QASP_(Ver_1__Dated_10_30_14).doc

QASP Ver. 1 Dated 10/30/14

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

For

Crisis Management Training Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) Crisis Management Training

1.0 Background/Scope

The Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) requires the support of a professional services firm with school safety and security expertise; facilitation proficiency; experience and professional affiliation with established national level academic organizations to support its operation and management of DDESS’ school safety and security program (the “DDESS Safe Schools Program”). The DDESS Safe Schools Program supports DDESS’ Community Strategic Plan, Goal 2, “All DoDEA levels will have a safe, secure, and well-managed environment conducive to learning.” This is a non-personnel services contract to provide a comprehensive Crisis Management Training Program. The purposes of this training are to: a) meet the Department of Defense Educational Activity (DoDEA) established crisis management standards of Prevention, Preparedness, Intervention and Recovery, b) to assist the DDESS by ensuring that Area, District, and School-based leadership and first responders (School Psychologists, Counselors and Nurses) understand proper security plan implementation and crisis management procedures with respect to the aforementioned DoDEA Standards.

Perform training services for DDESS. Contractor shall provide all personnel, labor, equipment, tools, supplies, materials, supervision, and other items/services necessary to provide professional services, expertise, facilitation proficiency; and experience and professional affiliation with established national professional instruction.

2.0 Purpose

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is a government-developed and applied document used to ensure that systematic quality assurance methods are used in the administration of the Performance Based Service Contract standards included in the contract. The intent is to ensure that the contractor performs in accordance with performance metrics set forth in the contract documents, that the Government receives the quality of services call for in the contract and that the Government only pays for the acceptable level of services received.

The contractor is responsible for implementing and delivering performance that meets contract standards using its Quality Control Plan. The QASP provides the structure for the government's surveillance of the contractor's performance to assure that it meets contract standards. It is the government's responsibility to be objective, fair and consistent in evaluating contractor performance.

The QASP is not part of the contract nor is it intended to duplicate the contractor's quality control plan. This QASP is a living document. Flexibility in the QASP is required to allow for an increase or decrease in the level of surveillance necessary based on contractor performance.

The government may provide a copy of the QASP to the contractor to facilitate open communication. In addition, the QASP should recognize that unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances might occur that are outside the control of the contractor.

Bottom line, the QASP should ensure early identification and resolution of performance issues to minimize impact on mission performance.

3.0 Authority

Authority for issuance of this QASP is provided under Part 46 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Inspection of Services clauses, which provide for inspection, acceptance and documentation of the service called for in the contract or order. This acceptance is to be executed by the contracting officer or a duly authorized representative.

4.0 Quality Control Plan vs. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan To fully understand the roles and the responsibilities of the parties, it is important to first define the distinction in terminology between the Quality Control Plan (QCP) and the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. The contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth by the contract and follow-on task orders. The Contractor develops and submits his Quality Control Plan for Government approval in compliance with his contract deliverables. Once accepted, the Contractor then uses the QCP to guide and to rigorously document the implementation of the required management and quality control actions to achieve the specified results. The QASP on the other hand, is put in place to provide Government surveillance oversight of the contractor’s quality control efforts to assure that they are timely, effective and are delivering the results specified in the contract or task order. The QASP is not a part of the contract nor is it intended to duplicate the Contractor’s QCP. The Government may provide the contractor an information copy of the QASP as an Attachment to the solicitation to support the contractor’s efforts in developing a QCP that will interrelate with the Government’s QASP.

5.0 Government Resources

The following definitions for Government resources are applicable to this plan.

5.1 Contracting Officer

The Contracting Officer (CO) is a person duly appointed with the authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government.

The CO shall ensure performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensure compliance with the contract terms, and shall safeguard the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. The CO shall also ensure that the contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under this contract. Determine and document the final assessment of the contractor's performance in the governments past performance tracking system.

5.2 Contracting Officer's Representative

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is responsible for providing continuous technical oversight of the contractor's performance. The COR will use the QASP to conduct the oversight/surveillance process. The COR shall keep a Quality Assurance file that accurately documents the contractor's actual performance. The purpose is to ensure that the contractor meets the performance standards contained in the contract. The COR is responsible for reporting early identification of performance problems to the Contracting Officer. The COR is required to provide an annual performance assessment to the Contracting Officer which will be used in documenting past performance. The QASP is a tool for documenting contractor performance. The COR is not empowered to many any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual change on the Government's behalf.

