H9821020R0030 Amendment 0001 Attachment A Questions and Answers.pdf

DEOC Scanning RFP H9821020R0030

Vendor Questions and Government Responses

1. This RFP utilizes DFARS 252.226-7002, Demonstration Project Funds For Contractors Employing Persons with Disabilities. Offerors shall self-certify with the required notice of intent to bid and their offer that the firm currently meets the requirements of an “eligible contractor” in accordance with the following definition:

(1) Eligible Contractor.—The term “eligible contractor” means a business entity operated on a forprofit or nonprofit basis that—

(A) employs severely disabled individuals at a rate that averages not less than 33 percent of its total workforce over a period prescribed by the Secretary;

(B) pays not less than the minimum wage prescribed pursuant to section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) to the employees who are severely disabled individuals; and (C) provides for its employees health insurance and a retirement plan comparable to those provided for employees by business entities of similar size in its industrial sector or geographic region."

The solicitation is listed as 'Unrestricted' in field 10 of the corresponding 1449 form. Can you please confirm that all firms must meet DFARS 252.226-7002 eligibility as outlined (including 33% of their workforce qualified as disabled) to be considered for award?

R1. Yes, all firms must self-certify at the time of proposal submission that the firm meets all DFARS 252.226-7002 eligibility requirements, including that the contractor employed severely disabled individuals at an average rate of not less than 33% of its total workforce during the 12 months prior to the issuance of the solicitation.

2. The Proposal Preparation Instruction and Submission Requirements in section b. state that the “Offerors shall self-certify with the required notice of intent to bid… that the firm currently meets the requirements of an eligible contractor” and further states that an “Eligible Contractor is a business entity that employs severely disabled individuals at a rate that averages not less than 33% of its total workforce”. Please confirm that an eligible bidder must CURRENTLY meet this criteria now and not solely promise to employ individuals with severe disabilities in the future for this contract.

R2. See response R1 above.

3. Is it possible to schedule a visit to DHRA in Alexandria, Virginia to review the documents before the bid due date? A visit can eliminate unknowns and enable a vendor to provide a low, competitive price.

R3. Due to COVID-19, the documents are not readily available to be reviewed at this time. At the time of travel authorization, more complete information will be provided on the location and scope of all records.

4. Section 4.5.5 of Enclosure 1 states that the metadata will include a Description and that the Description will be a narrative of the content of the record. Will the OPR/Owner provide the Description metadata or provide instruction on how to identify the Description? Reading a document to determine a description can be very subjective.

R4. Yes, the OPR/Owner will provide the Description metadata and/or instructions on how to identify the Description.

5. Attachment 1, anticipated Q&As, question 3’s answer states that the contractor will be expected to assist government record owners in inventorying and preparing records.

Please confirm that the contractor is needed to separate the documents into folder and boxes or if the government record owners will complete this manual task.

R5. Yes, the contractor will be needed to separate documents into folders and boxes.

6. We understand the contractor is expected to provide all materials but please confirm this includes boxes, pallets, shrink wrap, etc

R6. Yes, the contractor is expected to provide all materials including such packing materials as boxes, pallets, shrink wrap, etc.

7. The government is requesting pricing for a 4 month transitional period to prepare documents for scanning. What is the expected level of effort?

R7. It is estimated that all activities within Phase 1 of the PWS could be completed by four contractor FTEs.

8. Is the government asking for a certain number of contractor personnel on-site during this timeframe?

R8. No, the Government will provide travel authorizations that include the number of days to be spent onsite at the various locations in accordance with section 9.2.

9. What is the availability of government personnel during the 9 – 3 time period they are working to support the prep and inventorying of the file cabinets and boxes?

R9. Due to COVID-19, the majority of OUSD(P&R)/DHRA government personnel are operating in a 100 percent teleworking posture. Government records owners will be available by telephone/email throughout the 9-3 time period. Government records owners will be available on site on an as-needed basis, as determined by the COR in coordination with the contractor.

10. Will their support be integral to the contractor’s or will the contractor be provided sufficient information to move forward on their own?

R10. Yes, the support of government records owner’s will be integral to the contractor’s success and will be coordinated by the COR.

