Section_L__Final_10_Jul_14.docx

L-900. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

A. The following instructions cover the preparation and submittal of the offeror’s proposal for this solicitation. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. Offerors are cautioned that any noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP may cause their proposal to be determined to be unacceptable and therefore not eligible for award. If a joint venture arrangement exists for this acquisition, the offeror shall provide a copy of the joint venture agreement that is signed and dated by all joint venture members as part of the proposal submission. Proposals shall be submitted to the Government in five (5) separate volumes, or sections separately tabbed and identified as set forth below:

Compensation Plan, Small Business Subcontracting Plan, Attachment 3 Labor Rates Matrix, and Attachment 9 Cross Reference Matrix)

Attachment 7 Relevancy Table) IV N/A 1 Electronic**/1 Paper Small Business Concern Utilization Plan V N/A 1 Electronic**/1 Paper Cost/Price Proposal

*Page limit for Total Compensation Plan is 10 pages.

**Electronic copies shall be submitted in accordance with RFP Attachment 4. Offerors shall virus-scan all media before submittal to the Government. Offerors shall use the instructions set forth in RFP Attachment 4 to use the Past Performance Information (PPI) Tool to electronically submit the Past Performance information.

In addition to the page limitations set forth above, proposals should comply with the following format:

(1) Each volume shall be marked with the RFP number and the offeror’s name and address, and the number of the Volume, i.e., I, II, III, etc. Proposals shall be in the English language and all monies shall be proposed in United States dollars.

(2) Print shall be no smaller than a font size of 12 and should be on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper. All text shall be double-spaced. Font size within tables, charts, graphs, drawings, diagrams, supporting illustrations, spreadsheets, and text callout boxes must be equal to or larger than 8. Text within headers, footers, tables, charts, graphs, drawings, diagrams, supporting illustrations, spreadsheets, text callout boxes, bulleted lists, captions DO NOT need to be double spaced. Charts, tables, graphs, or spreadsheets may be on fold-out pages and each fold-out page will count as one page. Fold-outs must not exceed 11 x 17 inches unfolded, and must fold within the 8 ½ x 11 inch page size. Each volume/section within the proposal notebook shall be separately tabbed and identified. Margins shall be no smaller than 1 inch and each page within a volume (or section) shall be numbered consecutively.

(3) The page limitation for Volume II, Written Technical Proposal, is 150 pages. The page limitation includes any charts, tables, graphs, drawings, diagrams, supporting illustrations, or spreadsheets but excludes any table of contents or list of acronyms (if utilized). Offerors are cautioned that any pages that exceed the page limitation shall not be read but shall be removed and either retained in the contract file without being considered in the evaluation or sent back to the offeror. Any page that has text on one side shall be counted as one page. Any page that has text on both sides shall be counted as two pages.

(4) Page limitations may be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs), if issued. The specified page limitation for EN responses will be identified in the letters accompanying the ENs or on the EN form itself.

(5) Each page containing proprietary information should be so marked.

(6) Each page should contain the following legend at the bottom of each sheet:

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION--SEE FAR 2.101 and 3.104

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Submission of initial proposal packages via electronic mail will not be accepted. Initial proposal packages shall be either mailed or hand-delivered.

Communications:

Exchanges of source selection information after submission of initial proposal packages between the Government and offerors will be controlled by the Contracting Officer. Electronic mail (e-mail) may be used to transmit such information, only if the e-mail is sent encrypted, and must include “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104” in the subject line of the e-mail. Otherwise, source selection information may be transmitted via direct mailing or facsimile. In order to facilitate the sending and receiving of encrypted e-mails, an offeror must use MS Outlook email configured to support encryption or a different e-mail product that is S/MIME compatible and configured to support encryption. If an offeror intends to submit its source selection information via an encrypted email, it will need to contact the Buyer/Contracting Officer indicated on the face page of the solicitation, prior to that first submittal in order to exchange certificates used for encryption. To ensure the process is working correctly, send a test encrypted message first (without including any source selection information). If an offeror’s computer system cannot support encryption technology, the offeror shall send the Contracting Officer correspondence at the time that it submits its proposal stating that it accepts the risk of sending and receiving unencrypted electronic mail if it chooses to utilize unencrypted email as a channel of communication.

