VIPRPre-quoteMeetingNotes.doc

VIPR PRE-QUOTE MEETING NOTES

1) Introductions – Meeting held by Anne Weiskircher, Region 3 Fire CO. Rich Nieto and Fred Hernandez from Region 3 Fire Operations were also in attendance to answer questions about contract requirements.

2) Sections B & C – Anne stressed the following specific areas of the solicitation that are sometimes overlooked

i) Basis of Award (Section B Pricing and Estimated Quantity & E.2)—Solicitation will result in multiple agreements, not contracts. The placement of any orders IS NOT GUARANTEED.

ii) Work/rest Guidelines—Vendors should be prepared to operate up to 16 hours per day (but the average is usually 14 hours (2nd paragraph under Pricing and Estimated Quantity)

iii) Only one award for any resource (Basis of Award, last paragraph)

iv) How to respond in VIPR –Be sure to follow the instructions found in the Original Synopsis on FedBizOpps (FBO), including the registrations named below. Vendors can download the solicitation from FBO and save it to their computers.

(a) DUNS, CCR, ORCA, eAuthentication

(b) Formatta Filler or Pilot Vendor Application—Vendor User Guide for Formatta Filler and Screen prints for Pilot Vendor posed on the VIPR website http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/vipr.php under Vendor Support. Vendors should consult the User Guide for instructions before calling the CO for help. Anne is almost always available via e-mail rather than by phone.

(c) Keeping contact information up to date—After award vendors need to notify CO of any changes in phone numbers, e-mail, or address. VIPR is an all electronic system that communicates all changes and modifications by e-mail.

v) Personal injury and property damage (C.7 & C.8)—Vendor is responsible for all associated costs.

3) Section D

i) Operating supplies and equipment (D.1), PPE (D.2.1.2 & D.7.1.1), and camping gear (D.10)—Vendors shall supply everything listed in the solicitation. Government will NOT issue PPE or camping gear at the incident. There is no requirement for PPE in the Weed Washing, Fuel Tender, or Helicopter Operations Support Trailer solicitations.

ii) Self status in ROSS (D.5)—Contact your local dispatch center to set up a ROSS account. Keep your availability up to date in ROSS.

iii) Ordering Protocol (D.6) or How the DPL works

(a) Socioeconomic preferences—Certified HUBZone and SDVOSB have preference on Dispatch Priority List (DPL)

(b) CBA (D.6.2. & Exhibit J), past performance (D.20 & Exhibit E), price—Choosing by Advantages (CBA) is the process used for placement on the DPL. It is a combination of advantage points given for certain attributes and price. All vendors must have acceptable past performance.

(c) Attributes not given points—Refers to specific attributes for Heavy Equipment that may be requested by incident personnel but do not result in CBA points for placement on the DPL. A vendor with the requested attribute may be dispatched ahead of another vendor with a higher placement on the DPL.

iv) Medical Coverage and Emergencies (D.14)—Vendor is responsible for all costs.

v) Vehicle Cleaning (D.15) & Inspections (D.16 & D.17)—Vehicles shall arrive at the incident clean and free of noxious weeds.

vi) Payments (D.21)

(a) Repairs (D.21.3)

(b) RON (D.21.5)—Vendors may be paid a remain overnight allowance only if no camping site is provided. Must be authorized in advance.

(c) Food & Drink (D.21.6)—Vendor responsible for food and drink during travel to an incident and for the first 24 hours. After that, the government will provide food and drink at no charge to the vendor.

vii) Invoicing (D.21.8)

(a) Carry 2 copies of complete agreement (D.8 & D.21.9.1)—Do not provide your Taxpayer ID number to anyone other than the CO who signed your agreement. Finance units can enter all 9’s into their invoice program.

(b) Emergency Equipment Shift Ticket (Exhibit G)—Vendor/operator will sign shift tickets each day and report to finance unit on a daily basis and upon demobilization.

4) SCA Wage Determination (Exhibit D)—Vendors must pay their operators according to the DOL Wage Determination published in each solicitation plus health and welfare benefits.

5) Discussion and Questions about contract requirements in Section D and Exhibits

Mobilization rates for heavy equipment are clarified in Amendment No. 4

Red cards are not required for operators. The only training required in the solicitation is RT-130 fire refresher. The Forest Service will NOT provide training to contractors. Contractors are responsible to find their own sources of training. Some suggestions are listed in Exhibit I. No pack tests are required.

Contractors ARE required to pay overtime to their operators according to the Wage Determination. These costs need to be considered when formulating your equipment rates.

Double shifts are not quoted; they are paid at 165% of the single shift rate. Vendors are not to send two operators with a piece of equipment unless ordered on the resource order.

Equipment under agreement may be replaced with equal or better at any time according to D.22 with no change to the DPL or equipment type.

Vendors are not required to carry spill containment kits on their equipment except for Fuel Tenders.

Sources of PPE and fire shelters can be found by doing an internet search for fire equipment. If shelters are required on a solicitation, they must be New Generation. Flame resistant clothing can be any style or color as long as it is certified to NFPA 1977 as stated in Section D.2.1.2

Vendors should not confuse Equipment Type with Incident Type. A Type 1 Mechanic with Service Truck describes the kinds of equipment the mechanic is certified to work on, not the fire type. A Type 2 Mechanic can work on a Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3 fire.

If vendors have further questions about contract requirements, they should submit them to Anne Weiskircher via e-mail. Questions may need to be elevated to equipment specialists or VIPR team.