11. Is it possible to have a site visit or pictures of the files so we can determine level of effort?

R11. Due to COVID-19, the documents are not readily available to be reviewed at this time. At the time of travel authorization, more complete information will be provided on the location and scope of all records.

12. Where exactly are all of the files located? In a storage area or office area? Are they located together?

R12. The files to be scanned are maintained in a mix of storage areas and office areas, spread across all OUSD(P&R)/DHRA Components in the Metro DC Area, Monterrey, California, San Antonio, Texas, Orlando, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida.

13. Is there a staging area for palletizing? If so, what is the capacity to hold palletized boxes?

R13. Areas will be available to palletize, either indoors or outdoors, at most locations.

The capacity will vary by location and will be confirmed when travel authorizations are issued.

14. What are the loading dock requirements? What are the security requirements to access the loading dock?

R14. A lift gate will be required at all locations. Individuals must be cleared by security, as facilitated by the COR, prior to arrival.

15. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of an AbilityOne Non-Profit. Under the RFP, it is requesting past performance based on the prime contractor and not the sub. Would we, being a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit that would be bidding on the project be considered a sub contractor and therefore excluded from using our extensive past performance?

R15. No, a wholly owned subsidiary would not be considered a subcontractor. The relevant consideration is whether the resources of the parent or affiliated company--its workforce, management, facilities or other resources--will be provided or relied upon for contract performance, such that the parent or affiliate will have meaningful involvement in contract performance

16. Can a 3rd party carrier be used to transport the documents to the scanning location?

R16. Yes, a third party carrier can be used to transport documents, as long as a process preapproved by the COR is in place to ensure proper chain of custody.

17. Under attachment 2 “Anticipated Q&A” it mentions that the total volume is 5,300 cubic feet. On Page 4 item # 1001 the RFP mentions an additional 2,600 cubic feet of files to be scanned. Can you confirm what the total estimated amount of records to be scanned is?

R17. The total estimated volume of 5,300 cubic feet is required in the base period. The Option line item 1001 estimated quantity of 2,600 is provided during the option period.

Offerors will be compensated and may invoice based on the number of cubic feet of document scanning performed during a 30-day period. At whatever time all DHRA document scanning materials have been completed, the contract period shall end.

18. Under attachment 2 “Anticipated Q&A” Question #3 it mentions that the contract will need to assist the government in organizing files prior to shipping. What % of the total volume of documents will need to be organized and appropriately labeled by the contractor prior to shipping?

R18. Due to COVID-19, Phase I has been designated to assist in finalizing the total volume of documents requiring pre-staging preparations prior to outbound shipment transport.

19. Is it the expectation of the government that to “assist” in packaging and organizing the files means that the contractor will provide all of the labor to pack the files and will do the full scope of the work under the governments guidance?

R19. Yes, that is correct.

20. We are committed to minimum wage or better with a workforce that consists of 82% person with severe disabilities. We also have a valid 14(c) certificate. Would the few employees we have that fall under the 14(c) prevent us from being an eligible contractor?

R20. Offerors are responsible for ensuring their eligibility status as a pre-condition for self certifying with their proposal.

21. Would our SourceAmerica non-profit association status have any effect on eligibility as well.

R21. In accordance with DFARS 252.227-7002, the term “Eligible Contractor” means a business entity operated on a for profit or nonprofit basis. Therefore, any entity meeting the definition of “eligible contractor” under DFARS 252.227-7002 is eligible to propose on this procurement.

22. Reference: Addendum 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors_Paragraph b/Page 7 of 40 This RFP utilizes DFARS 252.226-7002, Demonstration Project Funds For Contractors Employing Persons with Disabilities. Offerors shall self-certify with the required notice of intent to bid and their offer that the firm currently meets the requirements of an “eligible contractor” in accordance with the following definition:

Question:

If a portion of work is performed by a subcontractor, does the subcontractor need to be also be self-certified if the Prime is able to meet the DFARS 252.226-7002 requirements and the contract complies with the utilization of 33% disabled personnel?