When submitting source selection information via e-mail, file suppression utilities to include but not limited to zip files will not be accepted.

B. Volume I, Completed RFP, shall consist of the completed and signed RFP with a cover letter delineating any exceptions taken to the RFP terms and conditions with accompanying rationale. Offerors are cautioned that any noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP may cause their proposal to be determined unacceptable and therefore not considered eligible for award. Offerors shall ensure that all clauses and provisions that require “fill-in” information are appropriately completed, including the proposed prices associated with the contract line items in the Schedule of the RFP.

The total compensation plan required by FAR 52.222-46 shall be submitted as part of Volume I and shall be no more than 10 pages. The plan shall set forth salaries and fringe benefits proposed for professional employees and include supporting information to enable the Government to review the proposed salaries and fringe benefits in accordance with FAR 52.222-46. Note: The compensation plan pertains to the offeror only. However, if a populated joint venture is formed (a joint venture in which the employees are employed by the joint venture itself and not by any individual joint venture member), the joint venture must submit the total compensation plan for the joint venture. If an unpopulated joint venture is formed, each individual joint venture member must submit its own total compensation plan.

The offeror shall fill out the cross reference matrix at RFP Attachment 9 indicating where in its proposal the information can be found as it relates to the RFP. The cross reference matrix will be utilized as a tool to show critical interrelationships and dependencies among the technical requirements document (Performance-Based Work Statement (PWS)), the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN), the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), Section L (Instructions to Offerors), and Section M (Evaluation Basis for Award). The cross reference matrix will help an offeror ensure it has responded to all the evaluation criteria and proposal submittal requirements identified in the solicitation. If the matrix conflicts with any other requirement, direction, or provision of this solicitation, the other reference shall take precedence over the matrix. Additionally, to the extent the matrix discloses details as to the manner by which the Government intends to evaluate the offeror’s proposals for award, Section M references in the matrix are for informational purposes only, and the Government shall be obligated to evaluate proposals solely in conformance with Section M of the solicitation.

The Government intends to award without discussions, but reserves the right to conduct discussions if determined necessary. Any discussions will be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.306. Proposals must be received by

AFLCMC/WLNKB

235 Byron Street, Suite 19A Robins AFB GA 31098-1670 Attention: Carla Clark, Contracting Officer no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time. However, offerors are requested to submit Volume III, Past Performance Information, so that it is received ten (10) calendar days prior to the required due date for proposals. Failure to submit Volume III by the earlier date will not result in offeror disqualification as long as Volume III is received by the proposal due date.

C. Volume II, Written Technical Proposal

(1) The technical proposal shall be clear, concise, and include all the information required by this provision in sufficient detail for effective evaluation. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of their capabilities, work processes, facilities, and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s technical proposal.

Statements of the nature that the offeror understands, can or will comply and meet the solicitation requirements, or which merely paraphrase the specification or parts thereof are considered inadequate. Phrases such as “Standard procedures will be employed” or “Well known techniques will be used” are also inadequate and unsatisfactory. A proposal which does not address any of the proposal requirements described in the following sections will be considered non-compliant due to insufficient information to evaluate and may be a basis for eliminating the proposal from further consideration.

(2) The following information shall be provided in the technical proposal and will be evaluated to assess technical acceptability (which includes the consideration of technical risk) in accordance with Section M-900, Evaluation Basis for Award. The technical proposal shall address each of the following subfactors describing the offeror’s proposed approach to performing the requirements set forth in the PWS including identification of deficiencies, weaknesses, and significant weaknesses, associated with each technical evaluation factor/subfactor, as applicable IAW DoD mandatory procedures.

