Q&A's.docx

Question and Answers for Solicitation 75A50119R00029 ERSS

Attachment_2A-_Pricing_Schedule_OCONUS

Question: Are offerors permitted to delete a descriptive labor category and insert a specific labor category, or not provide a fully burdened labor rate on a descriptive position and include fully burdened rates only for specific labor positions?

Question: If not, will the customer provide additional guidance for descriptive labor categories such as various housing workers?

Question: Will the government provide positions descriptions for the labor categories provided in Attachments 2 and 2A to validate all offerors ability to provide fully burdened labor rates across equal and relevant labor categories.

The offeror may change the labor categories if they feel more or less or a different category is required.

Attachment_2-_Pricing_Schedule_CONUS Attachment_2A-_Pricing_Schedule_OCONUS Attachment_4_Wage_Determination_ERSS

Question: Can the USG provide further guidance regarding fully burdened labor rates in both CONUS and OCONUS locations?

Question: Will the government confirm that offerors should utilize Washington DC AWD as the basis for determining the labor rates for SCA applicable CONUS labor rates in Attachment 2?

Question: SOW 7.0 c. encourages offerors to hire local national personnel and subcontractors where appropriate. However, local labor laws and compensation requirements can vary significantly from one OCONUS location to another. To allow all offerors to propose OCONUS labor rates under equal assumptions in Attachment 2A, will the government provide a representative OCONUS location for offerors to base their proposed OCONUS labor rate upon? Additionally, providing offerors with a sample OCONUS location would allow offerors to provide the government with the most realistic labor rates for OCONUS positions, versus rates that may be inclusive of unnecessary contingencies to account for variations in labor law requirements across various locations.

The Government does not help the contractor with their pricing on proposals.

Under Section G of the RFP continuation sheet, it states, Article G5. WAGE DETERMINATION The applicable wage determinations will be incorporated into the successful offeror’s contract. As the exact locations where work will be performed are unknown at time of solicitation issuance, the Government will utilize the two-step wage determination process outlined in 29 C.F.R. § 4.4(a)(3).

Attachment_2-_Pricing_Schedule_CONUS Attachment_2A-_Pricing_Schedule_OCONUS

Question: Is the intent of Attachment 2 and 2A to only determine the feasible and realistic fully burdened labor rates?

Question: Would the government please confirm the fully burdened labor rates reflected in Attachments 2 and 2A are intended to establish a Total Evaluated Price of the offerors proposal?

Question: Will the Government provide guidance on what comprises an offerors Total Evaluated Price?

Question: Is the ability of an Offeror to include additional positions in Attachments 2 and 2A to demonstrate an offerors understanding of the scope of services? If so, will the Government confirm that this will not increase the Total Evaluated Price of an offeror’s proposal?

Attachment 2 and 2A will be the offerors proposed fully burdened rates for the IDIQ.

The contractor may add, delete or change the labor categories on the pricing schedule if they feel the categories need to be changed/corrected.

FAR Clause 52.212-1 and FAR Clause 52.212-2 has been changed under factor 5: Price and Cost factor:

From: The government will evaluate the reasonableness of the Offeror’s proposed price.

To: The government will evaluate the reasonableness of the Offeror’s proposed price per labor category. (Not via Total Evaluated Price).

Question: Would the Government please confirm if offeror is registered in SAM Disaster prior to submission is the proposal deemed acceptable?

52.212-1 6th paragraph has been changed from:

Offerors must be registered in SAM Disaster at the time the solicitation is posted.

To: Offerors must be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) Disaster Database at the time the solicitation closes.

Question: Will these costs be reimbursable under the labor CLIN at cost plus applicable burdens and fee? If no, will the government provide the anticipated reimbursement structure and CLIN for Danger Pay?

Danger pay will be added as an addition to the labor CLIN when applicable. There are no burdens and fee with the danger pay.

Question: Will these costs be reimbursable under the labor CLIN at cost plus applicable burdens and fee?

Question: If no, will the government provide the anticipated reimbursement structure and CLIN for Post Differential Pay?

Post hardship differential has been added to the SOW at paragraph 34. There are no burdens and fee with the post hardship differential fee.

Question: Will these costs be reimbursable under the labor CLIN at cost plus applicable burdens and fee?

