Attachment B Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan.pdf

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

FOR

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AT THE MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST

Commercial Services Contract: ________TBD___________________ Contractor: ________________________________TBD______________________

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

CO decisions arising under or relating to the contact are final.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – An individual designated in writing by the CO 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 CO.

Inspector – An individual designated by the requiring activity to assist the COR and provide technical oversight of the Contractor’s performance. The Inspector’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 Inspector will report the unacceptable performance to the COR. The Inspector 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. METHOD OF SURVEILLANCE. Simplified methods of surveillance will be used by the Government to evaluate contractor performance. The primary methods of surveillance are periodic assessments of service and customer feedback.

Periodic Assessment of Services – For services that occur over a number of months, the COR will evaluate Contractor performance on a continuous basis during performance and upon completion of services. Generally, the Government will rely on the Contractor’s Quality Control system to ensure that services conform to contract quality requirements before they are tendered to the Government for acceptance.

Customer Feedback – Customer feedback is typically obtained via telephone or email. Telephonic customer complaints must be followed up in writing/email. To be considered valid, the customer complaint must clearly articulate the nature of the complaint, time, date, etc. The COR will investigate the complaint; if determined valid, the COR will advise the CO and the Contractor of the deficiency. Copies of valid complaints and the resolution must be retained in the official contract file.

5. SURVEILLANCE PROCEDURES.

a. The COR/Inspector will evaluate the Contractor’s performance continuously against Performance Standards established in the contract/order. Evaluations will be to the extent practical to assure the contractor provides quality services IAW the requirements of the contract. Evaluations could be evaluation/validation of contractor supplied performance data, as well as analysis of Customer feedback, for performance trends and to ensure valid customer concerns are resolved timely.

b. If at any time the COR/Inspector receives indicators (e.g., valid customer complaints or notes Performance Standards are not being met) that the Contractor’s performance is less than acceptable, the COR/Inspector will investigate to determine if this is a onetime issue that has been promptly corrected, or if the discrepancy is systemic in nature. If the issue is determined to be an isolated occurrence, the COR will continue with evaluations. If the issue is recurring and systemic in nature, the COR/Inspector will perform more frequent evaluations.

c. The COR/Inspector will notify the Contractor each time an unacceptable observation has been recorded and ask the Contractor to correct the problem. The COR 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/Inspector will re-examine services that were found deficient. Failure to complete corrective actions will be reported immediately to the CO for further action.

e. Upon satisfactory completion of the work, the COR/Inspector will accept the services provided and authorize payment, by approving the Contractor’s invoice in IPP.

6. SURVEILLANCE STANDARD.

The Performance Standards set forth in the PWS is the standard the Contractor must meet for services to be deemed acceptable.

Generally, under commercial services contracts, the Government is relying on the Contractor’s assurances that the services conform to contract requirements. Consistent with FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions, (a) Inspection and Acceptance, the Contractor shall only tender for acceptance those services that conform to the requirements of the contract/order. The Government may require re-performance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. The Government reserves the right to refuse acceptance of nonconforming services. In no case shall the Government’s right to inspect services under the inspection provisions of the contract be prejudiced.

7. QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE FILE. The COR/Inspector file should contain:

a) Copy of the COR appointment letter from the CO, 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) Surveillance schedules; i) Surveillance Checklists; j) Records of all inspections performed and the results; k) Customer Feedback; l) Memoranda for record of minutes of any meeting, telephone conversations and discussions with the contractor or others pertaining to the contract or contract performance; m) Documentation pertaining to acceptance of services, reports or data.

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

9. CHANGES: The QASP is a living document and, as such, may be changed as needed. However, the CO must approve changes. The COR will submit recommended changes to the CO for approval.