Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement_04112024 DRAFT.docx

ATTACHMENT 1

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA)

OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY (ORR)

INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE (IA)

INDIVIDUAL AND HOUSEHOLDS PROGRAM (IHP)

FIELD SERVICES CONTRACT

Date: April 11, 2024

Section 1 – General Information The purpose of this contract is to augment FEMA’s Individual and Households Program (IHP) assessor cadre to conduct residential damage assessments for survivors affected by presidentially declared disasters within the United States, Tribal governments, and its Territories. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is authorized pursuant to the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (PL-93-288) (herein referred to as the “Act) as amended by the Robert T. Stafford Act (P.L. 100-707) to provide assistance to survivors of presidentially declared disasters and emergencies. The residential damage assessments provided under this contract are used in determining survivor eligibility for FEMA programs. Performance parameters set forth within this Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract and Performance Work Statement (PWS) may be refined at the task order level.

Background:

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizen’s and first responders, to ensure that as a nation, we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. The Office of Response and Recovery mission is to provide guidance, leadership, and oversight to build, sustain and improve the coordination and delivery of support to citizens and State, local, tribal, and territorial governments to save lives, reduce suffering, protect property and to recover from all hazards. FEMA’s Individual Assistance’s (IA) mission is to ensure that all individuals and families adversely affected by a presidentially declared disaster or emergency have timely access to the full range of FEMA programs. Residential damage assessments provided under this contract are used in determining survivor eligibility for FEMA programs.

Description of Services/Introduction:

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and services necessary to perform housing assessments as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS), except as specified in Section 3 as government-furnished property and services.

Using government furnished software, the Contractor shall collect and report disaster-caused residential and personal property losses and verify ownership, occupancy and survivor needs by means approved by FEMA. The Contractor should expect to collect data related to the extent of damage to real property; private and multi-family properties, road and bridge repairs, the habitability of the home; ownership, occupancy, and insurance verification information; the extent of damage to personal property and vehicles; information regarding other disaster expenses and needs; and area access issues. The Contractor must perform to the standards in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. The historical work issued is listed in Table A, for illustration purposes. The conditions and parameters of schedule and performance are located within the PRS (Attachment 2).

Place of Performance:

The work to be performed under this contract may occur in the Continental United States and Outside Continental United States simultaneously. The work may include one or multiple County(s) within State(s), United States Territory(s), or Tribal Nation(s).

Alternate places of performance will be coordinated with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and approved by the Contracting Officer (CO).

Performance Objectives:

The Contractor shall, at a minimum, perform the following:

· Return assessments in a timely manner to prevent survivor displacement and to avoid undue burden on emergency resources with emphasis placed on the initial days following task order award.

· Enhanced Customer Service: FEMA’s 2022 – 2026 Strategic Plan received further clarification by Administrator Criswell requesting improved community recovery through accessible, equitable, and coordinated disaster assistance to meet the needs of the survivor. Embracing these precepts, this contract emphasizes a stronger commitment to customer service virtues by providing comprehensive support to better understand survivor needs, the collection and dissemination of necessary documentation, a concerted and continuous effort to explain FEMA’s assistance programs when guiding survivors on the road to recovery.

· Contracted personnel are required to embrace such precepts when meeting the needs of disaster survivors. Such principles are not limited to base-line DHS training material, but a moderate understanding of FEMA’s Individual Assistance programs, the capacity to relay onsite safety measures during the assessment process, clarifying damaged property to have been recorded, required documentation to verify ownership and occupancy, and to clarify what and where to submit documentation for additional consideration of reimbursement.

· At the conclusion of the assessment, assessors shall employ the ability to assist the survivor further by potentially referring the survivor to shelter resources or assisting the survivor in locating the nearest DRC location and available services. The assessor should assist the survivor by providing helpful information regarding their recovery while avoiding direct indications of program award decisions based on the assessment.

· Using government furnished software: Automated Construction Estimator (ACE) and the National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS), the Contractor shall accomplish the collection and reporting of assessment data to include survivor residence verification.

· Perform to the standards established in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract.

· Ensure all required levels of support for this contract are always maintained. If for any reason the contractor staffing levels are not maintained and essential personnel will not be immediately replaced, the Contractor shall provide e-mail notification to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), explaining the discrepancy and the planned corrective action.

· Maintain and adhere to an approved quality management system (QMS). The QMS shall adhere to the requirements of FAR 46.202-4 – Higher-Level Contract Quality Requirements, 46.203 – Criteria for Use of Contract Quality Requirements. Any updated copy of the QMS shall be provided to the Contracting Officer for review and approval as changes occur.

