HSCETC-11-R-00001 Contracting Questions and Responses FINAL.pdf

A. Section C

A.1 5-Section C.17.15.1 “Security Requirements are described in Attachment 1, Special Contract Requirements.” Attachment 1 is a Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey, what attachment has security requirements? Please clarify where the security requirements and “special contract requirements” are located.

The Security Requirements and Special Contract Requirements (Titled Add can be found in Section C-Contract Clauses, pages 18-42).

Attachment 5, Statement of Work, Section C.2, 4th paragraph, has been changed from, “The Contractor shall be able to perform and support all aspects associated with cabling and design requirements. This includes designing, implementing, testing, certification, universal cabling schematics for voice, wireless, and data systems in accordance with (IAW) and consistent with this contract as written and the Statement of Work (SOW) as well as Attachment 1 – Special Contract Requirements. The Contractor shall be knowledgeable of all applicable Federal, state and local cabling regulations, fire codes, historic preservation regulations, and union requirements for each specific site” to “The Contractor shall be able to perform and support all aspects associated with cabling and design requirements. This includes designing, implementing, testing, certification, universal cabling schematics for voice, wireless, and data systems in accordance with (IAW) and consistent with this contract as written and the Statement of Work (SOW) as well as ‘Additional Contract Terms and Conditions’ (See pages 18-42 of Section C-Contract Clauses). The Contractor shall be knowledgeable of all applicable Federal, state and local cabling regulations, fire codes, historic preservation regulations, and union requirements for each specific site.

A.2 Section C, page 37, Section 508 Back Office exemption. The specification mentions a Section 508 Back Office exemption, but gives no number for the exemption. Please explain.

Section C, page 37, Section 508 Applicable Exceptions has been changed as follows:

Section 508 Applicable Exceptions Exceptions for this work statement have been determined by DHS and only the exceptions described herein may be applied. Any request for additional exceptions shall be sent to the COTR and determination will be made in accordance with DHS MD 4010.2. DHS has identified the following exceptions that may apply: 36 CFR 1194.3(b) Incidental to Contract, all EIT that is exclusively owned and used by the contractor to fulfill this work statement does not require compliance with Section 508. This exception does not apply to any EIT deliverable, service or item that will be used by any Federal employee(s) or member(s) of the public. This exception only applies to those contractors assigned to fulfill the obligations of this work statement and for the purposes of this requirement, are not considered members of the public.

A.3 Please provide the text for FAR 52.244-16, Responsibility for Supplies (APR 1984), listed on Section C, page 2 of the specification.

Section C-Contract Clauses, Page 2, has been changed as follows: FAR 52.244-16, Responsibility for Supplies (APR 1984) to 52.246-16, Responsibility for Supplies (APR 1984).

A.4 Attachment 5, Statement of Work, C.4.1.2 page 10 last item Travel if applicable “Itemized cost for actual travel, hotel, per-diem, and car rental if required for contractors to complete the work required” When the contractor travels the hotel per diem cost does not include the taxes, and the hotel charges per diem, taxes and any other local state and county taxes are to be paid.

We want to make sure that DHS/ICE will pay any taxes incurred, and also it will issue an authorizing letter that entitles the contractor to per diem hotel charges. From our experience as a government contractor we have found that tax exemption is not granted unless the contractor has Government ID.

See Attachment 5, Statement of Work, page 21 that states, “Other Direct Costs-Travel The Contractor shall travel as required during the performance of this contract. All travel requires prior approval by the COTR IAW the guidance noted in Section C.3.1. Travel expenses shall be reimbursed consistent with FAR 31.205-46, the substantive provisions of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and the limitation of funds specified in this contract. The Contractor shall not be reimbursed for the following travel expenses: transportation expenses for assigned personnel for local commuting between their place of residence and their place of work or for local travel of personnel assigned to the Contractor’s sites unless specifically authorized by the COTR in writing, in advance. The Contractor shall not be reimbursed for moving or relocation expenses for the Contractor or contractor employees, and/or subcontractors. There may be other travel expenses or other situations where travel expenses will not be reimbursed. Federal Travel Regulations may be located and downloaded from www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr or www.gsa.gov/federaltravelregulation. For work at OCONUS locations, per-diem rate maximums as defined by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Administration, Office of Allowances, which may be found at: http://www.state.gov/m/a/als/. The DSSR are the controlling regulations for foreign area travel. TO(s) issued under the basic contract, contractor civilians assigned to foreign areas shall not exceed the allowances and benefits in the DSSR.”

