FA4600-15-R-0022_Draft_52.212-1(Updated).pdf

52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2015)

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code (541990) and small business size standard for this acquisition appear in Block 10 of the solicitation cover sheet

(SF 1449). However, the small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, but which proposes to furnish an item which it did not itself manufacture, is $15M.

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show—

(1) The solicitation number;

(2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers;

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;

(5) Terms of any express warranty;

(6) Price and any discount terms;

(7) “Remit to” address, if different than mailing address;

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

(10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and

(11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing.

(e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

(f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers:

(1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.

(2)(i) Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and—

(A) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(B) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(C) If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received.

(ii) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the

Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(3) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(4) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent

Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(5) Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers.

Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

(g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the offer.

(i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation. (1)(i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101-29, and copies of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained for a fee by submitting a request to—GSA

Federal Supply Service Specifications Section, Suite 8100, 470 East L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC

20407, Telephone (202) 619-8925, Facsimile (202) 619-8978.

(ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a single copy of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained free of charge by submitting a request to the addressee in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision.

Additional copies will be issued for a fee.

(2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the following ASSIST websites:

(i) ASSIST (https://assist.dla.mil/online/start/).

(ii) Quick Search (http://quicksearch.dla.mil/).

(iii) ASSISTdocs.com (http://assistdocs.com).

(3) Documents not available from ASSIST may be ordered from the Department of Defense Single Stock Point

(DoDSSP) by—

(i) Using the ASSIST Shopping Wizard (https://assist.dla.mil/wizard/index.cfm);

(ii) Phoning the DoDSSP Customer Service Desk (215) 697-2179, Mon-Fri, 0730 to 1600 EST; or

(iii) Ordering from DoDSSP, Building 4, Section D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Telephone

(215) 697-2667/2179, Facsimile (215) 697-1462.

(4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance.

(j) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number. (Applies to all offers exceeding $3,500, and offers of

$3,500 or less if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management

(SAM) database. The offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation “DUNS” or “DUNS +4” followed by the DUNS or DUNS +4 number that identifies the offeror’s name and address. The DUNS +4 is the DUNS number plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned at the discretion of the offeror to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts

(see FAR Subpart 32.11) for the same concern. If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. An offeror within the United States may contact Dun and Bradstreet by calling

1-866-705-5711 or via the internet at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. An offeror located outside the United States must contact the local Dun and Bradstreet office for a DUNS number. The offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the local Dun and Bradstreet office.

(k) System for Award Management. Unless exempted by an addendum to this solicitation, by submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM database prior to award, during performance and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. If the Offeror does not become registered in the SAM database in the time prescribed by the Contracting

Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered Offeror. Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the SAM database accessed through https://www.acquisition.gov.

(l) Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:

(1) The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s offer.

(2) The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.

(3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.

https://assist.dla.mil/online/start/ http://quicksearch.dla.mil/ http://assistdocs.com/ https://assist.dla.mil/wizard/index.cfm http://fedgov/ https://www.acquisition.gov/

(4) A summary of the rationale for award;

(5) For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror.

(6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency.

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items

1.0 Proposal Preparation Instructions.

To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, offerors must follow the instructions contained herein.

Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. Volume I – Contract Documentation/Price Proposal and Volume II – Technical

Proposal.

1.1 Points of Contact (POCs)

The Contracting Officer and Contract Administrator are the sole points of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the Contracting Officer and the Contract Administrator. For this acquisition, the Contracting Officer is Ms. Stacy Mazurek; the Contract Administrator is Ms. Kristine Baldwin.

55 CONS/LGCZ

ATTN: Ms. Mazurek and Ms. Baldwin

101 Washington Square, Bldg 40

OFFUTT AFB, NE 68113

Fax: 402-294-0430

Ms. Mazurek’s contact information:

Phone: (402) 294-6203 or DSN: 271-6203

E-mail: stacy.mazurek@us.af.mil

Ms. Baldwin’s contact information:

Phone: (402) 294-3613 or DSN: 271-3613

E-mail: kristine.baldwin.2@us.af.mil

All inquiries must be made in writing and submitted electronically to the above e-mail addresses. Offerors will receive a notice of receipt. If they do not, it is their responsibility to follow up by contacting the Contracting Officer or Contract Administrator (phone numbers listed above). Written inquires (questions) will be answered in writing and provided to all offerors via posting(s) to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website at www.fbo.gov.

1.2 Proposal Acceptance Period and Due Date.

The proposal due dates are specified in Table 1 and proposals shall be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offeror shall make a clear statement that its offer is valid for at least 180 days beyond the due date.

Late proposals will be handled IAW FAR 15.208. If any proposal is received late, the Contracting Officer will promptly notify the offeror that its proposal was received late and whether the proposal will still be considered. It is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm the Government has received the proposal. A receipt e-mail will be sent to the offeror. If the offeror does not receive a confirmation, it is their responsibility to contact the POC.