· The QMS shall be capable of the following key activities:

· Monitor, measure, analyze, control, and improve processes,

· Reduce product variation,

· Measure/verify product conformity,

· Establish mechanisms for field product performance feedback, and

· Implement an effective root-cause analysis and corrective and preventative action (CAPA) system.

· Be responsible for the training of all contractor employees required to meet the terms of this contract and occur prior to performing work under this contract. The Contractor is expected to develop and maintain a training program for its employees and sub-contracted employees. Training curricula and content for assessors shall be approved by FEMA prior to use, which includes any modifications to training. Training must be comprehensive in nature addressing damage caused by natural and manmade perils as covered by the Stafford Act. Acceptable records of staff training shall include training course title, employee name or assessor ID number and dates of completion.

Scope of Work:

The Contractor shall provide, unless stated otherwise in Part 3 Government Furnished Equipment and software, all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and services necessary to complete housing assessments and technical assistance task orders to facilitate assistance to survivors of presidentially declared disasters as authorized pursuant to the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (PL-93-288) (herein referred to as the “Act) as amended by the Robert T. Stafford Act (P.L. 100-707).

Assessment Types:

The primary initial assessment method to be conducted under this contract is that of the on-site damage level type. The Government may authorize the use of remote damage levels and geospatial assessments in limited circumstances as described within Section 5 Specific Tasks.

Technical Assistance Task Orders:

Unique disaster related tasks arise during disaster declarations requiring technical assistance to be implemented. Examples of technical assistance are:

a) The Contractor may be issued a task order to pre-deploy to the disaster area before a declaration to mitigate potential logistic issues created by an oncoming disaster event.

b) The Contractor may be requested to support Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) facility staffing needs. Operational functions may include the taking registrations and or providing survivors with information about the recovery process, as stipulated through a separate Statement of Work detailed in Technical Exhibit (TE) 17.

c) The Contractor may be requested to support Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) staffing needs. Operational functions may include the taking registrations and or providing survivors with information about the recovery process, as stipulated through a separate Statement of Work detailed in TE 18.

d) The Contractor may be requested to provide personnel at disaster shelters providing a link between the survivor and the assessor when telecommunication is a challenge.

e) The Contractor may be requested to deliver FEMA information flyers to affected residences in disaster-stricken areas.

f) The Contractor may be requested to provide ad-hoc instructional services for IA Recovery disaster damage assessments and collection of data processes for inter-governmental agencies supporting the IA programs, such as, IA Recovery Residential Damage Assessments Training.

g) The Contractor may be requested to conduct mobile home site assessments.

h) The Contractor may be requested to assist in the delivery Recovery supplies and materials.

Execution of technical assistance will be through the use of the Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) process under this contract.

When services are needed, the Government will forward to the Contractor specifics of the task(s) or objective(s) to be accomplished through a performance work statement (PWS), statement of objectives (SOO) or a statement of work (SOW) through a TOPR. Work shall not commence until a task order is in place, unless a written notice is issued by the Contracting Officer allowing work to begin immediately due to urgency. The Contractor’s staff shall be in place within 48 hours of Task Order notification unless otherwise instructed in the PWS, SOW, SOO or TOPR.

The Contractor’s proposal shall include itemized costs and a technical proposal. Proposed costs will be negotiable and the technical proposal will be subject to Government approval. The technical proposal shall describe in detail the proposed process for implementing and fulfilling the Government's requirement, including detailed staffing plans and performance dates, specific deliverables, reports and proposed methods for delivering reports, delivery dates, locations, and the proposed labor category to perform the task. Refer to Attachment #4, Department of Labor Wage Determinations distributed with each technical assistance request for labor rate tasking categories applicable to the technical assistance task cost line items. The technical proposal shall specify cost estimates for the entire period of performance to include the Generalist Labor category used for this effort. The Government will provide the Contractor 48-hour notification of the end of the technical assistance performance period.

Period of Performance:

The period of performance for this contract consists of one (1) 12-month base period and four (4) 12-month ordering periods.

· Base Period

· Ordering Period I

· Ordering Period II

· Ordering Period III

· Ordering Period IV Quality Control:

In compliance with the assessment/acceptance requirements of FAR Clause 52.212-4, the Contractor must provide a quality control plan (QCP) to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS to the CO for acceptance within 30 calendar days after contract award in electronic format. The CO will notify the Contractor of acceptance or required modifications to the QCP within seven (7) business days of receipt. The Contractor must make appropriate modifications and obtain acceptance of the QCP by the CO before contract performance can begin or as designated by the CO.

