TMS_-_Q A_(8_May_-_16_May).pdf

Temporary Medical Staffing (TMS)

FA8053-13-R-0001

Questions and Answers

1) Is this a new requirement?

This is a new requirement for Temporary Medical Staffing. See the solicitation notice details on FedBizOpps.gov, paragraph two, sentence one.

2) Can you send us the solicitation we are having a problem opening it?

You are required to obtain the solicitation from www.fbo.gov. At this time we have not had any similar issues reported. Please consult your internal IT team or click on the For Help: Federal Service Desk and submit a ticket to the helpdesk. A phone number is also provided for the helpdesk.

3) Is this a new or follow on requirement? If it is a follow on, please let us know the current contract number and contract value? Who is the incumbent? Is it still eligible to bid as a prime for this contract?

This is a new requirement for Temporary Medical Staffing. See the solicitation notice details on FedBizOpps.gov, paragraph two, sentence one. Proposals will be accepted until the deadline specified in Section A of the RFP, page 1, section 9.

4) Do we need to submit proposal via hard copy as well as e-mail?

Please reference section L III 2.2, Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits and Table 2.2, Proposal Organization Table for specific electronic and paper version requirements.

No proposals are to be emailed.

5) Is hard copy the same as paper copy?

Yes

6) Is there a final date that all questions must be submitted?

Any questions on the RFP or any of the RFP attachments shall be submitted no later than 1600, Monday, 20 May 2013. See solicitation notice details on FedBizOpps.gov, paragraph seven.

7) Please confirm the due date for the past performance volume (Fri., May 24th?).

In L-III Section 5.2.1, Past Performance Questionnaire, the Government requests the past performance volume be sent 14 calendar days prior to the proposal submission date. Yes, that would be by 1600, Friday, 24 May 2013.

8) Does the government want copies of the letter and PP Questionnaires sent to references in the PP Volume?

Yes. See RFP Section L-III Section 5.2.1.

9) Attachment 8, shows Eielson AFB as Arkansas, isn’t Eielson AFB in Alaska?

Yes, Eielson AFB is in Alaska not Arkansas. Attachment 8 has been corrected in Amendment 0001.

10) Is the Past Performance Questionnaire available in MS Word to be able to send to our references?

No, MS Word format is not available. Documents are maintained in .pdf format to incorporate standardization and are not available in alternate formats.

11) I am on FBO and cannot see the PPI tool posted with the other solicitation documents. Can you please post the PPI tool or if it is in another location, please tell me where?

The PPI Tool was overlooked in the initial posting on FBO.gov, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have now posted the PPI Tool as an attachment to the FA8053- 13-R-0001 notice on the FBO site. It should now appear in the “FILES” column on the “Notice Information” tab.

12) Para 5.2.1.1 page 53. It states that offeror should include “…information on at least one reference performed by each of your teaming partners and significant subcontractors…” It also states in that same paragraph that “If there are more than two teaming partners/subcontractors proposed, the past performance information shall be included for those providing the highest percentages of reference workload as stated in Attachment L-1…”

QUESTION – Can the Government please clarify if a reference is included for every teaming partner or only two if there are more than two teaming partners/subcontractors?

The requirement is to submit one reference for every teaming partner/significant subcontractor. The second quotation in your reference explains that if there are two teaming partners/subs on the same referenced contract, only submit past performance information for the one providing the highest percentages of the referenced contract’s workload.

13) Para 5.2.3 and 5.2.4 pages 53-54. Offerors are required to submit teaming partner/subcontractor Consent Letters (Attachments L-3 and L-4 if required and as applicable) as part of Past Performance VOLUME III.

QUESTION – With the Volume III requirement per Table 2.2 stating that Volume III is composed of 5-8 references in Tab 1 thru 8, can the government state where the Letters are placed within the Volume -- do the Letters have a Tab designation or are they after the reference or at the end or beginning of the Volume?

Please include the subcontractor/teaming partner consent letters with applicable reference tab of the Past Performance volume and see Attachment L-3 for example letter. In addition, please make sure to adhere to the requirements of Paragraph L-III, 3.2 and include the location of the letters in the master Table of Contents.

14) Para 5.3 page 54. Offerors are required to submit information on change history or to at least specify if there is no change history to be compliant.

QUESTION – With the Volume III requirement per Table 2.2 stating that Volume III is composed of 5-8 references from Tab 1 thru 8, can the government state where the Change History content is placed in the Volume?

Please include the Change History with each applicable reference of the Past Performance volume and ensure it is titled “Organizational Structure Change History”. In addition, make sure to adhere to the requirements of Paragraph L-III, 3.2 and include the location of the Change History in the master Table of Contents.

15) Para 5.2.1 page 53 states that Volume III is due 14 days prior to proposal submission.

QUESTION – Can the Government state exactly what is due – the hard copy Volume, the electronic Volume or both?

The expectation is to submit BOTH the hard copy and the electronic copy 14 days prior to proposal submission.

16) Please explain what labor categories will need to be filled at what bases. Are we responsible for filling a percentage of the labor categories?

This is an anticipated Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract and labor categories at specific bases will be identified in each individual task order. The labor categories will vary by individual task orders; however, all potential labor categories are identified in Section J, Attachment 3 and all potential locations are identified in Section J, Attachment 1. Please reference section H.3, Ordering Procedures for Subsequent Task Orders. Note that the Government requires that offerors propose pricing for all listed labor categories.

