EPICS SIR Comment Response Matrix_Final.pdf

Vendor Comments and FAA Responses to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Enterprise Programs, Infrastructure, and Communications Services (EPICS)

SIR dated April 26, 2016

Comment Number

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision

1. C C-3 and

C-31 C.3.7

The Table of Contents for Section C lists “Administrative Support” under Section C.4 (Contract Administration) while the SOW lists the same Section as C.3.7. Can the government please clarify which SOW section “Administration Support” is supposed to be listed under?

If “Administrative Support” is now under Section C.3.7, and under the Team Capabilities and Experience described in Section L.13.1.1, “Offeror must describe the capability of its team…to deliver the services required by each functional task area of SOW Section C.3,” will the government consider increasing the maximum page count of the Technical Volume to 35 pages?

The Table of Contents is in error. The SIR has been amended to delete the reference to paragraph C.4.5 in the Table of Contents and add a reference to Section C.3.7. The Technical Volume proposal page limit remains unchanged at 30 pages.

Yes

2. C C-7 C.3, This section states “Six top-level functional task areas are expected to be addressed within task orders issued under the EPICS contract: Systems Engineering; Acquisition and Program Management Support; In-Service Management and Support; Business and Financial Management;

Information Systems Development and Support; and Studies, Analyses, and Evaluations.” However, there is a 7th task area “Administrative Support” identified on C-31 which was previously under the C.4 Contract

Paragraph C.3 has been revised to reflect seven top-level functions in the SOW, including Administrative Support.

Offerors should address Administrative Support in their proposal responses to Team Capabilities and Experience.

Yes

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision Administration items within the draft

RFP.

1) In responding to the requirements within Section L.13.1.1 Team Qualifications, Bullet 2 Team Capabilities and Experience is it the government’s intent for Offeror’s to include the Administrative Support tasks in their response for methodologies, resources and special skill-sets, tools, and relevant experience?

2) Or, should C.3.7 Administrative Support be part of the C.4 Contract Administration requirements?

3. E E-2 E.4

Clause E.4 requires the contractor to comply with ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 90003. ISO 90003 is specific to computer software which is not the primary focus of the EPICS effort.

Enforcing compliance with ISO 9001 requires the contractor to develop a robust quality management system sufficient for management of EPICS.

We recommend the FAA eliminate the requirement for ISO 90003.

Paragraph E.4 has been amended to eliminate the reference to ISO/IEC 90003.

Yes

4. F F-2 F.3

Section F.3 states that the total period of performance of this contract is 84 months (i.e., seven years). Section L.13.3.2 states that each Offeror must assume a contract start date of December 1, 2016, for Year 1.

Attachment L-1 shows that Year 1 has a period of performance of Date of Award - May 30, 2017 and each year following is for June through May. If

The total potential contract period of performance will be 84 months.

Attachment L-1 has been amended to reflect an assumed contract start date of December 1, 2016.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision each Offeror must assume a start date of December 1, 2016 for Year 1, the total period of performance would not equate to 84 months. Would the Government please confirm the start date and total period of performance of the EPICS contract, and amend Attachment L-1 as necessary?

5. H H-9 H.11

SIR Section H.11 indicates that, “Key personnel are those Contractor personnel essential to the performance of the contract and TOs. The following Prime Contractor positions are designated as key at the contract level:

EPICS Program Manager; EPICS Business Manager; EPICS Chief Engineer.”

In order to ensure that the best possible personnel are applied as key personnel to this contract, we request that the FAA remove the requirement that the EPICS Chief Engineer be a Prime Contractor position. In demonstrating the highly collaborative nature of contractor teams, we believe that a major subcontractor employee operating in accordance with the offeror’s proposed technical approach could be highly effective in the Chief Engineer position. Would the Government be willing to remove the requirement that the EPICS Chief Engineer be a Prime Contractor position?

SIR Paragraph H.11 has been amended to allow key personnel positions, with the exception of the EPICS Program Manager, to be staffed from any member of the Contractor’s team. The Program Manager must be employed by the prime contractor.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision

6. H H-9 H.11

SIR Section H.11 indicates that, “Proposed key personnel must be available to work on the EPICS contract on a full-time basis for at least twelve months from their start of performance on the contract.” SIR Section L.13.1.1 indicates that, “Each Offeror must provide a letter of commitment signifying each key personnel’s availability to work on the EPICS contract on a full-time basis for at least the first six months of his or her assignment to the contract.”

Please confirm that the key personnel commitment is for 6 months, as stated in the Draft SIR comment responses, Question 25.