The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective QCP to ensure services are performed in accordance with PRS. The description must include specifics as the areas to be inspected on both a scheduled and unscheduled basis, frequency of assessments, and the title and organizational placement of the quality control assessments. At a minimum, the QCP must provide:

· A description of the records to be kept to document quality control assessments and corrective or preventive actions taken.

· A description of the methods to be used for identifying and preventing defects in the quality of service performed.

· When changes are made to the QCP, a complete QCP must be submitted to the CO and COR within 5 business days.

Quality Assurance:

The Government will evaluate the Contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

Performance under this contract will be subject to the requirements of FAR 42.15 (Contractor Performance Information) and registration in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) metric tools.

Type of Contract:

The Government will award a hybrid – Firm Fixed Price (plus incentive) and a Time and Material (FFP/TM) contract.

Phase In:

The Contractor shall be fully capable of fulfilling all the contract’s terms and conditions not later than 90 calendar days following contract award. The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining continuity of operations that will meet all FEMA’s requirements during normal operations and disaster events. The Contractor shall provide all means to communicate information within its organization and to FEMA to include, but not limited to, communication lines and cellular-phones (as approved by FEMA).

The Contractor shall have contingencies in place to be able to perform assessments of residences via electronic means at the damaged residence. The Contractor shall use Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and/or Contractor Acquired Property with approved software in addition to government furnished data plans and software.

The Contractor may be required to provide mobile communication systems to transmit information to FEMA. The Contractor shall execute all phase in activities in accordance with its proposed technical approach.

Phase Out Period:

Continuity of the services required under this contract are vital to the Government. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.237-3 (Continuity of Services), upon notification from the Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall furnish phase in, phase out services for up to 90 calendar days with a successor firm.

The Contractor shall provide FEMA their approaches to transition workloads and transfer government purchased equipment to the new contractor(s). The CO will issue a written notice to the Contractor to submit a plan six (6) months prior to the contract expiring. The required transition services will commence the day after the contract expires and last for 90 calendar days.

All phase out activities will be in accordance with the contractor’s negotiated plan and training program’s technical approach.

Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings:

The Government will hold, and the Contractor shall attend, a post award pre-performance conference. The purpose of the pre-performance conference is to discuss technical and contracting objectives of this contract. Any required corrective actions will be due not later than ten (10) business days following the pre-performance conference. The post award/pre-performance conference will be held at the Government’s facility or by electronic video communication.

The CO, COR, and other government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor's performance. At these meetings the CO will apprise the Contractor of how the government views the Contractor's performance and the Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues.

Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and Task Monitor (TM):

The COR will be identified by separate letter. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: performing surveillance/assessment and acceptance; monitor activities, cost, providing input to Contractor performance evaluations, and notifications to the Contracting Officer; making recommendations for invoices and payments; managing government furnished assets (when required); managing contractor employee access (when required); and perform oversight of inherently governmental and critical functions.

A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

The Task Monitor (TM) will be identified by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The TM’s responsibility is to monitor the day-to-day activity task order requirements outlined in this PWS and Attachment 2 PRS when assembling the QASP for COR verification. The TM initiates appropriate briefings and coordination calls relaying disaster specific nuances and operational procedures to the Contractor. The TM is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order or contract.

Contractor Payment Refer to Section G of the contract award (contract administration data) for invoicing and payment instructions.

Section 2 – Definitions and Acronyms Definitions:

ACE – Automated Construction Estimator – The field software currently used to complete assessments under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP).

Catastrophic Event – Any natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster that result in extraordinary levels of casualties, damage or disruption severely affecting the population.

CFAU – Contract Field Assessment Unit – this section provides oversight, performance monitoring, quality surveillance, and management of equipment, service, and residential damage assessment contract(s) awarded by the Government.

CM – Contract Management – a section within the Program Support Branch that collaborates with IA Program Managers to review IA contracts capabilities, scope and program needs for the Government and assists the Individual Assistance (IA) Program Managers in the administration of contract(s) awarded by the Government.

CO – Contracting Officer – Presides over the bid opening, reviews pertinent facts about each bid (including price, terms, free on board (FOB) point, etc.). After subsequent analysis and evaluation, the Contracting Officer will award the contract(s) to the responsive and responsible bidder(s). Responsible for administering the contract, including the resolution of disputes and protests, and terminating and/or closing out the contract.

Contractor’s Briefing – A conference between the Government and contracted personnel detailing disaster specific nuances conducted after task order award.

