PWS.pdf

OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST

ACQUISITION ZONE WEST (AZW)

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

Common Stand Exam Services

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

(PWS)

DATE: (September 15, 2015)

Ouachita National Forest

AZW Purchasing Agent, Ouachita NF

Name: Latricia Robbins

100 Reserve Street

Post Office Box 1270:

Hot Springs, Arkansas 71902

Phone: (501) 321-5209

Fax: (501) 321-5363

Email: lrobbins@fs.fed.us

Ouachita Technical Representative

Contact Name: Alex Schwartz

Agency Name: Ouachita National Forest, Oklahoma Ranger District

1115 South State Hwy 259A

Broken Bow, OK 74728

Phone: (580) 494-6402 ext 117

Email:aschwartz02@fs.fed.us

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

Overview

This is a performance based, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity purchase order.

General Requirements: The Contractor shall provide all personnel, supervision, equipment, tools, supplies, materials, transportation, facilities, and incidentals necessary to perform the work specified.

Acreages have been determined by global positioning system (GPS) or geographic information system (GIS). For purposes of this order, quantities listed are considered actual and not an estimate.

Contract Type. The resultant will be firm-fix.

Place of Performance. Place of performance: Oklahoma Ranger District Ouachita National

Forest.

Period of Performance. 60 days after Notice to Proceed.

Privacy Act. Work on this project may require that personnel have access to Privacy

Information. Personnel shall adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations.

Copyright: The Contractor agrees to indemnify the U.S. Government against any claim of copyright infringement which may result by reason of publication, by the U.S. Government, of material in any report pertaining to the contract work submitted by the Contractor wherein any such previously printed material is not identified in the reports as copyrighted. The Contractor agrees that no rights at common law or inequity shall be asserted, and no claims to copyright by statute shall be established by the Contractor in any materials produced in the performance of this contract, and that all materials and deliverables become the property of the U.S.

Government. The results of this project may be used for research and other reasonable and lawful purposes by U.S. Government and non-government agencies and individuals subject to prior written approval of the Forest Service.

Employment under the terms of this contract for key personnel not identified at the time of the contract proposal is subject to approval of the Contracting Officer's Representative. During the performance of the contract, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel without prior approval of the CO.

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

Employees and Vehicles: Contractor personnel shall wear protective clothing while working on the National Forest lands including orange safety vest or similar clothing during hunting seasons;

however, the field crew is not expected to work in the woods during the first two weeks of the modern gun season in Arkansas. While on National Forest lands Contractor vehicles shall be clearly marked with distinctive signs or plaques identifying the name of the company.

During fieldwork, Contractor personnel shall check in with the district office and COR each day and give their intended work location and number of personnel and shall provide the Forest

Service with emergency telephone numbers.

Contract Administration Data

This Request for Proposals and a resultant award will provide this agency an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Technical Based Service Award.

ORDER AWARD PROCESS

Project included with this solicitation will result in one award.

Authorized Ordering Officials: Only the Contracting Officer of the Ouachita National Forest is authorized to place an order under this solicitation.

Task order competition:

Contractors shall submit a proposal with pricing and statement of availability to perform the ordered work to the CO in response to the order. The Contractor’s price breakdown shall address all items listed in the task order, or be presented as a lump sum price if that is requested. Firm fixed price task orders will be awarded under this contract.

The CO will issue an order to the Contractor whose proposal represents the best value to the

Government. The low priced order may not always represent the best value.

Proposal preparation costs are at the expense of the offeror and will not be reimbursed.

Indefinite Quantity - 52.216-22

(a) This is an indefinite-quantity for the supplies or services specified, and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this award.

(b) Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054 the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the "maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the Schedule as the "minimum."

(c) Except for any limitations on quantities in the Order Limitations clause or in the Schedule, there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. The Government may issue orders requiring delivery to multiple destinations or performance at multiple locations.

(d) Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor's and Government's rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract's effective period;

provided that the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after the final delivery order is completed.

