Responses to Offeror Questions 2020final.docx

1. Are the staffing projections in the PWS based on Government estimates or current staffing levels? Government estimates and experience with the operation have led to the current staffing levels, which have shown to be adequate given current mail volume levels.

2. Will the Government consider proposed staffing models differing from those staffing levels of effort presented in the PWS? The contractor may propose an alternate staffing level for Gov’t’s review.

3. If current staffing levels differ from those presented in the PWS, will the Government provide the current staffing levels to ensure equitable pricing by all bidders? Current staffing levels are 24 total. The hourly breakdown with DOL categories is as follows.

4. Is there a live SF1449 for contractor signature? No

5. Where is Part VII, attachments, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, "Performance Requirements Summary", Acquisition Plan? As the SOW shows in “General Specifications” Section G, only the production report formats are provided by NIH. Since the Contractor must submit a QA & C plan, the contractor will have to create a suitable report based on this plan to communicate results to the government.

6. Are there formatting parameters for the opportunity? Font size, page limit, graphics font? There are no parameters, use the standard font which is normally font 12.

7. Can you provide the links for the additional attachments defined by the RFP? Files of all requested items are being provided in the responses to offerors.

8. Is an electronic submission permitted? Only electronic submission is permitted at this time.

9. We understand this contract to have 24 personnel currently performing this work per the SOW. Of these 24 are the 3 key personnel (management positions) included in that staffing number? I'm counting at least 25 employees after reading the RFP. Please clarify. All positions are counted within the 24, including key positions. The two Mail Center Leads are Clerk II’s and are counted within the clerk total.

From the RFP:

SOW pg. 5 2. Support Personnel The minimum qualification requirements for the 19 mail clerks, and three (3) drivers Article G.2 Key Personnel (6th page in PDF):

Table with 3 essential employees: Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager and Mail Facility Lead.

10. Are key personnel (3) resumes required with submission of proposal? Our intent would be to continue forward with the current employees performing this work under the incumbent contract if the customer is satisfied with the employees and to not interrupt current operations and hit the ground running. Only the key personnel (2) are required to produce resumes. The Mail Center Lead is not a key personnel so only two are required. Current personnel have already been vetted as acceptable candidates.

11. Please clarify the requirement of USPS trucks? I read this as the contractor is expected to furnish the 3 trucks upon contract award. If these 3 trucks already exist would it be acceptable to continue to use them and just transfer over the cost of maintenance and upkeep? Or does the government now own these vehicles? Please clarify. The current contractor has provided the three vehicles. Transferring the vehicles to a new contractor would be strictly between the current and incoming contractors. The government has no financial interest in the vehicles.

12. Are there any page limits/formatting instructions? Keep page limit at minimum of no more than 35 pages

13. Section B, Article B.1: Will certain items such as fliers be required to be printed by Contractor? Where are the printed materials stored? Would there be a need to store off-site? All items for delivery are provided to the contractor. No fliers will require printing or storage by the contractor.

14. Section C, C.1.a: Will consumable materials (i.e. packaging, tape, bubble wrap, etc.) be government furnished? All consumable items necessary to fulfill the contract are provided by the government.

15. Section C, C.1.a. In consideration of this current Covid-19 Pandemic, will protective equipment and materials be supplied by the government? The government will provide basic PPE items such as latex gloves and face masks as needed.

16. Statement of Work, Mail Processing Services: What are the Special Handling procedures for live specimens? Is there any need for use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)? If items received are live/perishable, they will be physically delivered to a live person only and on the day received. No PPE is necessary.

17. Statement of Work, Mail Processing Services: Regarding In-coming Mail, are the X-ray machines provided by the government? Is there any specialized training provided and certifications required for their operation? The government provides the x-ray machines needed. Training/certifications are not necessary as trained government employees will be monitoring the x-ray screen. Hazardous mail items training will be provided by the government on an annual basis to contract employees so they can recognize potential hazards during daily operations.

18. Statement of Work, Mail Processing Services: Regarding mail delivery services, since the contractor is responsible for providing vehicles, are there any specific eco requirements for them, i.e. Hybrid, electric only, etc. None at this time.

19. Pricing: Since this is a firm fixed price contract, will a Pricing Schedule be required as part of the submission? If so, please provide an example. There is no pricing template available.