Contractor Personnel – All personnel approved to work on this contract shall be considered a “service employee” subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards Act; other than any person employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as those terms are defined in 29 CFR part 541. The term “service employee” includes all such persons regardless of any contractual relationship that may be alleged to exist between a contractor or subcontractor and such persons. Employee category examples include; Full-Time Employee, Part-Time Employee, Temporary Employee, Job-Share Employee and Employee with Co-Employers.

Contract Specialist – The Contracting Officer may have several Contract Specialists. They will often be responsible for negotiating with offerors. Often, the only distinction between the Contracting Officer and the Contract Specialist is actual contracting authority. The Contracting Officer signs contractual documents and has final responsibility for the contract.

CONUS – Continental United States – Contiguous states within the continental United States. Excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and US Territories.

COR – Contracting Officer Representative – A program office official who is appointed by the Contracting Officer and delegated specific authorities to assist in administering specific aspects (such as technical aspects) of the contract.

Double Damage – Applies to any dwelling that had damage from a previous Federal Declaration within 3 months of the current disaster incident date and is occupied by the same survivor as the previous disaster.

DRC – Disaster Recovery Center – An office established in areas directly affected by the disaster to facilitate direct interaction between FEMA and the survivor.

FCO – Federal Coordinating Officer – The Disaster Recovery Manager responsible for all field operations for a particular disaster.

HA – Housing Assistance – Assistance administered by FEMA through IHP. It provides for individuals and households displaced from their pre-disaster residences, and/or whose pre- disaster residences are rendered uninhabitable who are underinsured or who have no insurance to provide for their housing needs.

IA – Individual Assistance – Supplementary Federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to individuals and families adversely affected by a major disaster or an emergency.

IHP – Individuals and Households Program – IHP provides financial or direct assistance to those who have necessary expenses and serious needs as a result of a disaster declaration if they are unable to meet the needs through other means. Both HA and Other Needs Assistance (ONA) assistance are provided under IHP.

IHP Module – The software configuration in NEMIS that allows the routing of assessment request to and from the Contractor and to the assessor.

IMAR – This report depicts a variety of disaster specific assessment performance information and provides the majority of data for measuring the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

ISC – Inspection Services Coordinator – A member of the CFAU team who deploys and works in the disaster Joint Field Office (JFO). The ISC serves as liaison between the Task Monitor, JFO staff, contractor representatives and field personnel and assists in resolving assessment issues at the lowest possible level.

JFO – Joint Field Office – A facility established near or within the designated disaster area housing representatives from Federal, State and voluntary agencies responsible for coordination of recovery efforts.

NEMIS – (National Emergency Management Information System) – System used by FEMA to administer applicant assistance within the IHP. This system is used to receive applicant registrations, issue and return assessments to include modules to review work under this PWS.

NOC – (Network Operations Center) – The Network Operations Center (NOC) is a 24/7 operation center that serves as the central control for IT network systems.

OCONUS – In this context, locations outside of the Continental United States where FEMA responds and performs disaster recovery efforts. Includes Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories.

ONA – Other Needs Assistance – Other Needs Assistance provision of the Individuals and Households Program provides assistance for necessary expense and serious needs that cannot be met through other available resources/programs.

Operations – Includes all ongoing efforts necessary to meet the performance requirements under the contract during a specified period of performance or on an extremely short notice in response to a disaster declaration.

Period of Performance – Specific date and time ranges for contractor performance for task order awards and contract.

PIV – Personnel Identity Verification primarily involves issuance of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Cards, the federal standard for a secure form of identification which was mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.

Preparedness – The organizations ability to be ready and able to respond to disaster assignments and return completed quality assessments to FEMA within defined thresholds.

Product – A conforming and compliant assessment.

PRS – Performance Requirements Summary – Identifies the Government’s performance standards; acceptable quality levels and monitoring method for determining if the acceptable quality level has been met by the Contractor.

PWS – Performance Work Statement – A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes (Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)).

QASP – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan – a government document used to survey the contractor’s quantity, quality and timeliness performance outlined in the PWS and PRS.

QC – Quality Control – Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of the services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS and terms and conditions of the contract. It refers to the activities used during the production of a product that are designed to verify that the product meets the customer's requirement. QC focuses on the process of producing the product or service with the intent of eliminating problems that might result in defects. QC begins as the product is being produced or services rendered.

QMS – Quality Management System –A series of standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what the user organization does, its size, or whether it is in the private or public sector.

