Cemetery QASP.docx

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

Applicable for

CEMETERY GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

U.S. Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground, Contracting Division

Written By:

Shaun Blische

Reviewed By:

Approved By:

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is pursuant to the requirements listed in the performance work statement (PWS) for STORMWATER MAINTENANCE. This performance-based plan sets forth the procedures and guidelines that Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) will use in evaluating the technical performance of the contractor.

1.1 PURPOSE

The role of the Government in quality assurance (QA) is to ensure contract standards are achieved. The purpose of the QASP is to identify the methods and procedures the Government will use to evaluate Contractor actions while performing the requirements in the PWS. It is designed to provide an effective surveillance method by monitoring Contractor performance for each listed performance objective in the Performance Requirements Summary (Section 4.0)

1.2 AUTHORITY

Authority for issuance of this QASP is provided under Contract Section E – Inspection and Acceptance, which provides for inspections and acceptance of the articles, services, and documentation called for in task orders to be accomplished by the Contracting Officer or his duly authorized representative. Authority from the FAR can be found at FAR 37.604, FAR 46.401, and DFARS 246.401.

1.3 SCOPE

To fully understand the roles and the responsibilities of the parties, it is important to first define the distinction in terminology between the Quality Control Plan and the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. The Contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth by the contract and follow-on task orders. The Contractor develops and submits (if requested) his Quality Control Plan (QCP) for Government approval in compliance with his contract deliverables. Once accepted, the Contractor then uses the QCP to guide and to rigorously document the implementation of the required management and quality control actions to achieve the specified results. The QASP on the other hand, is put in place to provide Government surveillance oversight of the Contractor’s quality control efforts to assure that they are timely, effective and are delivering the results specified in the contract or task order. The QASP is not a part of the contract nor is it intended to duplicate the Contractor’s QCP. The Government may provide the Contractor an information copy of the QASP as an Attachment to the solicitation to support the Contractor’s efforts in developing a QCP that will interrelate with the Government’s QASP. The QASP has been developed by the requiring activity. It is designed to provide direction to personnel performing contract surveillance activities. Personnel surveying contract terms and conditions and SOW requirements will periodically review the QASP throughout the live of the contract.

2.0. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1 GOVERNMENT ROLES

The following definitions for Government resources are applicable to this plan:

2.1.1 Contracting Officer (KO) - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government.

2.1.2 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An individual designated in writing by the Contracting Officer to act as his authorized representative to assist in administering a contract. The source and authority for a COR is the Contracting Officer. COR limitations are contained in the written letter of designation.

2.1.3 Technical Monitor (TM) - An individual designated in writing by the Contracting Officer to act as support to the COR in monitoring contractor performance and completion of the contract. The source and authority for a TM is the Contracting Officer. TM limitations are contained in the written letter of designation.

2.2 RESPONSIBILITIES

The Government resources shall have responsibilities for the implementation of this QASP as follows:

2.2.1 Contracting Officer – The Contracting Officer ensures performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensures compliance with the terms of the contract and safeguards the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. It is the Contracting Officer that assures the Contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under the contract. The Contracting Officer is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance.

2.2.2 COR - The COR is responsible for technical administration of the project and assures proper Government surveillance of the Contractor’s performance. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract, price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

2.2.3 TM – The TM is responsible for verifying that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract in accordance with the contract terms, conditions and specifications and performs surveillance of the Contractor’s performance. The TM is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf. The TM will record and report incidents of faulty or nonconforming work, delays or problems to the COR and the Contracting Officer. In addition, the TM is to submit a monthly report concerning performance of services rendered under this contract to the COR. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract, price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

3.0 METHODS OF QA SURVEILLANCE

The Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) located in Attachment 1, Required Performance Metrics Table, for contractor performance, are structured to allow the contractor to manage how the work is performed while providing negative incentives for performance shortfalls. All are keyed to the relative importance of the task to the overall mission performance.

3.1 The below listed methods of surveillance shall be used in the administration of this QASP.

3.1.1 Customer Feedback – Customer feedback may be obtained either from the results of formal customer satisfaction surveys or from random customer complaints/suggestions. Customer complaints, to be considered valid, must set forth clearly and in writing the detailed nature of the complaint, must be signed and must be forwarded to the COR. The COR shall maintain a summary log of all formally received customer complaints as well as a copy of each complaint in a documentation file. The COR shall also keep the tabulated results of all customer satisfaction surveys on file.

