Questions_and_Answers_III.pdf

FA8533-16-R-0001 Bomber Armament Tester (BAT) Questions & Answers #3:

1. SOW, 1.2.4 Government Data Rights states “All software executables and source code developed by the contractor for the BAT System shall be property of the Government for unlimited use.”

Question: Please confirm the Government’s intent to only require unlimited rights to all software executables and source code developed by the contractor for the BAT system in accordance with DFARS 252.227-7013 and 252.227-7014 and not to take legal title

(ownership) to the data.

Answer: "It is the Government's intent to acquire unlimited rights to all software executables and source code developed by the contractor for the BAT System IAW DFARS

252.227-7013 and 252.227-7014. The SOW does not address legal data title.

2. Question: How soon after completion of PRR will the Government request a proposal for the production CLINs? How much response time will be provided? What pricing assumptions should be used by the contractor for estimating performance of production CLINs with respect to government fiscal years?

Answer: IAW Clause 52.216-17, the Contractor is required to submit its cost data proposal within 45 days after the end of the month in which the contractor has completed PRR. PRR will not be considered complete until the event has been successfully documented and accepted by the PCO. The Government fiscal year runs from 1 Oct thru 30 Sep the following year.

3. Question: If a proposal is submitted with a technical solution does not meet weight requirements for BAT Core Tester, will this be grounds for non-technical acceptability? If proposed technical solution features portability using wheels, would this be an offer considered by the Government to be technically acceptable?

Answer: Determination of technical acceptability is based upon the evaluation factors within Section L and M. The BAT system must meet the Performance Specification and

Statement of Work.

4. Question: Please confirm AS9100 is a requirement to bid; and is the process the Government intends to utilize to confirm compliance.

Answer: AS9100 is not an evaluation factor as listed in Section L or Section M, nor is it a requirement to bid; however, it is requirement for contract performance.

5. For one of the selected responses, the Government states “Armament/Avionics Core Tester

Armament Test System (automatic or manual)”.

Question: Please confirm selection is stated as intended; or, was the selection intended to state “Armament/Avionics Core Tester (automatic or manual)”?

Answer: The intended statement was “Armament/Avionics Core Tester (automatic or manual)”. See the updated Attachment 8 Relevancy Assessment and incorporated in RFP

Amendment 0001, posted to FBO on 23 May 16.

6. Question: Please identify the TPS Software for which the Government does or does not have distribution authority.

Answer: Refer to the Bidder’s Library for all pre-award releasable source data and for the source data that will be released upon contract award to the awardee.

7. Question: Please identify the Technical Orders for which the Government does or does not have distribution authority.

Answer: Refer to the Bidder’s Library for all pre-award releasable technical orders and for the technical data that will be released upon contract award to the awardee. The contract awardee will be granted access, IAW SOW paragraph 3.9.2, to all Technical Orders listed in the TMCR.

8. Question: There cross-reference matrix aligns to Section L requirements. Please confirm that the contractor is not required to show compliance/provide technical write-ups addressing all requirements identified in the SOW and/or Performance Specification.

Answer: The offeror is not required to address all requirements identified in the

SOW/Performance Specification. The offeror is required to complete the cross reference matrix where the offeror addresses only the SOW/Performance Specification paragraphs identified within each Subfactor/element.

9. Question: The cross-reference matrix does not contain a column for CDRLs/CLINs. Is this required for the cross-reference matrix?

Answer: The offeror may use the “other” column to enter CDRLs/CLINs that are referenced within the offeror’s proposal.

10. Question: (Ref: Atch_12_Excel_Cost_Model): Could not locate a "Travel Detail" attachment within the solicitation. Please provide instructions on what is expected here.

Answer: The numbers (i.e., hours, rates, and amount) and nomenclature (e.g., Labor

Category 3, Travel, and Consultant 2) describing individual elements of cost contained in

Attachment 12, Excel Cost Model, to the RFP are examples only. These items should be tailored to fit the individual offeror's proposal.