Question: If no, will the government provide the anticipated reimbursement structure and CLIN for these costs?

Yes as answered above in question 5 and 6.

Attachment_2A-_Pricing_Schedule_OCONUS

Question: Would the government provide offerors with a notional plug number upon which to base our proposed small business plan?

Question: Or, would the Government allow offerors to utilize TBD for the dollar values?

Question: Is the intent of the Small Business Plan to only reflect the required socio-economic small business percentages?

Please get with the Small Business Administration for assistance.

Attachment_8-_ERSS_Scenario_Document

Question: At times, there are inconsistences between the scenarios and the SOW, examples are below. Could the USG provide guidance on the correct ratio or specification to use?

Scenario states a ratio of 1 to 20 per toilet. SOW page 15 states 1 to 15 which ratio is desired for contractor provided toilet?

Scenario states a "heated shower water at a minimum of 110 degree F". SOW page 15 states "heated shower water of at a minimum of 101 degrees F."

Scenario population’s estimates: Population sizes would be highly variable. The scenario response should be scalable. The quantities estimates in the SOW are upper limits when listed. Population size may be known at the time of the task order however the population could change. Therse could also be ongoing operations at multiple locations.

Scenario 1: 250 patients and 450 staff at each location, potential for multiple concurrent locations.

Scenario 2: 1000 patients and 1800 staff per site, potential for multiple concurrent locations.

Scenario 3: 1000 patients and up to 100 staff at the selection geographic area.

SOW page 15 states 1 to 15 which ratio is desired for contractor provided toilet. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/restrooms_sanitation The scenario (amended) mirrors that requirement.

SOW page 15 has been changed from 101 degrees to 110 degrees and added anti-scald valve at 120 degrees.

Question: Are there additional requirements that have been omitted, or could the USG confirm this is just a numbering error?

The numbering was an error and has been corrected.

Question: Will the Government please clarify if the offeror may use 11X17 for graphics and charts to illustrate aspects of the proposal and define that they will count as 1 page?

The offeror may use 11X17 for graphics and charts to illustrate aspects of the proposal and each sheet will count as 1 page has been added.

Attachment_3-_508_4192017vpatinstructions RFP, page 36 Attach. 3, page 14

Question: Will the Government clarify that Section 1194.41 a-c are the only required sections to complete in this document and submitted with the proposal?

The sections that are annotated with N/A are not applicable. Only sections 1194.41 a-c are the only required sections to complete in this document and submitted with the proposal.

Question: Will the Government exempt Attachment 3 from page count?

Question: If not, will the Government allow the offeror to provide only Section 1194.41 a-c?

Attachment 3- 508 4192017vpatinstructions does not count in the maximum pages allowed and has been added to FAR clause 52.212-1 under factor 1 and FAR clause 52.212-2 under factor 1, subfactor 4.

Question: Will the Government please clarify that Attachment 5 was for reference only, or provide instructions for completion and insertion into the submitted proposal?

Attachment 5- Confidential Disclosure Agreement is included as reference only and will be required to be filled in at award and has been added to FAR clause 52.212-1 and 52.212-2 as a note at the end of the clause.

Question: Would the Government confirm that no proof of insurance is required with submission of proposal, or if copies are to be provided, within which volume should they be provided?

Question: If provided with the proposal, are they exempt from page count?

Proof of insurance must be provided prior to award was an error and has been deleted from paragraph 19.2 of the SOW and after award has been inserted.

“31.0 HARMLESS AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT The Contractor shall save and hold harmless and indemnify the Government against any and all liability, claim and cost of whatsoever kind and nature for injury to or death of any person or persons. This includes loss or damage to any property occurring in connection with or in any way incident to, or arising out of the occupancy, use, service, operations, or performance of work under the terms of this contract, resulting in whole or in part from the negligent acts or omissions of the Contractor, any Sub-Contractor, or any employee or agent, or representative of the Contractor or Sub-Contractor.”