R22. Offerors are responsible for ensuring their eligibility status as a pre-condition for self certifying with their proposal. Below information is provided for reference only.

The statutory authority for the Demonstration Project does not provide limits on subcontracting for eligible contractors. To the extent an eligible contractor decides to subcontract part of the work under a Demonstration Project contract, there is an incentive for them to subcontract to other eligible contractors because they receive credit toward their small disadvantaged business subcontracting goal for those subcontracts.

The statutory authority for the Demonstration Project specifies that an eligible contractor must employ severely disabled individuals at a rate of 33 percent of the entity's total workforce. A prime contractor and subcontractor would not qualify as a single entity in order to meet the requirement.

23. Section 4.6 (page 24) states that “The contractor shall ensure each record (case file folder or binder) will constitute one PDF file,…” can you please confirm that all documents arranged in file folders (case file folders or binders); meaning that, the source documents are not a mix of file folders and loose, individual documents?

R23. At this time, the source documents are a mix of file folders and loose, individual documents. The contractor is expected to provide support in inventorying and preparing the source documents for shipping and scanning.

24. If, all documents are arranged in file folders (case file folders or binders), can you please define what information (number of filed / characters per field) will make up the “naming convention for each record” that “will follow what is written on the folder tab or binder cover”?

R24. The file naming convention will include a descriptive file title, the date of record(s) creation (or date of scanning, if date of creation is unknown), and the Office of Primary Responsibility as follows, “File Title – date of scanning YYYYMMDD – Office of Primary Responsibility” (ex: BDU Study UD Green vs Desert Tan Camo-20100505-ASD (M&RA) Office of Uniform Studies).

25. If, all documents are arranged in file folders (case file folders or binders), can you please confirm if the information described in the subsections for Section 4.7 (subsections 4.7.1 – 4.7.9) need to be captured as index or metadata fields for each image file?

R25. The metadata requirements in 4.5. and 4.7 describe requirements for a folder level inventory list for each box.

26. If, all documents are arranged in file folders (case file folders or binders) and if the information described in the subsections for Section 4.7 (subsections 4.7.1 – 4.7.9) need to be captured as index or metadata fields for each image file, can you please provide the (number of filed / characters per field) for the information described in each subsection?

R26. 4.7.1-4.7.9 describes the requirements for a folder level inventory list for each box.

There are no character limits for this requirement.

27. Per the RFP, documents are to be delivered via DVDs. Is OUSD P&R/DHRA amenable to delivery by SFTP? While DVD delivery is feasible, delivery by SFTP is faster.

Yes, OUSD P&R/DHRA is amenable to delivery by DoD-approved SFTP, such as DoD

SAFE.

28. What is the volume and frequency of requests for specific documents that have not yet been processed?

R28. An exact estimate cannot be provided, however, the volume and frequency is expected to be low.

29. What is the average number of pages per binder or folder?

R29. The total estimated volume of 5,300 cubic feet, with approximately 3,000 total pages and 15-25 files/binders per cubic foot.

30. Are documents to be imaged at 300 DPI?

R30. Documents should be scanned in accordance with the DPI requirements in 4.4

31. Are documents to be picked up all at once or in several rounds?

R31. Travel with be authorized for those trips indicated in section 9.2. Pick-ups outside of those trip periods will be coordinated and scheduled with the COR.

32. What is the contract term?

R32. The contract will continue for the specified period of performance or until all document imaging quantities have been completed.

33. Is this exclusively project work, or is there an opportunity to continue this service?

R33. At this time, the services are limited to the estimated quantities put forward in this Request For Proposal (RFP).

34. Is OUSD P&R/DHRA interested in an online image viewer or workflow tool?

R34. No.

35. The RFP indicates the estimated cubic feet of documents. What is the estimated volume of pages to be imaged? Are boxes typically completely or partially full?

R35. It is estimated that 1 cubic foot of records equates to 3,000 pages. Prepackaged boxes vary in their current volumes.

36. After processing, are physical documents to be returned, transferred to a long-term storage facility or destroyed?

R36. Following quality control reviews of the corresponding scanned images, physical documents are to be destroyed, in accordance with DoD and NARA requirements, and the written authorization of the OPR, as coordinated by the COR and OUSD(P&R)/DHRA Component Records Management Officer.

