Attachment 10 - Quality Assurance Plan JOC B.pdf

Threshold Over $250,000 (if applicable)

New Facility/Services Comprised

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVIELLANCE PLAN (QASP)

FOR

Contract : ___________________ Contractor: __________________

1. PURPOSE. This QASP is a Government developed document used to ensure that the Government receives quality services, and pays only for services actually provided. The QASP provides a systematic method to evaluate the services the Contractor is required to furnish.

2. SCOPE. The role of Government Quality Assurance is to ensure contract standards are achieved. The QASP provides guidelines and methods for the Government’s oversight of the Contractor’s quality control efforts to assure timely, effective services are provided IAW the contract/order. The Contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract.

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

Contracting Officer (KO) - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter into, administer and terminate contracts on behalf of the Government. The KO is the only person who can legally commit the Government and only the KO, as the Government’s agent, can modify the contract/order. The KO is the final authority for determining the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance. KO decisions arising under or relating to the contact are final.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – An individual designated in writing by the KO to perform specific technical and administrative functions within the scope and limitations of their written appointment (e.g., surveillance of Contractor’s performance, accept services). The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or authorize any changes to the order/contract or in any way obligate additional funds by the Government; such authority rests solely with the KO.

Quality Assurance Evaluator (QAE) – An individual designated by the requiring activity to assist the COR and provide technical oversight of the Contractor’s performance. The QAE’s primary duty is to monitor the Contractor’s performance by physically checking to see that tasks are completed, reports are submitted, and desired outcomes are achieved. When a surveillance observation results in an unacceptable evaluation, the QAE will report the unacceptable performance to the COR. The QAE is not authorized to direct work, offer advice on how the work should be performed, change the contract, or in any way obligate payment of funds by the Government.

4. METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE. Surveillance is performed by the Government to provide objective quality evidence that there is a reasonable level of confidence that the services provided by the Contractor have met all the requirements of the contract before authorizing payment. The primary methods of surveillance are periodic inspections and customer feedback.

Periodic Inspection: Inspections are planned at specific intervals or dates as determined by the surveillance schedule. Periodic inspections will be performed regularly, yet randomly, during all hours of the Contractor’s operation. Periodic inspections may be performed more frequently if the COR/QAE discovers the quality of the Contractor’s performance is less than acceptable.

Customer Feedback: Customer feedback is firsthand information from the actual users of the service and is typically obtained via telephone or email. Customer complaints obtained via telephone must be followed up in writing/email. The customer complaint must clearly articulate the nature of the complaint, time, date, etc. The COR/QAE will validate the complaint within 24 hours of receipt, complete the validation section on DA Form 5477-R, Customer Complaint Record, and forward a copy to the KO for resolution with the Contractor. The KO will return a copy of the completed and signed DA Form 5477-R to the COR for inclusion in the contract/order file. If the COR/QAE determines a complaint is invalid, rationale will be cited in the validation section and retained for future reference. Customer feedback will be used to supplement other forms of performance evaluation, but will not be a primary method of evaluating the Contractor’s performance.

5. SURVEILLANCE PROCEDURES.

a. The COR will develop a monthly schedule of surveillance activities based on the Performance Standards as outlined in the contract/order and Performance Requirements Summary, as applicable, as well as any other critical contractual requirements the COR determines to be higher risk requiring oversight. The surveillance outlined in the monthly schedule will be as detailed and in-depth as necessary to provide the Government with the objective quality evidence required to support acceptance of a monthly contract invoice. The schedule should provide periodic surveillance during all required hours of the Contractor’s operation including nights and weekends. The schedule is “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and is not releasable to anyone other than authorized Government personnel. The schedule will identify the date of inspection, activity to be monitored, and who will conduct the surveillance (dates and times can be altered without a formal change to the schedule as long as all inspections are performed). The DA Form 5475-R, COR/QAE Surveillance Schedule, may be used for this purpose. The monthly schedule will be completed no later than seven calendar days prior to the beginning of the period it covers and a copy forwarded to the KO for information and review.

b. The COR/QAE will monitor performance in accordance with the schedule and will ensure all services required by the order/contract are successfully performed. All inspections will be documented and include as a minimum date and time, who performed the inspection, what was inspected, to what standard and the results. Successful or exceptional performance will be documented as well as deficiencies in Contractor performance. Documentation will be maintained for future reference, audit, and proof of inspection. Any uncorrected unacceptable observation will result in an unacceptable rating, a corrective action request to the Contractor and notification to the KO.

c. The COR will notify the Contractor, in person, each time an unacceptable observation has been recorded and ask the Contractor to correct the problem. The COR/QAE will record the contract requirement , the specific deficiency to the requirement, the date and time it was discovered, and have the Contractor initial the entry. The Contractor will be given two working days after notification to correct the deficiency in accordance with requirements of the contract. Deficiencies that cannot be corrected within two working days will be reported to the Contracting Officer.

d. The COR will report more serious (systemic in nature) deficiencies or recurring deficiencies in the same area that could indicate a trend by using DA Form 5479-R, Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR). The CDR will state the Contract Requirement, the specific contract reference and the specific nonconformance to the requirement. The COR will forward copies of CDRs to the KO within one working day. The KO will notify the Contractor and request corrective action. The KO may require the Contractor to re-perform any services that do not meet contract requirements at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor will return a copy of the completed and signed CDR to the KO for inclusion in the contract/order file.

e. The COR/QAE will re-inspect services that were found deficient to ensure corrections were made within the timeframe outlined in the contract or other agreed upon time. The COR/QAE will not consider the services complete until all deficiencies have been corrected. Contractor’s failure to complete corrective actions will be reported immediately to the KO for further action.

f. The COR/QAE will accept the services provided and authorize payment, typically on a monthly basis or upon satisfactory completion of the work. This is done by approving the Contractor’s invoice in Wide Area Workflow.

g. The COR/QAE will submit a brief monthly activity report to the KO which will include the next months surveillance schedule, summary of inspections performed and results, summary of customer feedback, summary of contract discrepancies and corrections, recommendations, invoices accepted and any other pertinent activities.

6. PERFORMANCE STANDARD. The performance standard, as set forth in the PWS/PRS, is the standard the Contractor must meet for a particular Performance Objective to be deemed acceptable. The maximum degree of deviation from the requirement is the percent defective or the maximum number of defects per month that can be reached without the performance being considered overall unsatisfactory for a particular Performance Objective. Exceeding the number of defects or percent will cause the service to be deemed unsatisfactory.

7. QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE FILE. The COR/QAE file shall contain:

a) Copy of the COR appointment letter from the KO, any changes to that letter, and any termination letters; b) Training Certifications for COR; c) Copy of the contract and all contract modifications; d) Copy of the applicable Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP); e) Copy of the contractor’s Quality Control Plan (QCP); f) All correspondence initiated by authorized representatives (Contractor or Government) concerning performance of the contract; g) Names, position titles and contact information of all key personnel assigned to this contract both Government and Contractor; h) Monthly surveillance schedules & Surveillance Checklists; i) Records of all inspections performed and the results; j) Customer Feedback; k) Memoranda for record of minutes of any meeting, telephone conversations and discussions with the contractor or others pertaining to the contract or contract performance; l) Documentation pertaining to acceptance of services, reports or data.

8. RECORDS: All records will be retained for the life of this contract. The COR/QAE will forward these records to the KO upon completion of the contract/order.

9. CHANGES: The QASP is a living document and, as such, may be changed as needed. However, the KO must approve changes.

The COR will submit recommended changes to the KO for approval.