Solicitation_Questions.pdf

1. Can you tell me if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing work for this requirement? If so, could you please provide their company name and contract number?

Incumbent: Tekpro, LLC

Contract: DOLJ092J13537

2. Can the Past Performance Questionnaire be provided in Word to more easily be completed by our clients.

Yes

3. Can pricing please be provided in a Spreadsheet or Word table to more easily complete?

Yes

4. In C‐1.4 CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS ‐ KEY POSITIONS ‐ Project Manager (pg 17) it states, “The

Contractor shall comply with all duties and qualifications listed in section C‐5.2 of the PWS.”

This section is for the Sr Classification Specialist.

Correction, the page should read: “The Contractor shall comply with all duties and qualifications listed in section C‐5.1 of the PWS.”

5. Which requirements do we go by for the PM C‐5.1 – Program Manager or C‐5.2, as stated on pg

17 for the Sr. Classification Specialist?

Use the duties and qualifications in C‐5.1 for the Project Manager key position.

C‐5.1 PROJECT MANAGER

The Project Manager (PM) shall work with the COR and DHROM Task Monitors to ensure Contractor staff meet their objectives and obtain necessary resources to support requirements in accordance with the PWS. The PM shall perform a majority of their work on‐ site at the BLS headquarters. The Contractor shall serve as the main contact to communicate and resolve interface and integration issues with Contractor staff and BLS employees and keep the CO, COR and Task Monitors informed of task accomplishments, issues and status. The PM shall conduct all planning, coordination (meetings, reports, etc.), on‐boarding, training, and surveillance of activities necessary to assure disciplined work performance and timely resource application to accomplish all task orders issued under the contract.

QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide staff with at least three (3) years of management experience and at least five (5) years in a Federal civilian human resources program (non‐management or management). The experience shall include: personnel and payroll action processing; and knowledge in classification, employee relations, and labor relations and benefits.

6. Is the PM position and the Senior Classification Specialist the same as stated on page 17 under section C‐1.4 Key Position (Project Manager)?

No, the Project Manager is a separate position from the Senior Classification Specialist. Page 17 should read “The Contractor shall comply with all duties and qualifications listed in section C‐5.1 of the PWS.” Please refer to questions 5 and 6.

7. Section C‐5.‐ PROJECT MANAGER Qualifications states: The Contractor shall provide staff with at least three (3) years of management experience and at least five (5) years in a Federal civilian human resources program (non‐management or management)

3.1. Questions:

Would the Government give equal consideration to Firms who have 10 or more years of experience of working with Corporate, State and Local civilian human resources programs or Is it the Governments' intent to limit this RFP to 8(a) Firms who only have experience in the Federal civilian human resources program?

We require that contractor staff meet the qualifications listed in the PWS to include federal civilian human resources experience (except Human Resources Clerical Support and Human

Resources Assistant ‐ Training). We will review all offeror proposals against the technical evaluation factors outlined in the solicitation.

C‐5.2 SENIOR CLASSIFICATION SPECIALIST

QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide staff with at least ten (10) years of professional‐level position classification experience in a Federal civilian human resources program. This experience shall include: position classification using both the narrative and Factor Evaluation System formats;

familiarity with, and use of the Introduction to the Position Classification Standards; Classifier’s

Handbook, General Schedule Position Classification Standards and Handbook of Occupational

Groups and Families;

3.2. Questions:

Would the Government give equal consideration to Firms who have 10 or more years of experience of working with Corporate, State and Local civilian human resources programs? The

FES is the most common method used in the federal government to assign grades to nonsupervisory positions under the General Schedule. The General Schedule is the broadest subdivision of the federal classification system. Is it the Governments' intent to limit this RFP to

8(a) Firms who only have experience in the Federal civilian human resources program?

C‐5.3 HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT‐PROCESSING

QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide staff with at least one (1) year of experience in a Federal civilian human resources program relating to Federal Human Resources and OPM Guidelines with particular emphasis on “The Guide to Personnel Record Keeping” and “The Guide to Personnel

Processing.”