37. Reference: Section B. Price Proposal_ Page 12 of 40 Note 1: Travel and Shipping expenses– Offeror shall not propose a price for Travel or Shipping expenses. Travel and Shipping expenses are reimbursable under time and material CLINs. A Not-to-Exceed (NTE) amount is entered for information purposes and will be entered at award. Price assumptions will not be considered in the Offerors’ price Proposal. The Contractor shall obtain advance written approval authorizations each time Travel or Shipping expenses are necessary. Address price questions during the Question and Answer period.

Please confirm CLIN 0003 and 1002 should be left blank per the above statement

Regarding CLIN 0001, Phase I Operational Assessment Period. Does this represent labor only and will the travel costs associated with on site assessment at the 11 sites be reimbursable per Note 1

R37. Yes, CLIN 0003 and 1002 are to be left blank. CLIN 0001 represents vendor pricing in accordance with the line items description. Travel expenses are authorized in accordance with the line item description and note 1 on page 12 of the RFP.

38. Reference: TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT OF IMAGING WORKLOAD TO AND FROM CONTRACTOR SCANNING FACILITY/ Page 27 of 40

9.1 The Records Scanning Support staff (up to two people) may be required to travel.

There are 11 sites noted. How many days will the staff be expected to be on site, and/or, can you identify the volume of records that will need to be prepared at each site?

R38. The estimated number of days per site is listed in section 9.2.

39. Reference: A. Business Information/ Page 11 of 40

i. Company Name, Address, Point of Contact Information and Phone Number, CAGE code, DUNS Number, Tax Identification Number (TIN), Business Size, and GSA Schedule Contract Number

Question:

Is the Prime Contractor required to have a GSA Contract or is this a Non-Schedules based Contract?

R39. No, the prime is not required to have a GSA contract. This is a non-GSA schedule required RFP.

40. Reference: Volume II – Past Performance/ Page 11 of 40

iii. Past performance will be reviewed for quality of performance and customer satisfaction based on information found in CPARS.

Question:

This assumes the Prime has completed a federal contract; is this a requirement?

R40. No, it is not expressly required for the Prime to have completed a federal contract.

41. Reference: General PWS

Can you please clarify the general content type of the “case file folders or binder?” For example, are they EEO claims, Injury Compensation, Recruiting, etc.?

Do the documents contain PII?

R41. Records content varies by office. For a general overview of the missions of OUSD(P&R)/DHRA visit:

https://prhome.defense.gov/ and https://www.dhra.mil/

42. Reference: 4.5/ Page 24 of 40 The contractor shall save scans in Portable Document Format (PDF) format with Optical Character Recognition and encoded to capture the following metadata:

4.5.2. Unique identifier for the image(s).

https://prhome.defense.gov/ https://www.dhra.mil/

4.5.3 Official File title of the image(s) (Shall correspond with section 4.6 naming convention)

4.5.4 OPR/Owner (The organization that originated the records).

4.5.5 Description. A narrative description of the content of the record, including abstracts for document-like objects.

Can you clarify “encoded to capture the following metadata” specifically for item 4.5.4?

Is a narrative description to be extracted as metadata using OCR or is it the assumption that the end user will be able to locate this information based on a searchable document?

R42. Yes, the assumption is that the end user will be able to locate this information based on a searchable document, in accordance with NARA requirements in 36 CFR 1236.

43. Reference: 4.7_Naming Convention/Page 24 of 40 The naming convention for each record will follow what is written on the folder tab or binder cover. The Contractor will develop in collaboration with OPR, a folder level inventory list of each box, to include the following minimum information:

4.7.1 Unabbreviated name of OPR.

4.7.2 OPR Physical location and Address.

4.7.3 File(s) Title.

4.7.4 File Number(s) per the OSD Records Disposition Schedule.

4.7.5 Volume.

4.7.6 Classification.

4.7.7 Date created (Date of record(s) creation, not date of scanning). If date of record is not available, files will be named as follows “File Title – date of scanning YYYYMMDD

– Office of Primary Responsibility” (ex: BDU Study UD Green vs Desert Tan Camo- 20100505-ASD (M&RA) Office of Uniform Studies).