6.0 Performance Requirements Summary:

This section describes the special requirements for this effort. The following sub-sections provide details of various considerations on this effort.

6.1 Quality Control

6.1.1. Quality Control Program. The contractor, not the government, is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract.

6.1.1.1. The quality control program is the driver for quality. The contractor is required to develop a comprehensive program of inspections and monitoring actions. The first major step to ensuring a self-correcting contract is to ensure that the quality control program, approved at the beginning of the contract, provides the measures needed to lead the contractor to success.

6.1.1.2. Once the quality control program is accepted, careful application of the process and standards presented in the remainder of this document will ensure a robust quality assurance program.

6.2 Contract Surveillance

The goal of the QASP is to ensure that contractor performance is effectively monitored and documented. The COR's contribution is their professional, non-adversarial relationships with the Contracting Officer, Contractor’s Project Manager and the Contractor’s Quality Control Officer, which enables positive, open and timely communications. The foundation of this relationship is built upon objective, fair, and consistent COR evaluations of contractor performance against contract requirements. The COR uses the methods contained in this QASP to ensure the contractor is in compliance with contract requirements. The COR function is responsible for a wide range of surveillance requirements that effectively measure and evaluate the contractor's performance. Additionally, this QASP is based on the premise that the contractor, not the government, is responsible for management and Quality Control/Quality Assurance actions to successfully meet the terms of the contract.

6.2.1. Surveillance Schedule. The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will develop a surveillance schedule. Copies of the schedule shall be sent to the contract administrator five calendar days prior to the start of each surveillance period. The schedule shall be marked FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. Changes to the surveillance schedule will be posted and copies sent to the contract administrator. Include documentation regarding reason for changes.

6.2.2. Surveillance Methods. This QASP will incorporate Random Sampling, Customer Complaints, 100 Percent Inspections and Periodic/Planned Inspections as the approach to ensure the contractor complies with the PWS requirements. Re-performance at no cost to the Government is the preferred method of correcting any unacceptable performance.

6.2.3. Validated Customer Complaint. Performance Objectives as defined in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) Checklist will be surveyed using this surveillance method. Anyone who observes unacceptable services, either incomplete or not performed, should immediately contact the COR. The COR will conduct an investigation to determine the validity of the complaint. If the COR determines the complaint to be valid, the COR will document the findings and notify the customer and the contractor. The COR will retain the annotated copy of the written complaint for the governments files. If the complaint is valid, the contractor will be given four (4) hours to correct the defect.

6.2.3.1. The COR should inform the customer the approximate time the defect will be corrected and advise the customer to contact the COR if the defect is not corrected. The COR will consider the customer complaint resolved unless notified otherwise by the customer.

6.2.3.2. The contractor shall return the written customer complaint document to the COR, completed with the actions taken to correct the defect. The government will retain this document to ensure the contractor has taken appropriate action(s) to prevent the recurrence of defects. The COR will retain and file the complaint form. At the end of each month, all validated complaints will be counted to determine if performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory based on the criteria in the PRS Checklist.

6.2.4. Random Sampling. Performance Objectives as defined in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) will be surveyed using this surveillance method.

6.2.5. 100 Percent Inspection. The government uses 100-percent inspection for stringent performance requirements concerning health and safety. This form of inspection will also be utilized when we experience repeated major/critical nonconforming services.

6.2.6. Periodic Inspection or Planned Sampling. The performance objective of using this form of inspection is to check the contractor’s quality control system to ensure that it is capable of meeting the government’s quality requirements.

6.2.7. Surveillance Team. The surveillance team consists of the following key players: COR, and the Contracting Officer.

6.2.8. Unacceptable Performance. If the number of complaints/defects exceeds the performance threshold for any objective, the COR will determine the possible cause of this unacceptable performance. Government-caused complaints/defects shall not be counted against the contractor. The same applies to any other requirement of the contract when Government-caused complaints/defects are caused of unacceptable contractor performance. If the contractors performance is judged unacceptable for any requirement as determined by the COR, the COR will inform the contractors on-site representative, and request his or her signature and date of surveillance on documentation acknowledging notification. If the on-site contractor representative refuses to sign, COR must refer the contractor to the contracting officer for resolution.

6.2.9. Revisions. Revisions to this QASP are the joint responsibility of the requiring activity and the contracting office. However as a result of partnering with the contractor, surveillance checklists may be revised jointly by COR personnel and contractor personnel. The contracting officer must approve the revisions in writing before being used by COR personnel.