-- “Deficiency” is defined as a material failure of a proposal to meet a Government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses in a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance to an unacceptable level.

-- “Weakness” is defined as a moderate-level risk to the offeror being able to meet any stated contractual requirement which can be mitigated and therefore allowable for award.

-- “Significant weakness” is defined as a high-level risk to the offeror being able to meet any stated contractual requirement which cannot be mitigated and therefore not acceptable for award.

(3) For each subfactor, the offeror shall identify risks, if any, associated with the proposed approach and actions the offeror will take to mitigate the identified risks. If no risks/mitigations are identified in the offeror’s proposal, it indicates the offeror does not consider there to be any risk associated with their proposed approach.

Subfactor 1: Operations Support Actions. Using Sample Task Scenario #1 (Attachment 13), the technical proposal shall include a detailed narrative discussion outlining a sound and comprehensive approach and executable plan of the offeror’s proposed operations support actions in accordance with PWS section/subsections 4.1 and 4.8 to meet the minimum Aircraft Availability each day.

Subfactor 2: Maintenance Actions. Using Sample Task Scenario #2 (Attachment 13), the technical proposal shall include a detailed narrative discussion outlining a sound and comprehensive approach and executable plan of the offeror’s proposed maintenance actions in accordance with PWS sections/subsections 4.1 and 4.9 to meet the minimum Aircraft Availability each day.

Subfactor 3: Logistics Actions. Using Sample Task Scenario #3 (Attachment 13), the technical proposal shall include a detailed narrative discussion outlining a sound and comprehensive approach and executable plan of the offeror’s proposed logistics actions in accordance with PWS sections/subsections 4.1 and 4.10 to meet the minimum Aircraft Availability each day.

Subfactor 4: Engineering Actions. Using sample Task Scenario #4 (Attachment 13), the technical proposal shall include a detailed narrative discussion outlining a sound and comprehensive approach and executable plan of the offeror’s proposed engineering actions in accordance with PWS sections/subsections 4.1 and 4.7 to meet the minimum Aircraft Availability each day.

Subfactor 5: Program Management. The technical proposal shall include a detailed and comprehensive narrative discussion which describes the offeror’s program management organizational approach to ensure performance metrics and requirements mandated in PWS sections/subsections 4.1, 4.4 and 4.6 are achieved. The detailed and comprehensive narrative shall include the following information:

a. A sound and comprehensive organizational structure by shift, skill mix, function and numbers that will be used to meet PWS requirements. The proposal shall provide rationale used to develop the organizational structure and provide a staffing/manpower matrix to accomplish the requirements of the PWS subsection 4.6.1 and 4.6.2

b. A sound and comprehensive plan to hire, train, maintain and retain qualified staff from contract start and throughout the period of performance to meet all PWS requirements. This plan shall also specifically address obtaining and retaining any required certifications and qualifications to accomplish the PWS requirements of section 4.4.

c. A sound and comprehensive approach that provides a description of the teaming arrangements with any subcontractors or joint ventures including the organizational relationship and the lines of responsibilities between the prime and subcontractors.

Subfactor 6: Transition Phase-in.

The technical proposal shall include a detailed and comprehensive narrative discussion which describes the offeror’s transition phase-in approach and ability to achieve full contract performance at the end of the specified phase-in period in accordance with PWS section/subsections 4.2, 4.2.1, and 4.2.2. The detailed and comprehensive narrative shall include the following information:

a. A sound and comprehensive plan and milestone chart to manage and accomplish a seamless contract phase-in process and employee orientation to ensure successful contract performance at the end of the specified phase-in period.

b. A sound and comprehensive plan for timely acquisition of required vehicles and associated support equipment.

c. A sound and comprehensive plan for coordinating with the Government for the transfer and accounting of Government Furnished Property and Equipment.