17) L-III Para 5.2.1.1 page 53 states “The submitted references must include at least one DoD contract, cover 3 of 8 clinical service categories listed at Section C, Paragraph 1.4, and where at least one of the three clinical service categories is a Primary Care or Specialty Care Physician. M-I Para 3.2.2 page 77 states “Past performance effort is relevant when at least one of the clinical services categories listed at Section C, Paragraph 1.4 is included in the reference (scope), the total value of the effort is greater than $3,000 (magnitude), and the effort involves providing temporary medical staffing (locum tenens) staffing…” There seems to be a discrepancy in the requirement (3 of 8 service categories) and evaluation criteria (at least one service category is required).

QUESTION: Is the requirement for three or one service category to be covered in each reference?

The requirement is for at least one service category be covered in each reference. The Government is looking for at least one DoD contract in one of the 5 to 8 references submitted: 3 of the 8 broad services categories in Section C, Para 1.4 must be represented across those 5 to 8 total references, and one of the 5 to 8 references must include a "Primary Care or Specialty Care Physician". Section M 3.2.2 defines relevancy for each individual reference. Those references submitted must meet the requirements outlined in Section L 5.2.1.1 and M3.1 to meet this definition and be considered relevant.

18) M-1 Para 3.3 page 77 states “Each contract or task/delivery order shall be considered a separate contract for purposes of the Past Performance evaluation.”

QUESTION: Is this paragraph stating that only Task Orders, Delivery Orders and Single Award contracts can be used as a reference or can offerors use an entire IDIQ as a single contract reference?

Section M 3.3 states that “each contract or task/delivery order shall be considered a separate contract for purposes of the Past Performance evaluation”. Therefore, offerors may use an entire IDIQ or schedule as a single reference or may break out task orders or delivery orders into individual references. The intent of this paragraph is for the same work not to be counted in two or more separate references.

19) QUESTION - Will the government please consider extending the due date of the

Past Performance Volume III to at least 29 May to afford offerors more time to prepare their responses because questions are still pending?

In regards to the extending the due date of the Past Performance Volume III to at least 29 May, the current date of 24 May is a preferred date, but as long as all volumes are submitted and received by the RFP due date in the solicitation, then proposals will be evaluated.

20) Is there an incumbent and if so what was the last award dollar amount? Also, is there currently staff occupying positions related to this project and will they be reassigned to the awardee?

This is a new requirement for Temporary Medical Staffing. See the solicitation notice details on FedBizOpps.gov, paragraph two, sentence one.

21) What is the anticipated start date of this contract?

The anticipated award date is September 2013 with performance to begin in September 2013, as well.

22) Are the STO prices submitted fixed rates or may they be considered ceiling rates that may be lowered on TOPRs during the first 90 days? If they are not ceiling rates, would these not nearly always go to the lowest prices company?

Please reference Section H.1.b and Section H.2 for Sample Task Order Procedures. The STO are firm-fixed priced price and are not considered ceiling rates.

23) In Section 7.1, you indicate a signed version of the "model contract" and later indicate a signed SF33. Can you please explain what a "model contract" is?

A "model contract" is a singed copy of the SF33 and contract sections A-K.

24) The PPI Tool seems to be formatted as an Access program; however, as a small business our corporate MS Suite does not include MS Access. Are there any other options available to use this program or is it available in hard copy?

This is an Air Force use tool. We do not have a hard copy available and have no control over the MS program that is used. Microsoft Access is the only format currently available.

25) In Evaluation Criteria 1.2, the government refers to using salary surveys in deeming some proposals unrealistically low. Can you share what salary surveys the government uses in their market research?

The Government reserves the right to use analysis techniques IAW FAR 15.404-1 to determine if prices are unrealistically low. The Government has in the past relied on survey tools such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Salary.com; however, the Government is not limited to these tools, and may determine that a realism analysis is not necessary. The decision to conduct price realism is at the Contracting Officer’s discretion. See section M 5.3.

26) Since the government is not asking for compensation plans, how will you determine if the salary is unrealistically low?

The Government reserves the right to use analysis techniques IAW FAR 15.404-1 to determine if prices are unrealistically low. The Government has in the past relied on survey tools such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Salary.com; however, the Government is not limited to these tools, and may determine that a realism analysis is not necessary. The decision to conduct price realism is at the Contracting Officer’s discretion. See section M 5.3.

27) Where can I locate information on the PPI tool?

The instructions for downloading and using the PPI tool can be located at attachment L-5, on page 65 of the solicitation.

28) Regarding Section 2.2.1, Page Limitations: The list of pages exempt from the page limitations includes "Proposals Summaries." There is no other mention of "Proposal Summaries" in the RFP. Please provide a definition of what constitutes a "Proposal Summary". Also, are such summaries required in our proposal?

The reference to “Proposal Summaries” in section 2.2.1 refers to section L 3.1, Narrative Summary. The Narrative Summary is required. In addition, the language in section 2.2.1 will be updated in Amendment 0002 to read “Narrative Summary”.

29) Regarding section 5.3, Organizational Structure Change History: Does the government want only the history of structural changes that pertain to the submitted past performances or does it want the full history of structural changes for the company regardless of impact or lack thereof (this could get quite lengthy for a large, longstanding company).

Section 5.3, Organizational Structure Change History, is referring to organizational structure changes that have an impact on references submitted in Volume IV, Past Performance. Please provide an organizational structure change history needed to link the offeror's performance to past performance references submitted with the proposal when required. Include any organizational structure changes in Volume IV, Past Performance, with the effected reference.

30) Regarding Attachment L-1: Section 8 includes Attachment L-1 in the list to be provided as a separate file. Section 4.2.2 Technical Factor, Criteria 9, states that the L-1 should be submitted in Tab 2 of Volume II. Please clarify where and how we should submit Attachment L-1.

Please submit L-1, Contractor Team Organization, in tab 1 with your Business/ Management Plan, as Criteria 9. Language in Section 4.2.2 Technical Factor, Criteria 9 will be updated in Amendment 0002.