3.3. Question:

Personnel recordkeeping regulations are found in part 293 of title 5, Code of Federal

Regulations. These regulations establish policies and minimum requirements governing the creation, development, maintenance, processing, use, dissemination and safeguarding of the personnel records OPM requires agencies maintain. Is it the Governments' intent to limit this

RFP to an 8(a) Firm who only has experience in the Federal civilian human resources program relating to Federal Human Resources and OPM Guidelines with particular emphasis on "The

Guide to Personnel Record Keeping" and "The Guide to Personnel Processing." Would the

Government give equal consideration to Firms who have 10 or more years of experience of working with Corporate, State and Local civilian human resources programs?

C‐5.5 SENIOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS (ER) SPECIALIST, C‐5.6 SENIOR LABOR RELATIONS (LR)

SPECIALIST, and C‐5.8 SENIOR RETIREMENT BENEFITS SPECIALIST

3.4. Question:

The positions above require the Contractors to have Federal civilian human resources program experience, coupled with BLS agency expertise. Is it the Governments' intent to limit this RFP to an 8(a) Firm who has experience in the Federal civilian human resources program and the BLS agency? Would the Government give equal consideration to Firms who have 10 or more years of experience of working with Corporate, State and Local civilian human resources programs?

We require that contractor staff meet the qualifications listed in the PWS to include federal civilian human resources experience (except Human Resources Clerical Support and Human

Resources Assistant ‐ Training). None of the qualifications descriptions require BLS agency expertise. We will review all offeror proposals against the technical evaluation factors outlined in the solicitation.

8. If there is a current incumbent, how long has the incumbent provided services to the

Department of Labor?

5 years

What is the estimated value of this contract?

The ceiling for the existing contract was approximately $10 million

What was last years dollar spend for this contract?

$800,000 for FY13

9. Can this requirement be facilitated as a SBA 8 (A) Set‐Aside?

This requirement is being competed as an 8(a) set‐a‐side.

10. Does the Department of Labor have the requisition in‐house for this particular solicitation?

Yes, issued as DOL142J12036

11. Is this the first issue of this solicitation ‐ Is this a re‐compete of an existing Department of Labor requirement or a new requirement?

This is an existing DOL requirement. Please refer to question 1 for details.

12. Has Department of Labor held preliminary meetings with specific contractors interested in responding to this solicitation?

No, an RFI was solicited in January 2014.

13. Is it estimated that full funding exists for this solicitation? If so, is there an intended funding threshold and what is the minimum for this threshold?

Funding for the first year exists for this solicitation through incremental funding. We are unable to get into specifics as that is considered privileged information.

14. Is this requirement on schedule to execute a contract with the selected vendor doing the current fiscal period?

Yes, BLS intends to award this contract this fiscal year, however, unforeseen delays may impact the schedule.

15. Is there a prescribed procedure for technical evaluation on this solicitation? If so, can you describe procedures?

Please refer to sections L and M.

16. Ref: RFP Sec. L‐17 – “The offeror shall complete the cross‐reference matrix as defined [in] section M. Each paragraph of the offeror’s proposal shall be cross‐reference with the applicable sections of the PWS and throughout the solicitation.”

a. Question: Please specify where offerors should include the cross‐reference matrix in the proposal response (e.g., Vol I, following the table of contents but prior to Factor 1?).

It should be at the end of Volume 1 as an attachment. This is described in Section M‐2.5.

b. Question: Please clarify whether the cross‐reference matrix is included in the page count of whichever volume the Government would prefer it appear.

The cross‐reference matrix is included in the 8 page count as described in table L‐6 for attachments, appendices, and the organization chart.

17. Ref: RFP Sec. L‐3.2 – The solicitation identifies page limitations for certain elements of each of the four subfactors as well as an overall page limitation of 20 pages for volume I. However, the sum of the specifically identified page limits (7 + 2 + 5 + 3) equals 17 pages.

Question: Please indicate how and where offerors are permitted to utilize the remaining three pages.

The offerors may decide the best use of the extra pages. The page limit has increased to 22 pages.

18. Ref: RFP Sec. H.1.2, pg. 5 – This section provides Instructions to Offerors regarding a cover letter which differs from those found in Section L.

