Question-Answer_Document__RFP_HQ0034-18-R-0143.pdf

Question/Answer Document

RFP #HQ0034-18-R-0143

# Reference Category Vendor Question Government Response

General Contract Is there an incumbent contractor currently supporting this requirement?

If yes, may we get the name of the contractor, contract number, and contract value? Is the incumbent contractor eligible to re-compete?

1) Yes, this requirement is the combination of five smaller contracts. Accordingly:

a) HQ0034-17-C-0057, NetCentrics Corporation; b) W52P1J-16-C-4000, Sinew Management Group, LLC; c) W52P1J-15-F-4026, CACI NSS, Inc.; d) HC1047-13-F-4014, Advanced Systems Development, Inc. (ASD); and e) N00189-17-P-Z214, Xerox Corporation

2) Yes that contractor is eligible to re-compete.

2 General Pricing Is the total amount of labor bid on the contract a firm fixed amount that would entail a monthly invoicing of a fixed amount of labor dollars?

Yes, this is correct for the Firm Fixed Price CLINs.

RFP ITEM NO 0001 (Page 2 of 81)

Technical The reference to PWS Section 1.6.18 does not exist. Should the reference be to 1.6.16? Yes 1.6.16 is the correct PWS reference. This will be corrected via solicitation amendment.

RFP ITEM NO 0008 (Page 4 of 81)

Technical Can the government specify how we should calculate the cost of a Canon C5560, HP M553dn, etc. plus support services? Is the Government requesting a quantity of 12?

CLINs 0008,1008, 2008, 3008, and 4008 are revised accordingly. This is an option CLIN. Also, CLINs 0010, 1010, 2010, 3010, and 4010 are revised accordingly. The offerors are to propose to the Government provided PLUG numbers.

RFP ITEM NO 0009 (Page 4 of 81)

Technical When pricing this ITEM NO, can the offeror assume a monthly print volume of 3,000 Black & White and 3,000 Color copies per unit? Will the Government also accept a cost calculated on a per-copy-charge basis on any Black & White and Color overages?

PWS Section 5.5 is revised accordingly. No, CLIN is a Firm Fixed Price CLIN; therefore, the Government will not accept a cost calculated on a per-copy-charge basis.

Solicitation (p. 28 under Volume I

- Administrative; PWS 1.6.8;

PWS 4.2)

Technical On p. 28 of the Solicitation under Volume I - Administrative, contractors are requested to provide "Evidence for all security requirements (PWS 1.6.8, Security Requirements)."

However, PWS 1.6.8 is titled "Special Qualifications" and overviews a requirement for the awarded contractor to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) within five (5) days after contract award.

1) Did the government mean to reference PWS 4.2 Secret Facility Clearance under Volume I - Administrative?

2) We are currently in the process of being reviewed by DSS for facility clearance. In the meantime, would the government consider accepting subcontractor FCL to meet the Secret Facility Clearance requirement?

1) The reference should be PWS Sections 1.6.7 and 4.2. This will be corrected via solicitation amendment.

2) No, subcontractor facility clearance will not suffice for the prime contractor facility clearance requirement.

Solicitation paragraph A.1.4.5 (p.

30)

Technical On p. 30 of the Solicitation under paragraph A.1.4.3 Pages Counted, there is reference to various items (i.e., RFP cross-reference matrix, client authorization letters, etc.) not otherwise mentioned in the Instruction to Offerors.

Is the offeror required to submit items such as the RFP cross-reference matrix, teaming arrangements, letters of commitment, past performance consent letters, and client authorization letters within our response? If yes, in which volume should these items be included?

No, offerors shall submit all applicable documents as outlined in the solicitation and attachments. This section references items exempt from the page count limits.

Solicitation paragraph D.1;

paragraph F

Attachment 4

Technical Should a completed copy of the Personnel Matrix (Attachment 4) be included in Volume II (as per instructions under Solicitation paragraph D.1), Volume III (as per instructions under Solicitation paragraph F on page 34), or both Volumes?

Solicitation Section F is revised accordingly. The Personnel Matrix (Attachment 4) shall be included in Volume II. The Pricing Template (Attachment 9) shall be included in Volume IV.

Solicitation paragraph G;

paragraph B

Technical Should the Employee Compensation Plan be provided as a stand-alone Volume V (as per Solicitation paragraph G on p. 34) or as part of Volume I (as per Solicitation paragraph B on p. 31)?

Language deleted from section G. See solicitation amendment.

PWS 1.6.6.1 (Contractor Service Locations outside of NCR (Ft.

Belvoir, Ft. Meade, Rhode Island, other remote access sites)

Technical Will the government consent to provide an additional SLA clock/additional SLA clocks for Service Locations outside the NCR?

PWS Section 5.2.2.2.1 is revised. For 5.2.2.2.1 the contractor can provide a restoral metric that they can achieve and a service method. For instance, initiate service call with partner within one business day; onsite service within two business days of call; and mail toner to customer within one business day of ticket creation. As industry experts, it is assumed you can propose metrics that are realistic and maintain good customer support. Consumable support for FT Meade is acceptable to be via expedited mailing to the POC. Hampton Roads systems are not on a different SLA clock.

