-completed Past Performance Questionnaires with their proposal as described in this

Section L.” All questionnaires shall be submitted electronically to

DeWhyte.McPherson@dot.gov mailto:DeWhyte.McPherson@dot.gov

11 05/31/2018 Section L

Does the Government define “major subcontractors” by a percentage of the total contract value or other numerical definition?

The RFP has been revised to delete the term

“major”

12 05/31/2018 Section C

a. Is there any written document on the yearly calibration requirements of Government test equipment?

b. Is there written documentation of the preventative maintenance that is ongoing/required at this point?

c. Will we have access to all existing documentation?

(wiring diagrams, drawings, written manuals, etc)

d. Will we have access to the current source code?

(thinking about the cab interface code)

e. Is there a roadmap in place for planned enhancements for the next 5 years?

a. Government test equipment must be calibrated yearly using industry standard and accredited calibration processes.

b. Yes, there is some documentation from hardware manuals that specify what maintenance is needed and how often. In some cases, there may be additional documentation and/or procedures that need to be created for preventative maintenance.

c. Access will be given to all existing documentation.

d. All locally written HDS source code is available to the HDS COR and to the contractor. Some third-party libraries have differing levels of source code availability. The incumbent has not claimed any source code as proprietary that was written to support the HDS contract. The Car

Cab interface is based on third-party software, which is based on licensing agreements with multiple software libraries, and therefore has a mixed level of accessibility.

e. There is not currently a roadmap for enhancements for the next 5 years.

15 05/31/2018 Section B

Page 3 of RFP states that total travel shall not exceed

$50,000 over the entire contract (with an average of

$10,000 a year. This limited travel budget seems to necessarily exclude using vendors or setting up service agreements with companies outside of the DC metro area

(e.g., prominent eye-tracking and projector companies are located overseas). Is there flexibility with the travel allowance? Of course, all travel would be approved by the

CO/COR.

The total travel funding of $50,000 over the entire contract (with an average of $10,000 a year) is a reasonable travel allotment. After award, the Government could listen to requests for additional travel costs if the reasons were compelling, but would be under no obligation to change the travel funding levels form what is currently specified.

16 05/31/2018 Section G

“It is understood and agreed between the Government and the Contractor that observance of these days by Contractor personnel shall not “on its face” cause any change to the program period or entitle the Contractor to any compensation.”

Please explain the phrasing “on its face.”

In this context, “on its face” means “by itself”.

13 05/31/2018 Section L

Program Manager section states that “the PM must be able to dedicate up to 50% of total annual labor hours over the period of performance to manage the contract”.

LOE table shows the Person hours for Program Manager is

1040 for the Base 2 years, and 520 in each Option year.

The LOE given in the table constitutes 25% of total annual labor hours, not 50%. Will Government review and update those numbers?

The LOE given in the table is an estimate that is used by the government for price evaluation purposes.

The ultimate LOE will depend upon the individual task/s. This may be up to 50% as stated in the RFP.

14 05/31/2018 Section B and L

Section B states that the ODCs estimate is $500,000 for total period of performance, estimated at $100,000/year.

However, the ODC table in PART II – Cost/Price

Information shows the ODCs estimate as $20,000 per year, and $100,000 for total 5 years. Will the Government revise the table in Part II?

The revised table in Part II on page 86 has been updated to reflect the estimated ODCs of

$100,000/year and $500,000 for the 5 years of the period of performance.

17 05/31/2018 Section I

There is no Service Contract Act clause in the RFP;

however there is at least one labor category that potentially is subject to Wage Determination.

In light of this, will this contract be subject to Wage

Determination and/or should it contain the Service

Contract Act clause?

The RFP has been amended to add clause

52.222-4 -- Service Contract Labor

Standards.

18 06/04/2018 Section B and L

RFP, page 3 of 94, states that Other Direct Costs is

$100K/year or $500K for the total period of performance.

RFP, page 86 of 94, also states that “plug” values will be entered, $20K/year, or $100K for the total period of performance.

Question #1 /Note: Can the government provide clarification on the correct ODC value(s) to “plug”?

Please refer to the answer provided in question 14 above.

19 06/04/2018 Attachment 2

Attachment 2 – Instructions for Completing Contract

Pricing Summary states that detail schedules for material, Travel, and ODC are to be provided as support to the

Contract Pricing Summary.