Quality Assurance – Those actions taken by the Government to assure services meet the requirements of the PWS.

TM – Task Monitor – Individuals delegated by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to monitor day-to-day contractor activity. The TM initiates appropriate briefings and coordination calls relaying disaster specific nuances and operational procedures to the Contractor(s).

TO – Task Order - Instrument used to order work within the contract. Task orders are always written by the Contracting Officer, and when obligating funds, must be on a form prescribed by the FAR. Task orders are made a part of the contract file and the COR’s working file.

TOPR – Task Order Proposal Request, tailored for each declaration and issued to all contractors offering supplies and services.

Acronyms:

Section 3 – Government Furnished Equipment and Services

Government Furnished Equipment and Software:

The Government will provide the Contractor laptops and tablets (iPads) to conduct FEMA housing assessments through the use of DHS/FEMA approved software. The Contractor is responsible for the maintenance of equipment and software updates. The Contractor is responsible to transmit, mail, or communicate all pertinent guidelines, FAQs and job aids to qualified assessors. The DHS/FEMA approved software is identified in the Technology Reference Model (TRM) via a link to the FEMA Mobius application.

Obtaining Equipment and Replacement of Government-Furnished Equipment:

The Contractor must submit a request, prior to purchase of equipment or replacement of government-furnished equipment, to the COR for processing if designated as an allowable and allocable expense. Such request must specify the reason for the replacement request. No government network connected equipment shall be placed into service prior to approval of FEMA. Rules and procedures for GFE can be referenced in Attachment 7 Personal Property Manual 119-7-1.

Equipment Inventory:

An inventory of government-furnished equipment must be completed not later than 10 business days after transference of delivery to the Contractor, not later than June 30 in accordance the Personal Property Manual, and not later than 90 calendar days before ultimate contract completion (inclusive of all ordering periods). The Contractor and the COR or other Government representative must jointly determine the working order and condition of all equipment and document their findings on the inventory. In the event of disagreement between the Contractor and the Government representative on the working order and condition of equipment, the disagreement must be treated as a dispute under the contract clause entitled “Disputes.” Rules and procedures for equipment can be referenced in Attachment 7, Instruction 119-7-1 FEMA Personal Property Asset Management Program.

Government-Furnished Services:

The Government will provide the Contractor the services describe herein. Unless explicitly listed in this section, no other services will be provided by the Government.

Government Provided Training:

The Government will provide Contractor representatives (less than 10 per) with an overview of the various programs and applications to complete associated tasks as presented in this PWS and Attachment 2 PRS within 10 business days of contract award. This training is intended to be “Train-the-Trainer” at the beginning of the contract or as needed during the life of the contract.

The training will include an overview of the NEMIS functions to assign, review and deliver assessments and the application of the residential damage data collector (ACE). The training will establish key decision aspects to include the overall habitability determination of the dwelling and application of the damage level assessment process. Training will also include fraud awareness and detection with procedures to follow when encountered.

In addition, training on the different disaster assistance programs (e.g., the Individual and Households Program), the process by which assistance is obtained including appeals and reconsiderations, Help-line functions, and other factors related to the recovery process.

The training is limited to explanation of FEMA programs and policies and not intended to establish the Contractor as a subject matter expert on damage assessments.

Within 90 calendar days of contract award, FEMA will audit the training material for its application with assessors.

ACE/NEMIS IT Support Helpdesk:

Government will provide IT support for governmental systems.

Data Elements:

To accomplish the tasks outlined in this contract, FEMA will provide the Contractor with access to portions of NEMIS and ACE systems. Acceptable fields for display and restricted use are displayed through Section 7 of this PWS.

Data Reports:

FEMA may provide scheduled and customized reports obtained from the NEMIS system for Task Order assignments. The Contractor shall request reports through the FEMA Task Monitor and Contracting Officer Representative.

Data Warehouse Access Data tables with assessor and assessment information will be provided to the Contractor; however, the information cannot be extracted to non-government equipment or transferred to outside cloud storage systems. Disposition of reporting information must adhere to Section 7 of this PWS.

Section 4 – Contractor Furnished Items and Services

General:

The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment not listed under Section 3 of this PWS, facilities, and services required to perform work under this contract. Request for the purchase of government owned equipment must be approved by FEMA for determination of allowable, allocable expenses. (Refer to Attachment 7 - 119-7-1 FEMA Personal Property Asset Management Program).

Section 5 – Specific Tasks

General Information:

Survivors are instructed to apply for assistance by dialing FEMA’s toll-free number (1-800-621-3362) or online at WWW.DisasterAssistance.GOV.