20. Is there an incumbent ? If so, please tell us the name of the incumbent. The incumbent is NT Bankers.

21. Will there be an SF33 or other formal government form included? No

22. Will there be a Section B for pricing? No pricing template

23. Do you require any particular format or information regarding pricing? No

24. How is the response supposed to be submitted? Electronically or by Mail? Please submit proposals electronically to holleyv@od.nih.gov.

25. What are the required Volumes and the parameters for those Volumes? There are no required volumes, expected volumes are discussed in the SOW.

26. Does the Service Contract Labor Act apply? Yes

27. In the body of the solicitation, Article G2, there is a requirement for 3 Key Personal, Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager and a Mail Facility Lead. But in the SOW, there is reference to only the Project and Deputy Project Managers with required qualifications. There is no mention of a Mail Facility Lead. Will you please clarify the KP requirement and if it includes a Mail Facility Lead the requirements for this Labor Category. Key Personnel include the Project Manager and Deputy Project Manager. There are two mail Facility leads but they are not considered key personnel.

28. Under Criterion I: Expertise and Experience, “Offerors must describe the immediate accessibility of qualified staff, as supported by commitment letters.” Exactly whom do you want commitment letters from? The Key Personnel.

29. In Part II, Section C, a substitute is to be provided within two hours of an absent employees start time. This seems extremely unrealistic as there aren’t many Small Businesses with On-Call employees as resources to be called in. If this is to remain a SB Set Aside, this clause should be removed as it a sure recipe for failure for any Small Business. The requirement will remain in place.

30. Article H.1. Protection of Human Subjects – Is this contract requirement applicable to this solicitation? Yes

31. Do Representations and Certifications only need be completed on SAM or do they need to be attached to the proposal? Please make sure it is completed in SAM.

32. The Key personnel in Article G2 are listed as the Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager and Mail Facility Lead. On Page 4 of the SOW they key personnel are the Onsite Manager and the Deputy Manager. Please clarify the Key Personnel Key Personnel are the Project Manager and Deputy Project Manager, the two Mail Facility Leads are not considered Key Personnel.

33. On page 3 of 12 in the SOW the government references an Onsite Manager and Deputy Onsite Manager. Are these the same as the PM and DPM or different personnel? They are the same positions, the titles are used interchangeably.

34. Given an incumbent contractor, most if not all positions will be covered by the Service Contract Act and Executive Order (E.O.) 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts. Please confirm and if so provide the applicable Wage Determination. Expected hours are shown below, the individual DOL dollar wage determinations are public information and are subject to change.

35. Criterion 1: Expertise and Experience requests commitment letters. Given the above, should the contractor only supply letters of commitment for the exempt labor categories as we are required to transition non-exempt? If so what are the exempt labor categories? Commitment letters are required only for the Key Personnel

36. This seems to have been in the 8(a) program for a while. What justification did the government us to remove it from the 8(a) program? This was not in 8(a) program.

37. Does the government have any intentions on holding a bidder’s conference No

38. Please provide the current applicable DOL Wage Determinations.

The current DOL Wage Determination is public information and could change at any time. The expected annual hourly breakdown for employees of each DOL category is shown above.

39. Please provide all missing solicitation sections (i.e., A, B, K, and “Part VII”). There are no missing sections. Parts A and B of the SOW are present. I do not see a reference to a “Part K” in the SOW. The items referenced in Part VII are all present in the solicitation.

40. Please confirm whether or not this contract is governed by the Service Contract Act. To be answered by the Contract Officer.

41. Is there a Collective Bargaining Agreement currently in place? If so, will it convey to the new contract? NO

42. Reference solicitation Part II – Section C – Mail Delivery Services – B: Contractor Vehicles: Please confirm that the contractor must provide three (3) vehicles total:

· Two (2) trucks (with lift gates) capable of carrying multiple APCs, and

· One (1) 1-ton cargo van.

True

43. Reference solicitation Part II – Section D – Delivery Locations: Please provide the delivery location addresses “…as listed in Part VII, NIH Off-Campus Mail Delivery Addresses, Acquisition Plan.”

All off-campus delivery addresses are as found in Attachment 6, NIH off-campus mail delivery locations. Attached.

44. Reference solicitation Part II – Section F – Performance: Please provide the Performance Requirements Summary “as indicated in Part VII.” Attached.

45. Reference solicitation Part II – Section F – Performance: Please provide the historical annual totals of contract deductions for exceeding the maximum deviation for performance standards specified in the Performance Requirements Summary.