Question #2 /Note: What detail is expected for travel and

ODC back-up if the estimates are assumed to be RFP directed “plug” values?

Attachment 2 has been amended to remove any references to provide pricing in the proposal since the plug amount has been given.

However, for invoicing the detail expected for travel and ODC back-up must be such that the

COR or other people reviewing an invoice with travel and ODCs specified should be able to make a reasonable determination as to what the ODCs or travel are for. In other words, the reader should be able to understand the nature and origin of the documented expenses.

20 06/06/2018 General

I am writing to request a consideration for an extension on the proposal due date of the above referenced RFP. We are trying to put together a response with other organizations and a time extension will help us put forward a proposal for FHWA's consideration. We would appreciate a consideration of an additional 2 to 3 weeks.

Thank you for the consideration.

Please refer to the answer provided in question

1.

21 06/06/2018 Section B

Page 2 of the solicitation lists the estimated ODC costs as

$100k/year ($500k total); however, page 86 lists the estimated ODC costs as $20k/year ($100k total). Which number should we use in the proposal?

Please refer to the answer provided in question 14 above.

22 06/06/2018 Section L

Page 89 of the solicitation states that questionnaires should be submitted in an envelope sealed by the customer; however, page 79 requests that questionnaires be submitted electronically as part of Volume II. How should past performance questionnaires be submitted?

Past Performance questionnaires shall be submitted electronically. Please see the amended RFP.

23 06/06/2018 General

Additionally, after careful consideration of the solicitation requirements, can FHWA consider a one month extension of the deadline to allow sufficient time for new teams to compete?

Please refer to the answer provided in question

1.

24 06/08/2018 General

Can the government provide the number of positions it wishes to fill for this contract? And what are the position titles?

See section C.21 “On-Site Professional

Staffing Requirements”, of the RFP.

25 06/08/2018 General

What is the underlying simulation engine used within the

IG? Is it fully available to modify?

The underlying engine is called ARCHER, which stands for Advanced Rendering Cluster for Highway Experimental Research. This software was developed for the current HDS contract, and the source code is accessible. It also connects to third party application software (e.g., for the HDS motion base, vehicle dynamics, and eye tracking).

26 06/08/2018 General

Is the government open to new simulation engines to support the research efforts?

The government would be open to new simulation engines if the cost of shifting is justified and translates to good value to the government.

27 06/08/2018 General

How important is leveraging existing Virtual Reality(VR) and Augmented Reality(AR) to the future of the program?

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality are promising artificial environments that represent significant potential for the future of the HDS program.

28 06/08/2018 General

Would the government be interested in presenting work at conferences?

Yes, the government would be interested in presenting work at conferences, under the right circumstances.

29 06/08/2018 General

Is the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) important to the work for FHWA

As Artificial Intelligence continues to become more important to automated driving and transportation in general, it will become more for FHWA.

30 06/08/2018 General

Is there a desire to run multiplayer scenarios in this scope of work?

Yes, there a desire to run multiplayer scenarios in this scope of work.

31 06/08/2018 General

Would Government consider extending the deadline for submitting the proposal by two weeks, from June 18, 2018 to July 2, 2018?

Please refer to the answer provided in question

1.

32 06/08/2018 General

Please note that due to the change in date of the site visit and the forthcoming answers to questions, we are requesting an extension to June 28th

Thank you for consideration of our questions and our extension request

Please refer to the answer provided in question

1.

33 06/08/2018 Section C

The qualification requirements for the Program Manager, described on Pages 18 and 19 of the RFP, are too specific to the qualifications of the incumbent contractor's Program

Manager. Would the Government consider making the following changes in the qualification requirements of the

Program Manager?

Please change "The PM shall have a minimum of 10 years of experience in software or systems engineering and simulation related research and development, preferably driving simulation experience." to "The PM shall have a minimum of 10 years of experience in engineering research and development."

Please change "The person shall have demonstrated experience in managing a large, multi-disciplinary team of human factors and engineering professionals." to "The person shall have demonstrated experience in managing a large, multi-disciplinary team of engineering professionals."

The government has changed the following sentence from, "The person shall have demonstrated experience in managing a large, multi-disciplinary team of human factors and engineering professionals" to "The person shall have demonstrated experience in managing a large, multi-disciplinary team of human factors or engineering professionals."

However, the first suggestion shall not be changed. Please see the amended RFP with the updated language on page 19.