Will this require manual keystroke indexing? Is there any indexing data (in part or full) that is available in electronic format that can be utilized in this process?

R43. Yes, this will require manual keystroking will be required to develop the folder level inventory lists of each box. The majority of the data required for this process will be obtained from the physical files and via communication with the OPR.

44. Reference: 6.0_Paragraph 2/Page 25 of 40

No hardcopy file reconstitution is required after OPR receives certification of completion of all quality control activities. The contractor will coordinate with OUSD (P&R)/DHRA Component Records Management Officer in regards to all paper records not authorized for destruction by OPR for disposition instructions.

To clarify, CLIN 002 and 1001 should include destruction (certified shredding) of documents.

What is the estimated percentage of documents are not authorized for disposition/destruction?

R44. Yes, CLIN 0002 and 1001 should include document destruction, in accordance with all NARA and DoD policy requirements. The estimated percentage of documents not authorized for destruction is 10 percent.

45. Reference: ANTICIPATED Q&As/Page 38 of 40 Are the paper files to be scanned packed in boxes or are they stored in a file room? If boxes, what are the dimensions of the boxes? If in a file room, what are the dimensions of the filing cabinets or shelves containing the files to be scanned?

Answer: The files to be scanned are contained in a mix of boxes and filing cabinets

Is the contractor responsible for providing boxes? If yes, is there an estimated CF that can be used to estimate the volume of records currently in file cabinets to determine box quantity?

Do you have an estimated number of files that will be created (i.e. unique batches)

R45. See response to questions 6 and 12. The total estimated volume of 5,300 cubic feet, with approximately 15-25 files/binders per cubic foot.

46. Could you please provide a 2 week extension to the due date to allow for sufficient time to review information resulting from questions submitted?

R46. No, no extension to the proposal due date will be allowed.

47. Is there an incumbent for the services being requested?

R47. No, this is a first time requirement.

48. With regard to funding, has funding been allocated? What is the expected annual funded value for this contract? Please provide the IGCE for this project?

R48. For this RFP the information requested is procurement and source selection sensitive information. Therefore, the government may not disclose the information.

49. In reference to CLINs 0002 and 1001, the description requires pricing “in accordance with Performance Work Statement 4.3 Requirements.” Should pricing for these CLINs be reflective of PWS requirements 4.3 thru 4.12?

R49. Yes, thank you. Please see revised CLIN description as suggested.

50. With regard to he 5,300 cubic feet under CLIN 0002:

a. What is the estimated equivalent number of pages?

R50a. See responses to question 35.

b. What is the estimated percentage of duplex pages?

R50b. The exact percentage is unknown at this time, but is expected to be low.

c. What is the estimated number of boxes?

R50c. See response to question 18.

d. What is the estimated number of records per box?

R50d. See answer to question 29.

e. What percentage of materials are estimated to require destruction?

R50e. See response to question 44.

f. What percentage of materials are already boxed vs those residing in filing cabinets?

R50f. See response to question 18.

51. With regard to the 2,600 cubic feet under CLIN 0002:

g. What is the estimated equivalent number of pages?

R51a. See response to question 50.

h. What is the estimated percentage of duplex pages?

R51b. See response to question 50.

i. What is the estimated number of boxes?

R51c. See response to question 50.

j. What is the estimated number of records per box?

R51d. See response to question 50.

k. What percentage of materials are estimated to require destruction?

R51e. See response to question 50.

l. What percentage of materials are already boxed vs those residing in filing cabinets?

R51f. See response to question 50.

52. With regard to Proposal Preparation instructions starting at page 10:

a. As regards the 15 page limit for the Technical volume, please confirm that the cover letter is excluded from the page count.

R52a. Yes, the cover letter is excluded from the Technical Volume page count.

b. The table in secion c.1 states that the TOC, cover page, appendices and attachments are excluded from the page count. However, section 2 immediately below states that the page count shall not exceed 15 pages inclusive of those items. Please confirm that the TOC, cover page, cover letter and attachments are excluded from the 15 page limit.

