Additional_Q A_8_Jul_13.docx

FA3022-13-R-0007, Base Network Telephone System, Potential Offerors Questions & Answers 8 July 2013

Additional questions submitted by potential offerors prior to the due date of questions were found. The following have been addressed.

1. Q. The Solicitation, Block 15, indicates the submitter’s proposal is to be delivered to the contact and address below by :

14CS/CC-F1N3C3

CLARK S. HOUSTON

151 DOWNS ST, BLDG 900

COLUMBUS AFB MS 39710-0001

A. Block 15 references the primary customer that the apparent awardee would be providing services for. All proposals shall be sent to the address in Block 9.

2. Q. What is the format of the delivered proposal?

A. See addendum to 52.212-1.

3. Q. How many copies of the proposal are to be provided?

A. See addendum to 52.212-1.

4. Q. When are the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)s due?

A. PPQs are due No Later Than the proposal due date of 15 July 2013 at 3PM CST.

5. Q. Are the WORKLOAD ESTIMATES for BTS, BNCC, and IA combined or for a specific area?

A. The Workload Estimate provided in Appendix 1 shows an estimated combined effort of the BTS, BNCC and IA. The customer did breakdown the workload estimate to show as best possible which actions were BNCC or BTS related. However, it is up to the offeror to determine which functions can be consolidated and combined to more efficiently accomplish the mission.

6. Q. An Offerors approach must clearly demonstrate its capability of and capacity for performance of Base Network and Telephone System (BNTS) services by providing all information pursuant to each Technical Sub-Factor as identified below in accordance with the PWS. Is the intent to respond all PWS sections for each Sub-Factor or only the PWS sections listed for each Sub-Factor?

A. As stated in the solicitation, the contractor shall NOT merely repeat the information in the PWS or any other information in the solicitation. The Government is asking offerors to clearly identify and segregate each sub factor and in their own words provide a thoughtful and detailed business approach in order to meet the PWS and its sub factors. In order to receive a well-rounded technical approach the offerors are asked to utilize the entire PWS when building their technical approach and addressing each sub factor.

7. Q. Will the Government modify the proposal due date to the 17th of July to allow submitters to address upcoming amendment(s) discussed at the customer on-site meeting?

A. Due to the strict time constraints in place to get this requirement in place no later than 9 Sep 13, the offeror due date will not be extended beyond 15 July 13.

8. Q. Extended pricing is shown for those CLINs in Attachment 6, along with instructions to not fill in the unit pricing. The SF 1449, however, does not show that same information. The same question applies to both training and travel CLINs; i.e., SF 1449 does not tie out to Attachment 6 in that regard. Is the expectation that Offerors not provide unit pricing for a standard work order, special projects and fee for service work in the SF 1449 Continuation Sheet, as indicated in Attachment 6, Supplemental Price Schedule?

A. Attachment 6 shall be completed by the offeror as instructed, this is how the Government will evaluate an offeror’s price. In order to maintain a sense of uniformity between the RFP and Award CLINs, the extended description was written so it would not have to change upon award. Therefore, this is why a pricing was attached to the solicitation. There is no need for the offeror to fill in unit prices for the work order, fee for service, training and travel CLINs as these are cost reimbursable CLINs.

9. Q. Should the number of overtime hours be 30 in the first year and then 60 thereafter, as shown in the SF 1449; or as per Attachment 6, which shows 30 hours during each period of the proposed contract?

A. The offeror shall use 30 hours for the base year and 60 hours for the option years. An amended attachment 6 will be uploaded.

10. Q. CLIN 0003 - Overtime states, “Contract is to provide their overtime hourly labor rate and unit price”. “Hourly labor rate” and “unit price” is the same thing.

A. The overtime-hourly labor rate refers to the coefficient that is utilized against hourly wages. The unit price will provide the Government information as to how much the contractor anticipates it will have to pay per hour if there were to be overtime work by utilizing the estimates given.

11. Q. PRICE FACTOR (b) states “The total estimated amount of the extended prices of each product line item (PID). The extended prices are based on the PID quantity of the Government’s annual workload estimate times the contractor’s unit price.” The next paragraph then goes on to state, “The total price for a, b and c above will be calculated to arrive at the TEP. The TEP will be used to determine the contractor’s price for evaluation purposes.” The question is “b” the extended total pricing for all PID pricing found in A & B Grand Total; C & D Grand Total; TOTAL PID G; and TOTAL PID U for the BASE YEAR and ALL OPTION YEARS combined?

A. Yes, in order to consider an offeror’s overall pricing the Government must include the Base and all Option Years of the PIDs into its price evaluation. However, this does not mean that the value of the contract at award will include the total PID price, as this would grossly exaggerate the actual value of the contract. This technique of evaluating the overall PID price for Base and Options is just a tool for evaluation purposes.

12. Q. TAB “PID A & B”, cell “K709” (A & B Grand Total: EXTENDED INSTALL PRICE B). The “quantities” for each PID are already included in the individual Column K EXTENDED INSTALL PRICES; however, the formula in cell K709 adds the quantity in a second time in the current formula. This error is on all 5 spreadsheets for base year and option years 1-4. The formula in cell K709 most likely should be =SUM(k10:k708). Is there an error in the spreadsheet “Attachment_2(a)_BNTS_PID_List_.xlsx”?

A. Yes, this is an error and has been corrected. Please see latest amendment (03) to make corrections to the PIDs attachment.

13. Q. Attachment_2( )_BNTS_PID_List_tax.xlsx. Question on Mississippi Contractor Tax and Sales and Use Tax on PIDs priced in the “Attachment_2( )_BNTS_PID_List_tax.xlsx” attachments. Question: According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue – Sales and Use Tax Guide for Construction Contractors, dated Sept 18, 2012, contractors are responsible for and must remit to the State of Mississippi a 3.5% Contractor’s Tax and 7% Use Tax on such items included in the PID pricing. There is no State exemption for DoD or Military Bases, or end-users who are tax exempt. While taxes are not additionally charged to the Gov’t, the cost of such taxes must be included in the contractors PID costs and remitted by contractors to the State of Mississippi.

A. Then BNTS requirement has been reviewed by an Air Force Labor advisor and considered not to be substantial enough in terms of construction to include the Davis Bacon Act. Therefore, only the Service Contract Act will apply and the Mississippi Construction Tax of 3.5% will not apply.

14. Q. Attachment_2( )_BNTS_PID_List_.xlsx. PID U found on the spreadsheet “Attachment_2( )_BNTS_PID_List_.xlsx” lists hourly rates for 9 labor categories. 6 labor categories for the Telecommunications and 3 for Network. The 3 Network categories are only for Computer Operators (III, IV and V). The SCA DIRECTORY OF OCCUPATIONS has a very limited application for these SCA positions. A Computer Operator would be unlikely to perform the requirements of the PWS. Is there a reason that only Computer Operators are identified and other categories such as Computer Systems Analysts are not included?

A. The PIDs are used for work orders, work that is not part of normal O&M or covered in the PWS. So it is true that a Computer Operator would not be able to perform all the requirements of the PWS, but they would be able to cover the type of work that would be part of a work order. The work that would be required of a Computer Systems Analyst is covered in the PWS and would not require a work order or a PID.