Attachment 3 - QASP.docx

ATTACHMENT 3 - QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

1. INTRODUCTION

The Government’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is based on the premise that the contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for the day-to-day performance of the work and all the management and quality control actions required to meet the terms of the contract. The role of the Government in quality assurance is to ensure performance standards are achieved and maintained. The contractor is required to develop a comprehensive program of inspections and monitoring actions and to document its approach in a Quality Control Plan (QCP). The contractor’s QCP, upon approval by the Government, will be made a part of the resulting contractual agreement.

This QASP is designed to provide an effective surveillance method to monitor the contractor’s performance relative to the requirements listed in the contract. The QASP illustrates the systematic method the Government (or its designated representative) will use to evaluate the services the contractor is required to furnish.

This QASP is based on the premise that the Government must validate that the contractor is complying with Government-mandated quality standards in all aspects of the services provided. Performance standards address all facets of operations, including quality; accuracy; completeness; timeliness; safety and health; conformance with statutory, regulatory, and policy guidance; appropriate use and care of government furnished property, information, or facilities; data and records management; etc. Good management by the contractor and use of an approved QCP will ensure that the services are provided within acceptable quality levels.

2. DEFINITIONS

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS): The PRS communicates what the Government intends to inspect for quality. The PRS may be based on published standards for specific types of services, or it may be developed for the individual acquisition. The PRS identifies performance standards and quality levels essential for successful performance of each contractual requirement. The PRS is used by the Government (or its designated representative) when conducting quality assurance surveillance to guide them through the inspection and review processes.

Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): The COTR interacts with the service provider to inspect and accept services/work performed in accordance with the technical standards prescribed in the contract. The Contracting Officer (CO) will issue a written memorandum that appoints the COTR. Other individuals may be designated to assist in the inspection and quality assurance surveillance activities.

Measures: The method for evaluating compliance with the standards.

Acceptable Quality Level: The minimum level of quality that will be accepted by the Government in order to meet the performance standard.

Withholding: Amount of monthly invoice payment withheld pending correction of a deficiency. See Performance Requirements Summary for information on percentage of invoice amount that may be withheld for each deficiency. Funds withheld from payment are recoverable if the COTR and CO confirm resolution/correction, and should be included in the next invoice submitted.

Deduction: Funds may be deducted from a monthly invoice for an egregious act or event, or if the same deficiency continues to occur. The Contractor will be notified immediately if such a situation arises. The CO, in consultation with the COTR, will determine the amount of the deduction. Amounts deducted are not recoverable.

3. QUALITY CONTROL PLAN (QCP):

As a part of its contract with the Government, the contractor is required to develop, implement, and maintain a QCP that illustrates the methods it will use to review its performance to ensure it conforms to the performance requirements. Such reviews are performed by the Contractor in order to validate its operations and assure the Government that the services meet the performance standards.

The Contractor’s QCP should include monitoring methods that ensure and demonstrate its compliance with the performance standards. This includes inspection methods and schedules that are consistent with the regular reviews conducted by the Government. The reports and other results generated by the contractor’s QCP activities should be provided to the COTR as requested.

The frequency and type of the contractor’s reviews should be consistent with what is necessary in order to ensure compliance with the performance standards.

The contractor is encouraged not to limit its inspection to only the processes outlined in the Government’s standard; however, certain key documents must be provided by the contractor to assure the Government that the services meet the performance standards. Some of the documentation that must be generated and made available to the COTR for inspection are listed below. The list is intended as illustrative and is not all-inclusive. The contractor must develop and implement a program that addresses the specific requirement of each standard and the means it will use to document compliance.

· Written policies and procedures to implement and assess operational requirements of the standard

· Documentation and recording keeping that ensure ongoing operational compliance with the standards (e.g.; inventories, logbooks, register of receipts, reports, etc.)

· Staff training records

· Investigative reports

· Records of investigative actions taken

· Equipment inspections

· System tests and evaluation

4. METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE

All operations shall be subject to review using the procedures outlined in the contract. An on-site COTR (and/or designee) will perform regular inspections. This will help the COTR or designee assess overall performance, by reviewing specific items within identified functional areas on a daily, weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly basis. Inspections will include a review of the contractor’s QCP activities including the reports and results generated by them.

The COTR or designee will evaluate the contractor’s performance by (a) conducting site visits, (b) reviewing documentation, and (c) interviewing the contractor’s personnel.

4.1 Site Visits: Site visits are used to observe actual performance and to conduct interviews to determine the extent of compliance with performance standards, and to ensure any noted defects are effectively addressed and corrected as quickly as possible. Routine reviews may involve direct observation of contractor personnel performing tasks, interacting with Government staff or the public, and/or reviewing documentation that demonstrates compliance with standards. On-site inspections may be performed by the COTR or by other parties designated as representatives of ICE. Inspections may be either planned in advance or conducted ad-hoc.

4.2 Ad-Hoc: These inspections are unscheduled and will be conducted as a result of special interests arising from routine monitoring of the service provider’s QCP, an unusual occurrence pertaining to the agreement, or other ICE concerns. These inspections may also be used as a follow-up to a previous inspection. Inspection findings will be provided to contractor personnel as appropriate.

When visiting a site, either the COTR or a designated third party may conduct their own inspections of contractor performance activities. The COTR may also immediately inspect the same area as soon as the QCI has completed the quality control inspection to determine if any surveillance areas were overlooked. The COTR may also inspect an area prior to the QCI and compare results. The COTR will record all findings; defects noted will be provided in writing and must be corrected within a reasonable amount of time.