Question: would the Government be willing to limit the scope of the indemnity or delete the clause altogether, based on the following concerns. The first sentence containing the personal injury indemnity is unbounded as the modifier limiting the scope to negligent acts appears in the second sentence. The second sentence states that the indemnity includes property damage arising out of contractor negligence. This is generally inconsistent with FAR 52.245-1 (h) which discharges contractors for such liability. The indemnity should not include any liability for causes of action arising out of events out of the Contractor’s reasonable control. Would the Government consider amending the indemnity to be limited to the extent of the Contractor’s negligent actions (i.e. comparative fault), and exclude liability attributable to third-party or government fault. Finally, if the Contractor is liable for this indemnity, is the Government prepared to pay for the costs of insurance associated with this risk transfer.”

The following was added to 31.0 HARMLESS AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT:

If any part of this section differs from FAR Clause 52.245-1, then FAR Clause 52.245-1 will prevail.

FAR Clause 52.245-1 (h) states,” (1) Unless otherwise provided for in the contract, the Contractor shall not be liable for loss of Government property furnished or acquired under this contract, except when any one of the following applies—

(ii) Loss of Government property that is the result of willful misconduct or lack of good faith on the part of the Contractor's managerial personnel.

The underscored verbiage is the same in section 31 of the SOW and the clause.

The offeror should have insurance to cover their personnel and property.

Regarding (Factor 4) Past Performance, will the government consider the Past Performance of Subcontractors? If so, is there a limit to how many Subcontractor Past Performance references may be submitted?

Only the Prime contractor’s past performance is considered. Subcontractors past performance is not considered, has been added to FAR Clause 52.212.1 b under factor 4- past performance.

Considering the nature and level of effort will the Government consider a multi award IDIQ?

This requirement will be a single award due the rapid deployment needed during emergencies.

The Contractor will be responsible for maintaining State, US territory or Foreign Country regulatory requirements in advance of a Task Order (i.e. Pharmacist, Blood bank: Lab Director, Firefighter).

The Contractor shall assess, plan and ensure the personnel have the proper licenses and other credentials required and/or reciprocity. In times of emergency the states, territories etc., usually accept the licenses from which the employee is licensed from. The Government would be able to provide guidance through the CO and COR.

“The Contractor shall respond within 2 hours to the Contracting Officer’s (CO) phone call/e-mail notifying them of an emergency. This is the CO notifying the contractor that the SOW is forthcoming. The Contractor shall respond with a proposal within 48 to 72 hours of the CO’s Request for Proposal (RFP) in a response to an emergency.”

Has the Gov’t anticipated providing preparedness, readiness or steady state funds? If so, what is the maximum amount of funds budgeted?

The government will not know which funds or how much funds will be required until an actual emergency exists and a task order is prepared.

The Contractor needs to provide standard hospital and clinic medical laboratory and diagnostics equipment that offer a wide range of tests (including clinical pediatric testing) and expertise covering the spectrum of medical conditions and specialty areas. Equipment should include specimen storage devices, and necessary equipment to report to results. Equipment should include portable radiology digital X-ray imaging. How this capability is built is up to the vender.

Under specific Task Orders the Contractor shall provide specific equipment and will be defined at the task order level. These equipment would be maintained by the Contractor throughout the Task Order.

Does HHS have authority to contract security assets with ESF-8 being only required to coordinate such actions with ESF-13?

19.14 SECURITY (FORCE PROTECTION) has been removed from the Statement of Work.

Does ESF-13 compliance apply to situations where assets requiring protection are not primary HHS facilities but ancillary support sites, for example, the contractor’s warehouse or employee life support area?

19.14 SECURITY (FORCE PROTECTION) has been removed from the Statement of Work.

Subfactor 4 states, “The extent to which the offeror can show that they can meet the sections of the 508 compliance template (Attachment 3) that is applicable to this requirement and submits a copy of the completed 508 compliance template with their proposal.”

Given that the 508 compliance template is numerous pages, is it excluded from page count?

Attachment 3- 508 4192017vpatinstructions does not count in the maximum pages allowed and has been added to FAR clause 52.212-1 under factor 1 and FAR clause 52.212-2 under factor 1, subfactor 4.

The applicable wage determinations will be incorporated into the successful offeror’s contract. As the exact locations where work will be performed are unknown at time of solicitation issuance, the Government will utilize the two-step wage determination process outlined in 29 C.F.R. § 4.4(a)(3).

Note: The closing date of the solicitation has been changed to July 12, 2019 at 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST).