Advanced_Explosives_Destruction_Techniques_(AEDT)_Instructor_(SOW).docx

Statement of Work The National Center for Explosives Training and Research, Advanced Explosives Training Branch, delivers an explosives course for state and local officers who are bomb squad members title “Advanced Explosives Destruction Techniques” (AEDT). This course was designed and is intended to teach the officers the safest way to destroy recovered explosives materials. The course was borne of the fact that more bomb technicians are injured or killed destroying/disposing explosives than are injured or killed rendering a bomb safe. Additionally, statistics have proven disposal operations are very large portion of the work performed by bomb squads throughout the country. Disposal operations inherently bring liability potential to surrounding properties. One of the primary methods of mitigating the potential liabilities involved is through proactive planning and use of ground vibration and airblast monitoring equipment. The delivery of this course shall include, but is not limited to the following tasks:

1. ATF and specifically the AEDT program needs to have uniquely qualified personnel to present the course to state and local officers employed as bomb technicians. The contractors shall have intimate knowledge of the existing ATF explosives disposal course and shall provide assessments, evaluations, and analyses to provide appropriate updates and amendments to the course. The contractor shall recommend, with ATF concurrence, such revisions to the lesson plans, student materials and other training guides and materials as appropriate to the analyses.

2. The contractor for this block of instruction shall have been involved in the development of the course lesson plans, instructor texts, student texts, presentation materials, and practical exercises. The contractor shall provide input for new or amended written lesson plans, other documents and presentation materials, as needed to accomplish the revised course, including appropriate graphs, charts, audio-visual materials, learning aids, practical demonstration materials, and other materials as needed.

3. ATF uses a variety of instructional methods, including classroom lectures and demonstrations, practical exercises, and range disposal exercises, and range disposal exercises. The contractor shall provide input for the revision or amendment of the lectures, demonstrations, and exercises to provide updated materials, as appropriate and necessary for the course requirements.

4. The contractor shall develop other materials as indicated by the requirements of the course, or as indicated by evolving standards and practices, with the concurrence of ATF.

5. The contractor shall deliver training to the students through open classroom discussions and explosives practical exercises.

6. Topics covered shall include but are not limited to the following:

Seismic Monitoring Airblast Monitoring Blast Pressure Predictions Ground Vibration Predictions Mitigation of Ground Vibration and Airblast Mathematical equations related to Ground Vibration and Airblast

7. The contractor shall continue to maintain his/her expertise in this field through attendance at specialized investigative explosives related workshops and/or conferences sponsored by the agency, the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) or the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI).

8. The contractor must not be prohibited from possessing and transferring explosives per federal statutes and law.

ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

The following are assumptions and constraints underlying this task, which should be considered in developing a technical solution:

1. Instructors:

a. Must be able to travel to the training site dictated by the training agreement. This may involve travel domestically or internationally depending on the program.

b. Must have a flexible work schedule that meets the needs of the training being provided.

c. Must be able to pass a background investigation as required by the training program or training facility (see section 3.4 for more information).

d. Must be willing to volunteer for random drug testing.

e. Must have access to the internet and maintain a working email address for access to required on-line applications and to receive contractor notifications and announcements.

2. Instructors must not have been:

a. Convicted of a felony offense.

b. Convicted for an offense involving violence against a law enforcement officer.

c. Convicted for an offense involving rape, child brutality, or child molestation.

d. Convicted for an offense of either drug or firearms sales or trafficking activities.

e. Convicted for an offense that, if revealed, would reflect poorly upon the Federal Government or would otherwise present a threat to the safety and security of employees.

f. Must not be currently subject to disciplinary action by an employer, released from a position as a result of a disciplinary action, or have resigned from a position prior to the culmination of a disciplinary investigation.

g. Must not be a prohibited person in regards to explosives usage and possession as per Federal statutes.

h. Must not be a prohibited person in regards to possessing and transferring firearms as per Federal statutes.

3. Instructors must be able to demonstrate professional behavior and instructional expertise that meet ATF and the Office of Training and Professional Development standards.

4. Instructors must come prepared to provide training, which includes being intimately familiar with the lesson plan, its requirements and instructional strategies, lesson materials, safety instructions where applicable, and evaluation requirements.

5. Instructors must meet ATF evaluation requirements for instructional and content expertise while providing instruction. ATF staff will regularly evaluate Instructor’s instructional skills, adherence to provided lesson plans, and adherence to any safety requirements.

6. Instructors must report to the training manager as required by the reporting instructions.

7. Instructors must follow security protocols for handling and securing student tests or examinations and access to ATF facilities. Facility security requirements may be site specific.

8. Instructors must follow ATF safety directives in regards to the topical area being instructed as well as any lesson plan or site specific requirements. ATF policies that may affect the conduct of training are as follows:

1. ATF O 3320.4B - Explosives Usage Policy

2. ATF O 3020.1A - ATF Firearms and Weapons Policy

3. ATF O 3020.2A - Use of Force Policy

4. ATF O 1630.1 - ATF Hazardous Exposure and Protection Program

9. Instructors must meet and adhere to current and future TPD Training Implementation Policies and Procedures.

10. ATF will provide course lesson plans for all ATF-specific courses and any instructor deviation must be agreed upon in advance and in writing.

11. When applicable, instructors may be asked to provide input into updates and revisions to course lesson plans.

12. Instructor travel and per diem will be in accordance with Federal Government Travel Regulations.

13. ATF program offices may expand on the listed minimum experience, education, and training requirements depending on the needs of the program being taught.

14. When applicable, Instructors may be required to physically demonstrate the skills being taught. Instructor skill levels must exceed minimum standards set for the students. Instructors may be asked to either provide documentation in advance to verify this requirement or the requirement may be validated through the TPD instructor evaluation processes.

15. In order to continue to meet ATF requirements for currency of certifications and continuing education, instructors must submit evidence of additional training every two (2) years from date of award. Time spent serving as an instructor cannot be utilized to meet this requirement.

16. Training will occur at ATF provided facilities. ATF will provide training materials and equipment unless specified otherwise in the training assignment.

17. Instructors are expected to maintain an email address in order to receive information pursuant to their agreements. Instructors are to ensure that ATF is informed when email addresses change.

18. Agreements are awarded for the services of a specific individual whose qualifications have been vetted with ATF. Substitutions are not permitted.

Offerors should include a cover page with the RFP Title, BATF Solicitation Number. The offeror should state on the first page of his/her proposal that he/she accepts the terms and conditions of the solicitation and this Statement of Work. The offeror must also state that it is fully expected that he/she will successfully meet and fulfill the performance and regulatory Assumptions and Constraints detailed above.

All responses will be evaluated and awards will be made to the most advantageous Offeror(s). Resumes and past performance/ reference information should clearly demonstrate relevance to the statement of work requirement.

Commercial item for the BPA procedures are in accordance of FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13.5. Proposals may be submitted only by response to the solicitation package. Proposals may be submitted only by response to the attached solicitation package.

Failure to follow the proposal instructions may result in the Instructor’s proposal being considered non-compliant and eliminated from consideration.

QUALIFICATIONS, EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Offerors should refer to the Assumptions and Constraints section of the Statement of Work, which should be accessed through this Announcement. These include numerous requirements, such as willingness for drug testing, not having criminal convictions for several types of offenses, ability to pass background checks, etc.

Offerors Proposal Instructions, for the current and future proposal submission schedules throughout the five year BPA period. Resumes and past performance/reference information must demonstrate relevance to the courses (contract line item number (CLIN)/area) for which instructor services are being offered. The proposal evaluation criteria are fully described in of the Statement of Work. The factors and sub-factors, in descending order of importance, for evaluating proposals are:

1. Technical Capability

a. Qualifications (Experience, Education and Training)

b. Approach to Maintaining Subject Matter Currency and Quality Control

2. Past Performance/References

Cost/Price (Not rated) Technical Capabilities

Qualifications (Experience, Education, and Training): Instructors should provide a brief summary detailing an overview of their experience, education, and training background as it relates to the CLIN proposed and the benefits they can provide to ATF as a Contract Training Instructor. The Instructor will provide a copy of his/her resume and professional vitae detailing qualifications. Instructors who are qualified to teach in several subject areas should identify the applicable area prominently in the title of the resume. Individual documentation may be submitted for multiple subject areas if the Instructor’s qualifications match the ATF requirements for both.

Quality Control: Each instructor shall provide their approach to maintain the currency of their subject matter expertise and updates to continuing education and required certifications.