D. Volume III - Past Performance:

(1) Offerors shall utilize the Past Performance Information (PPI) Tool in order to submit Volume III, Past Performance. The offeror shall submit Present and Past Performance Information for itself and any joint venture member, as well as each proposed critical subcontractor in accordance with the format contained in the instructions contained in RFP Attachment 4 and the following paragraphs. A critical subcontractor is defined as an entity (subcontractor and/or teaming contractor), other than the offeror itself that will perform at least 30 percent or more of the maintenance, logistics, operations support, or engineering based on the total program price. The percentage of work performed is based on the offeror’s total (including options) proposed dollar value excluding materials.

(2) a. The requested present and past performance information paper copy shall be provided in a separate volume (i.e., 3-ring binder) labeled "Volume III - Past Performance.” A summary page shall be provided describing the proposed role of the offeror, any joint venture member and critical subcontractor (nature of work, percentage of overall work, and place of work). Summary page information shall clearly communicate that any proposed critical subcontractor meets the definition of a critical subcontractor established above. Efforts submitted for proposed critical subcontractors not meeting the established definition will not be evaluated. Each offeror/joint venture member shall utilize the PPI tool to complete information for each active or completed contract (with preferably at least one year of performance history) in the past five (5) years that the offeror/joint venture member considers relevant in demonstrating its ability to perform the proposed effort. If the total number of such contracts exceeds three (3), each offeror/joint venture member shall address its three (3) most recent and relevant contracts. For each critical subcontractor included in the offeror's proposal, the PPI tool shall be utilized to complete information for three (3) of their most recent and relevant contracts.

b. If the contract you are submitting is an ordering type contractual vehicle (e.g., an Indefinite Delivery “D” type contract per FAR 16.5), only after issuance of a delivery/task order does performance occur. Given this, an individual order (or orders) under the basic ordering contract shall be submitted in lieu of just the basic ordering contract itself. Each submitted order shall be considered a separate effort unless information is provided indicating follow-on or series of orders for continued performance of the same scope and such can be verified by the user/customer. In this event, such submitted multiple orders shall be considered as a single effort for evaluation purposes. For all submittals, the performance on efforts identified shall be restricted to those completed or ongoing during the past five (5) years from the issuance date of this RFP. The offeror's/joint venture member’s or critical subcontractor’s present and past performance information may include data on efforts performed by other predecessor companies, affiliates, other divisions or corporate management if such was provided for evaluation and if the offeror’s past performance volume demonstrates the company, affiliate, or division will provide the offeror with resources for the instant proposed effort, such as workforce, management, facilities, or other capabilities demonstrating direct and meaningful involvement in the performance of the instant proposed effort. The information provided in the PPI tool shall clearly indicate the division or corporate organization that performed or is presently performing the contract. Contracts listed may include those with the Federal Government, state and local governments or their agencies, and commercial customers.

c. Offerors, joint venture members, or critical subcontractors that are newly formed entities (in existence less than five (5) years from the issuance date of this solicitation) who either have no prior contracts or do not possess relevant corporate past performance, but have key personnel with relevant past performance while employed by another company, may demonstrate the performance of such key personnel by submitting completing information using the PPI tool for three (3) of their most recent and relevant contracts under which such key personnel performed the same role currently being proposed on the instant acquisition and this performance occurred during the past five (5) years from the issuance date of this solicitation. Note however, that the quality of the key personnel’s performance under the submitted contract must be able to be verified by the Past Performance Team in order to be considered in the assessment of confidence. Any such key personnel must already be employed by the offeror /joint venture member, or in the case of a critical subcontractor, must already be employed by the critical subcontractor. In addition to the information provided in the PPI tool for each entity as required above, the offeror must submit a consent letter executed by each of its proposed critical subcontractors authorizing release of adverse past performance information to the prime offeror to allow the prime offeror an opportunity to respond. A sample Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Form is attached to this RFP (see RFP Attachment 12). The consent form should be completed by the critical subcontractors identified in your proposal. The completed consent forms should be submitted as part of your Past Performance Volume.