Pre-work Meeting and Notice to Proceed: After the award of the order, and prior to commencing work, the Contractor shall be required to attend a pre-work meeting with the

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). During the pre-work meeting, numerous subjects will be discussed including, but not limited to…

a. Review of the undertaking and project objectives;

b. Review of project and maps to become familiar with the location of the project;

c. Inventory strategy and methods, presentation of data, levels of analysis and evaluation, and deliverables;

d. Coordination and access to the project area with District personnel;

e. Provide a copy of the planned fieldwork schedule and a communication plan (e.g. key contacts, phone numbers) to the Forest;

f. Performance time defined in the task order;

g. Establish a start work date on the contract, and issue the Notice to Proceed. No work shall be done on the contract prior to the issuance of the Notice to Proceed.

Plan of Work: Prior to commencing the fieldwork, the Contractor shall submit to the COR for review and approval a proposed plan of work that describes the schedule for submission of deliverables, estimated number of person-days for fieldwork, and strategies for accomplishing the scope of work defined in each task order issued under this contract.

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

SPECIFICATIONS:

General. This is a performance based, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity award. The contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies (except government furnished) permits, licenses and incidentals necessary to perform common stand exam services on “as needed basis on the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. This statement of work consists of completing the tasks/subtask.

Technical:

Performance Standards.

Inspection and testing will conform to Government approved Contractor Quality Control Plan.

Demobilize within 24 hours after completion of task order.

Documentation will be clear and concise and will contain all data required by the Government on all tasks and subtasks.

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL): Minimum AQL is 90%

Monitoring Method: Verify contract records and reports, periodically witness contractor inspection, conduct independent Government inspections.

Quality Assurance Plan.

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) has been developed pursuant to the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). This plan sets forth procedures and guidelines that will be used in evaluating the technical performance of the contractor.

A. PURPOSE OF THE QASP

The QASP is intended to accomplish the following:

Define the roles and responsibilities of participating government officials and the contractor;

Identify the types of work to be performed and the inspections to be performed to validate adequacy;

Describe the evaluation methods that will be employed by the government in assessing the contractor’s inspection program and performance to the quality/performance standards required for each task

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

Provide copies of the contractor’s inspection records and Government quality assurance monitoring forms that will be used by the government in documenting and evaluating the contractor’s performance;

Describe the process of performance documentation

The contractor is responsible for performing inspection services pursuant to the inspection clause and for providing and maintaining the inspection forms, approved by the government,to perform the contractor’s inspection services. The contractor has represented themselves, to be responsible for meeting the prescribed quality/performance standards in the statement of work

B. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The following government officials will participate in assessing the quality of the contractor’s performance. Their roles and responsibilities are described as follows:

The Contracting Officer’s Representatives’ (COR’s) responsibilities will be listed on their designations and may include the following: monitoring, assessing, recording, and reporting on the technical performance of the contractor on the schedule of inspections submitted by the contractor and approved by the government; witnessing the contractor’s performance of the inspections performed by the contractor or evaluating the contractor’s inspection results as to documented findings relative to meeting the standards for each task/subtask within the statement of work; completing quality assurance monitoring forms which will be used to document the inspection and evaluation of the contractor’s work performance.

The Contracting Officer (CO) will have overall responsibility for overseeing the contractor’s performance and for the day-to-day monitoring of the contractor’s performance in the areas of contract compliance, contract administration, cost control, and property control; reviewing the

COR’s assessment of the contractor’s performance; and resolving all differences between the

COR’s version and the contractor’s version.

C. METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE

The government, through its COR, will monitor the contractor’s performance on a continuous basis.

The COR/Inspector will first verify the results of the contractor’s inspection, completeness and adequacy of the documentation of the contractor’s inspection results. The government COR will perform periodic independent inspections after the contractor has performed their inspection if

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054 questions develop regarding the results of the contractor’s inspections. Results of the independent inspections that differ from the results noted by the contractor on their inspections the costs thereof for the re-inspection costs will be assessed against the contractor.

The contractor shall be required to rework/repair or replace the effort until the quality/ performance standard is achieved.

Inspections will be performed according to the schedule submitted by the contractor and approved by the government. Variances from the schedule must be pre-approved by the CO.

D. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) FORMS AND REPORT

The COR will use a quality assurance monitoring form to document and evaluate the contractor’s performance under the contract. This can consist of a Form, a Memo for record or an entry in a daily/weekly diary. The form when completed will document the COR’s understanding of what the contractor was supposed to do, what was actually done, and the impact or consequences of what was done. The documentation will also identify the additional steps required of the contractor if there is a nonconformance.

