GDSS_Questions__1.pdf

Referenced Document Location in PWS/Document Question Answer Column1 Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 1 Given that this is 100% Small Business Set Aside, will the SB Prime Contractor have to complete 51% or more of the contract (individualy) to meet Limitations of Subcontracting or will the Government recognize 2 or more Small Business combined participation to fulfill the Limitations of Subcontracting clause?

IAW Class Deviation 2019‐O0003, Services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 55 Section 1 (d) Will the Government correct the issue date noted as 11 Oct 18 and the due date of 10 Nov 18? Yes. This information has been corrected in the Addendum to FAR 52.212‐1.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 56 Section 1.2 Will the Government please clarify the wording or intent for subcontractor Past Performance found on page 56 of section 1.2. The current wording is "….and 2 contracts for each significant subcontractor." Should this read or be interpreted as "…..and no more than 2 contracts for each significant subcontractor" so as to align with the wording of Paragraph 4.3 on page 60 stating "....include information on no more than two recent contracts performed by each of your significant subcontractors.....".

Wording has been updated in Section 1.2 to state, "…no more than 2 contracts…".

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 59 Section 4.1 Does the Government have a quantitative measurment or requirement to determine what is "Significant Subcontractors" or is this an interpretive assessment value by the Prime Contractor at their discretion.

No, this is a subjective term and at the discretion of the offeror.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 59 Section 4.2 The Solicitation requires that PPQs should be received by the Contract Specialist via email 10 calendar days prior to the date set for receipt of proposals. We request the Government allow PPQs to be received up to the date of receipt of proposals given that many customers are in limited staffing posture over the holiday weeks of Christmas and New Years and this will limit their ability to rapidly process PPQ responses to the Government.

Past Performance Questionnaires may be submitted through 1 February 2019. **

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Pages 58‐59, Section 3.2.1, and Pages 62‐63, Section 4.1

The Government states that the offeror should "Provide a detailed and complete technical approach demonstrating their capabilities, knowledge, and expertise. The technical plan shall represent the offeror's approach to meeting overall PWS requirements. Required documents for the offeror's technical approach include a draft Technical and Management Work Plan. Each offeror shall provide a Mission Essential Services Plan, as required by DFARS 252.237‐7024 for the tasks identified in para. 11.5.8 of the PWS. The plan shall provide a logical approach that ensures the contractor's understanding of the requirement and address the following:

i. Provide a plan that demonstrates how the offeror will provide C2SS services 24x7. (PWS Task 1, Subtask 1.1)

ii. Provide a plan that demonstrates how the offeror will support Account Management Services (PWS Task 2)

iii. Provide a draft management plan describing the approach to perform all PWS task and other contract requirements (PWS Task 4, Subtask 3)"

This wording is unclear on how the government intends for the technical subfactor to be addressed and seems to imply a nesting of the required plans, or duplication between them, and also seems to suggest that only PWS Task 1 Subtask 1.1 and PWS Task 2 need to have a full approach. Please clarify on the government's expectations for organization of the technical approach. Suggest an organization of:

‐ Technical and Management Approach/Plan (Addressing all PWS tasks and contractor's ability to meet requirements) ‐ Phase‐In Plan ‐ Draft Quality Program Plan ‐ Mission Essential Services Plan

The Addendum to FAR 52.212‐1 has been amended to remove the Phase‐in Plan and the Draft Quality Program Plan from the offeror's technical approach. Additionally, the Addendum to FAR 52.212‐2, the last sentence in Section 4.1, has been revised to state that "The plan shall provide a logical approach that ensures the contractor's understanding of the requirement and addresses all tasks in the PWS.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 58, Section 3.2.1 The instructions state that "Each offeror shall provide a Mission Essential Services Plan, as required by DFARS 252.237‐ 7024 for the tasks identified in para. 11.5.8 of the PWS." This paragraph does not exist in the GDSS C2SS PWS as attached. Please confirm that 8.3.2.1 contains the referenced text, and that Tasks 1, 2 and 3 have been identified by the government as essential.

Yes. The paragraph should be 8.3.2.1 and the tasks in this paragraph have been deemed mission essential by the Government. This has been updated in 3.2.1 in the Addendum to FAR 52.212‐1.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 56, Section 1.2.1 The government has asked for a large number of plans (Technical Management, Phase‐In, Quality Program, Mission Essential Services, Staffing Plan including Labor Category descriptions and a shift schedule) within the technical proposal, with a maximum limit of 20 pages with 1.5 line spacing. Respectfully request a substantial increase in page limitations, or the exemption of several of these plans/sections from the limitation on page count.

The Addendum to FAR 52.212‐1 has been amended to remove the Phase‐in Plan and the Draft Quality Program Plan from the offeror's technical approach. IAW CDRL A008 and CDRL A010, these documents are due after contract award.

General Will the government consider an extension as the holiday and the ongoing government shutdown makes it difficult for customers to respond to past performance requests?

The solicitation has been extended to 7 February 2019. If unable to obtain necessary information, please provide contract information to include contract number, POC name, and other pertinent details.

Solicitation FA445219RA001.pdf

Page 63, Section 5.1 The government states "“The evaluation of the offeror's/joint venture members' present/past performance WILL NOT include the present/ past performance of any predecessor companies, affiliates, other divisions or corporate management even though they may perform major or critical aspects of this requirement”. Does this mean that a corporate division that was acquired and renamed would not be able to utilize their past performance?

Correct ‐ a company acquired by another cannot be used.

General Will the government release the historical workload and/or ticket count for this program? It is difficult for non‐ incumbent competitors to create an accurate basis of estimate and staffing plan without this data.

The historical manning numbers for this requirement are 18 ‐ 22 people. The remedy ticket yearly average is 20,460.6 and account management ticket average is 56,895.6.

Attachment 1 ‐ PWS Page 6, Section 3.4 Task 4 The government states "For Cloud Integration, the contractor will utilize USTRANSCOMs DevOps model (tools, methods and processes) as directed, if needed. Any deviation from DevOps model must be approved by the USTRANSCOM TCJ6 Enterprise Change Control Board (CCB). The developer is required to provide all software assets required to build, deploy, test, operationalize and run an application." Can the government confirm that 'the developer' referred to here is NOT a part of C2SS? Additionally, can the government clarify what sort of functional support is expected for the cloud transition?

The Developers (Subject matter expertise) from GDSS Sustainment contract and Applications, Infrastructure and Systems Support (AISS) provide all software assets required to build, deploy, test, operationalize and run an application. Personnel from the C2SS contract provide 24x7x365 help desk support; provided for operational, exercise, and training requirements IAW Government manuals and instructions referenced herein and GDSS Account Management Documents; and provide the planning, direction, coordination, and control necessary for effective and efficient accomplishment of all requirements contained in this PWS for C2SS.