Q&A_7-11.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 7‐11‐17

Question 1: Specifically, the text below from Page 25 of the RFP appears to be from an RFP that has to do with Highway Design, Construction, and Maintenance. Therefore, in our judgement, the text below does NOT apply to the subject Solicitation. Please clarify this issue for us.

Engineering Services and Technical Support:

The services provided by the Contractor will include engineering services and other technical support to FHWA with special engineering expertise and design and construction support services for subject matter expertise supporting FHWA initiatives and training, including:

• Specialty Consulting and Advisory Services in response to FHWA inquiries on design, construction, and inspection and evaluation documents/reports.

• Design, Construction and Inspection Services necessary to conduct engineering reviews and analyses.

• Emergency Response services in response to any FHWA or State emergency (within the United States) to provide technical support and documentation that consists of literature searches; technology evaluations; research needs assessments; review of hydraulic safety design; technical report development;

computer‐aided technology; numerical modeling; and program/project review.

Answer 1: Please see the edit above changing hydraulic to safety design.

Please note that specific task orders will be issued that provide greater and clearer detail for the requirements related to providing Engineering Services and Technical Support.

Question 2: Upon further study, we found something else that does not appear to fit. Specifically, the first sentence in the subsection below, also from page 25 of the RFP, does apply to the subject

Solicitation. However, the second sentence again appears to be from an RFP that has to do with

Highway Design, Construction, and Maintenance. Therefore, in our judgement, the text below in the second paragraph does NOT apply to the subject Solicitation. Please clarify this issue for us.

Technology Exchange, Assistance and Presentations:

The Contractor shall develop, deliver and organize technical presentations and seminars/ conferences, including exhibits that showcase best practices or innovative technologies relating to Financial Management, Business, Public Administration & Quality, Civil Rights, Highway Safety and Communication.

The Contractor shall design, construct, study, and report on demonstration projects in collaboration with host agencies of selected technologies involving the use of innovative materials, construction techniques, or construction equipment; the identification and selection of the technologies to be demonstrated; identification and selection of host States for the demonstrations; coordination of demonstration‐related, technology‐transfer activities; and documentation of the demonstration projects.

Answer 2: While the existing courses do not currently deal with these issues, there is research and initiatives that may require to look at construction materials, techniques, and innovations related to new research projects and studies. The instructors may need to be prepared to discuss and describe the implications of these issues.

Question 3: There are five Subject Areas specified in C.5 of the RFP:

C.5.1 Financial management

C.5.2 Business, Public Administration & Quality

C.5.3 Civil Rights

C.5.4 Communication

C.5.5 Highway Safety

However, only one of these Subject Areas ‐‐ Highway Safety is really addressed in the Labor Categories and Billing Document (attached) provided in the RFP, where it is named “Transportation Subject Matter Expert (SME).” Likewise, the Rates Table (attached) provided in the RFP only addresses this one Labor Category: Transportation SME: High, Mid, and Low. Now, is this an oversight, or is the one Labor Category – “Transportation Subject Matter Expert (SME)” – intended to subsume the types of people required for the other four Subject Areas noted above. This certainly does not seem to be the case since the skills listed under the “Transportation Subject Matter Expert (SME)” in the Labor Categories and Billing Document only apply to Highway Safety, and not to the other four Subject Areas.

Given the above, we are somewhat confused as to how to proceed with some very important aspects of our proposal preparation.

Answer 3: See the revised J.1 and J.2 dated 7‐11‐17.