Question: Please clarify these instructions are intended for post‐award task order proposal actions and not required as any part of offeror’s proposals for this procurement.

Yes this refers to the task order and not the current solicitation.

19. Ref: RFP Secs. L‐3.1 and L‐6 – L‐3.1 states attachments and appendices are not included as part of the page count while L‐9 states they shall be included as part of the page count.

a. Question: Please clarify. Is this meant to convey that attachments and appendices only in Volume I are not counted against that volume’s page limitation?

Please see table L‐6 for clarifications and updated page counts.

b. Question: Please clarify what types of information such attachments and appendices may be permitted to contain without being counted against that volume’s page limitation.

This is up to the offeror.

20. Ref: RFP Table L‐6: The table indicates Subfactor 2 is identified as Key Personnel (Resume).

Question: Please indicate whether the Project Manager’s resume should be included as part of the Subfactor 2 response (not counted against the page limit) or may be included as an appendix to Volume I (not counted against the page limit).

The project manager’s resume is required as part of Subfactor 2 and is counted against the page limit. No additional resumes should be included and the instructions have been amended. The new page limit on attachments, appendices, and the organizational chart is 8 pages. This excludes the title cover page, table of contents, and introductory info in L.1.1.

21. Ref: RFP Sec. L‐3.2.4 – “The QCP will be completed in accordance with the design and content requirements listed in the PWS.”

Question: Please verify offerors’ proposals need only contain the referenced QCP “outline,” and not the full QCP (ref: RFP Sec. C‐1.6, pg. 20 – “The Contractor shall submit the final QCP within

30 days after award”).

Only an “outline” is required for the proposal. It is expected that the outline will include information that covers the minimum items listed in the Content section described in PWS Sec

C‐1.6, page 21.

22. Ref: RFP Sec. L‐6 – “All attachments or appendices shall be included in the page count, unless otherwise specified.” Also ref: RFP L‐3.1 – “[Page count] excludes … attachments or appendices, resumes, and QCP.”

Question: Please resolve this discrepancy – will attachments and appendices be included in the page count?

Please refer to Table l‐6 and L‐3.1 for updated instructions.

23. Ref: RFP Sec. L, Attachment L‐1, Section G – This section of the Past Performance Information

Sheet (PPIS) states, “Describe the relevancy to the Technical Capability, Factor 2, Subfactor 1 in

Section M for which this citation applies. Illustrate how your experience on this program applies to that subfactor.

Question: There is no Technical Capability, Factor 2, Subfactor 1 in Section M of the RFP. Please clarify this instruction.

Should read: “Describe the relevancy to the Technical Capability, Factor 1, Subfactor 3 in

Section M for which this citation applies. Illustrate how your experience on this program applies to that subfactor.”

24. We believe the page limitation on Volume I, Factor 1, Subfactor 3 (Management Plan) is overly restrictive and will not allow contractors sufficient space to fully detail the amount of information requested in Sections L and C of the RFP. We recommend expanding the page limitation for this section to 10 pages, or another size which better reflects the number of items the Government requested.

The page limit will be increased from 5 pages to 7 pages and the organizational chart can be included as an attachment to support both Volume 1, Factor 1 Subfactors 1 and 3. This increases the overall page limit to 22 pages.

25. Are training expenses included as part of the ODCs?

Travel outside of 50 miles is part of the ODCs per PWS “Training,” page 18. Training costs for a contractor staff who is lacking in skills or knowledge will be at the expense of the contractor.

26. Ref: RFP Sec. L‐1.1 – The company‐identifying information includes item #9, “teaming arrangements.”

Question: Please clarify whether the Government requires an explanation of teaming arrangements or the full teaming agreements, signed by the participating firms.

We will accept an explanation and not the full teaming arrangement.