NOTE: The customer will communicate complaints to the COR as opposed to the contractor. The COR will accept the customer complaints and will investigate using the Quality Assurance Monitoring Form – Customer Complaint Investigation identified in Attachment III.

3.1.2 Periodic Inspection - Periodic inspections shall be conducted if and when specified in individual task orders. For the potential tasks that have been identified so far and included in this QASP, the appropriate COR typically performs the periodic inspection in conjunction with the frequency of the tasks.

3.1.3 Observation of Performance – The COR will periodically observe the performance of services to verify Contractor actions are performed in accordance with the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan, schedule, and safety standards.

4.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

The following PBSC items are identified within the contract SOW and are to be monitored under this QASP. The related surveillance metrics and performance requirement levels are detailed in Attachment I:

4.1 Quality Control Program

The contractor, not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract.

5.0 DOCUMENTATION

The COR will, in addition to providing documentation to the Contracting Officer, maintain a complete QA file. The file will contain copies of all reports, evaluations, recommendations, and any actions related to the Government’s performance of the QA function, including the originals of all completed attachment forms. All such records will be retained for the life of this contract. The COR shall forward these records to the Contracting Officer at termination or completion of the contract, or at Contracting Officer request.

6.0 REVISIONS TO QASP

Revisions to this surveillance plan are the joint responsibility of APG and the Contracting Officer.

7.0 RATINGS

The evaluation ratings utilized in conjunction with Attachment I are as follows:

7.1 Very Good - Performance meets contractual requirements and exceeds some to the Government’s benefit. The contractual performance of the task and sub-task being assessed was accomplished with some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the contractor were effective.

7.2 Satisfactory - Performance meets contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the task and sub-task contain some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the contractor appear or were satisfactory.

7.3 Marginal - Performance does not meet some contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the task and sub-task being assessed reflects a serious problem for which the contractor has not yet identified corrective actions. The contractor’s proposed actions appear only marginally effective or were not fully implemented.

7.4 Unsatisfactory – Performance does not meet most contractual requirements and recovery is not likely in a timely manner. The contractual performance of the task or sub-task contains a serious problem(s) for which the contractor’s corrective actions appear or were ineffective.

8.0 REMEDIES FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM

The contractor may receive deductions or even termination based on failure to perform. The following criteria apply for determining appropriate action:

8.1 Notifications

Consistent with FAR Part 49, the Contracting Officer shall notify the service provider of failure to meet standards through QA monitoring forms, cure notices, or show cause notices and shall inform the service provider project manager or designated alternate of such notices.

8.2 Deductions

The Government has the right to withhold a percentage of payment of the monthly cost for performing particular services based on failure to meet performance standards. The percentage of such withholding is identified in the Required Performance Metrics (RPM) Table of Attachment I.

8.3 Termination

If the Contracting Officer determines that the contractor has failed to perform to the extent that a termination for default is justified, the Contracting Officer shall issue a notice of termination, consistent with FAR Part 49.

9.0 ATTACHMENTS

Attachment I – Required Performance Metrics (RPM) Table Attachment II – Quality Assurance Monitoring Form Attachment III – Quality Assurance Monitoring Form – Customer Complaint Investigation

ATTACHMENT I

REQUIRED PERFORMANCE METRICS (RPM) TABLE

PRS # 1

Complete Mow Cycle (PWS Para# 6.1)

PRS # 2

Incidentals (PWS Para# 6.2)

ATTACHMENT II

QUALITY ASSURANCE MONITORING FORM

SERVICE or STANDARD: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____ Observation of Performance _____ Other (specify)__________________ LEVEL OF SURVEILLANCE SELECTED (Check):

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS:

SERVICE PROVIDER’S PERFORMANCE: ____ Meets Standards ____ Does Not Meet Standard NARRATIVE OF PERFORMANCE DURING SURVEY PERIOD: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PREPARED BY: ___________________________________

DATE: _____________________

ATTACHMENT III

QUALITY ASSURANCE MONITORING FORM –

CUSTOMER COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION

SERVICE or STANDARD: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________ (ORGANIZATION)

__________________________ (PHONE NUMBER)

__________________________ (EMAIL ADDRESS)

NATURE OF COMPLAINT:

RESULTS OF COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION:

DATE/TIME SERVICE PROVIDER INFORMED OF COMPLAINT: _________ AM / PM

CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN BY SERVICE PROVIDER:

RECEIVED AND VALIDATED BY: _____ __ ____

PREPARED BY: ______________________ DATE: ____________________

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