This information is not for public dissemination

46. Please clarify the required number of personnel (i.e., FTEs) to staff the contract. The total number is unclear based on the following conflicting references:

· Section G – Contract Administration Data, Article G.2 - Key Personnel. This section lists the Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager, and Mail Facility Lead as Key Personnel.

· Section C – Staffing Requirements. This section states: “The minimum number of qualified employees necessary to successfully perform under this contract is 24.” Also: “There is no provision herein for paying contractor for providing staff in excess of 24.”

· Section E – Personnel, (1) Key Personnel. “The Contractor shall provide a full-time On-Site Manager and a full-time Deputy Manager at the NSA mail room for this contract.”

· See a. above: The Key Personnel titles referenced in Section G, Article G.2 do not match those referenced in Section E (1).

· See a. above: The Mail Facility Lead referenced in Section G, Article G.2 is not listed as a Key Personnel in Section E (1).

· Section E – Personnel, (2) Support Personnel. This section states: “The minimum qualification requirements for the 19 mail clerks and three (3) drivers are….” This totals 22 personnel. Please confirm:

· That the two (2) Key Personnel referenced in Section E (1) Key Personnel plus the 22 Support Personnel referenced in Section E (2) Support Personnel comprise the total 24 personnel referenced in Section C – Staffing Requirements.

· That the Mail Facility Lead referenced in Section G, Article G.2 is not included in the 24 personnel referenced in Section C – Staffing Requirements.

· Whether the Mail Facility Lead referenced in Section G, Article G.2 is or is not considered a Key Personnel under this contract.

The total number of personnel needed to be successful under this contract is 24. The Project Manager and the Deputy Project Manager are the only ones considered “key personnel”. The two mail facility leads are considered “Clerk II’s”.

47. Will the Government provide free parking for the Contractor’s required vehicles? Yes

48. Please provide the estimated annual mileage driven for each of the required vehicles.

This information is not collected as the vehicles are the property of the current contractor and the government is not billed based on mileage.

49. Reference SOW page 7 of 12, Mail Processing Services, A. Mail Characteristics – Accountable Mail. This section states that accountable mail shall be “…logged into the computerized accountable mail system…”:

· Is the referenced “computerized accountable mail system” Government-furnished property or a contractor-furnished system?

The government furnishes the software and all necessary hardware to perform the operation.

· Is accountable mail currently tracked using an automated, off-the-shelf (OTS) mail-tracking system such as SendSuite, Notifii Track, SQBX, etc.?

· If so, what system is currently used? Does NIH prefer this system be used?

· If not, are Offerors permitted to propose an OTS mail-tracking system?

NIH provides the SQBX OTS software system. NIH prefers this system to be used.

50. Reference “Technical Evaluation Factors” – Criterion I: Expertise and Experience. This section states: “Offerors must describe the immediate accessibility of qualified staff, as supported by commitment letters.” [Italics added.]

· Are commitment letters required for proposed Key Personnel who are current employees of the Offeror? Yes

· Are commitment letters required to be included in the proposal? Yes

· Are Key Personnel resumes required to be included in the proposal? Only to the extent that their experience matches up with the requirements of the position. Anything “above and beyond” that enhances the desirability of the candidate is welcome but not required.

51. Reference “Technical Evaluation Factors” – Past Performance. This section states: “The NIH will consider, but not score, the offeror’s past performance based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror….” Please specify the number of past performance references offerors are required to provide and what information should be included in each reference.

3-5 references would be ideal but there is no minimum or maximum requirement. References should include detailed contact information so we can verify the statements made therein..

52. The Key personnel in Article G2 are listed as the Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager and Mail Facility Lead. On Page 4 of the SOW they key personnel are the Onsite Manager and the Deputy Manager. Please clarify the Key Personnel Key Personnel are the Project Manager and Deputy Project Manager, the two Mail Facility Leads are not considered Key Personnel.

53. On page 3 of 12 in the SOW the government references an Onsite Manager and Deputy Onsite Manager. Are these the same as the PM and DPM or different personnel? They are the same positions, the titles are used interchangeably.

54. Given an incumbent contractor, most if not all positions will be covered by the Service Contract Act and Executive Order (E.O.) 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts. Please confirm and if so provide the applicable Wage Determination. Expected hours are shown below, the individual DOL dollar wage determinations are public information and are subject to change.