11. Question: (Ref: Atch_12_Excel_Cost_Model): The table specifies phased funding down to the monthly level. Will the contractor be allowed to invoice monthly for the EMD

CLINs? Or will the contractor only be allowed to invoice at CDR, SVR, and PRR?

Answer: Invoicing will be allowed on a recurring basis based upon allocable and allowable costs incurred during EMD, as confirmed by the Administrative Contracting Officer.

12. Question: Will CLINs X004AA and X004AB be awarded at the same time? Or will they be staggered by some amount of time. Considering rates differ from year to year, what FY award assumptions should be made by the contractor to accurately price production CLINs?

Answer: No. The X004AA and X004AB CLINs are not presently expected to be awarded at the same time. However, the Government may exercise both productions options if funding is available. For planning purposes, offeror’s should anticipate separate year execution of the production options.

13. Question: Will the contractor be allowed to submit invoices into WAWF upon delivery of each individual system, or must all tester deliveries have been made prior to submittal?

Answer: The Contractor will submit invoices through WAWF upon delivery of each CLIN or subCLIN.

14. Question: Upon a re-proposal for CLINs X004AX after completion of PRR, what evidence will be requested from the Contractor to substantiate changed costs?

Answer: See Clause 52.216-17 and Contractor Briefing for BAT Incentives, dated 24 March

2016, posted on FBO 17 Mar 16.

15. Question: Within the solicitation there is information provided for the EMD Incentive

Structure, however no information is provided for "Production Incentive Structure". Can the

Government please provide this information?

Answer: This solicitation does not have a Production Incentive Structure. EMD is the only area incentivized.

16. Question: The Government identifies all Technical Orders pertaining to the BAT program. Only a limited subset of these TOs have been included in the Bidder's

Library. How does the Government anticipate providing these TOs in support of vendor proposal activities? Will the TOs be provided in advance of the RFP allowing the vendor to accurately bid cost estimates associated with sheet impacts? Or does the Government intend to allow for ECPs after contract award to allow for cost variances associated with TO source data requirements derived from a TO Guidance Conference.

Answer: The Government does not anticipate providing additional TOs or data updates to the Bidder’s Library for proposal purposes. The Government does not intend to use ECPs for cost variance associated with the TO Guidance Conference.

17. Question: It is during the TO Guidance Conference where TOs to be affected by the program are determined. Does the Government have any guidance on how many sheets, illustrations, etc. will be required for each TO identified in the TMCR? Or will access to the

TOs identified in the TMCR be provided upon release of the formal RFP?

Answer: The Government has identified the TOs within the TMCR, but will not be providing the number of sheets that will be updated under this acquisition. See SOW paragraph 3.9.2.

18. Question: Will the TEP be based upon TO source data delivery for only those TOs that have been provided in the Bidder's Library? When will the Contractor be allowed copies of the

TOs that are affected by the TMCR?

Answer: The TEP should be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided. It is up to the offeror to determine how to incorporate data whether in the Bidder’s library or not.

The TOs listed in the TMCR and are not listed in the “BAT documents available after contract award” section of the bidder’s library will be provided after contract award.

19. Question: Will the Government accept the use of Core Tester automated test equipment that does not conform to industry standard bus communication protocols such as VME or PCIe?

Answer: The Government requires a Modular Open System Architecture solution. Any solution that does not conform to industry standard bus communication protocols is not acceptable.

20. Question: Does the Government has any preference on meeting locations for those meetings specified in the SOW. Will Government set-aside sufficient travel funds to attend all meeting at Contractor facilities, or should contractor attempt to hold meetings at Government facilities?

Answer: Post-award conferences will be at Robins AFB IAW SOW para. 3.1.1. SRR will be at Robins AFB, with the remaining System Engineering Technical Reviews held at the

Contractor's facility IAW SOW para. 3.7. TIMs may be held via telecom IAW SOW para.