The COR must substantiate all tasks which he judges to be indicative of “unacceptable” performance. Performance at the “acceptable” level is expected and need not be substantiated.

The contractor shall furnish (monthly, at a minimum) to the COR copies of all inspection forms generated by the contractor witnessing inspections performed. The COR will forward copies of all completed QA monitoring forms to the CO and contractor inspection records prior to processing payments. The contractor is required to respond in writing to any negative QA monitoring form(s) within 5 working days after receipt of the form(s).

E. ANALYSIS OF SURVEILLANCE RESULTS

The CO will review each QA monitoring form prepared by the COR. When appropriate, the CO may investigate the event further to determine if all the facts and circumstances surrounding the event were considered in the COR’s opinion outlined on the forms. The CO will immediately discuss every event receiving a substandard rating on the forms with the contractor to assure that corrective action is promptly initiated.

At the end of each month, the COR will prepare a written report for the CO summarizing the overall result of his surveillance of the contractor’s performance during the previous month.

This report will become part of the formal QA documentation.

Upon completion of the contract/task order the COR will perform a performance evaluation of the contractor using the results documented as above and provide to the CO for further action.

Order Number: AG-447U-S-15-0054

Quality Control Plan: The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control

Plan to ensure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified. One copy of the

Contractor’s Quality control Plan shall be provided to the Contracting Officer and COR at the pre-performance or pre-work conference. An updated copy of the QCP shall be provided the

Contracting Officer as changes occur.

The Government will award one order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers in descending order of importance:

Past Performance

Relevant Experience and Key Personnel

Technical Approach (Methods)

Price. A price evaluation will be performed to determine the reasonableness of the proposed price. Reasonableness will be determined considering other competitive prices received and comparison to the independent Government estimate (IGE). The Government will look at whether a proposed price is too high and may also consider whether a proposed price is too low, since this might indicate a lack of technical understanding on the offeror's part or a performance risk associated with the proposal that the agency may not be willing to accept.

Whether a price is too high or too low may be considered in the context of comparison to other price proposals as well as to the IGE or to any other information the contracting officer deems useful in his or her discretion. If multiple contract line items are included in the price schedule, prices will also be evaluated to determine whether any line items are unbalanced. Offerors are cautioned to distribute costs appropriately.

The Technical Approach

A technical proposal must be submitted that addresses the Solicitation and Performance Work Statement Tasks/Critical Subtasks, and demonstrates Firm’s ability and methods to conduct and complete professional cultural resources services.

The technical proposal that addresses the firm’s capability to meet ALL of the requirements described in the statement of work must include:

Technical Approaches and Research Designs relevant to the services being solicited. Address how firm will accomplish the tasks identified in a timely manner.

Identification of Key Personnel - include vitae. Personnel Qualifications, Education and

Professional Experience. To be considered acceptable for this solicitation, the offerors must employ personnel meeting the standards set forth in Statement of Work.

Relevant Prior Experience of the firm in the respective Oklahoma physiographic region (Ouachita Mountains, Gulf Coastal Plain). Offerors shall identify the quantity of experience with the type of services required by this solicitation. Offerors must demonstrate experience working in the mountains and coastal plains physiographic region of Oklahoma or equivalent areas.

Past Performance

Past Performance of the firm relevant to the cultural resources services being solicited. Past performance is an indicator of the Offeror’s ability to perform the contract successfully. This includes the quality of work and the ability to complete the work within the time specified and to the satisfaction of the Agency or Company contracting the work.

The currency and relevance of the information provided and the context of the information obtained and general trends in the Offeror’s performance shall be considered.

At a minimum; Offerors shall furnish a list of the firm’s five most recent, either active or completed projects. For each project cited, provide the name of the project, the location of the project and if there were any problems associated with the project. Also, include the name of the Government Agency or Company contracting the work, the names and phone numbers of the Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer’s Representative (if a Government project) or the name and number of the project engineer (if a non-Government project) administering the project. The Government may or may not contact any or all references provided.

Firm’s Resources and Facilities to manage projects and complete services in a timely manner.