55. Criterion 1: Expertise and Experience requests commitment letters. Given the above, should the contractor only supply letters of commitment for the exempt labor categories as we are required to transition non-exempt? If so what are the exempt labor categories? Commitment letters are required only for the Key Personnel

56. What is the total contract value for the current contract? $6 mil

57. Is a site visit being planned? No, not at this time

58. What are the clearance requirements for employees on this contract? See SOW Page 4 under General Personnel Requirements

59. Are any Classified packages or mail received or sent from the hub? No

60. Who is responsible for paying for the postage and boxes, envelopes for outgoing mail? The government provides the postage meters, UPS workstations, and postage for all outgoing official mail.

61. Are any vehicles or equipment provided by NIH for shipping onsite or between sites? No other vehicles or equipment is needed to deliver or ship mail beyond what the contract requires.

62. How would a transition occur between the incumbent and new contractor given social distancing requirements? The transition process is spelled out in the SOW. Simply maintain appropriate distance during the process.

63. Is any credit given for hiring people with significant disabilities? No

64. Is any credit given for having a subcontracting plan that includes AbilityOne non-profits? No

65. Period of performance starts May 1, 2020? Is that still the plan? At this time, yes.

66. How much overtime work was required during the last two years? Was this overtime on Saturdays? None

67. Minimum number of qualified staff is 24 per the RFP. Does that include the three key personnel? Yes

68. The assumption is the incumbent has a minimum of 24 FTEs? Is that correct? All offerors will have the same requirements to fulfill

69. Is there a mail / packaging screening facility at the hub location? What is the requirement for employees doing the initial screening in regards to hazard mitigation? There are two x-ray machines at the facility. Training/certifications are not necessary as trained government employees will be monitoring the x-ray screen. Hazardous mail items training will be provided by the government on an annual basis to contract employees so they can recognize potential hazards during daily operations.

70. How is the mail center notified of address changes, i.e., a NIH employee moving to a different location at NIH or perhaps departing for a job at a different agency? Or in the case of office moves, how is notification provide to the mail services center? The government staffs a customer service team that communicates with the customers and forwards all confirmed intra-NIH address changes to the contractor staff to put in place. Staff moving to a different agency must arrange for mail forwarding with their former office.

71. Is there a CBA?

72. Do the estimates of mail, include internal deliveries between offices on campus? Yes, that’s what inter-office mail is.

73. To clarify vehicles required. Three vehicles are required based on three delivery routes mentioned on page 10, Section C? There are three morning routes and three afternoon routes. Only three vehicles are required to perform delivery services.

74. What were the majority of customer complaints in regards to, i.e. late mail, wrong recipient, etc.? Misdelivery due to similar names/numbers

· Please clarify how the Government wishes to receive the contractor’s pricing information. There is no pricing template available, you can create your own and include in the Business Proposal.

· If the government anticipates holding negotiations will it be with every contractor who submits a proposal? The government will decide during evaluation, how this will be handled.

· If not, please provide the metrics the Government intends to use to “limit the number of proposals in the competitive range.”

“(d)…the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after 09/30/2019 [insert date]...”

Would the Government please clarify the date, since 09/30/2019 is in the past? This is an administrative error and will be removed.

D. General Personnel Requirements

p.41 Criterion 1 SOW Section E. p.4

p. 3

p.3

Are the positions on this contract covered by the Service Contract Act? If so, would the Government please identify the labor categories and applicable wage determination?

Second part is answered on another reply

Staff who are not normally performing work on this contract will not be issued government ID cards.

Please provide attachment as it is not currently provided within the RFP. Secttion E is not missing from the SOW.

General Question

Should the offeror’s proposal include information, for example a Dun & Bradstreet Credit Report, supporting it has the necessary financial capacity, working capital and other resources to perform the contract without assistance from any outside sources? Not required

General Question

There are no instructions on how to price the opportunity. Would NIH please provide instructions for pricing? This was answered previously

Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form is not contained within the solicitation documents released. Please provide Section A of the solicitation. This was answered previously

Will the Government please provide the performance objectives and associated penalties pursuant to this contract? Performance Requirements Summary attached to previous questions.

SOW – Mail Delivery Services, F. Performance: Performance Requirements

Part VII is not contained within the solicitation documents released. Please provide Part VII of the solicitation. See previous response

Please provide the type of contract to be awarded through this solicitation. Firm, Fixed Price.