4.3 Review of Documentation: The contractor must develop and maintain all documentation as prescribed in the performance standards (e.g., post logs, policies, and records of corrective actions). In addition to the documentation prescribed by the standards, the Contractor must also develop and maintain documentation that demonstrates the results of its own inspections as prescribed in its QCP. The COTR will review both forms of documentation to affirm that conditions, policies/procedures, and incident handling all conform to the performance standards stated herein. When reviewing the contractor’s documentation, the Government may review 100% of the documents or a representative sample. Documentation may be reviewed during a site visit or at intervals throughout the period of performance.

4.4 Interviews and Other Feedback: The COTR will interview key members of the contractor’s staff and Government personnel to ascertain current practices and the extent of compliance with the performance standards.

5. FAILURE TO MEET PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Performance of services in conformance with the PRS standards is essential for the Contractor to receive full payment as identified in the contract. The CO may take deductions against the monthly invoices for unsatisfactory performance documented through surveillance of the contractor’s activities gained through site inspections, reviews of documentation (including monthly QCP reports), interviews, and other feedback. As a result of its surveillance, the Contractor will be assigned the following rating relative to each performance standard.

Using the above standards as a guide, the CO will implement adjustments to the contractor’s monthly invoice. Rather than withholding funds until a deficiency is corrected, there may be times when a deficiency is so egregious that the Government deducts (vs. “withholds”) amounts from the contractor’s monthly invoice. This may occur when a specific event occurs, when a particular deficiency is noted three (3) or more times without correction, or when the contractor has failed to take timely action on a deficiency about which he was properly and timely notified. The amount deducted will be consistent with the relative weight of the functional performance area where the deficiency was noted. The deduction may be a one-time event, or it may continue until the service provider has either corrected the deficiency or made substantial progress in the correction.

6. NOTIFICATIONS

(a) Based on the inspection of the contractor’s performance, the COTR will document instances of deficient or at-risk performance using the Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) attached. To the extent practicable, issues may be resolved informally, with the COTR and contractor working together. When documentation of an issue or deficiency is required, the procedures set forth in this section will be followed.

(b) When a CDR is required to document performance issues, it will be submitted to the contractor with a date when a response is due. Upon receipt of a CDR, the Contractor shall immediately assess the situation and either correct the deficiency as quickly as possible or prepare a corrective action plan. In either event, the Contractor must return the CDR with the action planned or taken noted. After the COTR reviews the Contractor’s response to the CDR including its plan/remedy, the COTR will either accept plan or correction or reject the correction/plan for revision and provide an explanation. This process should take no more than seven calendar days. The CDR should not be used as a substitute for quality control by the contractor.

(c) The COTR and CO, in addition to any other designated ICE official, shall be notified immediately in the event of all emergencies. Emergencies include, but are not limited to the following: activation of response teams; disturbances; demonstrations; workplace actions (strikes, violence, protests); use of force; injuries requiring medical attention; fires; weapons discharge; adverse incidents that attract unusual interest or significant publicity; adverse weather (e.g., hurricanes, floods, ice/snow storms, heat waves, tornadoes); power outages; bomb threats; significant environmental problems that impact operations; and transportation accidents resulting in injuries, death, or property damage. Note that in an emergency situation, a CDR may not be issued until an investigation has been completed.

(d) If the COTR concludes that the deficient or at-risk performance warrants a withholding or deduction, the COTR must include the CDR in its reports, with a copy to the CO. The CDR must be accompanied by the COTR’s investigation report and written recommendation for any withholding. The CO will consider the COTR’s recommendation and forward the CDR along with any relevant supporting information to the contractor in order to confirm or further discuss the prospective cure, including the Government’s proposed course of action. As described in section 5 above, portions of the monthly invoice amount may be withheld until such time as the corrective action is completed, or a deduction may be taken.

(e) Following receipt of the Contractor’s notification that the correction has been made, the COTR may re-inspect the work. Based upon the COTR’s findings, he/she will recommend that the CO continue to withhold a proportionate share of the payment until the correction is made, or accept the correction as final and release the full amount withheld for that issue.

(f) If funds have been withheld and the Government terminates the contract, those funds will not be released. The Contractor may only receive withheld payments upon successful correction of an instance of non-compliance. Further, the Contractor is not relieved of full performance of the required services hereunder. The contract may be terminated upon adequate notice from the Government based upon any once instance, or failure to remedy deficient performance, even if a deduction was previously taken for any inadequate performance.

(g) The COTR will maintain a record of all open and resolved CDRs. The rights of the Government and remedies described in this section are in addition to all other rights and remedies set forth in this agreement.

SOLICITATION - HSCEDM-12-R-00011

Procurement Sensitive – See FAR 3.104

PERFORMANCE DISCREPANCY REPORT

1. CONTRACT NUMBER

2. TO: (Contractor and Manager Name)

3. FROM: (Name of COTR)

DATES

CONTRACTOR NOTIFICATION

4. DISCREPANCY OR PROBLEM (Describe in Detail: Include reference in PWS / Directive: Attach continuation sheet if necessary.)

5. SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER’S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR)

6. TO: (COTR)

7. FROM: (Contractor)

8. CONTRACTOR RESPONSE AS TO CAUSE, CORRECTIVE ACTION AND ACTIONS TO PREVENT RECURRENCE. ATTACH CONTINUATION SHEET IF NECESSARY. (Cite applicable Q.A. program procedures or new A.W. procedures.)

9. SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE

10. DATE

11. GOVERNMENT EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR RESPONSE/RESOLUTION PLAN: (Acceptable response/plan, partial acceptance of response/plan, rejection: attach continuation sheet if necessary)

12. GOVERNMENT ACTIONS (Payment withholding, cure notice, show cause, other.)

CLOSE OUT

CONTRACTOR

NOTIFIED

COTR

CONTRACTING

OFFICER