Solicitation 22R0009 Questions_Answers.pdf

Solicitation Number FA489022R0009 North Warning System (NWS) Rotary Airlift Services Q&A

Q. Is there a defined period (limitation) for the submittal of questions from offerors and responses from

ACC AMIC/PKB and will Question/Answer communications be shared with all other offerors responding to this solicitation?

A. That is correct; the following is stated on the solicitation notice: “Questions regarding this solicitation will no longer be accepted after 1 Dec 2021. All questions received before 1 Dec 2021 will be addressed and posted on 8 Dec 2021 as an attachment to this requirement on SAM.gov.”

Q. There is an option on the Canadian Government Buy and Sell web site for interested suppliers to indicate their interest in supporting a bidder. Is there a similar option on SAM.gov?

A. The solicitation for subject requirement can be found here on SAM.gov:

https://sam.gov/opp/3c8a66cbba2345b99c103143901484a5/view As far as supporting a potential offeror, that is a business decision between you and the interested party.

Q. We would appreciate some clarification on the excerpt below, from the instructions to offerer. Cabin floor area is measured in square feet and volume cubic feet. Do you require volume or floor area?

“Demonstrate the ability to provide a rotary aircraft to be used in Zone 4 must have a cargo door/access that is, at least, 5 foot 6 inches (height) by 4 foot 2 inches (width) and a cabin floor area of, at least, 1,160 cubic feet to support the payload requirements.”

A. The aircraft should have an interior cabin volume of no less than 1,160 cubic feet available for the transportation of cargo and/or passengers. All other requirements for Zone 4 remain unchanged.

Q. Please confirm the pricing provided is to be in US dollars.

A. That is correct; USD.

Q. Regarding cabin volume and door opening for Zone 4 aircraft:

If we have the same door opening dimension but with height and width reversed is that rejected? If the large cabin is not over 1000 cu ft. is that rejected? In other words it is apparent that zone 4 helicopter can only be a S61N. Even the AS332 does not meet the criteria. This is only meant to clarify the request for zone 4

A. No, offers will not automatically be rejected. All offers will be reviewed by the technical review team to see if the proposal would meet mission requirements as outlined in the PWS.

Q&A

Q. Fuel transfer regarding fuel spill kit requirement:

It is requested that crew have training and sufficient material to contain a full tank spill up to 1500 liters;

is all this to be carried by the helicopter as it makes its way across the zones or are there some spill containment materials crew can access at each site?

A. The proposal shall show how the fuel transfer crew(s) can adequately adhere to Environment Canada regulations at each location in a timely manner in the event of a spill. NWS does not provide containment materials or spill kits at any locations.

Q. The crew on each helicopter is pilot and crew chief. Who are the others expected to be flown around during refueling operation? Please specify if contractor staff or other sourced personnel. Who pays expenses when not at contractor base of operation or NWS facility?

A. The crew should consist of enough trained individuals to adequately perform the assigned mission.

The proposal should detail the required crew members for each aircraft used by the contractor.

All expenses will be incurred by the contractor unless at a NWS facility as detailed in the PWS. All such pricing should be included in the proposal.

Q. Given the multitude of aircraft required, associated resources, and timeframe to stand up such a large scale project, the Government may be able to gain efficiencies and reduce risk by awarding multiple contracts. Can you confirm whether or not the Government will consider/accept partial proposals that respond to specific CLINs only? Or will the Government only consider/accept proposals that are responsive to all the CLINs.

A. The Government does not intend to the award to multiple offerors based on Market Research findings; therefore, no alternate proposals will be considered. Perhaps there are opportunities to subcontract if this fits your company’s business model and partnerships.

Q. CLIN 2002, 3002, 4002 do not specify a quantity of hours per year, should the offerors assume volume of 4000 hours of rotary wing flying per 12-month period as stated in CLIN 1002?

A. Yes

Q. Will the contingency hours CLIN X003 flown be invoiced at the same per unit rate as CLIN X002 (i.e.

monthly rate/ 333.33 hours per month)?

A. Yes

Q. Will the contingency liters CLINX003 be invoiced at the same per unit rate as CLIN X005?

Q&A

A. The bidder may propose any invoicing structure/rate they choose to in order to meet the requirements as outlined in the RFP.

Q. Is it required to submit “Supporting Price Backup Data for Prime and Subcontractors” as referenced in paragraph 7.4 in the “INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS” with RFP response Volume III – Price?

A. Per solicitation para 7.4, supporting data is requested from the offeror to the extent necessary to determine a far and reasonable price. The Government reserves the right to request additional pricing information after receipt and evaluation of proposals.

Q. Will the Cost Reimbursable values in the section of “Cumulative Totals” be a “plug-in” amount as dictated bythe relevant CLIN in the solicitation?

A. Cost Reimbursable expenses are the actual costs incurred to execute the PWS and will be reimbursed by the Government with proper supporting documentation.