Please confirm this is a single award contract? Single Award.

How is the pricing to be provided (firm fixed price, by labor category, cost plus, etc.) with any other rules associated with this? Will the government be providing a pricing template? Firm Fixed Price contract. The level of staffing mentioned in the SOW, clearly states that this is the level that is necessary to successfully fulfill this contractual obligation based on our experience.

Please confirm that this contract is covered under Wage Determination. Please provide the positions, out of the 24, on the contract that has the Government identified, the corresponding SCA labor category, and the total number classified in each labor category. This answer is included in this Q&A.

Items to be mailed are presented to the mail center packed, sealed, addressed, and with all necessary customs forms completed. The USPS and UPS arrive daily to receive all shipped and mailed items from NIH.

Please clarify the key dates of this procurement and the expectations for transition specifically if a new team is required.

SOW – General Specifications, E. Personnel

Please clarify which positions are considered key personnel for this contract. Only the on-site manager and the deputy manager are considered key personnel. The two Mail facility leads are not.

5-6;

33-34 G.2. Key Personnel;

SOW – General Specifications, E. Personnel

Article 1.4. Additional FAR Contract Clauses included in Full Text

Please clarify this apparent conflict. This questions has already been answered in the Q&A.

Please clarify. Typo, will be corrected

Please clarify. Typo, will be corrected

Section L – Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors

Please provide instructions for the Business Proposal. It is included in the solicitation

This phrase appears to be included by mistake given this is a services contract for a fixed price as specified in the SOW. Please clarify. Yes, this was a typo and will be removed.

Presumably this would be fixed price each year based on the level of effort for 24 staff as mandated in the RFP and contractor provided ODCs. Please explain how this determination will be made. This was previously answered in Q&A

Please provide the location of the satellite mail rooms and the number of staff that are located at each to provide the required services. The satellite mailrooms are all located on the NIH campus at 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda MD. The staff required are all included as part of the total recommended staffing: Building 10, 1 Mail Facility Lead and 3 clerks. Building 31, one clerk, Building 1, shares building 31 clerk after building 31 mail sorted.

Please also provide Part III, Section B h as referenced in the RFP.

There are not any performance standards specified in the solicitation nor any method or amount of penalties being considered. Given the criticality of these measures and penalties to the pricing of this procurement, please provide specificity of both the performance standards and penalties contemplated on this procurement and/or in effect on the current contract.

The document has been provided in response to a previous question.

B. Location and Hours of Work

Will the Government provide addresses for each operation and delivery sites/buildings serviced on this contract? The address for the NIH campus is 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD. The list of off-campus delivery sites has been provided as an attachment in response to a previous question.

Is the training to be conducted by NIH? No, These fifteen days will run concurrently with the outgoing contractor’s last fifteen days. So that incoming staff can learn from outgoing staff.

Please specify how the deductions will be calculated. Cost per business day is divided by the total number of people (currently 24), and the cost of that person is deducted from the next monthly payment.

Please provide. ? The satellite mailrooms are all located on the NIH campus at 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda MD. Building 10, building 31, and building 1.

Total employees = 24 By category: 1 Team lead and 4 clerk I’s in satellite facilities, 3 drivers, all others in main mail facility.

Please clarify the Government’s intent for this requirement. Our experience is that when tried with fewer employees, there are too many errors, high turnover, and severe mistakes are made.

Part III, within the solicitation document released, Part III is included as the “List of Documents, Exhibit and Other” and the satellite mail locations are included. Please provide the locations for all satellite mail locations that are to be operated by the contractor. Answered on page 5

Part IV is not contained within the solicitation documents released. Please provide Part IV of the solicitation. All off-campus mail rooms have been closed. This requirement is no longer needed.

31;

Please clarify the total number of staff for this contract. The total is 24, the Mail Center Leads are not key personnel and are counted as clerk II’s in the 19 clerk total.

Please clarify the anticipated timeline for execution of award, beginning of performance, transition, and training. This was previously answered in Q&A.

NSA 3 Mail stops Building 1, 16 Mail stops Building 10, 314 Mail stops Building 31, 83 Mail Stops All Others 784 Mail Stops

NSA, 14

Building 10, 4 Building 31 and 1, 1 - Shared

All other locations are ASAP, depending on route order, traffic and other conditions that may vary from day to day.

Will the Government please provide the locations and stops for each of the 6 delivery routes? Attached to previously submitted question.