PWS 1.6.6.1 (Contractor Service Locations outside of NCR (Ft.

Belvoir, Ft. Meade, Rhode Island, other remote access sites)

Technical Will the government please provide an inventory of devices in these locations? See Attachment 10 - Current Printer/Device List. The spreadsheet has two tabs: 1) Legacy OSD, and 2) Legacy Army.

PWS Sections 1.6.4 & 1.6.5 (Recognized Holidays/Extended Working After Hours)

Technical The government’s Core Business Hours are given as 6:00AM – 6:00PM with an expectation for 24-hour support. In order to accommodate the contingency of overtime hours on an FFP contract, would the government agree to the creation of an additional CLIN for “extraordinary support” that would be invoked only as required? “Extraordinary Support” would be defined as hours worked outside of the core hours (e.g. past 6:00PM, on weekends, and holidays.)

PWS Section 5.2.1 and Technical Exhibit 4 are revised accordingly. Also, the description to CLINs 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, and 4002 are revised accordingly.

PWS 1.6.4 (Recognized Holidays)

Technical Will the government consent to provide a second SLA clock for overtime, holiday, and weekend hours?

No, there are not SLAs for non duty hours.

PWS 1.6.5 (Extended Working After Hours)

Technical Is the government requiring the SLA clock to be 24 hours? If so, is the expectation that an employee will be monitoring the DCAs and the Remedy ticketing system 24 hours per day?

See response to question #10. Additionally, no, SLA clock is during business hours 0600-1800. If a ticket requiring support after the duty hours was received by the service desk, the Tier 1 service desk would follow your solution for obtaining after hours support.

Generally, print devices are not a single point of failure unless a major network outage occurs.

PWS 1.6.8.1 (Non-Key Personnel)

Technical All positions require Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level 1 Security certification within 3 months of initiating support. This requirement ensures that designated personnel are capable of desktop administrative permissions to install print drivers on local work stations. Will the government waive this requirement for personnel who will not be performing these tasks, e.g., supply delivery or break-fix technicians?

PWS Section 1.6.8.1 is revised accordingly. No personnel will receive administrative permissions without IAT Level 1 training certifications. Therefore, personnel who your team will rely on for these tasks must have appropriate training in order for your team to meet contract requirements. All personnel are not required IAT Level 1 Security Permissions. Only personnel who perform those tasks will require administrative access. Only personnel performing tools O&M will require IAT Level II training for server administration, only personnel managing DPAS will require DPAS training, etc... The team is expected to have the necessary number of personnel credentialed and trained as required based on your support CONOPs.

PWS Section 1.6.11 (Key Personnel)

Technical The position description for "Key Personnel #1 - Lead Program Manager" stipulates a bachelor’s degree as a minimum educational requirement. Would the government accept 3 -5 years’ direct experience as an equivalent?

No, this position is expected to have a wide span of influence on day to day contract management as well as daily integration with leadership, internal and external technical teams, etc. Formal education along with industry experience is the historical norm for personnel successfully functioning in these types of positions.

PWS Section 1.6.11 (Key Personnel)

Technical The position description for "Key Personnel #2 - EMPS Systems Engineer" stipulates a bachelor’s degree in an IT-related field as a minimum educational requirement. Would the government accept 3-5 years’ direct experience as an equivalent?

No, this position requires a great deal of integrated knowledge, problem solving, etc., that is commonly associated with a technical degree and a wide variety of experience. This position is responsible for learning the print architecture and how it ties together as well as how to create repeatable STIG compliant settings who will understand why the various settings are set. When a device cannot communicate to a monitoring tool this level of expertise is required to troubleshoot to ensure the devices communicate or necessary network actions occur to allow data to pass. This position should not be confused with a hardware technician, it expected to be a problem solver and key enabler for significant problem solving challenges.

PWS Section 1.6.8.1 Technical Facilities Clearance. The prime needs a facilities clearance, but do subs/partners?

Technically, according to the NIPSOM Chapter 7, one only needs a facilities clearance if they are storing classified information corporately. Since we won't be storing classified information, do subs need it?

Yes, subs/partners also require facility clearance

PWS Section 1.6.8.2 Technical Individual clearances. It says up to SIPRNet. Does this mean JWICS printers will not be taken care of by the EMPS team?

PWS Section 1.6.7.2 is revised accordingly.

PWS Section 1.6.9.2 Technical 8570 Compliance. Currently, what is required for employees elevated accounts? Will this be the same in this new contract? It doesn't specifically state, however, it also doesn't say everyone needs it. It just says "required personnel."

See response to question #15.

PWS Section 1.6.15.6 Technical Deliveries. It says to the JSP warehouse or RDF in the Pentagon. Can we rent and have supplies delivered to an off-site storage facility that is easier to access by us instead of going through the government warehouse?