Q. Understood that reimbursables are for authorized expenses incurred and require supporting documentation. In the solicitation documents, Attachment No 4 “Cost Summary Report” is a spreadsheet with fields for offerors to fill in pricing for “Volume III – Price”. The “REIMBURSABLES” section in the “Cost Summary Report” does not have column headings for quantities or rates, only the cell for “TOTALS” seems formatted for data entry . The amount in cell D22 “TOTALS” for reimbursables is linked to the formula provided for the “GRAND TOTAL” (cell D30) , which would ultimately affect the price based evaluation criteria. Since reimbursables are not contractor controllable, shall the offeror insert the corresponding “Not to Exceed” amount referenced in the main solicitation document (FA489022R0009) for CLIN 0004 ($1,525,065.80) , 1003 ($3,141,633.49), 2003

($3,235,882.49), 3003 ($3,332,958.97. and 4003 ($3,432,947.74) into cell D22 “TOTALS” of the “Cost Summary Report”? Shall the offerors a) fill out this section as mentioned above or b) leave this section blank to be completed by ACC AMIC/PKB?

A.1. Per Sections L&M and under 7.0 INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOLUME III, para 7.1, the Government provided a “not to exceed” amount for reimbursable expenses for Cost Reimbursable CLIN-series: X003 (X004 in Base Year) IAW the PWS. Each offeror’s proposed prices will be evaluated by adding the reimbursable expenses not to exceed amount and the FFP CLINs, that total will be used in the total overall evaluated price.

A.2. Regarding the "Cost Summary Report", IAW PWS page 6 in TABLE 1 - DELIVERABLES, the Cost Summary Report (Attachment 4 to the PWS) is referenced to PWS para 13.1 regarding Invoicing which is applicable after contract award before submitting payment request through WAWF.

Q&A

Q. In the Instructions to Offerors, Subfactor C, Aspect 3 it states “Provide a detailed risk assessment of the proposed operational concept to meet mission requirements in accordance with PWS paragraph

17.1. PWS 17.1 states “The contractor will develop a Phase-In Plan. The Phase-In plan shall detail how the contractor shall meet Phase-In ...” The question is, is the offeror to submit a Risk Analysis for the bulk fuel transfer Aspect or is the reference to the PWS section 17.1 the wrong referenced paragraph?

Please clarify

A. The phase-in plan should address all areas of the PWS and how the contractor will satisfactorily satisfy these requirements.

Q. PWS 8.7 states “Aviation fuel currently in use at NWS sites is JET A-1” however, we are of the understanding that the fuel stock is CGSB-3.24-2016 - AVIATION TURBINE FUEL (MILITARY

GRADES F-34 AND F-44) otherwise known JP-8 and JP-5 respectively. The Canadian Government

Standards Board (CGSB) reference document CGSB-3.24-2016, recommends that “Aircraft operators should consult their aircraft manuals for the type of fuel, fuel additives or other limitations”. Please confirm fuel type available for aviation use in the helicopter types to be proposed in RFP response

Volume II – Technical Capability.

A. JetA1 with FSII, CI (Corrosion Inhibitor), and DMD (Metal Deactivator) is available for aviation use.

Q. Appendix 4 of the PWS, paragraph 1.1 indicates the period of performance for Rotary Airlift is from

April 1st – September 30th, however the CLIN X004 indicates 4 months from June 1st to September 30th.

Please clarify the period of performance for the CLIN.

A. The total period of performance for the requirement is 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2026. The intended durations for CLIN X0004 is 4 months each year.

Q. Given the onerous effect of the new federal regulations (Transport Canada) regarding flight crew member hours of work and rest in December of 2022, is NWS prepared to jointly review the impact of the changes and provide financial relief?

A. A detailed total cost summary to execute the requirements should be included in the proposal. If an increase due to government regulation is anticipated at some point during the period of performance this increase should be included in the proposal with a detailed explanation.

Q&A

Q. PWS

Page 4 of 14, Para 1.11.1: Requires the aircraft to be “crewed by 2 pilots between 1 October and 31

March”. This can be interpreted differently depending on aircraft type (certificated for 1 pilot or 2).

Is the intent to have 2 flight crews available to allow for extended daily flight hours, or is the intent to have a 2 pilot crew during the months of perpetual darkness for enhanced safety?

A. This is a Transportation Canada requirement.

Q. Appendix 3 – Main Rotary Airlift Requirements

Page 1 of 3, Para 1.1.1: Requires cargo door of 5’6” high and 4’2” wide, and a floor area of 1,160 cu ft, which is a reference to cabin volume, not floor space.

Please confirm whether the cargo area requirement is correct as stated in the current solicitation. The requirement appears to be written specifically for an S-61N, which has a marketed cabin volume of 1,160 cubic ft. However, a detailed review of the cabin volume dimensions from the Flight Manual for the S-

61N will show that it in fact does not meet this requirement. As written, this cabin volume requirement cannot be met by any other standard category helicopter besides a 234 Chinook. It appears this requirement is potentially limiting competition unnecessarily to a specific aircraft platform.

A. Please see response in next question (directly below).

Q. Is there specific cargo requiring these physical dimensions, and if so, can the dimensions and weights be provided in order to ensure the offerors meet the specific floor loading requirements of any offered helicopters?