d. On the three (3) contracts submitted in Volume III, Past Performance, include relevant information in the concerning the offeror’s/joint venture member’s (and critical subcontractor’s, if applicable) compliance with FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns or FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan, if these clauses are or were contained in the contract. (Please note that FAR 52.219-8 does apply to ALL businesses, whereas FAR 52.219-9 only applies to large businesses.) When subcontracting possibilities existed on the contracts submitted by the offeror/joint venture member and critical subcontractor, address whether or not the offeror/joint venture member and critical subcontractor awarded subcontracts to small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns to the fullest extent consistent with efficient contract performance. If none of the submitted contracts included these clauses, whenever subcontracting possibilities existed in the performance of these contracts, address whether or not it was the offeror’s/joint venture member’s and critical subcontractor’s policy to utilize small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns to the fullest extent consistent with efficient contract performance.

(3) The offeror/joint venture member or critical subcontractor, if applicable, shall focus its information provided in the PPI tool so that it clearly correlates present and past performance with the requirements of this RFP. The information must clearly describe the relevance of the effort to the work proposed. Provide the most current information for the Point of Contacts (POCs) for each submitted effort/contract identified in the PPI tool. In addition to the information provided in the PPI tool, each offeror/joint venture member/critical subcontractor shall complete a separate Relevancy Table (RFP Attachment 7) for each effort/contract identified in the PPI tool for evaluation.

(4) If problems were encountered during the performance of the identified contracts, provide evidence of the ability to isolate the root causes of problems and include in the information provided in the PPI tool for each effort/contract a description of programs or actions taken to resolve those causes. Problems not addressed in the PPI tool, but found by the Government during the evaluation of the information in this volume, will be assumed to still exist. Note: In the case of Contractor Performance Assessment Report System (CPARS), if your input has already been provided and the rationale/circumstances have not changed, DO NOT repeat them here.

(5) The Present/Past Performance Questionnaire (see RFP Attachment 8) will be one means used by the Government to obtain present/past performance information. The Government reserves the right to change, alter, and/or supplement the questionnaire without further notice to the offeror(s). The offeror shall send out and track the completion of the Present/Past Performance Questionnaires (See RFP Attachment 8) to each of the offeror’s, joint venture member’s and/or critical subcontractors’ (i.e., each entity’s) Points of Contact (POCs) identified in the PPI tool for each effort/contract. The responsibility to send out and track the completion of the Present/Past Performance Questionnaires rests solely with the offeror (i.e., it shall not be delegated to any other entity). The Transmittal Letter (see RFP Attachment 11) shall be used by the offeror in sending out the Present/Past Performance Questionnaires. Exert your best effort to ensure that at least two POCs per relevant contract submit a completed Present/Past Performance Questionnaire directly to the Government not later than the date established in the RFP for receipt of proposals. POCs may submit their completed Present/Past Performance Questionnaire either electronically, by fax, or by mail. If sending electronically, follow the procedures outlined in paragraph A above, and email to: carla.clark@us.af.mil. If mailing, the POCs may return the completed questionnaires via mail directly to:

AFLCMC/WLNKB

Attn: Carla Clark 235 Byron St., Suite 19A Robins AFB GA 31098

If mailing, the outside envelope must be marked as follows:

NOTE: TO BE OPENED BY ADDRESSEE ONLY

The completed questionnaires should be contained in a second envelope marked with the mailing address and the following legend:

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

POCs may send the completed questionnaires via fax. The fax number is (478) 222-2177. Please have your POCs call Carla Clark, (478) 327-8244 before faxing their response.

