Questions_from_Prospective_Offerors.docx

Questions from Prospective Offerors 11 May 2016

OVERALL RESPONSE:

The government does not have, thus will not provide a set of patterns and/or end item specification for this shirt. In addition, the government will not provide samples of the shirt we currently have on contract. Materials discussed in paragraphs A through D of the Salient Characteristics are only suggested materials, there are a variety of ways to meet the technical requirements, we aren't specifying only one way to make the shirt. As this is a commercial acquisition, offerors should use their own expertise and commercial industry standards to determine how best to meet all the technical requirements in the Acceptability Checklist/Salient Characteristics. The government will not test the materials as part of the evaluation process, but reserves the right to test materials after contract award to investigate reported quality and performance issues. In responses, offerors should submit their own documentation and test data to certify claims of meeting the requirements in the Acceptability Checklist (e.g., moisture wicking, odor resistant, etc.). Government evaluators will determine if provided information is sufficient and/or generally equivalent to suggested materials and test tables associated with Salient Characteristic paragraphs A through D. Should the government test materials after contract award, tests will be conducted against offeror claims in their proposal, not necessarily to tests outlined in attachments 7 through 10.

1. After reviewing the solicitation documents and attachments, I was not able to find a reference for the specifications or patterns. Would you please provide this information?

Normally the government provide a set of patterns and the end item specification. I wasn’t able to find a reference for this on your solicitation. DLA provides a reference number and we can requested these on their website. The Marines Corps provides the end item spec with the solicitation and a user name and password to access the pattern on their website. We have manufactured the ACS and ABS in the past, but we just want to confirm that our patterns and specs coincide with yours.

The government does not have, thus will not provide a set of patterns and/or end item specification for this shirt In addition, attachment 1 talks about anti-abrasion padded elbow patches, but this material is not included in attachments 7 to 8. See below Salient Characteristics (ABU pattern ONLY):

All fabric shall be lightweight, breathable, moisture wicking and odor resistant; long sleeve “over the head” style with a semi-tight fit that eliminates bunching or riding up under armor; right & left sleeves shall contain: Air Force Digital Tiger Stripe Camouflage Print, hook and loop cuff closures, anti-abrasion padded elbow patches, two-channel flapped pen pocket on both forearms secured by hook & loop fastener tape, zippered shoulder pockets with 6-1/4 inch opening for all sizes (opening toward front of arm); right shoulder pocket must accommodate hook & loop name tape and rank insignia; fastener tape dimensions: loop fastener for name tape shall be 1 inch wide x 5-1/2 inches long, loop fastener for the rank patch shall be 2 inches wide x 2 inches long; torso & mock turtle neck shall be AF Sage Green 1641 (match color in Tiger Stripe Green) or Army Foliage Green 504; modesty panel covering chest area; NIR is not required.

Offerors should select their own “anti-abrasion padded elbow patches”, the government does not have suggested materials for this part of the shirt Lastly, is the material in attachment 9 and alternative for the material in attachment 7? No

2. Are samples of a garment available for submitters to review prior to submission? No

3. Are there materials from specific suppliers already approved for this garment, or a prior version? No If so, please provide contact information so we can procure the appropriate materials. We currently manufacture FR fabrics for the Army Combat Shirt worn by Army and Air Force airmen. We’ve made non-FR versions of those fabrics, but the fabric specifications do not match those listed in this solicitation. Are any of the Salient Characteristics flexible and, if so, which ones?

All of the requirements in the acceptability checklist must be met Are you open to similar fabrics with different Salient Characteristics that would be beneficial (NMND, moisture management, comfort characteristics, etc.)?

Since paragraphs A through D of the Salient Characteristics provide suggested materials, the government is open to similar fabrics

4. If material doesn’t currently exist in inventory, Tiger print would be difficult to produce quickly enough to construct PDMs by May 5th. Can PDMs be made in substitute fabric and trims, to show quality and adherence to garment specifications, as long as testing documentation is provided for the appropriate fabrics?

Yes, shirt samples required as part of the 5 May proposal response can be submitted in different colors/patterns, however all of the materials and construction methods used to make the shirt samples must be the same as those that are going to be used for the shirts over the period of performance of the contract. An Offeror cannot be awarded the contract until they can prove that they can obtain required Air Force Digital Tiger Stripe printed materials. As part of proof, offeror must provide new samples of the required shirts with Air Force Digital Tiger Stripe printed material at no cost to the government.

5. We understand that some of the tests required for this submission take 10-14 days to process. Can there be an extension to the response date required?

The government cannot provide an extension

6. Section 10, Small Business designation states Size Standard of 500. Based on recent changes, we understood that as of February 26th, the size standard for NAICS code 315280 is 750. Please confirm that 750 should be used for this contract That is correct, as of Feb 2016 the size standard has changed from 500 to 750. The RFP will be amended to reflect this change.

7. Listed below are a number of technical questions we have related to the Salient Characteristics of the materials.

- Material Type A Would lower weight material be acceptable if other parameters were met? Yes MVTR testing is typically performed on multi-layer fabrics specifically with membranes. All knit constructions should have extremely high MVTR results, but that does not necessarily relate to moisture management, breathability, or overall performance of the garment for the end user. Should this test be excluded?

