QuestionsafterIndustryDay20070619.doc

DO-CAT Questions and Answers

1. Please define the software support requirements and location. There will not be any software requirements under this contract.

2. Please define the Ground Support Equipment requirements and location. Will this contract assume the requirements for the existing contract for GSE or is the requirement for GSE on this contract be only at AMARC? Maintenance of GSE will be in-scope of the contract at both AMARG and Hill AFB. We have no reason to believe that our contract will affect existing contracts. Specific work for DO-CATs contracts will be defined in the task orders.

3. 2. Service summary PWS paragraph 4.5.3 reference incorrect should this be 4.7.3 if so it does not mention the 25 ft requirement. If this is a requirement please identify what is required to meet the 25 ft identification requirement. This is a requirement and the reference is the Service Summary has been changed to 4.7.3. The offeror is to tell how they will meet the requirement.

4. Will the final RFP provide for and include the updated Wage Determinations, based upon the 22 May change issued by the Department of Labor, which increased the Fringe Benefit rate to $3.16? Yes

5. There appears to be a discrepancy between the reference on Page 26 of 26, Section I, 9952.214-901, statement of FAR 52.215-1(f) (which states that “award shall be made to a single bidder/offeror whose bid/offer responds to all items included in the solicitation”) and the reference in 9952.756-H756 that states “DO-CATS is a multiple award acquisition.” Please clarify the number of possible awards to be made. The clause at Section I, 9952.214-901 will be deleted in the final RFP. We are reserving the right to award two small business set-asides and one full and open.

6. Since there is a requirement in Draft Section L, 4.2.3.2.(d) for the offerors to provide transition plan information, will there be a separate CLIN for transition activities, or will such requirements be priced within the T&M or FFP CLINs of a Task Order? Please clarify. Those activities will priced within the hourly and FFP CLINS.

7. Based upon Paragraph 1.1 of Draft Section L, it appears there is only one (1) full and open award. Draft Section M, Paragraph 1.2 states individual task orders will be competed under fair opportunity rules. It is unclear what the fair opportunity rules might be if only one (1) full and open award is made. Will small business awardees be extended the opportunity to compete for full and open task orders? Yes the small businesses will be able to compete for the full and open task orders. Large businesses, however, will not be able to compete for any task orders that have been specifically set-aside for small businesses by the SBA.

8. If a Small Business proposes, is evaluated, and is awarded one of the two Small Business set aside awards, is that Small Business eligible to compete for Full and Open competitive Task Orders? Yes

9. Reference Clause H-001(a) and (c). First sentence states “Further guidance is in the DO-CAT User’s Guide”. Paragraph (c) states “See User’s Guide for detail”. Please advise if the User’s Guide is available for review. The User’s Guide is a document that is created post award and is for the users here at Hill AFB and in AMARG. It is not available for the solicitation of this contract.

10. After Clause H-002 is a Clause 9952.762.H-762, Use of Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs) (SEP 2004). Paragraph c of this clause references the “DESP II User’s Guide”. Please advise if this Guide is available for review. Please ignore paragraph c of this clause. Reference to DESP II is a misprint, the clause has been rewritten, see next question.

12. Clause 9952.762.H-762 contains a statement that “Contractor responses to that solicitation will be considered non-responsive if they do not contain signed NDAs for each employee identified in the proposal.”. Identification of employees who might require NDAs during the task order proposal preparation period may be difficult. Will the Government consider changing this requirement so that signed NDAs are required after Task Order award. An adequate period to consider is 30 to 45 days. The clause has been rewritten to, H-008 USE OF NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS (NDAs)

(a) NDAs will be used as appropriate for DO-CAT task orders (TOs). These NDAs serve to protect confidential, proprietary and/or sensitive information to which contractors may be given access as a result of their performance under DO-CATs TOs. These NDAs provide assurance to the Government that the contractor employees will conform to the conditions and responsibilities in regards to the confidential, proprietary and/or sensitive information to which they are given access.

(b) If it has been determined that an NDA is appropriate for a TO and included in the TO solicitation, the Contractor shall agree to furnish signed NDAs for each employee once the employees have been identified. The signed NDAs must be in place before the employees are given access to the restricted or proprietary information. Furthermore, the Contractor on such a TO shall have signed NDAs for employees assigned to the effort for the duration of the TO.