In today’s environment affording remote communication capabilities, it is incumbent on the Contractor to be conscientious when exercising administrative cost and assessment measures under this contract. Contractors should utilize remote capabilities to its fullest capacity and understand that office/warehouse locations do not need to be located in proximity to FEMA’s Winchester Operational Center.

When utilizing operational/administrative office or warehouse facility(s) to conduct the work required under this contract, these locations must include security and contain network capability to allow communication of assessment requests to the Contractor and all functions required to support the contract. An on-site review of the facility is required by FEMA security and network security checks and will be conducted by FEMA during the phase-in period.

Assessor labor costs will not be paid for non-assessment contractor travel time or idle time once checked in at a disaster location or moving to and from while performing assessments within the designated declared area. Travel incurred while in the disaster area shall be inclusive of the fixed price assessment cost along with any assessor idle time.

For remote assessments, Contractors shall maintain a physical operation to conduct the office work required under this contract as permissible under Governor mandates in the State(s) of which they reside. To conduct remote assessments at an alternate location, the Contractor shall deliver necessary equipment to the assessors’ place of residence to conduct the assessments.

Assessments:

FEMA anticipates awarding multiple IHP Field Services contracts. The contract supports the collection of information gathered by the assessment and other means of verification approved by FEMA (e.g., aerial imagery, or tax data). The data collected from assessments include, but is not limited to:

· The extent of structural property damage to the home using FEMA provided damage levels and service calls for each cause of damage

· Measurements of the dwelling (on-site assessments)

· Confirmation of the dwelling’s overall habitability

· Verification of ownership, occupancy, and insurance information

· Validation of applicant information from registration intake

· Personal property damage to room furnishings and appliances

· Vehicle damages

· Verification of household composition

· Verification of the number of occupied bedrooms

· Confirmation of medical, dental, funeral disaster related losses and needs

· Road and bridge access issues

· And answers to applicant questions providing the next steps in the recovery process Duty Readiness Plan:

The plan shall include the necessary actions to meet the PRS tasks.

The plan shall contain the baseline personnel to meet the requirements of the contract, to include the quantity, positions (assessor, reviewer, supervisors) to fulfill the production minimum requirement to return 10,000 assessments per day by day 15 for combined Task Orders.

Assessor availability is critical to the successful completion of timely returned assessments. The Contractor must have a plan to recruit and retain new personnel on an annual basis as outlined in PWS Section 5.9. The Contractor shall provide training for its assessor and support staff prior to the start of assessment work occurring annually thereafter.

The plan shall describe support processes to ensure that every assessor is fully equipped with functional tools to perform the work assigned, access to home office support for problem solving, utilization of FEMA approved contractor travel policies (Reference Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) in PWS Section 6.2), following personnel security adjudication criteria, and develop training courses to be taught to assessors and personnel assigned to the contract.

Duty Readiness Training:

The Contractor shall provide web-based training as the primary method to receive instruction for assessors. Onsite training may be permissible where FEMA’s COR will receive the agenda prior to the instruction taking place (I.e., Just in Time hiring activity).

The training curricula for assessors shall provide specifics of the FEMA repair program, assessment guidelines and customer service. Contractor personnel shall receive and pass all DHS and FEMA required training, as outlined in Technical Exhibit 10 Mandatory Training.

The contractor’s training program schedule shall be provided to FEMA’s CORs prior to implementation.

Duty Readiness Progress Reporting:

The Contractor shall provide FEMA a progress report by the 10th day of each month disclosing personnel that has received training and the types of training achieved. The report shall include the assessor ID number and last name. FEMA may audit the training as frequently as necessary.

Operational Training Exercise:

The Contractor shall conduct an annual desktop exercise (scenario) in the month of August with key personnel displaying their capability to produce compliant assessments. This exercise will be monitored by FEMA employees and may be conducted in simultaneous locations throughout CONUS. The “staff level participation count” will be compared to the staffing plan to complete 125,000 assessments on a single task order, or as requested by FEMA. All plans for corrective action identified through the exercise will be provided to the FEMA COR within two weeks after the exercise.

Personnel Required:

The Contractor shall maintain a sufficient cadre to meet the performances outlined in Attachment 2 – PRS SSPA #2. G Production (damage assessments) through an operational readiness stance.

The Contractor shall, at the time of contract award identify the quantity of deployable assessors to meet SSPA #2 G Production when establishing a baseline for monthly reporting quotas.