R52b. For the Technical volume, 15 pages exclusive of Table of Contents (TOC), cover page, Appendices, Attachments is the limit.

53. Page 11, section 3 states the Past Performance volume shall not exceed 15 pages.

However, the table on page 10 states that the Past Performance volume shall not exceed 10 pages. Please confirm the page limit for the Past Performance Volume.

R53. The Past Performance page limit should be corrected to not exceed 15 pages.

54. Is an offer that includes more than 1 PPRQ rated more favorably than an offer that includes only 1 PPRQ, all oehr PP evaluation criteria being equal?

R54. Offeror is advised to review the RFP for guidance on Past Performance rating criteria.

55. Are the government facilities and personnel available for on-site contractor activities in the current HPCON environment?

R55. Yes, in the current HPCON Bravo status.

56. Would the government support virtual support if necessary and where appropriate, such as video conferencing?

R56. Yes.

57. Will the government consider a 2 week extension to the submission date

R57. See response to question 46.

58. Does this program have a budget range?

R58. See response to 48.

59. Are there any incumbent vendors performing any aspects of the requirements as set forth with any of the OUSD P&R and DHRA sites listed in the RFP?

R59. See response to 47.

60. Can the government provide targeted award and start dates for this project?

R60. An award will be made by 30 September with a targeted start immediately following contract award.

61. Can you reaffirm that eligible prime contractor alone must meet the severely disabled 33% workforce requirement and can you clarify the “period prescribed by the Secretary”?

R61. See response R1 above.

62. Will the government want key stakeholders to have access to digitized material during the life of the period of performance?

R62. As requested by the COR.

63. Is the submitted past performance only accepted from the prime offeror?

R63. Yes, Past Performance will only be creditable from offerors proposing as the Prime contractor.

64. Will past performance submitted for recent and relevant contracts with non-federal organizations be scored lower?

R65. No. Past performance will be evaluated consistent with the criteria described in paragraph 2.2. References will be assessed to determine their similarity to the RFP’s requirements.

65. Is there an estimate breakdown of total cub square feet stored at each one of the five listed locations?

R66. See response to question 18.

66. 3.0 – Please confirm the expert technical support and training requirement encompass only processes and procedures related to scanning and digitization.

R66. Yes, that is correct.

67. 4.1.4.2 – What is anticipated as part of GFM for movement?

R67. In accordance with section 11, the Government will provide contractor personnel with government workspace for the preparation of records, as required, to include but not limited to the DEOC offices at 4800 Mark Center Drive in Alexandria, VA. On-site parking will not be provided. No other GFM will be provided.

68. 4.1.4.3 – What are the anticipated retention timeframes for the storage of physical records?

R68. No records will be maintained by the contractor past the period of performance of the contract.

69. 4.1.4.3 – Can the government elaborate on the phrase ‘destroying scanned paper records upon approval’?

a. What is the specific criteria for approval?

b. What is the acceptable time frame for inspection and acceptance/rejection of deliverables?

R69. See response to question 36. Acceptable time frames for inspection and acceptance/rejection of deliverables will be provided by the COR.

70. 4.1.4.3 – Will the government accept transportation of records to production facilities of smaller, multiple shipments of records from each facility or is the government anticipating one shipment from each location?

R70. See response to question 31.

71. 4.3 – Will the physical folder or binder covers require scanning?

R71. Yes, in some instances.

72. 4.3.2 – does the government have an estimate of the % of record pages likely to require repair, and the types of repairs expected?

R72. Due to COVID-19, Phase I has been designated to assist in assessing and inventorying all records.

73. 4.3.7.1 – Can you estimate the volume of “structurally weak” (onion skin for example) documents as well as the estimated percentage of duplex (2-sided) documents?

R73. Due to COVID-19, Phase I has been designated to assist in assessing and inventorying all records. See also the response to question 50.

74. 4.3.4 – Can the government elaborate on the meaning of overlapped images and what types of document(s) would be subject to this requirement?

R74. Images which might require overlap so as to ensure no loss include images which span pages in a book.

