9003 - Clarification Questions and Answers.pdf

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Procurement Office

605 Suwannee Street, MS 20 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450

Phone: (850) 414-4381

CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DATE: February 21, 2025

BID No.: DOT-RFP-25-9003-SJ

BID Title: FION Optical Transmission System Upgrade and Video Distribution Router Additions

OPENING DATE: Monday, March 17, 2025 @ 10:00 AM EST

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PROVIDED BELOW

Clarification Question 1

We understand when each milestone will be paid out, we are still unsure on how much money will be paid at each milestone. For example, if our total cost is 10M for all hardware and services not including maintenance. Does that mean we should write down 4,000,000 for Pay

Items 1-91, 2,000,000 for Pay Item 92, 4,000,000 for Pay Item 93? So, then the total in Pay

Item 94 is 10M (not including maintenance)?

Reference: Answer Number 1

Clarification Answer 1

The Price Proposal bid sheet is a mandatory format. Ignoring Pay Item 94, if a Vendor has determined their overall cost Bid of the project is $10M, the Vendor shall complete the bid sheet such that the overall cost of the project is $10M. In this example, the Vendor would enter in unit prices in Pay Items 1 through 91 such that the subtotals of those Pay Items equals $4.44M.

For Milestone 1 (Pay Item 92), the Vendor would enter $1.11M (25% of $4.44M). For Milestone 2 (Pay Item 93), the Vendor would enter $4.44M (100% of $4.44M). The Grand Total Bid would be the sum of Pay Items 1 through 93, which would equal $10M (Pay Items 1-91 = $4.44M, Pay Item 92 = $1.11M, Pay Item 93 = $4.44M). The FDOT has provided a spreadsheet for the Vendor to utilize to complete their Price Proposal. See Addendum No. 4

Clarification Question 2

The new Pay Item 94 “Technical Support” is stated this will include Section 13. Section 13 contains maintenance and specifically talks about SLAs, Next business day arrival, and technical support. Our price here should be for the 5 years of maintenance requested. If it is only for 200 hours of maintenance, where would you like the rest of the maintenance cost to go? Reference:

Answer Number 17

Clarification Answer 2

The Technical Specifications, Section 13 have been revised to include subsection numbers to make a clearer distinction between Vendor-provided technical support and equipment manufacturer provided technical support. The description for Pay Item 94 has been revised to indicate that the Pay Item is for Vendor-provided technical support. The purpose of Pay Item 94 is to allow the FDOT to engage the Vendor for support with items that are not warranty related issues. An example of such would be providing consulting and technical support for MPLS router configuration changes. See Revised Technical Specifications - Addendum 3.

Clarification Question 3

We read in Section 1.7 that the changes in scope will be “initiated by FDOT”, if FC results are much worse than predicted and require the addition of amplification at non-amplifier sites, would this be considered a “initiated by FDOT” JCO? Subsequently changing the equipment quantities and total price. We cannot predict what these results would be, so our engineering cannot accommodate for it, therefore we believe this would be an “initiated by FDOT” JCO.

Reference: Answer Number 60

Clarification Answer 3

Yes, if fiber optic characterization results are much worse than predicted and a new amplification site is required, the FDOT would initiate a change order in accordance with Section 1.7

Clarification Question 4

Using round numbers, if we were to assume the total cost of the deal is $10M ($7M in Hardware/software) and $3M in professional services is phase 1 20% of the $7M or 20% of the $7M and 20% of the $3M? Looking for the percentage of each in the $10M example.

Clarification Answer 4

See Clarification Question 1 and Answer 1

Clarification Question 5

We recognize that as vendor we are accountable for the installation timeframe for staging and final installation, but FDOT impacts that schedule as far as being available when needed to approve the staging as well as access to building for final install, and revisiting sites if necessary. We would like to understand the reaction time of FDOT when the vendor contacts them to sign-off on staging and completing installation. This is an important factor in understanding how long the time horizon is between shipping equipment and getting paid. Also, as I reread the answer it appears the total now adds up to 120%. Please clarify.

Clarification Answer 5

The Technical Specifications and the answers to the questions provide guidance to the Vendor as to the requirements of and timeframe to gain access to sites for project fiber characterization, surveying, and construction. The Vendor should note that the FDOT will be an active participant in this project and the Vendor shall expect a high level of involvement and oversight. The FDOT and Vendor shall work closely together to establish and maintain the project schedule.

With regard to system equipment staging, the Vendor shall install, configure, and verify that the system is ready for FDOT to witness the System Staging Testing. The Vendor shall notify the FDOT 10 business days prior to the proposed scheduled staging testing.

After successfully completing staging testing, the Vendor shall install the equipment in the field and verify that the equipment is ready for FDOT to inspect and witness the Field Acceptance Testing. The Vendor shall notify the FDOT 10 business days prior to the proposed scheduled field acceptance testing.

Clarification Question 6

With the key financial aspects of this RFP not being clear we cannot put together the financial picture and assess the risk, so I am requesting an extension of the deadline until March 28th.

Clarification Answer 6

Per Addendum No. 3, responses are now due Monday, March 17, 2025, @ 9:00AM

Clarification Question 7

Subject: Clarification of Question 92, Answer 92

Question: Would it be acceptable to use a single AC power source in each device for staging the production environment, or is redundant AC/DC power required to match the final deployment conditions?

Clarification Answer 7

Yes, it is acceptable to use a single AC power supply in each device for staging the production environment. However, each AC and DC power supply to be furnished as part of this project shall be tested and shown to be to be working during staging. This can be accomplished by swapping in and out AC and DC power supplies into one or more devices as part of an FDOT-approved Staging Test Plan and Staging Test Procedure.