Amendment_0001.pdf

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

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7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

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11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended. is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

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IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

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Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

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14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

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16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Previous edition unusable

EFLHD-AC

EFLHD IT Support Services

The purpose of this Amendment is to:

Provide a summary of responses to questions/clarifications submitted by potential offerors. Also post a revised Request for Proposal and "Attachment #2_Price Breakdown Worksheet".

The proposal due date of June 2, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. will remain the same.

EFLHD-AC

Federal Highway Administration 21400 Ridgetop Circle Acquisitions Office Sterling VA 20166-6511

Federal Highway Administration 21400 Ridgetop Circle Acquisitions Office Sterling VA 20166-6511

DTFH71-17-R-00001

05/17/2017

05/02/2017

Solicitation DTFH71-17-R-00001 EFLHD IT Support Services

Offerors Questions and Government Responses

NOTES:

1. Some questions were duplicated so the exact wording of a particular question may have been revised.

2. The RFP has been revised. Changes are highlighted in RED and have a PDF Comment at the start of the sections where the changes occur.

3. Attachment #2_Price Breakdown Worksheet has been revised.

Q1. Does direct federal experience count as past performance under this contract?

R1. No, we are specifically looking for experience as a contractor.

Q2. Are teaming agreements and/or joint ventures allowed for the solicitation of this contract to fulfill the past performance requirement? It is our assumption that an offeror may submit subcontractor past performance. Would the Government please confirm?

R2. Reference FAR Clause 52.219-17, a joint venture is allowed if at least one partner is a service disabled veteran-owned small business concern, and each other concern is small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the procurement.

Past performance information must be provided for all firms intended to be engaged in the contract work.

Q3. Reference: M.2, Factor 2 - The solicitation requires at least 1 but no more than 3 past performance references. Where do you want these to appear within the proposal?

R3. Per the RFP, Section M.2 (Page 106), submit past performance information under “Factor 2

– Past Performance”.

Q4. Reference: Part 1, Section B, Page B-2 - Will you be providing SCA Wage Determinations and titles for each of the listed Line Items?

R4. SCA Wage Determinations is provided in Attachment # 4 for EFLHD. The SCA Wage Determinations do not correlate directly for all positions listed in the Schedule of Items (Section B) or those listed in attachment 2 and 3. Some employees may qualify as bona fide professional employees in accordance with 29 C.F.R. Part 541. The contractor is responsible for determining

a) whether the Service Contract Labor Standards statute applies and b) if so, which labor classification on the wage determination applies.

Please refer to Attachment # 1, “Minimum Unburdened Rates”. The contractor must propose at least the “Minimum Unburdened Rates” for each labor category specified in the solicitation.

Q5. Reference SF 1449 - Item #20 states that this will be an Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite- Quantity (IDIQ) Contract. Can you confirm that this is a single award IDIQ?

R5. This is a Single Award IDIQ. There will be only ONE awardee.

Q6. Does Executive Order (EO) 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, apply to this contract?

R6. Please refer to B.3.1. “Fringe Benefits”.

Q7. Would the government consider issuing Attachment 2, 3, and 7 in Microsoft Excel format?

R7. Submitting these attachments in Excel format is acceptable so long as none of the data fields are changed.

Q8. Is there currently an Incumbent contractor or contractors supporting the Government for these types of services?

R8. The incumbent contractor is:

OBXtek, Inc.

8300 Boone Blvd, Suite 800

Tysons Corner, VA 22182

Contract #: DTFH7115F00030

Q9. As per Part 1 Section B, which lists labor category pricing for 3 locations, Will the Government provide the anticipated Level of Staffing by each Location (EFLHD, CFLHD, WFLHD)?

R9. Currently, a task order will be issued for EFLHD only. In the event a task order is required for CFLHD and/or WFLHD, an RFP with the required staffing will be issued to the contractor.

Q10. As per Part IV, Section M reference “Past Performance”, Does the Government Expect all THREE (3) past performance references to come from the Prime Contractor, or Will the Government accept Teammate past performance references with the Prime references? If so, what is the minimum Prime references acceptable (i.e. 1 or 2)?

R10. See Response 3 (R3) above. Minimum of 1 past performance would apply to each party.

Q11. What level of clearance is required for resources? What level of security clearance? Are the Clearances the same for all personnel?

R11. See Section 3.2, “SECURITY CLEARANCE” of the Performance Work Statement.

Clearances are the same for all personnel and are governed by DOT. The security clearance is a background investigation conducted by the Department of Transportation.

Q12. Refer to L.4, Sec I, Management Capability is an evaluation factor but there is no place to address this in Management and Technical Volume. Can you add 3 page in the Management Technical volume to address management capability?

R12. There is not a page count limitation for proposals.

Q13. Refer to L.3, Sec C, It is beneficial to be able to drop off the proposal directly to the Sterling Office. Recommend adding a hand delivered option for submitting the proposal in Sterling.