75. 4.5 – Will the metadata be provided to the contractor by the government?

a. If so, how?

b. If not, where is this data found on the documents?

R75. See response to question 4.

76. 4.5.5 – Is the ‘description’ a free form text field that is created by the contractor? If yes, what are the expectations of the length and depth of the description?

R76. Yes this is a free form text field created by the contractor. Descriptions should be succinct but include enough details to readily identify the document.

77. 4.9 – Will the contractor work with the government to establish an acceptable quality threshold for image quality?

R77. The contractor shall scan documents in accordance with the requirements of section

4.4 and NARA standards, as defined in 36 C.F.R. 1236.

78. 4.12 – Will the government consider encrypted hard drives as an alternative to DVDs delivery

R78. No.

79. 9.1 – There is a reference for ‘up to two people’ may be required to travel but the table in

9.2 lists different numbers

R79. The table in 9.2 is the up-to-date and accurate estimate.

80. 9.1 – There is a reference to other OUSD P&R and DHRA Component sites – please elaborate as to the location of these sites

R80. See section 9.2 and the response to question 12.

81. 9.2 - Due to COVID, are there travel restrictions or is travel allowable?

R81. There are currently no restrictions on contractor travel under HPCON Bravo.

82. 11.0 – will the onsite preparation of records only be required at the DEOC Alexandria location?

R82. The onsite preparation of records will be required at all locations listed in section

9.2 and the response to question 12.

83. Q&A #18 and #19 – is there onsite preparation and scanning that needs to occur as part of this program? Answer #14 says that all scanning is expected to take place at the contractor’s facility R83. All scanning will take place at the contractors facility but the inventorying and preparation of records will take place onsite.

84. 4.1.3 – Can you detail the level of services the contractor is expected to perform on-site?

R84. The contractor will be expected to assist in inventory and preparing an estimated 5,300 cubic feet of records.

85. 4.1.6 – Can you detail the level of inventory services expected on-site pertaining to each file?

R85. The contractor will be expected to assist in inventory and preparing an estimated 5,300 cubic feet of records.

86. 4.7 – Can you elaborate on the “file level inventory” or manifest and the level of Contractor involvement on-site?

R86. The contractor will be expected to assist in inventory and preparing an estimated 5,300 cubic feet of records. The folder level inventory list of each box will list each folder within the box in accordance with the requirements of section 4.7.

87. Will there be an opportunity to review a sample of files prior to submission of proposal?

R87. See response to question 3.

88. Section 4.1.3 requires contractor to submit an initial Operational Plan for Phase 1 with its proposal, as well as an outline of contractors QCP. Are these documents to be included within the Technical volume 15 page limit?

R88. Yes, the documents are to be included within the Technical volume 15 page limit. Please review changes made to RFP instructions.

89. What percentage of documents require >300dpi?

R89. The majority of documents will be scanned with high inherent contrast (e.g., laser printed or typeset on a white background) shall be scanned in bitonal (1-bit black and white) at 300-600 pixels per inch (ppi).

90. With regard to the naming convention elements on the folder tab or binder cover, are these fields handwritten or typewritten on the tab/cover?

R90. The fields are a mix of handwritten and typewritten.

91. Page 33, section (f) states that Past Performance will be reviewed for quality of performancxe and customer satisfaction based on information found in CPARs. The preceding section states that the Government will use data provided by the offeror in evaluating past performance. Please confirm that the bidder is not required to have a CPARs for each PPRQ submitted.

R91. Yes, the bidder is not required to have a CPAR for each PPRQ submitted.

92. 4.1.3 states that the contractor will complete initial packaging and shipping for 20% of the identified records in 4.3. Does the Government expect the vendor to send multiple teams to all locations at the same time to begin this process or will they allow for a ramp up approach?

R92. A sequential or simultaneous approach may be taken as long as the 20 percent requirement is met.

93. 4.3.7 Requests the contractor make copies of some document types. Would the government be open to allowing glass scanning for onion skin or other items that could be damaged?

R3. Glass scanning will be approved for fragile items and will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the COR.