SIR Paragraph H.11 has been revised to state that key personnel must be available for at least six months from the start of their performance on the contract.

Yes

7.

H and J.2 H-9

H.11, and

J.2

In order to ensure offerors provide qualified candidates, would the government provide the labor category/descriptions and qualifications for the following Key Personnel positions identified in Section H.11.

• EPICS Business Manager

• EPICS Chief Engineer

There are no specific labor categories and qualifications for the EPICS Business Manager and Chief Engineer. These are key positions on the contract and, like the EPICS Program Manager; they will have contract-wide responsibilities within their areas of expertise. To clarify the role of each position with respect to the execution of the contract, Section H.11 has been amended to provide a brief description of the responsibilities for the key-personnel positions. Each Offeror should propose individuals it believes can fulfill the responsibilities as described in Section H.11. Section L.13.1.1 also has been amended to require each Offeror to identify the intended labor category and level for each individual proposed for a

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision key-personnel position.

8. H and L H-9 H.11, and L.13.1.1

Section H.11 identifies the three key personnel positions required by the FAA. May offerors propose additional key personnel positions and submit resumes for those additional key personnel?

The three key positions identified in H.11 are the only ones required by the FAA at this time. No additional key personnel may be included with the proposal submission. If, after award, the FAA determines that additional key positions are needed, they will be added to the contract.

No

9. I I-3 I.2

Clause I.2 requires offerors to submit a Disclosure of Certain Employee Relationships. Please confirm that such disclosures should be included in Volume VI.

If such a disclosure is necessary, it must be included in Volume VI.

No

10. I I-9 I.2, Clause 3.3.1-11

Clause 3.3.1-11 currently states “Funds are not presently available for performance under this contract beyond September 30, 2011.” Would the government please confirm that the date should be September 30, 2016?

Clause 3.3.1-11 in Section I has been amended to reflect September 30, 2016.

Yes

11. J J-0.1 J-0

Draft SIR included a solicitation number of DTFAWA-16-R-EPICS on all pages. The Final SIR now includes DTFAWA-16-R-00015 on all pages except for the pages included within Section J, which still show DTFAWA- 16-R-EPICS. Please confirm that Section J includes the final attachments.

The SIR has been amended to correct the header on Attachment J-0 to reflect the final SIR number of DTFAWA-16-R- 00015.

Yes

12. L L-12 L.13.1.1

The solicitation states “each offeror must describe how its proposed key personnel’s (as required by SIR Paragraph H.10) educational background and work experience…”

SIR Paragraph L.13.1.1 has been amended to reflect SIR paragraph H.11.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision

Please confirm that the reference should be to SIR Paragraph H.11 which is “Key Personnel”

13. L L-12 L.13.1.1

Can the Government confirm that proposed key personnel (1st bullet within the Key Personnel sub-section) "educational relevance" and "specific experience and background relative to the functional task areas" must be addressed in the resumes?

The second bullet under L.13.1.1, Key Personnel, specifies the minimum information that should be included in the proposed key-personnel resumes.

The Offeror may include any other relevant information it deems necessary within the page limits.

No

14. L L-19 L.13.3.1

Paragraph (a) states that all pricing instructions are applicable to the Offeror and all proposed subcontractors. Please confirm that subcontractors are not required to submit anything relative to Volume III since there will only be one set of rates per offeror (per Section B.5.1(2)).

Subcontractors are not required to submit any pricing information with the Offeror’s proposal; however; as stated in Paragraph M.5, Volume III, page M-12, the FAA reserves the right to request other cost and pricing data if it cannot determine whether prices are fair and reasonable, balanced, and realistic from the price information submitted. This could include information from subcontractors.

No

15. L L-19 L.13.3.1

Attachment L-1 requires cost information, specifically direct labor and a burden percentage.

Section L.13.3.1 provides:

"The Government anticipates that adequate price competition will exist so Offerors are not required to submit certified cost and pricing data with their proposals. The Government anticipates that the data required by this SIR will be adequate for its price evaluation;

No. The FAA is requesting this information in order to conduct a thorough price analysis.

In addition, Section L.13.3.1 has been amended to clarify that the submission of uncertified cost data is required and the Government reserves the right to request additional uncertified and certified cost data.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision however the Government reserves the right to request uncertified cost data and certified cost and pricing data."

Section M.5 indicates:

"If [emphasis added] the Government cannot determine whether prices are fair and reasonable, balanced, and realistic from the price information submitted, the Government reserves the right to request other cost and pricing information and to conduct cost analysis."