R13. EFLHD will only accept delivery by a commercial carrier for tracking and receipt of delivery. Emailed proposals are not acceptable.

Q14. Refer to Attachment 2, can you explain the column labeled VA B&O Tax and what you would like to see in that column?

R14. The state of Virginia does not have a Business and Occupation (B&O) tax. Sterling is located in the county of Loudoun which has a Business Service tax. Attachment #2_Price Breakdown Worksheet-Rev has been revised from “VA B&O Tax” to “Applicable Taxes”. The offeror is responsible for determining the applicable taxes that must be included in their fully burdened rates.

Q15. Refer to Attachment 2, Can you explain what costs you are looking to be reflected in the “EDU Training” column?

R15. The training (education) costs associated with ensuring that its employees are kept current on the latest pertinent standard office policy/procedures/software.

Q16. How will the government expect to see Factor 2: Past Performance presented?

R16. Each Offeror must provide a clearly marked original and three (3) copies of the completed proposal, which includes Past Performance information.

Q17. How will the government expect to see the Management Capability Factor (Factor 1)?

R17. The Staffing Plan and Quality Control Plan will be submitted as separate documents (original and 3 copies of each).

Q19. Can we create our own documents using our company templates to provide the Affirmation Statement and Health and Welfare Fringe Benefit information? Do we have to use the government provided template? If we do need to use the government-provided template, should we separate the information into separate files or leave the files as is?

R19. See Response 7 (R7).

Q20. Do cover pages and tables of contents count toward the page limitations?

R20. There is not a page count limitation for proposals.

Q21. Can the government provide a list of the numbers of existing employees in what labor categories, and the length of service for evaluating the above vacation requirements?

R21. System Administrator/Manager II – 10 years IT Service Desk Specialist III – 2 weeks

Software Enterprise Engineer – 4 years Webmaster III – 10 years Database Administrator – 10 years

Q22. When multi-site requirements are ordered, can the contractor support sites remotely? For example, can a Helpdesk person in Reston support users at a Colorado site remotely?

R22. No

Q23. In the event overtime is required during the period of performance, will premium overtime be paid for these Service Contract Act positions if approved in advance?

R23. Yes

Q24. How much transition time will be allowed after contract award to hire incumbent employees and begin operations? (What is the anticipated timeframe from task order award/assignment to employee fulfillment?)

R24. Award is expected within 7 days of Proposal Due Date. The new contract needs to begin June 26, 2017.

Q25. In paragraph 1.7.1 of the Performance Work Statement, the government is mandating one of the employees on site take on supervisory duties which should not consume more than 25% of the individual’s time and at any time working as supervisor will not be billable to the government. This appears to be unjust enrichment where the government is benefiting to the detriment of the employee who is not getting paid for what the government is mandating in the Performance Work Statement. Will the government reconsider and make the supervisory time billable?

The following sentence in section 1.7.1, “The supervisory duties should not consume more than 25% of their time. Any time working as a supervisor is not billable to the government,” seems more applicable to a task order than it is to an entire IDIQ contract. Therefore, we ask that you strike this sentence from the RFP and reserve it for an individual task order.

R25. Change the term “supervisor” to “team lead” The contractor may choose which employee to designate as on-site team lead. FHWA expects that team lead duties will not consume more than 25% of that employee’s time; and the fully burdened labor rate specified in the contract for the employee designated by the contractor as team lead will be paid, if all other contractual requirements are met.

Q26. As there are three sites, does the government require that one of the positions at each site take on supervisory duties 25% of the time?

R26. Currently, a task order is only anticipated for EFLHD (Sterling, VA). If task orders are issued for CFLHD and/or WFLHD the same 25% supervisory duties would apply at each of these locations.

Q27. The government states that the quantities listed in Attachment #3 reflect the number of hours of each classification that the Government expects to order over the life of the contract, including option periods. Does the government estimate the total IDIQ Level of Effort to be 10,000 hours annually?

R27. Yes, for price evaluation purposes this is what is expected at this time, although the Government’s needs could change throughout the life of the IDIQ contract.

Q28. Section B.13 states that the positions for the Central and Western Federal Lands Highway Divisions are not included in the sample task order for the same reason. Is it the governments expectation that Central and Western Federal Lands Highway Divisions will not utilize this contract during the five year period of performance.

R28. EFLHD does not anticipate that CFLHD and WFLHD will use this IDIQ contract for the Base Year. We are uncertain if it will be utilized by them during any of the option periods.

Q29. Please identify which of the positions included in the sample task order (Attachment #2) are under the wage determination.

Q30. In the Section B Price Tables the Government lists 38 positions (38 regular time and 38 overtime line items) for the base schedule and option periods and 3 WDs listed in the header on each of the pages. Is it the Government's assessment that all 38 of these positions are subject to one of the three WDs?