Once the Present/Past Performance Questionnaires are completed by your POCs, the information contained therein shall be considered source selection sensitive and shall not be released to you, the offeror. Therefore, any exchange/contact between the offeror/joint venture member and/or critical subcontractor and its own POCs in regards to comments made on the questionnaire is not permitted. Questionnaires shall be sent to and best efforts made to ensure completion and submission directly back to the Government from at least two of the following (in descending order of availability):

(a) Procuring Contracting Officer/Contract Negotiator or equivalent

(b) Program/Project Manager, or equivalent

(c) Administrative Contracting Officer/Contract Administrator or equivalent

(d) Other (As specified in your FACTS Sheet)

(6) In the event that commercial contracts are presented as present/past performance sources of information, a client authorization letter shall be issued to those commercial POCs requesting/authorizing them to complete a Present/Past Performance Questionnaire. A sample client authorization letter is attached to this RFP (see RFP Attachment 10). The offeror is required to send the client authorization letter(s) with the Present/Past Performance Questionnaire(s) to each POC on commercial contracts. A separate copy of client authorization letter(s) for each commercial contract shall be included in the offeror’s Present/Past Performance submission for the Government’s use in case additional questionnaires need to be sent by the Government after RFP due date.

(7) The Government may conduct follow-up discussions with any of the people identified in the information provided in the PPI tool or in the offeror’s Present/Past Performance Volume. The Government may obtain other information by sending out additional questionnaires and/or through other sources.

(8) RFP Attachments 7 and 8 (Relevancy Table and Present/Past Performance Questionnaire) must include the following legend at the top and bottom of the page:

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

E. Volume IV- Small Business Concern Utilization Plan. The offeror shall submit a Small Business Concern Utilization Plan for itself and any joint venture member, as well as, each proposed critical subcontractor in a separate volume (i.e., 3-ring binder) labeled "Volume IV – Small Business Concern Utilization Plan. The Small Business Concern Utilization Plan is required from all offerors, including small businesses and companies with Master, Individual, commercial subcontracting plans and/or comprehensive subcontracting plans. Offerors are advised that the Small Business Concern Utilization Plan is not the same as the Small Business Subcontracting Plan required by FAR 52.219-9. Large business offerors shall not utilize the Small Business Subcontracting Plan in the place of the Small Business Concern Utilization Plan. In the performance of this resultant contract, identify the following:

i) A description of the extent of participation of proposed Small Businesses (SB) when subcontracting possibilities exist; and,

ii) A description of the subcontracted work to be performed by proposed SBs, the company names/CAGE codes planned for use in the performance of this resultant contract along with the associated goals expressed in terms of percentages of the total planned subcontracted dollars.

iii) If limited or no subcontracting possibilities exist for these SB entities, provide rationale for such. Offerors are cautioned against only acknowledging a goal is not met, if applicable. Rather, adequate rationale includes specific reasons why a goal is unmet and any actions being taken to increase any unmet goals. Additionally, if the offeror/joint venture member is a small business concern, it should include the work it will be performing when calculating the goals for your Small Business Concern Utilization information.

F. Volume V, Cost/Price

The Cost/Price volume will consist of completion of Labor Rates and Material Add-on Factor Table, Attachment 3 of the RFP as well as the completed Schedule B proposed prices. Proposed prices shall be rounded to no more than two (2) decimal points.

1. General Instructions: These instructions are to assist Offerors in submitting cost/price information that is required to evaluate the unit prices proposed and to calculate the Total Evaluated Price. Compliance with these instructions is mandatory and failure to comply may result in rejection of the proposal.

2. Labor Categories and Material Add-on Factor Table, Attachment 3: In addition to completing the RFP’s Schedule, each Offeror shall also submit prices in accordance with the Labor Categories and Material Add-on Factor Table contained in the RFP at Attachment 3, which will be posted along with the RFP on FedBizOps. Each Offeror should download the spreadsheet and complete for submission in response to the RFP. Each Offeror shall submit the Cost/Price Volume in hard copy (scanned PDF files not acceptable) and in electronic (Microsoft Excel) format. Do not limit/protect the files to “read only” format. The paper and electronic copies shall be identical in all respects. Electronics submittals shall comply with the instructions in paragraph A, Instructions To Offerors.