Recommended Core Instructor Requirements:

Unless otherwise noted in the course specific instructor requirements, ALL Instructors are recommended to meet the following experience, education, training and certification requirements unless noted otherwise Experience & Education Requirements

1. Has at least of five years law enforcement /IOI experience with a major portion of this experience in the subject area to be instructed.

2. Has at least a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university.

or Has a high school education with a diploma or a GED equivalency certificate and an additional 5 years of general law enforcement/IOI/military/or field related experience (for a total of 10 years experience) may be substituted for a Bachelors Degree.

Note: General law enforcement/IOI experience is defined as progressively responsible work in inspection, criminal investigation, or other law enforcement fields that require knowledge and application of laws and regulations relating to criminal violations.

Training & Certification Requirements

1. Successfully completed an instructor training course consisting of a minimum of 24 hours or has regularly provided a minimum within the past 2 years and can verify the same upon request.

2. Can provide verifying documentation (e.g., certificate of successful completion or attendance) to show that the instructor is maintaining subject matter currency through recent continuing education and training activities in the subject matter being taught. Subject matter currency may also be validated through the publication of subject matter related articles and research in nationally recognized professional journals or trade magazines.

3. Has successfully completed a minimum of 80 hours training in a subject area related to that being instructed that has been documented and can be verified upon request.

Past Performance/References In this section of the Proposal the instructor shall provide three (3) references/ past performance data as noted below:

1. For three (3) efforts during the past three (3) years,

2. Including a description and scope of the effort with dollar value,

3. Including client reference and contact information for each effort described.

Cost Factor Price —the contractor shall propose a fixed daily rate and a fixed ½ day rate (less than 4 hours) for the Statement of Work (SOW) listed above. All proposed rates should include all anticipated charges, except travel and per diem that is allowable under Federal Travel Regulations (local travel in not reimbursable). Contract Instructors will bill actual time scheduled/worked during training sessions, and associated travel, lodging, and per diem costs. Travel time and course preparation time will not be charged separately and must be incorporated into the daily fees if the instructor wishes to be compensated for the time.

a) If the contractor’s price is bound by any special conditions, these conditions must be stated in the Price Proposal.

b) Prices —the contractor shall propose fixed daily rates and 1/2 day rates by CLIN and BPA. 1/2 day is considered 4 hours of instruction or less.

Interested offerors should submit a response by October 15th, 2013, 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Proposals will be evaluated and awards will be made to eligible, qualified and highly rated individuals. ATF seeks to establish cadres of instructors that can provide timely high-quality training.

The Government requires all vendors to be registered under Systems Award Management (SAM) before awarding any Blanket Purchase Agreement. This allows the Federal Government to use electronic payment for vendor products or services that have been received.

The contactor will need a Dun & Bradstreet Number or DUNS Number. The D & B Number for this is "ONLY" for the purpose of registering for SAM the Contractor. The contractor should call D&B at (866) 705-5711, and "CLEARLY" state that they are a small business and simply need a DUNS Number for the sole purpose of SAM Registration. The DUNS Number must be obtained before any attempt to register under SAM.

The SAM information must be reviewed and validated annually by the contractor. Failure to do so may cause the vendor to be dropped from the ATF payment system and cause significant delays in payment. Fees and interest from payment delays due to failure to annually validated SAM information are the sole burden of the contractor and will not be reimbursed by the Government.

Ordering ATF Training managers will contact the successful contractor to identified training needs. Typically, ATF provides instructor lead times of between forty-five (45) and sixty (60) days. However, when backfilling instructors or some other emergency training requirement, ATF may make instructor availability requests with much shorter lead times. ATF sometimes provides only 1-2 weeks notice Instructor selection notice.

For routine requests, ATF will allow the Instructor up to two (2) days from the time of request to respond affirmatively. For non-routine requests, the ATF Training Manager will determine the amount of available response time allowed on a case-by-case basis and provide this information to the contractor at the time of the request. No instructor will have recourse against ATF when situations dictate instructor scheduling outside of the standard time frames for placing instructor calls.

Invoicing Complete invoicing instructions will be included in the terms and conditions of the Blanket Purchase Agreement. However, ATF expects Instructors to invoice upon completing the assigned course.

Note: Proposal is to be sent via email to Jim Huff, at the following email address: James.Huff@atf.gov. Submissions by FAX or mail will not be accepted.

Questions of a contractual nature should be addressed to Mr. James Huff, Contracting Officer to James.Huff@atf.gov, 202-648-9117.