A. A multitude of irregular cargo (size and weight) has been identified by the Operations and

Maintenance Contractor to support the NWS mission. Offerers may submit alternative proposals for aircraft which will be considered by the technical review team to see if the proposal would meet mission requirements.

Q. Appendix 5 – Bulk Fuel Rotary Airlift Requirements

Q&A

Page 1 of 3, Para 1.6.1: Refers to contractor provided fuel transfer pumps and hoses, but reference to

“helicopter fuel transfer tank” is made without indication of who provides it. It is not listed in Section 8 of the PWS (Government Furnished Property) or in Appendix 5 as a Contractor requirement.

a. Please specify who provides the helicopter fuel transfer tank. If Contractor provided, please provide any established or required specifications and approvals.

A. The “helicopter fuel transfer tank” referenced in Appendix 5 refers to the internal tanks of the helicopter which are used to hold the fuel (minimum of 1500 liters) while in transit between the “beach” and “summit” at each NWS site. These tanks are provided by the contractor for each of the aircraft performing this mission.

Q. Given the lack of guaranteed flight time in this contract, please provide the following historical information so that offerors can adequately estimate its costs:

a. Volume of fuel delivered to each site for each year of past contract term

A. Please see chart below for the amount of fuel requested to be transported at each site by the

Operations and Maintenance contractor during the CY21 season. Note: these volumes may change year to year and actual amounts delivered may change based on a variety of factors. Additionally, for the

CY22 season (and possibly beyond) approx. 100k liters of fuel will need to be transported from BAR-2 to the summit of BAR-B.

Q&A

b. Flight hours per site for each year of past contract term

A. No accurate projection can be given to the number of flight hours for each NWS site since this number fluctuates at each site based on weather, transport distance, and required fuel quantity.

c. Total Program flight hours for each year of expiring contract term

A. The total flying hours for the fuel transfer helicopters are not tracked by NWS.

d. Per annum award price for the past contract duration

A. Past contract pricing information will not be provided.

Q. PWS 1.11.1 states that Main Basing aircraft shall be NVG configured no later than Dec 1 of the first

Option Period, but Section L, 6.0 states that the proposal must demonstrate that the aircraft are NVG configured no later than 60 days from contract award. Please advise what the actual requirement is.

A. Aircraft will have NVG capability NLT 1 Dec. Contractor proposal must satisfactorily demonstrate how this capability will be available by this date in all zones.

Q. During discussions prior to the release of the solicitation, we were lead to believe that the requirements of the solicitation were to be segmented between the larger airlift support missions and the bulk refueling requirement. Given the consolidation of these requirements as well as the limited number of days between answers (est. to be Dec 8) and the RFP due date (Dec 19 – which is a Sunday), offerors are only given what is effectively 7 working days to formulate their bid response after receiving the answers to questions. Will the Government consider extending the due date three additional weeks?

A. The Government will accept proposals until 1200 EST 23 December 2021. After this time no additional offers will be received.

Q. 4.0 Submission of Proposals

4.1 states the original proposal and copies as specified in this document shall be sent to the issuing office listed in Block 9 of Standard Form (SF) 33; while further in the section it states that it is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm receipt of the electronic proposal and that no hand delivered offers shall be accepted.

A. Offerors are to submit their proposal by uploading to the DoD SAFE website electronically and it is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm receipt of the electronic proposal via email.

Q&A

Q: Please confirm whether offerors are to submit hard copies of their proposal in addition to uploading to the DoD SAFE website electronically, or electronic submission only. Given the short suspense between when questions are to be answered and the due date, electronic submission only would be preferable.

A. Offerors are to submit their proposal by uploading to the DoD SAFE website electronically. The DoD

SAFE link should be requested by noon on Dec 20th.

Q. Attachment 2

Will the Government accept substitute aircraft during the performance of the Contract provided that the substitute aircraft meet the minimum aircraft requirements and there is no disruption to service?

A. The contractor will need to demonstrate the ability to perform IAW the PWS at all times. Substitution of aircraft is acceptable as long as the PWS and mission requirements are met.

Q. Solicitation, Section B

It appears the Government is requesting a price per liter delivered for CLINs 0006, 1005, 2005, 3005, and

4005. There is a significant amount of fixed costs to stage and operate two heavy lift helicopters during the specified months of operation. Can the Government please confirm whether the Bulk Refueling line item is to be invoiced and paid on an actual per liter delivered basis? If so, will the Government consider offering a minimum guaranteed number of liters to be delivered annually to avoid having to pay a premium caused by Contractors having to price in the inherent risk under such an arrangement?

A. Yes, the bulk refueling line item can be invoiced on a per liter delivered basis as a FFP.

A. Yes, the Government would consider offering a minimum guaranteed annual amount of liters to be transported.

Q. Please confirm that the offeror has until contract start date to have all proposed aircraft on its air operating certificate, and that a detailed compliance and execution plan for aircraft acquisition and conformance included within the Technical Volume response (Subfactor D, Aspect 3) will be sufficient evidence of aircraft compliance at time of bid submittal.

A. The offeror has until contract start date to have all required aircraft to execute the PWS.