1.3 Discrepancies.

If an offeror believes the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer/Contracting Administrator in writing with supporting rationale, prior to proposal submission.

mailto:andrew.busing@us.af.mil mailto:kristine.baldwin.2@us.af.mil http://www.fbo.gov/

1.4 Disposition of Proposals.

In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8, Government Contract Files, the Government will retain a copy of all proposals and supplemental documents provided. Unless the offeror requests otherwise, the Government will destroy any extra copies of proposals and additional documents submitted.

1.5 Proposal Clarity.

The proposal shall be clear, concise, and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet the requirements. The offeror shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of the offeror’s capabilities and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented in its proposal. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions.

1.6 Restrictions on Disclosure and Use of Proposal.

A proposal may include data, such as technical designs or concepts, financial data, or management plans that the offeror does not want disclosed to the public for any reason, or used by the Government for any purpose other than proposal evaluation and contract award. If the offeror wishes to restrict the proposal, the offeror shall mark it in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. Any unmarked information may be releasable under the Freedom of Information

Act.

1.7 Organization of Proposals.

The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in Table 1 below. The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as defined in this table, all of which shall be within the required page limits and with the number of copies as specified in Table 1. The proposal organization shall be as follows:

Table 1: Global Lightning Data Proposal Organization and Page Limits

Volume & Title Maximum

Page Limit

*Number of Copies

Required

I. Contract Documentation/Price Proposal* No Page Limit One (1) electronic copy***

II. Technical Proposal* 20 One (1) electronic copy***

Table of Contents No Page Limit

Proposal Structure Summary** 3

Attachment 3 – Vendor Technical Specification Tables** 2

* All volumes are due by: TBD

** The Proposal Structure Summary and Attachment 3 – Vendor Technical Specification Tables, although part of

Volume II, shall not count against the 20 page maximum limit for the Technical Volume IAW 1.9.

***Electronic media will be IAW 1.11 Electronic Media

1.8 Page Limitations.

Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal and any paper copies will not be returned to the offeror. Excess pages shall be destroyed along with all extra copies of unsuccessful proposals. For electronic submission, no hidden fields, macros, comments, etc. will be read. All information must be written clearly and be easily accessible. When both sides of a sheet of paper display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Each page shall be counted except: cover pages, table of contents, and tab indexes, and glossaries of terms (defined in section 1.11).

1.9 Format Size.

Format size shall be letter paper, so if printed, each page will print on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. Pages shall be single-spaced. Except for the reproduced sections of the solicitation document, the text size shall be no less than

Times New Roman 10 point. Use at least 1-inch margins on all sides of each page. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume.

1.10 Electronic Media and Distribution.

Offeror shall submit all volumes in electronic format, via email, to kristine.baldwin.2@us.af.mil and stacy.mazurek@us.af.mil. Compressed files (i.e., .zip, .rar, etc.) will not be considered. The electronic copies of the proposal shall be submitted in a format readable, searchable, and usable by Microsoft Office 2013 (MS Word, MS

Excel, PowerPoint or PDF format viewable with standard Adobe Acrobat Reader XI). Hidden fields, comments, macros, etc. shall be omitted, and read passwords on files shall not be used. The files shall be consistent and uniformly named to allow for easy distinction between Volume, Tab, etc. Inclusion of company name or abbreviation is acceptable.

1.11 Glossary of Terms.

Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations, acronyms and/or terms used, with an explanation for each.

Glossaries do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

1.12 Labeling.

A cover page shall be included in each volume, clearly marked as to volume number, title, solicitation identification and the offeror's name. Be sure to apply all appropriate markings including those prescribed in accordance with

FAR 52.215-1(e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, and FAR 3.104-4, Disclosure, Protection, and Marking of Contractor Bid or Proposal Information and Source Selection Information.

2.0 Volume I – Contract Documentation/Price Proposal.

The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition.

Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the

Contracting Officer’s opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested.

However, if at any time during the evaluation process the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists; offerors may be required to submit information to the extent necessary for the

Contracting Officer to determine the reasonableness of price. Volume I shall contain the following:

2.1. SF 1449, REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.

Complete blocks 17a, 26, 30a, 30b, 30c of the RFP, SF 1449. When completed and signed by the offeror, this constitutes the offeror's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the proposed solicitation. These sections constitute the model contract. Therefore, representatives authorized to commit the offeror to contractual obligations, must execute the form. Offerors shall sign the SF 1449 in Block #30 and submit it as part of Volume I. Complete all necessary clause fill-ins in Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors or provide notice that these are available electronically via the System of Award Management (SAM) website at http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM.

2.2 PRICE PROPOSAL/CLINS.

The offeror shall complete Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) 0001, 0002, 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001, and 5001 starting on the SF 1449 Continuation Sheet, page 3 of this RFP, included in Volume I – Contract

Documentation/Price Proposal. For each performance period, which includes the base period plus four option periods and a 6 month extension, a unit price, rounded to two decimal places, shall be proposed and inserted for the

Firm Fixed Price (FFP) CLINs. The extended amount for each CLIN must equal the unit price multiplied by the quantity of units. The proposed prices shall be based on the offeror’s own technical approach submitted in the

Technical Proposal (Volume II) and the Government’s Performance Work Statement (PWS) requirements as set forth herein.