Just in Time Hiring Task Order Activation:

When a disaster occurrence is anticipated to be of such size and magnitude that exceeds the contractor’s deployable personnel from their last monthly report, FEMA may request a Just in Time (JIT) hiring task order to augment staffing needs.

Notification of JIT onboarding activation and subsequent task order request will be issued by the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall respond to the task order request proposing actions and a plan to meet the stipulations to onboard personnel per TE 13.

New personnel must comply with all security and clearance requirements unless specifically waived by FEMA.

5.8.1 Just in Time Hiring Plan:

The Just in Time (JIT) hiring plan is separate from the Duty Readiness Plan. For purposes of developing the JIT hiring plan to meet the quantity of proposed personnel in the task order, the Contractor shall strategize based on the following assumptions:

FEMA will provide an operational field staging area to fingerprint and badge eligible candidates within 6 days from the date of Task Order Activation. The daily count of fingerprinted and badged candidates to be completed by the field staging area is 75 per day, per contractor starting at day 6 from the date of task order activation, unless otherwise specified in the task order.

Plan Requirements: The plan shall include maximum level of onboarding for the production of work in one or more disaster events. Using the instructions provided in Technical Exhibit 13 JIT Hiring Activation SOW, the Contractor shall disclose starting at day 6 and ending on a day noted in the TOPR for activation providing the daily count of:

a) Number of candidates arriving to complete adjudication background process

b) Number of candidates to receive badges

c) Number completing training

d) Number in the field completing assessments The plan shall further describe in narrative form:

a) All personnel and their functions to accomplish the onboarding of assessors

b) Projected number of staff receiving adjudication/training through the JIT hiring event by their job function All cost associated with “Just in Time” hiring will be cost reimbursable per assessor adjudicated, badged, trained, and prepared for field assessment work or review. FEMA will not authorize cost reimbursement for any assessor not receiving a suitable background check and/or refusing field deployment or review responsibilities.

At FEMA’s discretion onboarded candidates through the JIT hiring event may not receive a full background investigation through the eApp process.

Annual Hiring:

The Contractor is required to maintain a sufficient assessor cadre to return 10,000 assessments by Day 15 of task order(s) per PRS SSPA #2 G Production. The Contractor is required to augment staff to meet the required staffing needs throughout the year. FEMA may, at its discretion, permit the onboarding of the majority of staff during the summer months ahead of the hurricane season otherwise, the Contractor will augment assessors / personnel throughout the year.

All new personnel must comply with all DHS and FEMA security and clearance requirements.

Note: Contracted assessors who have not conducted assessments within the last 3 years will not be considered for a periodic background re-investigation (eApp).

Task Order Proposal Request:

The Contractor shall maintain a level of situation awareness providing a detailed response to all task order proposal requests. Responses are required within four hours of receipt of the notification unless extended by the Contracting Officer.

When required by FEMA, the Contractor’s personnel shall comply with all Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for public health emergencies.

Task Order Activation:

The volume and timing of work issuance is subjected to FEMA processes and survivor requests. The Contractor shall be prepared for work to be issued in large up-front quantities, spread throughout the performance period, be of extreme severity with hampered ground conditions and lodging scarcity. The Contractor shall incorporate these challenges in their approach to successfully complete the work.

Period of Performance Extension:

The Task Order period of performance may be extended by the Contracting Officer as determined by FEMA.

Defense Base Act Requirements:

To meet the requirements of contract Clause 52.228-3 (Workers’ Compensation Insurance (Defense Base Act) (DBA), the Contractor shall obtain workers’ compensation insurance enabling payment of disability compensation and medical benefits to covered employees and death benefits to their eligible survivors; for employees working outside the United States. Both prime contractors and subcontractors must obtain DBA insurance unless waived by the Department of Labor (DOL). Prime contractors shall not cover subcontractors. Waivers can be requested from the DOL in accordance with FAR 28.305. The Contractor shall verify valid policy coverage for prime and subcontractors before beginning work on a task order and maintain the coverage through the end of performance on the task order. Reimbursable costs for DBA insurance will not be paid until FEMA receives proof of coverage through a paid invoice for insurance. If the Contractor fails to maintain DBA coverage, FEMA may issue a stop work order, withhold payments, issue cure notices, terminate the task order for default, or annotate the lack of adherence to this requirement in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).

Housing Assessments:

Upon Task Order activation, assessments will be electronically routed from the Government to the Contractor through the NEMIS software application.