13. Section L, 4.2.6.3 states “The following DIDs shall be used as a minimum”, however no DIDS were provided. Please clarify. DIDS were posted to FedBizOpps 14 June 07.

14. Section L, 5.1.3.1 states “The offeror shall submit a Total Evaluated Price (TEP), calculated IAW paragraph (e)”. No paragraph (e) can be found in the Price Factor reference. Please clarify the reference. We have revised Section L 5.1.3.1 to state instructions for the TEP are in the Pricing Matrix Spreadsheet.

15. Please clarify the type(s) of ODCs or material costs that are to be included in CLIN 0004, Cost Reimbursement. Is personal protective equipment and other labor related ODCs to be included in this CLIN or in the labor rates? ODCs will primarily be Personal Protective Equipment and travel from AMARG or Hill to another site. Material charges would be unusual.

16. Draft PWS, paragraph 1 states that “Contractor will have access to Government Furnished tools…”. Does this include general hand tools? All tools will be Government furnished.

17. The draft RFP cites several references to a JALC document; for example Section I, paragraph 9952.228-9001, Insurance Clause Implementation, page 15 of 26. Where may offerors find the text of this requirement? We have deleted the clause from Section I of the solicitation.

18. We currently understand that the Government is recording DO-CATs contractor time differently at AMARG verse Hill. How are both locations currently handling timesheets, tracking of hours, and approvals? Is DMAPS used, hard copy timecards, or a web based system? AMARG and Hill AFB both enter the DO-CAT employees into the Time and Attendance (TAA) program, a part that feeds DMAPS, and all hours worked are logged against Job Order Numbers. Current DO-CAT contractors submit a Certificate of Service (invoice with number of hours worked) which are verified against TAA hours. The groups will verify their hours and sign the Certificate of Service.

19. In review of the Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations Fifth Additions dated April 2006 and its addendums and the Utah and Arizona Wage determinations we found no references to the following skills:

a. Aircraft Accessories Mechanics, do we use Aircraft Mechanic and at which level?

b. Aircraft Electrician, do we use Aircraft Mechanic and at which level?

c. Aircraft Systems Mechanic, do we use Aircraft Mechanic and at which level?

d. Computer Clerks

e. Electronics Technicians, there are three levels 1, 2, and 3. Which level is required?

f. Engine Mechanics, no listings. Are these aircraft engines or automotive/truck Engines? If aircraft do we use Aircraft Mechanics and if so what level?

g. Expeditor Helper, no listing as such material coordinator, material laborer, or material expeditor may apply.

h. Expeditor Worker, no listing as such material coordinator, material laborer, or material expeditor may apply.

i. General Clerk IV is in the Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations but is not in the wage determinations. What is the equivalent GS rating?

j. Inspector is in the Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations but is not in the wage determinations. Directory indicates inspectors are one level above the occupation being inspected. Need guidance on how to price this skill.

k. Maintenance Electrical 2 and 3, no listing

l. Missile Systems Mechanic, no listing

m. Planner, no listing n Plastic and Rubber Mechanic, no listing however a Fabric Worker skill code 23260 may apply.

o. Production Inspection, see item j

p. Scheduler, We believe the Government desires a production scheduler. The definition provided in the SCA directory is different, please provide clarification.

q. Sheet metal Mechanic, if this is an Aircraft Sheet Metal mechanic it should fall under the Aircraft Mechanic skill code if so what level?

r. Shop Machinist, there is a listing for Machinist but none for shop machinist is there something different on this skill than on the Machinist requirement?

s. Support Technician, no listing in SCA Directory or wage determination.

t. Technical Writer, three levels are in the Directory and Wage determination which level or levels are required?

We have updated the job category list. Any remaining job classifications that are not covered by the wage determination will require the conformance procedure, which is explained on the wage determination.