3.8.3.3. For DT&E and OT&E events travel to Government facilities such as flight lines and back shops will be required. The Government will not be providing or administering travel funds for the contractor to attend meetings, TIMs, reviews or testing.

21. Question: What support from the Contractor will be required to support Red Team activities? What condition of tester will be required? Can tester that has undergone environmental/reliability testing be provided?

Answer: The contractor is not required to support the Red Team activities. The tester condition required is a fully functional core tester. Yes. The tester that has undergone environmental/reliability can be provided, as long as the tester is functionally equivalent to a production core tester.

22. Question: Is mechanical implementation of elapsed time indicator is required, or if this can be implemented with software and some form of import/export functionality of elapsed time information that can survive system restoration procedures?

Answer: The specification does not show preference to the technology used for the elapsed time indicator.

23. Question: Since there are several components to the BAT Core Tester, can the Government provide examples of what the elapsed time should indicator track, e.g. chassis usage, individual ATE slot usage, etc.?

Answer: The elapsed time indicator is intended to track BAT Core Tester Total Operating hours. There is no requirement to track individual ATE slot usage, etc.

24. Question: What is meant by Power Quality Information identified in the Performance

Specification? When must this be provided? On-demand only? Or concurrently with every test? Power quality of what? The BAT's power source? Or UUT power?

Answer: Specification paragraph 3.3.1 has been updated to reference specification paragraph 3.1.12.7 which contains the power quality information.

25. Question: What is Government's vision for supporting DT&E and OT&E activities? Will

WR engineering support these activities or will they be delegated? Will contractor be performing tests or will Government maintenance personnel be conducting tests with

Contractor support? UUT resources permitting, will the Government have sufficient personnel resources to support parallel testing of all UUTs?

Answer: The Contractor will conduct DT&E activities with Government personnel in attendance and participating. OT&E activities will be conducted by Government personnel, with the Contractor available to support troubleshooting when requested by the BAT

Program Manager or Government Contracting Officer. The Government will provide personnel resources to support parallel testing of UUTs if needed.

26. Question: What is meant by "Interface Design Description (IDD) for each functional module of the BAT Core Tester"? An SRS and SPS (paragraphs 3.2.4.1 and 3.2.4.2) are required for each CSCI of the BAT System software. Is an IDD required for each CSCI of the BAT

System software as well?

Answer: No. IDD is not required for each CSCI. The IDDs apply only to functional hardware modules. SOW para. 4.1.9, dated 23 May 16, Rev 1 has been updated to reflect this change.

27. Question: Are we allowed to add additional columns to the BOE Labor Summary tabs? Not all SOW paragraphs are identified within the available columns, some of which result in direct costs. For example, "Training" and "Initial Spares" do not appear to have a column against which these hours can be mapped.

Answer: Additional BOE Labor columns are not allowed be added to BOE Labor Summary tabs. Not all SOW paragraphs are identified in the BOE Labor Summary tabs. Section 3.0

SOW paragraphs that are not provided in the BOE are inherently included in the activities of the EMD, Production, and ICS paragraphs.

28. Question: Atch_11_Total_Resources_Volume.xlsx does not include columns for each SOW paragraph, particularly paragraphs that are identified in Section 3. For example, "Systems

Engineering" and "Program Management" are identified as WBS Descriptions in the BOE

Labor Summary tab, yet there is no column pertaining to program management activities identified in the 3.0 General Requirements or 4.0 Increment I columns. Should BOE activities be evenly spread across all of the columns?

Answer: All labor hours are associated with a specific CWBS element and correspond to the

BOE SOW paragraph columns. Section 3.0 SOW paragraphs that are not provided in the

BOE are inherently included in the activities of the EMD, Production, and ICS paragraphs.