27. RFP B.1 – Price Schedule & C.1 Introduction 5,11 In Section B.1 under Pricing Schedule for IDIQ Base Year (pg.5), the Government states that the Project Manager shall work a max

2,008 hours for the base year. The Government also states (pg. 5) that the contractor is to

“assume on person working full time at 2,008 hours per year”. However, in Section C.1 under

Structure of Functional Areas (pg. 11), the Government states that historically, under the functional areas for this project, that Project Management is to be fulfilled by one part‐time on‐ site lead. Can the Government please clarify that the Project Manager will be considered full‐ time under the Government’s stated guidelines of 2,008 hours?

It is anticipated that the Project Manager will be considered full‐time in this future procurement need as this is now a performance based contract and more guidance, supervision, and surveillance will be required. However, the contractor may propose a less than full time position if they so choose.

28. Can the Government please provide a list of the current level of effort and the position titles/designations?

Labor Category Hours

On-Site Lead 832, 1 part time staff

Human Resources Assistant 12,048, 6 full time staff

Human Resources Clerical Support 4016, 2 full time staff

Senior Classification Specialist 2008, 1 full time staff

Senior Labor Relations Specialist 1040, 1 part time staff

29. RFP L‐3.1, L‐3.2.4 18, 19 In Section L‐3.1, the Government states that the QCP is excluded from Volume I maximum limit of 20 pages. However, in Section L‐3.2.4, the

Government states that the page limit for the QCP outline is designated to 3 pages maximum.

Can the Government please clarify if the offeror’s QCP has no page limit and is excluded from

Volume I’s page count OR if the offeror’s QCP is excluded from Volume I’s page count but does have a page limit of 3 pages maximum?

Section L‐3.1 is an error, the QCP has a limit of 3 pages and is included in the maximum limit.

The maximum limit has been raised to 22 pages.

30. Will the Government please clarify which of the required positions are currently filled by incumbent employees and state if there are any vacancies?

Vacancies can occur anytime and may not necessarily be filled or vacant by contract award.

31. Reference: Page 21, Section 5.4: “The offeror shall provide sufficient supporting documentation to allow the Government to evaluate the proposed pricing techniques.”

a. What should this supporting documentation consist of?

The documentation can be met through a variety of means, but should provide detail enough to see how a price proposal was derived with sufficient backup documentation.

b. Where should the supporting documentation be located in the Offeror’s proposal?

In accordance with section L, only price information shall be included in the price volume.

c. Does the government wish to impose any page limitations on this supporting documentation, or guidelines as to what to include?

There are no page limitations on the supporting documentation for Volume 3, Price Proposal.

32. What is the historical annual usage of the as needed Contractors (Senior Employee Relations

Specialist, Senior Labor Relations Specialist, and Senior Retirement Benefits Specialist)?

Labor Category Historical Annual Usage

Senior Classification Specialist FY 12 two full-time staff, FY 13 two full-time staff, FY 14 one full-time staff

Senior Labor Relations Specialist FY 12 one full-time staff, FY 13 None, FY 14 one part-time staff

Senior Employee Relations Specialist

FY 12 one part-time staff, FY 13 None, FY 14 None

Retirement Benefits Specialist FY12 one full-time staff, FY 13 None, FY 14 None

33. Does the incumbent qualify to re‐bid?

We are unable to answer this question.

34. Does the 11pt font limitation, section L‐6(c), apply to the cover page as well as headers and footers?

It does not apply to the cover page, it does apply to headers and footers.

35. In section L‐3.1 It states the page limit is 20 pages, but the breakdown by sub factors totals 17 pages. It further states in the same section the Quality Control Plan (QCP) and Key Personnel resume is excluded from the count; however in section L‐3.2.2 SubFactor 2, it states the page limit for the Key Personnel is 2 pages and in section L‐3.2.4 SubFactor 4 it states the page limit for the QCP is 3 pages.

Both the Key Personnel resume and the QCP “outline” will be counted against the page limit.

Please refer to question 36 for further detail.

36. Could you please clarify the breakout of the subfactors to the total page count? Does the Key Personnel resume and the QCP count against the page count?

Personnel Plan‐ 7 pages, excluding the organizational chart. Key Personnel Resume‐ 2 pages

Management Plan‐ 7 pages (expanded from 5), excluding the organizational chart, QCP

“outline” 3 pages. Total Page limit, 22 pages.