2.3. EXCEPTIONS OR ASSUMPTIONS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Offerors are advised that taking exception to any of the requirements specified in this solicitation may result in the proposal being found unacceptable. Since the Government reserves the right to award without discussions, offerors run the risk of their proposal being found unacceptable as a result of exceptions to solicitation requirements. Clarification of

Government requirements and any contractor assumptions should be handled by submitting a question/ recommended change prior to or with submission of proposal. All assumptions/clarifications must be finalized prior to FPR. If the offeror still finds it necessary to take exception to any of the requirements specified in this solicitation, clearly indicate each exception in the appropriate volume along with a complete explanation of why the exception was taken and what benefit accrues to the Government. All exceptions to the solicitation requirements mailto:kristine.baldwin.2@us.af.mil mailto:andrew.busing@us.af.mil http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM and supporting rationale shall be identified as such and consolidated into an overview section of the subject volume.

An overview section is only required if the offeror takes exception to any requirement in the solicitation. The overview section will not be included in the proposal page limitation described above.

2.4. OTHER PROPOSAL INFORMATION

2.4.1. The offeror must provide the company/division's street address, county and facility code; CAGE code; DUNS code; size of business (large or small); and labor surplus area designation. This same information must be provided if the work for this contract will be performed at any other location(s). List all locations where work is to be performed and indicate whether such facility is a division, affiliate, or subcontractor, and the percentage of work to be performed at each location.

2.4.2. By submission of its offer, and if successful, subsequent performance of services associated with this contract, the Contractor warrants that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information and provided a mitigation plan(s) to neutralize the actual or potential conflict. Offeror is required to identify any actual or potential Conflict of Interest in their proposals, and may be required to submit a mitigation plan during the proposal period. The successful contractor will prepare an

OCI mitigation plan, if required. Mitigation Plans, if required, will be evaluated IAW FAR 9.5

3.0 Volume II – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL.

Proposal Structure Summary: The purpose of this section is to provide the Government evaluators with a clear and concise introduction to the content and structure of the Technical Proposal. The format of the Proposal Structure

Summary is at the discretion of the offeror. Within the Proposal Structure Summary, the offeror shall state that its proposal is valid for the timeframe designated in paragraph 1.2, Proposal Acceptance Period and Due Date. The offeror shall identify those personnel authorized to negotiate on behalf of the company along with the telephone number, fax number, mailing address, and e-mail address. Furthermore, the offeror shall also provide the person to contact if the Government initiates discussions and who to contact if the offeror is awarded the contract (provide at a minimum, contact’s name, title, phone number, and e-mail address). The Proposal Structure Summary will not count towards the maximum page count for Volume II, Technical. Technical information should not be included in the Proposal Structure Summary and if technical information is in this section it shall not be evaluated.

Volume II shall be prepared in accordance with these instructions and will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria in FAR 52.212-2, Commercial Evaluations and its accompanying addendum. The Technical

Factor and all technical subfactors will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis, receiving ratings of Acceptable or

Unacceptable. The offeror’s proposal submission represents that the firm will perform all the requirements specified in the RFP. The Technical Proposal shall not exceed 20 pages as defined in paragraph 1.7. Volume II shall contain the following:

3.1 Subfactor 1: Data Requirements

The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to provide cloud-to-ground (CG) and cloud-to-cloud (CF) global lightning data in accordance with the specifications in tables 2-4 of the PWS, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The offeror shall also provide its statistical information on the Offeror’s CG lightning data product by submitting RFP

Attachment 2, tables 1-3 filled in with what the offeror’s data actually is to show it can meet the Government’s requirements. In accordance with paragraph 1.5, the offeror shall not copy tables 2-4 from the PWS for this information and shall provide sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims.

3.2 Subfactor 2: Network and Data Availability

The offeror shall demonstrate the abililty to maintain network and data availability to 98% (IAW PWS 3.9) monthly or higher with no more than 12 hours of down time during any month based on an average of a 28 day month.

3.3 Subfactor 3: Data Format and Content

The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to deliver the data in accordance with the delivery specifications in Section

3 of the PWS. (Para 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7)

3.4 Subfactor 4: Help Desk

The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to provide Help Desk Support 24 hours a day, seven days a week in accordance with Section 3, paragraph 3.10.2 of the PWS. The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to acknowledge calls 24/7/365 with initial response within 10 hours after receiving service call.

3.5 Subfactor 5: Contractor Preparation Period

In accordance with paragraph 3.4.3 of the PWS, the offeror shall demonstrate the ability to integrate the offeror’s data feed with 557 Weather Wing’s software within a 30 day period after start of contract performance.

3.6 Subfactor 6: Global Coverage

The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to provide the required coverage for location accuracy and detection efficiency. The offeror shall indicate their actual coverage they can provide on the coverage maps for areas defined

IAW PWS Appendix A: Coverage Area Maps.

4.0 Past Performance

The Government shall consider past performance IAW FAR 13.106-2(b)(3). A past performance proposal volume is not required and will not be evaluated.

(End of provision)