Attachment L-1D and L-1E deviates from the process identified in Section M by requesting cost information at this time. Will Attachment L-1 be updated to remove the request for cost information?

16. L L-2 (3) Attachment L-2, Part B

The instructions say “The Offeror must provide the Past-Performance Customer Survey (Part B) to appropriate customer points of contact for the three (3) Past-Performance Summaries (Part A) submitted by the Offeror in Volume II of the Offeror’s proposal”.

Please confirm that this should say “submitted by the Offeror in Volume

IV…”

SIR Attachment L-2, Part B, has been amended to change the reference to Volume II to Volume IV.

Yes

17. L L-2 (3) Attachment L-2, Part B

Under the Instructions to the Person Completing the Customer Survey section, it states that “All inputs may be

After the Microsoft Word version of the survey has been completed, SIR Attachment L-2, Part B explains that the

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision provided electronically directly in the Microsoft Word file.” However, the next sentence instructs the person completing the survey to scan the surveys to PDF.

Please confirm that surveys can be submitted in either MS Word or PDF.

person should print the completed survey, sign in Block 4, scan to PDF format, and e-mail to charles.mcgovern@faa.gov.

Alternatively, the person may convert the completed survey to PDF format, sign electronically in Block 4, and e-mail to charles.mcgovern@faa.gov.

18. L L-2(3) Attachment L-2, Part B

Under the Instructions to the Person Completing the Customer Survey section, it indicates a due date of June 10th. However, earlier in the Attachment as well as in Section L.13.4 it says the due date is the same as the other volumes which is June 13th.

Please confirm that the completed surveys are due by June 13th.

Attachment L-2, Part B, has been amended to change the survey response submission date from Friday, June 10 to Monday, June 13.

Yes

19. L L-20 L.13.3.2

Section L.13.3.2 requires: "The submitted Price Proposal Bid Model must not be read-only, must not contain any locked cells, and must not be password-protected, in whole or in part.

Each Offeror’s Price Proposal Bid Model must comply with these requirements for the Offeror to be eligible for award."

Will the Government confirm that Offerors are to respond via unlocked cells?

Yes. Offeror inputs are restricted to unlocked cells, and the only locked cells allowed are those that were locked in the Price Proposal Bid Model posted on

FAACO.

No

20. L L-21 L.13.4

The instructions say that the customer surveys “must be submitted directly by the person completing the survey via e-mail to the FAA CO identified in

The completed surveys must be emailed to Mr. Charles McGovern at charles.mcgovern@faa.gov. SIR Paragraph L.13.4 has been amended to

Yes mailto:charles.mcgovern@faa.gov

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision Section G.2 of the EPICS SIR”.

However, the CO listed in Section G.2 is listed as “TBD.”

Please confirm that completed surveys must be emailed to Mr. Charles McGovern at charles.mcgovern@faa.gov change the reference to Section G.2 to be Section L.3.

21. L L-21 L.13.4 Would the government allow a 2 page introduction in the Past Performance Volume?

No. No

22. L L-23 L.13.6.2

This section states “If any potential conflict of interest is identified, the Offeror must submit a mitigation plan.”

Please confirm if the Offeror has no known conflicts of interest that a mitigation plan is not required.

An OCI mitigation plan is not required if an Offeror has no known actual or potential conflicts of interest.

No

23. L L-23 L.13.6.2

Section L.13.6.2 provides that “all…offerors…that are or intend to be solution developers or service providers for…CINP or Data Comm programs will likely have [OCI]. Will the FAA confirm that “service providers” is not intended to refer to SETA contractors who provide support to the FAA in their assessment, evaluation, or oversight of the CINP or Data Comm programs?

This SIR does not use the term SETA.

Service provider is defined in section C.2.1 as “other contractors from which CINP obtains systems and services.”

Regardless of such terminology, per section L.13.6.2, “[t]he FAA reserves the right to determine ineligible for award any Offeror that has, or proposes a subcontractor that has, a current or potential conflict of interest regardless of whether the conflict is included in the Offeror’s proposal.” Section H.23 of the SIR includes additional information.

Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) are always situation-

No

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision dependent and are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. The FAA cannot comment on what may or may not constitute a real or potential OCI until the specific circumstances surrounding a potential conflict are disclosed by the Offeror.

24. L L-23 L.13.6.2

Section L.13.6.2 – Does the FAA consider all business relationships (e.g subcontracts) with current or future CINP or Data Comm contractors regardless of customer or program (e.g.

nexus to CINP or Data Comm programs) to create an OCI or is this restriction only applicable to business relationships with CINP or Data Comm contractors in support of CINP or Data Comm programs?

Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) are always situation-dependent and are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. The FAA cannot comment on what may or may not constitute a real or potential OCI until the specific circumstances surrounding a potential conflict are disclosed by the Offeror.

No

25. L L-23 L.13.6.2

Does the FAA consider business relationships with CINP or Data Comm providers unrelated to FAA programs to create an impaired objectivity OCI for EPICS service providers? What is the FAA’s definition of “significant business relationship” in the context of an impaired objectivity OCI?

Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) are always situation-dependent and are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. The FAA cannot comment on what may or may not constitute a real or potential OCI until the specific circumstances surrounding a potential conflict are disclosed by the Offeror.

The AMS OCI clauses use the term, “significant financial relationship,” not “significant business relationship.” An Offeror should use its informed judgment as to whether there is a significant financial relationship involved and as to whether or not to disclose a potential impaired-objectivity OCI.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision

26. L L-5 L.3

Clause L.3 states that only prime offerors are eligible to register for a KSN site. Since all proposal volumes need to be submitted via the KSN, please provide submission instructions for subcontractor proprietary data such as their price proposal (attachment L- 1).

The SIR only requires submission of one set of proposed labor rates. There is no requirement for submission of subcontractor pricing information with an Offeror’s proposal through the KSN site.

27. L L-8 L.3

(c) Volume I, Part B (Problem Statement Responses), must be posted to their assigned KSN site no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled date and time of the Offeror’s Oral Presentation. In order to ensure all bidder receive the same amount of time developing their Orals responses, can the Government amend the language in this section to read, "All Problem Statement responses must be posted to their assigned KSN site no later than 15 days after Government release?"

All Offerors will have the same amount of time to prepare their responses and practice their presentations. Because the presentations are scheduled to take place sequentially, requiring all Offerors to submit their presentations at the same time would give some Offerors more time to prepare and practice their presentation than others. The FAA will release the Sample Problems to an Offeror at the time that the presentation is scheduled with that Offeror giving each Offeror the same amount of time to prepare their presentation.

No

28. L L-9 L.12

General Instructions states, “Offerors must not submit any electronic files that have been … converted to Adobe .pdf format.” In order to comply with the files size restrictions, can the Government allow for financial statements and payroll records and other supporting information to be in pdf format? Also, it is a best practice to deliver the technical and management volumes in both Microsoft Word and pdf format; the pdf format validate these volumes fit within required page count. Word files can be viewed

The SIR has been amended to allow for an additional submission of each proposal volume in Adobe PDF format.

Supporting financial information such as financial statements and payroll records may be submitted in PDF format only.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision differently depending on an individual computer's Word configuration. Can the Government allow for technical and management volumes to be delivered in pdf format and in Word?

29. L N/A L-1D/E

Since the T&M rates will apply to the prime and all subcontractors, Attachments L-1D and L-1E would require the direct labor rate and Burden (%) to be a blend of the prime contractor and subcontractors, not all of whom may support every labor category. As this cost information is proprietary for subcontractors, it would not be possible for the Offeror to develop a meaningful blended direct labor rate or Burden (%) for each labor category. As the T&M labor rates will become fixed ceiling rates under the contract, price analysis will be conducted without evaluating the separate cost elements, and since the Government is expecting adequate price competition, would the Government consider removing the requirement for Attachments L-1D and L-1E from the SIR?

No. The FAA is requesting this information in order to conduct a thorough price analysis.

No

30. L and M L-11 and M-7 L.13.1.1 and M.5

In the final SIR the requirements for the Knowledge of FAA Operating Environment within the Team Qualifications (Section L.13.1.1) was updated from the draft to require that “Each Offeror must describe its perspective on the issues and

SIR Sections L.13.1.1 and M.5 have been updated to align the evaluation criteria and proposal instructions as they relate to Sub-factor 1.1.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision challenges for the FAA operating environment associated with the work to be performed under this contract.”

The Evaluation Criteria listed in M.5 does not reflect this update and stating that the section will be evaluated based on “The degree to which…including how CINP and Data Comm programs and initiatives contribute to achieving NextGen objectives and the issues and challenges associated with meeting those objectives.”

We recommend the FAA update Section M to reflect the update in Section L.13.1.1.

31. L and M L-18 and M-

L.13.2.5, Bullet 4, and M.5, Factor 5

This section states: “Each Offeror must describe its plans to recruit the required number of fully qualified personnel to the contract in a timely manner and address the need for any FAA guidance, assistance, or orientation during the transition period”. To ensure consistent responses would the government please provide the number of fully qualified personnel?