Initial assessment methods to be conducted under this contract include: Onsite Damage Level, Remote Damage Level and Geospatial Assessments. Onsite Damage Levels will be the primary assessment method requiring prepared/trained personnel. The remaining two initial assessment methods requires the establishment of learning modules as a readiness component, however, the training of personnel for Remote and Geospatial assessments are to take place upon receipt of the specific TO award. The Contractor will be notified of the assessment “type” within the TOPR.

Secondary assessments, such as Appeal Assessments or Reinspect Assessments will require prepared/trained personnel to potentially review the previous assessment.

Onsite Damage Level Assessment (Primary Assessment Method):

The Onsite Damage Level assessment requires assessors to assess the entirety of the structures condition from a list of disaster-caused damage conditions for a single output in accordance with the On-site Assessment Guidelines (Technical Exhibit 1). This assessment is conducted at the damaged property location.

Remote Damage Level Assessment (Task Order Specific):

The Remote Damage Level assessment requires the assessor to ask the applicant a series of questions confirming damages to their residence for a single output through a telephonic interview and or video interview in accordance with Remote Assessment Guidelines (Technical Exhibit 2). When applicable, video relay between the assessor and survivor may be conducted to verify residence damages and personal losses when conducted remotely.

Geospatial Assessment (Task Order Specific):

The Geospatial Assessment employs remote damage level assessment method with the precursor of FEMA having verified the overall damage from a geospatial or imagery analysis to assist the assessor in making an overall damage level determination.

Appeal Assessments:

The Appeal assessment is a subsequent evaluation of damages to confirm the prior assessments record, amending as necessary.

Assessment Return Statuses: Below are definitions for assessment return statuses clarifying the effort for each task where the Government will consider separate costs for each:

Withdrawn Assessments If a Survivor’s assessment is withdrawn in accordance with the FEMA Assessment Guidelines, the assessor shall explain the potential impacts of being withdrawn from the FEMA program and the reason for withdrawal shall be clearly documented in the assessment comments.

No Contact Assessments If the assessor is unable to contact the survivor in accordance with FEMA Assessment Guidelines, the assessment may be returned as No Contact.

Inaccessible Assessments An Inaccessible assessment requires the assessor to confirm an inability to access the structure due to standing water, landslide, or a similar unsafe situation per established guidelines. An inaccessible situation does not include assessments on islands or where the natural course of travel to a survivor’s dwelling is by boat, plane, walking trails, snowmobiles, or off-road vehicles. A full description of conditions preventing entry to the dwelling shall be provided by the assessor, along with meeting with the survivor to verify ownership and occupancy, as well as documenting any other serious needs or necessary expenses.

Additional Assessment Conditions:

Expedited Assessments The request to expedite assessments occurs when FEMA’s Task Monitor alerts (e-mail) the Contractor to issue assessment(s) ahead of previously assigned work. Contracted assessors then have less than four (4) hours to make contact with the survivor. The Contractor shall provide the TM confirmation of the assessor’s contact with the survivor.

Shelter Survivor Assessments In an effort to close disaster shelters and to meet the immediate needs of survivors, the Contractor shall issue shelter applicant assessments, provided through a separate report, prior to assessments received through the first in first out (FIFO) condition.

Customer Service The Contractor shall ensure that assessors conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. Federal Employee on the job topics to be enforced are: alcohol/drug-free workplace rules, smoke-free workplace, security, weapons, and threat levels, violence in the workplace, harassment, safety, dress code and personal use of government office equipment. See Attachment 5 – FEMA Directive: Personnel Standards of Conduct.

Production Requirements:

The PRS (Attachment 2, SSPA #2. G) identifies three (3) task order performance requirements for this contract: seasonal (peak), non-peak, and personnel deployment.

Quality Control:

1. Quality Control Criteria:

The Contractor shall rate each assessor in accordance with the scoring standard set by FEMA and the Contractor’s QMS program for all assessment types. The Contractor’s QMS system shall include a pass/fail score threshold per assessor as conformity and/or non-conformity.

Quality Control Assessments:

A Quality Control assessment (QC) is a subsequent evaluation of the assessment of record confirming its accuracy. Errors are identified through FEMA Corrections (FCOR) (Technical Exhibit 6) and subject to performance requirements from the PRS. Assessors shall not perform QC assessments on their own work.

FEMA’s Quality Assurance staff may participate in the Contractor’s QC process and it’s incumbent on the Contractor to provide all transportation for FEMA staff. Transportation shall adhere to all Federal and State laws. FEMA further reserves the rights to independently perform QC assessments at any time.

Quality Control Scoring:

All quality control assessments are scored using a 100-point scale where any score below 90 is considered…