7.0 Documentation

The Contracting Officer Representative is responsible for maintaining a Surveillance Folder at a designated location. The following information should be contained in the Surveillance Folder.

· QASP

· Contractors Quality Control Plan

· Activity Log. A chronological log of the actions taken in the accomplishment of quality assurance.

· Contract. Applicable portions of the contract and PWS, modifications, and delivery orders.

· Appointment Letters and Training Certificates of the COR

· Certification of Services Documentation

· Surveillance Checklists

· Quality Assurance Surveillance Schedules

· Corrective Action Request Log

· Corrective Action Requests

· Monthly Surveillance Status Reports

· Minutes/Memos/Miscellaneous Correspondence

8.0 Surveillance Matrix

The Surveillance Activity Checklist (Appendix 1) is the list of performance objectives and standards that must be performed by the contractor. This checklist details the method of surveillance the COR will use to validate and inspect these performance elements. Inspection of each element will be documented in the COR file.

Performance objectives define the desired outcomes. Performance Standards define the level of service required under the contract to successfully meet the performance objective. The inspection methodology defines how, when, and what will be assessed in measuring performance. The Government performs surveillance, using this QASP, to determine the quality of the contractor's performance as it relates to the performance element standards. The PRS should be used to form the foundation of the COR's inspection checklist.

In evaluating the quality of contractor’s performance, the following performance ratings may be used.

Performance

Rating Criteria

Appendix 1 – Performance Requirements Summary (PRS)

Random Sampling

Appendix 2 - Corrective Action Report (CAR)

CORRECTIVE ACTION REPORT (CAR)

(If more space is needed, use reverse and identify by number)

1. CONTRACTOR

2. CONTRACT NUMBER

3. TYPE OF SERVICES

4. FUNCTIONAL AREA

5. SUSPENSE DATE

6. CONTROL NUMBER

7. DEFICIENCY FORMCHECKBOX

MAJOR FORMCHECKBOX

MINOR

FINDING:

FINDING IMPACT:

Please respond with a written corrective action plan that details the corrective action of the cited deficiency, the cause of the deficiency, and actions taken to prevent recurrence by Suspense Date in Block 5. If date was not entered in Block 5, the contractor is not required to provide a response.

8. QUALITY ASSURANCE PERSONNEL (COR)

TYPED NAME AND GRADE

SIGNATURE AND DATE

9. ISSUING AUTHORITY

TYPED NAME AND GRADE

SIGNATURE AND DATE

10. COR RESPONSE TO CONTRACTOR CORRECTIVE ACTION AND ACTION TAKEN TO PREVENT RECURRENCE

11. COR DETERMINATION

FORMCHECKBOX

ACCEPTED FORMCHECKBOX

REJECTED

12. CLOSE DATE

Appendix 3 - Customer Complaint Record

SOURCE OF COMPLAINT

ORGANIZATION

BUILDING NUMBER

INDIVIDUAL

PHONE NUMBER

NATURE OF COMPLAINT

CONTRACT REFERENCE

VALIDATION

DATE/TIME CONTRACTOR INFORMED OF COMPLAINT

ACTION TAKEN BY CONTRACTOR

RECEIVED/VALIDATED BY

Appendix 4 - Performance Assessment Report (PAR)

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORT (PAR)

(If more space is needed, use reverse and identify by number)

4. QUALITY ASSURANCE PERSONNEL (COR) SIGNATURE AND DATE

I. PERFORMANCE

7. FORMCHECKBOX

DEFICIENCY (CHECK ALL BOXES THAT APPLY)

FORMCHECKBOX

NEW

FORMCHECKBOX

REPEAT

FORMCHECKBOX

NO DEFICIENCY NOTED

8. SERVICES SUMMARY or PWS PARAGRAPH ITEM REVIEWED

II. CONTRACTOR VALIDATION

11. CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE FORMCHECKBOX

CONCUR FORMCHECKBOX

NON-CONCUR

12. CORRECTIVE ACTION ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE

13. CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE CORRECTIVE ACTION AND PREVENTION OF RECURRENCE OR REASON FOR NON-CONCURRENCE OF COR CITED DEFICIENCY

III. ACTION CORRECTED

14. FORMCHECKBOX

CONCUR FORMCHECKBOX

NON-CONCUR COR SIGNATURE AND DATE

15. COR REMARKS (REQUIRED)

6. CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE REMARKS