Offeror may exclude this requirement, but their technical proposal should show that it was excluded and explain why. Government evaluators will determine if this exclusion is acceptable by reviewing the technical proposal documentation and evaluating shirt samples The pilling does not state whether it should be conducted at 30 or 60 minutes?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the level of performance (30, 60 or other minutes) in their technical proposal What is the full method needed for Dimensional Stability? (i.e. AATCC 135, 1, III, Aii, 5 cycles) Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Dimensional Stability method used in their technical proposal What organism(s) is required for the Odor Resistant or antimicrobial testing?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the organism(s) used for Odor Resistant and antimicrobial testing in their technical proposal What marking method, laundering method, and number of cycles should be used for the Skewing test?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Skew test marking/laundering methods and number of cycles used in their technical proposal The pH requirement does not state a range but a singular result. Since fabric pH is determined by the processing parameters of a fabric it is always called out within a certain range. Should this be revised to an industry standard range? Yes

- Material Type B Color specified on Attachment 8 is Sage or Foliage. Body of solicitation specifies Tiger Stripe. We assume intention was Tiger Stripe, please confirm.

Correct, Attachment 8 should specify Tiger Stripe since it is sleeve material Would lower weight material be acceptable if other parameters were met? Yes MVTR testing is typically performed on multi-layer fabrics specifically with membranes. All knit constructions should have extremely high MVTR results, but that does not necessarily relate to moisture management, breathability, or overall performance of the garment for the end user. Should this test be excluded?

Offeror may exclude this requirement, but their technical proposal should show that it was excluded and explain why. Government evaluators will determine if this exclusion is acceptable by reviewing the technical proposal documentation and evaluating shirt samples The pilling does not state whether it should be conducted at 30 or 60 minutes?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the level of performance (30, 60 or other minutes) in their technical proposal The abrasion method called out does not make sense to us as it’s requiring someone to evaluate “a change in shade or appearance that is sufficient to cause a customer to complain” after 8,000 cycles – is there a standard that will be provided to use for this evaluation?

Offeror should use the industry standard method appropriate for their proposed material and state the claimed level of performance in their technical proposal What is the full method needed for Dimensional Stability? (i.e. AATCC 135, 1, III, Aii, 5 cycles) Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Dimensional Stability method used in their technical proposal What organism(s) is required for the Odor Resistant or antimicrobial testing?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the organism(s) used for Odor Resistant and antimicrobial testing in their technical proposal What marking method, laundering method, and number of cycles should be used for the Skewing test?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Skew test marking/laundering methods and number of cycles used in their technical proposal The pH requirement does not state a range but a singular result. Since fabric pH is determined by the processing parameters of a fabric it is always called out within a certain range. Should this be revised to an industry standard range? Yes

- Material Type C Would lower weight material be acceptable if other parameters were met? Yes MVTR testing is typically performed on multi-layer fabrics specifically with membranes. All knit constructions should have extremely high MVTR results, but that does not necessarily relate to moisture management, breathability, or overall performance of the garment for the end user. Should this test be excluded?

Offeror may exclude this requirement, but their technical proposal should show that it was excluded and explain why. Government evaluators will determine if this exclusion is acceptable by reviewing the technical proposal documentation and evaluating shirt samples The pilling does not state whether it should be conducted at 30 or 60 minutes?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the level of performance (30, 60 or other minutes) in their technical proposal What is the full method needed for Dimensional Stability? (i.e. AATCC 135, 1, III, Aii, 5 cycles) Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Dimensional Stability method used in their technical proposal What organism(s) is required for the Odor Resistant or antimicrobial testing?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the organism(s) used for Odor Resistant and antimicrobial testing in their technical proposal What marking method, laundering method, and number of cycles should be used for the Skewing test?

Offeror should use the industry standard appropriate for their proposed material and state the Skew test marking/laundering methods and number of cycles used in their technical proposal The pH requirement does not state a range but a singular result. Since fabric pH is determined by the processing parameters of a fabric it is always called out within a certain range. Should this be revised to an industry standard range? Yes

- Material Type D Given that this is a trim fabric used in very small areas that are not visible, Visual Shade Matching, pH, and Pilling testing do not make sense to us. Should these tests be excluded?

Offeror may exclude this requirement, but their technical proposal should show that it was excluded and explain why. Government evaluators will determine if this exclusion is acceptable by reviewing the technical proposal documentation and evaluating shirt samples

8. Would the government consider setting a maximum quantity for orders to be delivered in 30 days?

If so, we would suggest using a maximum order quantity of 2,500 shirts per month to be held to the 30 day lead time. Quantities larger than that would be delivered at the rate of 2,500 shirts per month.

The Government agrees with setting a maximum quantity of 2,500 shirts per month to be delivered within the 30 day delivery schedule. Quantities exceeding the maximum will be delivered at a rate of 2,500 shirts per month.

9. Can you please tell me how I will fill out ''the ship to location'' in exhibit A001? From where can I get the addresses?

Exhibit A001 is the Quarterly Report Matrix that is turned in by the successful Contractor every quarter after the contract is awarded showing purchases off of the contract. Nothing has to be filled out for proposal purposes.

10. Has there been a revision to the government’s requirements that support the need for these extensions?

No revisions have been made to the Government’s requirements. The extension was solely based the Government’s contract writing system being inoperable, therefore unable to create the official amendments.

11. Are you giving offerors who submitted proposals prior to the original deadline the opportunity to update/revise their proposals?

Yes, the Government grants offerors who submitted their proposals prior to the original deadline to update/revise their proposals. If you are updating/revising any proposal volume, the entire volume must be resubmitted to the Government along with an updated Compact Disc submittal. Product samples can be resubmitted.

(As our contract writing system is currently under construction, the amendment will follow as soon as the system is up again.)