94. Is there a breakdown of number of images per location?

R94 Due to COVID-19, Phase I has been designated to assist in finalizing the total volume of documents per location.

95. Clarify if Item No 0002 is for 5300 cubic feet of records for the period of January – September 2021 and Item No. 1001 is for an additional 2600 cubic feet of records to be completed for September 2021 to March 2022.

R95. Yes, offeror is advised to review the RFP for all CLIN periods of performance

96. In reference to 4.1.3, can you confirm the Contractor is expected in Phase 1 in addition to developing the Operational Plan to also package and ship 20% of the identified records?

R96. Yes, confirming that these requirements are included in Phase I.

97. In reference to 4.3.4, can you provide an example of the type of document that would have adjoining images that could perhaps overlap?

R97. See response to question 18.

98. In reference to Section 9 , what are the expectations of contractor’s support staff?

R98. Contractor support staff are required to travel to each location in order to facilitiate the inventory, packing, and shipping of records.

98a. Will Contractor provide boxes and supplies to ship documents to Contractor’s facility?

R98a. See response to section 6.

98b. Will Department of Defense provide any labor to support the preparation for the shipment?

R98b. The government will provide personnel to assist in identifying records for inventory purposes only.

99. REFERENCE: section “ENCLOSURE 1, 3.0 SCOPE”

The contractor shall provide management, personnel, and transportation necessary to assist OUSD P&R/DHRA’s conversion of hardcopy records to an electronic format in accordance with federal law, Department of Defense

(DoD) guidance, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, and the requirements below. The Contractor shall provide: onsite validation of OUSD P&R’s and DHRA Components’ scanning estimates; …

QUESTION: Prior to creating the Operational Plan for Phase 1, and understanding in section 4 you have allocated time for a formal Phase 1 Operational Assessment Period, is it possible to physically visit the Alexandria, VA facility to have a 1 day view of the records? This will make the proposal pricing significantly more accurate, shorten the “Assessment Period”, make the “Operational Plan” more executable, and possibly prevent errors and omissions, post award.

R99. See response to question 3.

100 . REFERENCE: section 4.4.1 “Textual with high inherent contrast (e.g., laser printed or typeset on a white background) shall be scanned in bitonal (1-bit black and white) at 300- 600 pixels per inch (ppi).

QUESTION: Please confirm that the term you used “pixels per inch” is [in the scanning world] actually “dots per inch” or ‘DPI’. We suspect it is. And industry best-practice does this type of document in 200DPI or 300DPI. The latter if OCR is used. Is 200DPI and 300DPI acceptable for this RFP?

R100. Section 4.4.1 is written in accordance with NARA standards and requirements.

Documents must be scanned at no less than 300 pixels per inch.

101. REFERENCE: section 4.6 The contractor shall ensure each record (case file folder or binder) will constitute one PDF file, unless greater than 500 pages in which instance the case will be broken up into multiple parts and labeled to indicate the document has multiple parts.

QUESTION: Will the resultant data [many PDF’s] be uploaded into an Enterprise Content Management (“ECM”) or ‘Content Management [“CM”] software application?

COMMENT: If so, there are considerations and decisions to be made to enhance the availability of these files: Industry best practice [since the early 80’s] has shown that Content Management systems are far faster in response if they search a repository of .TIFF images, which are significantly smaller than a grouping of images into one single PDF file.

You are asking the vendor to amass huge files which may be extremely difficult and timely to retrieve, especially from a remote location.

R101. No.

102. REFERENCE: section 9.1 The Records Scanning Support staff (up to two people) may be required to travel to Seaside/Monetary, CA; Pensacola, FL; Orlando, FL; San Antoni, TX;

and other OUSD P&R and DHRA Component sites as deemed necessary to prepare and obtain records for scanning.

QUESTION: Based on comment below, can this portion of 9.1 “..and DHRA Component sites as deemed necessary to prepare and obtain records for scanning” either be identified or omitted?

COMMENT: You have identified locations in a table in section 9.2. Price is commensurate with level of effort, and in a ‘firm-fixed price’ contract the vendor is committing to fully known specific details.

R102. All travel authorizations and requirements will be in accordance with the travel identified in 9.2