R29 & 30: See Response 4 (R4). In the event that a position from Section B is added to a task order a minimum unburdened rate will be provided with the request for proposal.

Q31. Mention of T&M, but seems to be FFP, please verify.

R31. This contract will be Firm-Fixed Priced (FFP) not Time & Material (T&M).

Q32. In Attachment #3: Sample Task Order for Price Evaluation, are the 2,000 hours assumed to be straight time?

R32. Yes

Q33. Section B – Supplies or Services and Prices/Cost – In B.3.2. Overtime, it states that “the Contractor shall pay its employees overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, regardless of whether the employee is a professional or non-professional employee.” Would the Government please confirm how this complies with DOL, when a professional is considered an exempt employee and therefore we are not required to pay overtime?

R33. It is the intent of the Government to treat all employees under this contract in a consistent manner with regards to overtime. Professional employees shall be paid overtime at the same rate as nonprofessional employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Q34. Would the Government please provide the SCA code and SCA job title for the IT Service Manager I, IT Service Manager II, and IT Service Manager III positions?

R34. See Response 4 (R4).

Q35. Can respondents use foreign workers, as our Employees for these roles, such as from Australia, UK, Canada , India etc.. who will be available to work onsite in specified work locations on work authorization VISAs such as TN, E3, H1 etc.?

R35. Yes, as long as the employee is authorized to work in the U.S. and passes the security check.

Q36. Can respondents use PERMANENT RESIDENTS of USA as our Employee for these roles?

R36. Same as Response 35 (R35).

Q37. What is the approximate volume of work we can expect in the first year?

R37. The Government anticipates the workload to be equivalent to 2,000 hours for each position listed.

Q38. Can this proposal be submitted indicating the utilization of subcontractors or as a joint venture?

R38. See Response 2 (R2). The prices submitted on Attachment #3, “Sample Task Order Price Eval” are regardless if the offeror intends to use their or subcontractor employees.

Q39. Is Burdened Price inclusive of our Mark Up?

R39. Yes, see Attachment #2, “Price Breakdown Worksheet” last table, last column.

Q40. What does the “EXTENDED PRICE” means in the attachment “ATTACHMENT NO. 3:

SAMPLE TASK ORDER FOR PRICE EVALUATION”?

R41. QTY (2,000 hours) times BURDENED UNIT PRICE.

Q42. Ref. Section L.4 I, Original and 3 Copies - Please Clarify that Attachment No. 3 is used instead of Attachment No. 2?

R42. Replace “A completed version of Attachment No. 2: Sample Task Order Price Breakdown” with “A completed version of Attachment No. 2: Price Breakdown Worksheet”.

Q43. Attachment No. 1 States “Minimum Unburdened Basic Wage to be Paid to Contractor Employees for Positions Listed Below (Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division Office)”. Are these Wage Rates the minimum Acceptable hourly Wages that we should propose?

R43. These are minimally acceptable unburdened rates. Each offeror should propose their extended prices by using burdened rates as calculated using Attachment #2 “Price Breakdown Worksheet”.

Q44. The referenced section states: "The contractor shall submit evidence from the corporation that the person signing has authority to bind the corporation." Please confirm the submission of the certifications provided in Section A.1.2 are sufficient to meet the requirement for "evidence" as described in Section A.1.1.

R44. Please submit the applicable certificate and the applicable page A-4 or A-5 or A-6 or A-7.

Q45. Ref Section B.13, The statements quoted indicate the government does not intend to acquire any additional services beyond 5 FTEs per year for the base and each of the option years, please confirm there is no intent to acquire the services of any of the other labor categories listed in the tables in Section B (pages 11 through 25) during the entire period of performance of this contract.

R45. At this time, the Government intends to award a Base Year task order for the five positions listed in attachments Attachment #3, “Sample Task Order-Price Eval”. However, this could change over the like of the IDIQ contract depending on agency needs.

Q46. Please clarify this statement in the referenced: "The training time for a new employee shall not be charged to the Government." Any/All new employees will require orientation to the FHWA networks, processes/procedures. Please confirm that FHWA specific orientation is not excluded from billable time.

R46. Correct

Q47. Please clarify the apparent conflict between the time for personnel replacement stated in section 1.5 (pg /108) and 1.8 (pg 32/108). Section 1.5 states a requirement to replace staff within 14 days ("This 14-day timeframe applies to all new Contractor employees, regardless of whether the employee is filling a new position or replacing another employee, and regardless of the reason for replacement.") while section 1.8 states a 10 day requirement ("The length of time to replace a separated employee shall not exceed ten days, exclusive of time required for background checks").

R47. Did not see a reference to 10 days in 1.8

Q48. Section 2.2, 2.10, 2.27, 2.32 Certifications listed state MCSE or MCP is required, will any version of that certification, inclusive of Legacy versions, be acceptable to the Government? If not, which versions of those certifications are valid for this requirement.