PWS Section 1.6.14.6 is revised accordingly. All supplies will be received by the EMPS contract support team in the JSP warehouse and delivered to operational storage facilities as required. Off site storage facilities are permissible after accounting of all supplies via the contractor's warehouse receiving processes. Due the volume of supplies and their associated cost it is not acceptable to neglect proper and thorough accountability of supplies. Additionally, deliveries to the RDF and Mark Center are subject to PFPA security processes which are not guaranteed to be timely or to maintain detailed accountability.

PWS Section 5.1 Technical Also, you listed support for devices; however, they are not listed. What devices are the contractor reasonably expected to support?

See response to question #11. Additionally, the Government expects the predominant manufactured models supported over the next three years to be Canon and HP based on procurement contracts being put in place. The Government anticipates that onboarded customers and legacy customers may receive low density numbers of Savin, Xerox, Ricoh, Dell, etc...

PWS Section 5.2.2.2.1(1) Technical Will the government allow for an SLA exception for any consumable or break-fix tickets outside of the local NCR?

PWS Section 5.2.2.2.1 is revised accordingly. Yes, it is acceptable to place a supply on order within one business day of ticket receipt for delivery to a location outside the NCR. This is not inclusive of FT Belvoir, FT Myer or other locations traditionally considered in the NCR.

24 PWS Technical What are the optional tasks? The Optional tasks are requirements that the Government may exercise at a later date per the availability of funding.

Technical Exhibits Technical Please explain the FTE break down. If I am calculating correctly, it equates 25 employees to complete the work. I also count the devices listed as roughly 6,000 devices (full and partial support)

The Government will not direct the composition of your work force. The contractor is responsible for proposing a labor force that can accomplish all tasks and requirements of the PWS and Solicitation.

The PM is viewed as being the Primes point for executing all task that may be assigned to any team member. Additionally, the PM is considered the lead for attending all government meetings such as daily standups with the Customer Care Director, interacting with senior JSP leadership and customers as required.

It is assumed there will be a need for a deputy PM that will have other roles such as deployment manager, report oversight, QUASP management, etc. Additionally, the deputy would be available and knowledgeable in the absence of the PM. The team integration for product development is a challenge that must be achieved. Stove piped teams are not successful unless products are successfully integrated and managed.

The team must have access to a knowledgeable Engineer that has an understanding of the JSP print infrastructure and integrated network components to properly design standard, repeatable, STIG approved setting on devices that can successfully accomplish the customers’ requirements and appropriately reporting data to the managed network tools. The problem solving of tough integrated networking challenges are accomplished in this effort.

Print Tools Admin - Applications Systems Analyst (Journeyman). The team will require an analyst to effectively use the available tools, correlate report data, provide required reports, etc. The team providing associated data must be fully integrated to ensure all devices are monitored and tracked appropriately to leverage the value of the tools for the team. The team additionally has responsibilities for administering tools on the JSP infrastructure. Please ensure preparation IAW the PWS.

Print Logistics - Administration/Clerical-Team performs integrated logistics functions ensuring all logistics and property management task are accomplished. All task in the PWS must be performed.

Print Server Manager - Network Specialist-Team provides support on all network task from print queue management to desktop installation as required. All network related work must be performed and integrated into the team’s processes.

Print Technicians - Hardware Engineer-Teams must be capable of completing all task as required to install, operate, and maintain hardware.

The integration of personnel and number of personnel are not for the government to determine. Based on previous experience the integration of stove piped teams and lack of focus on developing standardized repeatable processes results in teams that are reactionary and not capable of providing the end to end managed services as defined in the PWS. Teams focused only on the hardware restoral and consumable metrics will not be successful in execution of the PWS. The goal as stated is an integrated service that meets customer requirements and manages all aspects of the managed print services.

Technical Exhibits Technical Historically, what has been the minimum and average headcount that supported the performance of this contract?

The PWS is a combination of five existing contracting efforts. The total FTEs on work that was not integrated is approximately 26.

This work force due to the fragmented nature has overlapping task and numerous inefficiencies. This consolidated requirement will provide for numerous contractor efficiencies in managing the workforce.

Technical Exhibits Technical What is the current processes in place to monitor and track printers and devices inventory? The Legacy Army support contractor evaluates devices against the master asset database, therefore verifying all MFPs are added or deleted from the asset tracking. The Legacy OSD assets are tracked utilizing automated tools and a comparison to work tickets in the last year. The PWS integration of the utilization of network based tools, remedy evaluation, and integration of print queue management will allow for the team to actively manage the asset inventory. As the PWS states, the integrated team will utilize the network tools for NIPR/SIPR network connected systems, agents should be installed as necessary for automated management of direct connect systems on the NIPR/SIPR network. TS, private networks, and or standalone systems will receive meter reads at during service calls. These various inputs will provide an analyst the necessary data points to maintain an accurate asset list.

Additionally as systems are commissioned or decommissioned the team will have the data point to initiate or decommission the devices in the tracking database. The current tracking database is an Access database that trained team members will have access to update. The data in the database provides a single repository that can be leveraged for accurately reporting, planning LCR, etc...

28 Technical Exhibits Technical What are the current printer and device brands? Please response to questions #11 and #22.