29. Question: (We have) identified 3 contracts for the Past Performance questionnaires. We have administered the questionnaires to 2 POCs for each Past Performance contract, except one. On our last Past Performance contract we were only able to locate the Program

Manager, and no one else. My question is, will (we) be penalized for using only one POC, instead of two, on this Past Performance contract?

Answer: Per the directions in Section L of the RFP, the offeror/joint venture member shall exert its best effort to ensure at least two points of contact per relevant effort submit a Past

Performance questionnaire. Failing to do so will not result in the offeror being penalized;

however it does lessen the likelihood of the Government receiving a questionnaire to obtain feedback and understanding of the offeror’s performance or the scope and relevance of the effort being submitted for evaluation.

30. Reference Section L, Paragraph G.5, Total Resources Volume (WBS Breakout). The second paragraph in this section states “The BOE Summary shall not be locked/protected or secured by passwords. The offeror will be required to extend Attachment 11, Total Resource Volume

(WBS Breakdown), to the point that the lowest level WBS element is less than 10,000 man-hours, and cannot extend past five (5) levels. The offeror may insert additional rows to capture labor categories.”

Question: May an offer have more than 10,000 hours in a WBS level 5 element?

Answer: No. The offeror may not have more than 10,000 hours in the WBS level 5 element

IAW Section L, paragraph G.5.

31. According to Section L, E. (2)(a.) Volume III – Past Performance shall contain: 2) a summary page describing the proposed offeror’s nature of work.

Question: Is it the Government’s intent that this should be the “Business Relationships” report from the PPI Tool?

Answer: No. For “nature of work” on the summary page, the offeror should provide a summary description of the efforts (work) being submitted for evaluation regarding its past/present performance. The Business Relationship report from the PPI Tool is a separate document that’s generated at Step 3 of Attachment 3, Past Performance Information for

Offerors.

32. RFP, Section G. Volume V, Cost/Price Proposal, 5) Total Resources Volume (WBS

Breakout), Total Resources General Instructions states: “This submission shall fully support all discreetly estimated resources proposed. It will be available to support the evaluations of proposals by the Technical and Cost/Price evaluators. This submission shall provide a clear depiction of all discreetly proposed resources regardless of whether these resources are provided by the Offeror or any tier of subcontractor. The Offeror is responsible for demonstrating in this submission that the appropriate resources are being proposed to meet the RFP requirements. The Offeror shall include proposed cost, by GFY and detailed by

Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) and WBS elements.”

Question: Please note that Attachment 11, Total Resources Volume, represents proposed

Labor Hours only, not “proposed cost, by GFY and detailed by Contract Line Item Number

(CLIN) and WBS elements”. Request that the government consider rewording the instruction to read as follows: “This submission shall fully support all discreetly estimated labor resources proposed. It will be available to support the evaluations of proposals by the

Technical and Cost/Price evaluators. This submission shall provide a clear depiction of all discreetly proposed labor resources regardless of whether these resources are provided by the Offeror or any tier of subcontractor. The Offeror is responsible for demonstrating in this submission that the appropriate labor resources are being proposed to meet the RFP requirements. The Offeror shall include proposed labor cost, by GFY and detailed by

Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) and WBS elements.”

Answer: The RFP, Section L, under G. Volume V, Cost/Price Proposal, for paragraph 5)

Total Resources Volume (WBS Breakout) instructions remain unchanged, as referenced.

RFP, Section L, under G. Volume V, Cost/Price Proposal, for paragraph 5) Total Resources

Volume (WBS Breakout) states that "offerors are required to provide a BOE Material

Summary that clearly lists the Types and Quantities of Material resources proposed" using

RFP Attachment 11, so the Government is asking for more than just proposed labor hours. In accordance with the instructions provided in the first tab of Attachment 11, BOE Material

Summary, offerors should provide a list of the material resources being proposed (by prime and subs), as well as their proposed labor categories and labor hours in the subsequent tabs for each CLIN in accordance with the instructions in Section L of the RFP.