20. Ref. Section L, paragraph 4.2.6. This paragraph calls for the Offeror to prepare a Contractor Statement of Work (CSOW). In the performance based contracting environment, the Government spells out what it wants done and to the standard it needs it performed. The Contractor then proposes how these tasks will be accomplished to meet the requisite performance levels and quality standards. Additionally, since the DO-CATs program is task order driven, it is difficult to foresee the total spectrum of the necessary tasks. By requiring the CSOW, the Government removes the flexibility of the contractor to use best commercial practices and adapt processes to more efficiently perform the workload in a performance based environment. Because you have already prepared a comprehensive PWS, would the Government consider removing the CSOW requirement and increase the page count on the technical slightly to allow the Offeror to fully describe in the Technical Capability Volume the interrelation between the tasks, performance standards and CDRL requirements? The page counts have been adjusted, but the CSOW is still required in order for the Government to evaluate if the contractors have effective methods to meet the performance requirements.

21. Section L, Table 2.1, Technical Volume indicates a 45 max page count but there is no indication if the Small Business Plan counts toward the page count. Please clarify. Page count requirements have been changed and small business subcontracting plan has been moved out of the technical volume.

22. Section L, Table 2.1, Past Performance does not include a reference to Section L 7.5, Organizational Structure Change History. Where in the volume should it be addressed and is there a page limit? It has been added to Table 2.1 with a 2 page limit.

23. Section L, Table 2.1, Past Performance indicates the volume is unlimited, however the Team List – Section J states “(Not included in 50 page limit)”. Which is correct? The team list is limited to 5 pages.

a. Section L, Past Performance, Attachment 7, F. Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs). Exactly what do they want here? A simple "yes" or "no"? Or do they want actual CPAR information? For how many years? What if the referenced program has no CPARs? That question has been deleted from attachment 7.

24. Section L, Purchasing System. Why is this required on a labor hour contract? What types/items will be purchased? We have deleted the requirement to provide information on your purchasing system.

25. Section L, Paragraph 4.2.4.2.1 (a) what type of agreements or contract are you requiring? With employees or agencies. If with employees you may have problems with bargaining unit agreements. The Government is looking for the offerors methodology to supply and retain qualified personnel.

26. Regarding Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and Vehicles listed in PWS Description of Services, what type and level of maintenance support is required? Will you provide the Type, Location and quantity of equipment and vehicles to be supported? Specific requirements will be defined at the Task Order level. GSE is listed in the PWS to ensure it is in scope. There is an existing contract to maintain GSE and we expect it to continue.

27. Will there possibly be a requirement for purely Engineering Services? No.

28. What type of IT Software Support will be required and what will be the location(s) of support? This requirement has been removed from this contract.

29. PWS paragraph 4.15 indicates contractor will provide all required PPE. The required PPE varies greatly between skill codes and areas worked and from season to season. In addition items such as respirators may vary depending on equipment used. Other items such as safety shoes may require different types such as rubber soles or rubber boots for use in the chemical areas. To better define what equipment is required, suggest this requirement be added to the ODC line item at a fixed amount determined by the government in order to keep a level playing field, or the Government should provide a specific list of safety equipment required by the types of hazards that will be involved and, in case of the respirators, the type of equipment used on. We are not evaluating ODC costs. These requirements will be determined on Task Orders.

30. During Industry day it was mentioned that all the position description for the labor categories required and listed on Attachment 4 and 5 were listed in the DOL Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations fifth edition dated April 2006. After review of that document we have found many of those listed categories are not in the directory or in the wage determinations provided. Suggest the government provided the DOL code for each position required. If a code is not available, then provide a position description with the equivalent WG or GS rating. We will provide these codes or required conformance. The list of classifications needed has been simplified.

31. Many wage categories listed on attachments 4 and 5 do not have minimum wage rates assigned Are we to follow the directions listed in the wage determination to conform these positions? See answers to similar questions.

32. In review of Attachments 4 and 5 we see several positions not listed that maybe required in performance of this contract. Suggest you add Pneudraulics Mechanics, Instrument Mechanics and Ground Support Equipment Mechanics. See answers to similar questions.

33. Paragraph 4.16.2 of the PWS states "Cost associated with all initial training shall be shall be included in the contractor's fully burdened hourly or unit rates." Is the labor associated with the referenced training directly billable? See previous questions and answers.

34. Please identify office space. Location of space has been tentatively identified as shown below.

AMXG

Hangar 1

Bldg 225

CMXG

Bldg 507

EMXG

Bldg 5, Bay P

Bldg 5, Bay C

MMXG

No office space provided.

MXSG

Bldg 843 and other work site bldgs.

AMARG

In work site bldgs, as needed.