Attachment 25 - Section L v2 1-29-25.pdf

22 January 2025

Section L - Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors

1.0 General Instructions

a. This acquisition is restricted to sources that are qualified prior to award. An offeror that is not qualified will need to follow the Justification for Qualification Requirements (JQR) in order to become qualified. Although the Government will make a reasonable attempt to complete pending qualification requests in a timely manner, award of the contract shall not be delayed solely to allow for an offeror to complete qualification.

b. The Government intends to award Basic IDIQ contract(s) to “all qualified” offerors for the MJU-

76/B requirement.

c. The offeror’s proposal must include all data and information requested by this Instructions to Offeror (ITO) and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the Technical Data Package (TDP), Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), and Model Contract/Solicitation, etc.

d. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the government’s requirement but, rather, shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the government has no prior knowledge of their facilities or experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s proposal.

e. Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

f. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Section A of the model contract/solicitation/request for proposal (RFP). The offeror shall make a clear statement in Section A of the proposal documentation volume that the proposal is valid through this date.

g. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8, the government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Unless the offeror requests otherwise, the government will destroy extra copies of such unsuccessful proposals.

1.1 General Information

1.1.1 Point of Contact

The contracting officer (CO) and contract specialists (buyer) are the sole points of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. Written requests for clarification may be sent to the CO at the address located in Section A of the model contract/solicitation/RFP.

1.1.2 Debriefings

The CO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range; where upon they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing. However, offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal. The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR

15.506. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing must make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

1.1.3 Discrepancies

If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error. The offeror is reminded that the government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion. This reservation includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal.

1.1.4 Electronic Reference Documents

All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Contract Opportunities website https://sam.gov. Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real - time email notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

1.1.5 Communications

Exchanges of source selection information between the government and offerors will be controlled by the CO. Email may be used to transmit such information to and from offerors only if the email can be sent and received encrypted and includes “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 & 3.104” in the subject line. Otherwise, source selection information may be transmitted via DoD Safe at https://safe.apps.mil/.

In order to facilitate the sending and receiving of encrypted emails, offerors must use MS Outlook email configured to support encryption or a different email product that is S/MIME compatible and configured to support encryption. If you intend to submit your source selection information via encrypted email, you will need to contact the PCO prior to the first submittal in order to exchange certificates used for encryption. To ensure the process is working correctly, send a test encrypted message first (without any source selection information). The PCO may determine to conduct telephone exchanges when deemed appropriate by the Government.

1.1.6 Amendments to the Solicitation

If the RFP is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged and in full force and effect. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this request by the date and time specified in the amendment(s) by signing and returning the front page of each amendment with its proposal.

1.2 Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits

The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in the proposal organization table below:

Table 1.2 - Proposal Organization

VOLUME VOLUME TITLE COPIES PAGE LIMIT

I Technical 1 25

II Contract Documentation

1 100 (includes a filled out copy of the solicitation)

1.2.1 Page Limitations

Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages may not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Page limitations may be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs). The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the offerors.

1.2.1.1 Page Size and Format

a. A page is defined as each face of a sheet of paper containing information. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches, not including foldouts. Pages shall be single spaced. Except for the reproduced sections of the solicitation documentation, the text size shall be no less than 12 point Times New Roman font.

Tracking, kerning, and leading values shall not be changed from the default values of the word processing or page layout software. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom and ¾ inch side margins. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume. These page sizes and formation restrictions shall apply to responses to Evaluation Notices.

b. Tables, charts, graphs, and figures shall be used wherever practical and depict organizations, systems, and layout, implementation schedules, plans, etc. These displays shall be clear and legible.

1.2.2 Pricing Related Data

IAW FAR 15.304(C)(1)(ii)(A) price/cost is being waived as a source selection evaluation factor for the Basic IDIQ contract(s) has been authorized IAW DPAP Class Deviation 2018-O0006 dated December 13, 2017 and FAR Case 2017-010. The qualifying offeror(s) is not required to disclose price/cost in response to the solicitation. However, qualifying offerors will still need to provide price/cost IAW RFP for the MSE and First Article delivery orders. In addition, qualifying offerors will need to provide price/cost on the production delivery orders IAW the ordering procedures. Note that the price for the Kick-Off Meeting CLIN 0001 is and shall be fixed at $3,000 and shall be used to meet the minimum guarantee for the first delivery order.

1.2.3 Classified Information

Classified information shall NOT be submitted with the offer.

1.2.4 Cross-Referencing

To the greatest extent possible, each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal.

Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity.

2.0 Volume I – Technical Volume

2.1 General Instructions

The Technical Volume should be specific and complete. Legibility, clarity, and coherence is very important. Your responses will be evaluated against the Technical subfactors defined in Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award. Using the instructions provided below, provide as specifically as possible the actual methodology your company would use for accomplishing/satisfying these subfactors. All the requirements specified in the solicitation are mandatory. By submitting a proposal, the offeror is representing that the company will perform all the requirements specified in the solicitation. It is not necessary or desirable for the offeror to specify so in the proposal. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation.

2.2 Factor 1 – Plan and Technical Approach to Manufacture MJU-76

Provide a plan which details the proposed processes, equipment, and facilities that will be used to manufacture the item at the required production rates.

The plan should include:

2.2.1. Information on whether the process/part is manufactured in house or procured from a subcontractor/vendor.

2.2.2. Description of any automated equipment and its benefit in maintaining a high production rate.

2.2.3 Descriptions of types and quantities of machines to be used.

2.2.4 Description of how the proposed processes will prevent the formation of defects.

2.2.5 Description of inventory management control of critical components to assure meeting the production rate.

2.2.6 A flow diagram of the proposed assembly line or lines.

3.0 Volume II – Contract Documentation

3.1 Model Contract/Representations and Certifications

The purpose of this volume is to provide information to the government for preparing the contract document and supporting file. The offeror’s proposal shall include a signed copy of the model contract, and Sections A through K with fill-ins completed as appropriate.

3.1.1 Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form

Completion of this section and signature by an authorized representative of the offeror constitutes an offer, which the government may accept.

3.1.2 Other Sections

The contractor shall review the remaining sections of the solicitation/model contract, including the portion pertaining to representations and certification, to ensure all applicable fill-ins are complete.

3.1.3 Solicitation Exceptions

Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors.

Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on performance, schedule, price, and specific requirements of the solicitation. This information shall be provided in the format and content of table 3.1.4 below.

Table 3.1.4 - Solicitation Exceptions

Solicitation Document

Page/Paragraph Requirement/Portion Rationale

Air SPEC, Model Contract, ITO, etc.

Applicable Page and Paragraph Number

Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken

Describe why the requirement can/will not be met

3.1.4 Attachments to the Model Contract

The offeror shall provide the following as attachments to the model contract:

3.1.4.1 Subcontract Plan – Participation of Small Businesses (SB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), HUBZone Small Business (HUBZone), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), and with Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB).

If the offeror is other than a small business, the Offeror shall submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9.