R48. May go back 2 versions from current

Q49. Section 2.27, 2.28, 2.32 - Please confirm a System Administration Certification (MCSE or MCP) is acceptable for a Network Engineer.

R49. Yes

Q50. The referenced sections state: "The requirement for certifications may be waived by the CO." Please clarify if the government intends to waive the certifications for these positions. The requirement for waiver of the required certifications has a substantive impact on pricing for these positions. Given that award of this solicitation is on an LPTA basis, all offerors need a definitive answer to ensure all are basing pricing on the same requirement assumptions.

R50. Certifications will be waived for the base year. Waivers will be considered separately for replacement personnel and subsequent option years.

Q51. Section M discusses Evaluation Factor 2 as being Past Performance and provides the key information for the offeror to provide about past performance references. However, Section L includes no discussion of how this information should be presented in the proposal. How does the Government want this information presented? Should it be part of the Technical and Management Proposal or should it be a separate volume? What are the page limitations for this information?

R51. This will be a separate volume with no page limitation.

Q52. What is the coverage expectation for unplanned absences such as illness or emergencies? Are employees permitted to alter regular work hours to accommodate appointments?

R52. For unplanned absences of 2 days or less, remote coverage is acceptable. Longer unplanned absences requires on site coverage. Alteration of schedules should be approved in advance by the COR.

Q53. The solicitation indicates that this is a bid for commercial items by including FAR 52.212- 4, which is general exempt for cost and pricing data. However, the requirement in B.13 and Attachment 2, clearly indicates that you are looking for detailed cost data and that it is certified cost and pricing data by the statement “Offerors shall affirm” which is basically the same a certification. Can the government clarify its intent, since it appears that you are looking for other than commercial items?

R53. The Federal Acquisition Regulation defines “Commercial item” as “Any item, other than real property, that is of a type customarily used by the general public or by non-governmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes.”

A price breakdown is required to ensure the offeror has factored all required costs into their price proposal.

Q54. Is the “HRLY Wage Total” in the 2nd table a simple total of the 2nd table “HRLY RATE” time the “REGULAR” hours in the 1st table or times 2000 hours?

R54. The TOTAL hours from the 1st table.

Q55. For completing the remainder of breakdown of the costs in the 2nd table is the offeror to assume that only Virginia is to be used for calculating each cost element in each of the columns and that no other State or local authority is to be used? i.e., Maryland and Washington, DC are not to be used.)

R55. Correct, only Sterling, VA.

Q56. If you use a subcontractor to provide some of the labor, does the subcontractor also need to complete Attachment 2? If not, how is this to be shown in Attachment 2?

R56. Attachment 2 needs to be submitted by the proposal offeror regardless if the offeror intends to use their or subcontractor employees.

Q57. Can the government verify that the price and cost information in Attachment 2 is to be included in both the Technical and Management volume and in the Price volume?

R57. Please include Attachments 2, 3 and 7 with the Price volume.

Q58. Ref. Section 1.4.3, Can the government provide current training statistics to include average length of training, general locations and/or on-line, and list of training topics or course titles?

R58. Training may follow any format desired. Classes should not exceed one week in duration, one time per year, approved in advance by the COR.

Q59. Ref. Section 1.5, Will the government allow replacement staff to work once the clearance process has been initiated and prior to the final security clearance being issued? Will the government waive the 14 day requirement in the event that clearance takes more than the specified time to be completed?

R59. The 14 days period does not include the time needed for processing of the security clearance.

Q60. Please clarify if support personnel can work remotely?

R60. No

Q61. Please clarify, “Describe how you will provide continued support if incumbent personnel are unavailable for three or more planned or unplanned consecutive days.”

R61. What is your plan for providing on site coverage in those situations?

Q62. Contract clause 1252.239-70 includes reference to DOT order 1350.2. After a search of the Internet, we have been unable to locate the order. Please provide a copy of DOT Order 1350.2.

R62. DOT Order 1350.2 has been rescinded. Ignore this reference in TAR Clause 1252.239-70 “Security requirements for unclassified information technology resources”.

Also “1252.239-71 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY PLAN AND ACCREDITATION (Apr 2005)” is not required and has been deleted.

Q63. Can tables, figures and illustrations use 10 point Times New Roman font?

R63. Yes.

Q64. What size margins should be used for the proposal?

R64. 1 inch margins.

Q65. Is past performance occurring within the last five years acceptable for this solicitation?

R65. Yes, five years is acceptable.

Q66. Please identify which paragraphs in Section K, if any, must be completed and submitted with vendor proposals if the vendor's registration in SAM is complete and up-to-date.

R66. In lieu of submitting pages from Section K, please submit the offeror’s Representations and Certifications from their SAM registration.