Paragraph L.13.2.5 requires each Offeror to describe its approach to transitioning from the corresponding current contract to the new contract. Specific numbers of staff to be transitioned and the timing of the transition will be dependent on the specific task orders issued to the successful Offeror following award of the contract. SIR Sections L.13.2.5 and M.5 have been updated to better align the proposal instructions with the evaluation criteria. Each Offeror must describe its approach to staffing and recruiting (as necessary) the qualified personnel to meet the FAA’s task order requirements.

The specific numbers of staff depend on the Offeror’s approach and are not necessary to provide a full response to the instruction in Section L.

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision

32. L and M L-4, L- 16, and

M-9

L.2.3, L.13.2.2, Bullet 1, and M.5

1) To adequately provide the detail to fully comply with the Total Compensation Plan requirements stated in L.2.3 AMS 3.6.2-15 Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (April 1996), L.13.2.2 Bullet 1, M.5 Volume II Factor 2, would the government allow Offeror’s Total Compensation Plan to be excluded from the 35 page limit for the management volume?

2) If the Total Compensation Plan is not excluded from the 35 page management volume limit, would the government increase the page limit for the management volume to 50 pages to allow for adequate spacing for offerors to provide their Total Compensation Plan?

SIR Table L-1 has been amended to exclude the Total Compensation Plan from the Management Volume page limit and remove any page limit for the Total Compensation Plan.

Yes

33. M M.11 M.5 –

Volume III, Price

The Volume III (Price) evaluation includes the calculation of the Total Evaluated Price (TEP) by multiplying the proposed labor rates by the hours in the FAA Cost Model. As part of its price analysis, the Government will assess each Offeror’s price proposal for fairness and reasonableness, realism, and balance. This assessment will result in the assignment of an aggregate non- TEP volume level rating from Table M- 4.

Would the FAA provide further

The FAA will perform price analysis on each Offeror’s proposal. Price analysis is the process of examining and evaluating a proposed price without evaluating its separate cost elements and proposed profit. The FAA also reserves to right to perform cost analysis if it is unable to determine price reasonableness through price analysis alone. Cost analysis is the review and analysis of separate cost elements and proposed profit.

No

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision clarification as to how the FAA will assess “realism’ and “balance”?

34. M M-13 M.5

M.5 Paragraph 3-5 Page Volume IV – Past Performance

For the Past Performance evaluation, the SIR states, “The number of past performance survey responses available for consideration by the Past Performance Evaluation Team for the evaluation of Factors 3-7 is defined as the total number of past-performance survey responses received by the Government for past performance references that were rated as Acceptable under Factors 1 and 2.

Based on the submission requirements defined in Section L.13.4, there can be up to six past-performance survey responses available for consideration.”

If a Customer Survey is not returned to the EPICS Contracting Officer by the submission deadline, how will it be weighted by the Evaluation Team? For example, if 5 of 6 surveys are returned, will the 6th survey receive no rating for Factors 3-7 or an Unacceptable rating for Factors 3-7?

If a Customer Survey is not returned to the CO by the deadline, it will not be considered in the evaluation. The SIR describes how the survey responses will be rated if fewer than the maximum of six responses are received: “If no more than two past-performance survey responses are available for consideration, the Offeror will receive a rating of Unacceptable for Factors 3-7. If more than two past-performance survey responses are available for consideration, the Offeror will receive an Acceptable rating for a factor if at least half the response ratings for that factor are Satisfactory or higher.”

No

35. M M-4 M.5

M.5 states that Volumes I and II will be evaluated using the factors and subcontractors listed in Section M.6

Section M does not include any Section

The first sentence of paragraph M.5 has been amended to change the reference to “M.6” to “this section”

SIR

Section

SIR

Page(s) Paragraph Comment/Question FAA Response SIR

Revision M.6.

36.

Attachm ent J-2

J-2.22 N/A

In the Vendor Comments and FAA Responses package released with the EPICS SIR, the response to Comment 12 indicated that “Years of experience cannot be applied as a substitute for the degree requirements.”

CINP has had existing policy allowing substitutions to enable contractors to provide highly skilled and experienced personnel who do not meet degree requirements. Based on CINP’s precedent to allow substitutions to bring these highly experienced personnel and in order to offer a full range of skill sets similar to or exceeding the staff currently supporting the FAA on the incumbent contracts, we respectfully request that the Government allow years of experience to be applied as a substitute for degree requirements.

The SIR has been amended to add clause H.31, which allows the Contractor to request a waiver to the minimum labor category requirements. Attachment J.2 has also been amended to reflect the addition of this waiver provision and to clarify potential substitutions.