For CONUS travel, the FAR Travel Cost Principle at 31.205-46 (a)(2) states " Except as provided in subparagraph (a)(3) of this subsection, costs incurred for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses (as defined in the regulations cited in (a)(2)(i) through (iii) of this subparagraph) shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rates in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the --

(i) Federal Travel Regulations..."

According to the GSA, 'Lodging taxes are not included in the CONUS per diem rate. As stated in the Federal Travel Regulation § 301-11.27 (www.gsa.gov/ftr), in CONUS "lodging taxes paid by the Federal traveler are reimbursable as a miscellaneous travel expense limited to the taxes on reimbursable lodging costs."' http://www.gsa.gov/ftr�

For additional information on allowable travel costs, please see the Federal Travel Regulations and FAR 31.205-46.

A.5 Section C: Contract Clauses: Please clarify requirements on page 13 for “written proof of IT Security accreditation” is this required for installed Government systems, or contractor-owned facilities?

This statement is part of HSAR 3052.204-70 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources (JUN 2006) which states at the beginning that, “(a) The Offeror shall be responsible for Information Technology (IT) security for all systems connected to a DHS network or operated by the Offeror for DHS, regardless of location.

This clause applies to all or any part of the contract that includes information technology resources or services for which the Offeror must have physical or electronic access to sensitive information contained in DHS unclassified systems that directly support the agency‘s mission”.

A.6 Will the SCA wage determinations apply to task orders that are deemed new construction?

This is a non-construction contract that may involve some incidental construction work. The SCA wage determinations apply to ALL task orders. If a task order involves some incidental construction work and/or construction work that is merged with non-construction work and it cannot be separated, then the Davis Bacon Act will apply to the construction portion of the task order. This decision to use the Davis Bacon Act will be made on an individual task order basis after the Site Survey is conducted and determined if applicable prior to the issuance of the TO for Installation.

A.7 Section C, page 1, FAR 52-211-11, Liquidated Damages … (SEP 2000), but does not give a dollar amount. What is the amount of the liquidated damages?

FAR 52.211-11, Liquidated Damages (SEP 2000) has been deleted from Section C, page 1.

52.211-11 Liquidated Damages—Supplies, Services, or Research and Development.

As prescribed in 11.503(a), insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts:

LIQUIDATED DAMAGES—SUPPLIES, SERVICES, OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (SEPT 2000)

(a) If the Contractor fails to deliver the supplies or perform the services within the time specified in this contract, the Contractor shall, in place of actual damages, pay to the Government liquidated damages of $__________ per calendar day of delay [Contracting Officer insert amount].

(b) If the Government terminates this contract in whole or in part under the Default—Fixed- Price Supply and Service clause, the Contractor is liable for liquidated damages accruing https://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2011_5.html#wp1077569� until the Government reasonably obtains delivery or performance of similar supplies or services. These liquidated damages are in addition to excess costs of repurchase under the Termination clause.

(c) The Contractor will not be charged with liquidated damages when the delay in delivery or performance is beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor as defined in the Default—Fixed-Price Supply and Service clause in this contract.

(End of clause)

A.8 NAICS Code, in the Reps and Certs Section 52.219-1. Item 3 states:

The small the Small business size is 500 employees and the 1449 and Item a, (2) states the size standard is $14M.

Part 3 of 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations that states, “The small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, other than on a construction or service contract, but which proposes to furnish a product which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees” is part of the clause. This is a service contract therefore the 500 employees does not apply. .

The NAICS code size standard is $14M. NAICS code 238210 does NOT have a small business employee size standard.

B. Section E

B.1 Pertaining to the NAICS code of 238210 -- Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors, the size standard of $14M, and the fact this solicitation is being released as a Total Small Business. In many cases, small businesses that fall within the NAICS size standard are 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd tier subcontractors and therefore do not have access to the responsible Government or Commercial contracting entity nor would the responsible entity have evaluated a 2nd or 3rd tier subcontractor’s performance. What are DHS’s expectations for contracting information in regards to Government/Commercial Contracting Officer (CO), CO Technical representative (COTR), and prime contract value and type when work was performed as a lower tier subcontractor?

See Section E, page 18, that states, “Offerors are also advised that only relevant experience will be evaluated for the purposes of past performance; however, the absence of past performance data will be rated neither favorably nor unfavorably (i.e. neutral). The Government will also evaluate past performance responses to Attachment 1-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey”.

B.2 Similar Experience and Past Performance requirements, Section E Provisions- Instructions-Evaluation Factors, J1- Volume 1, Phase 1, Tabs 2 & 3: The requirements for Similar Experience and Past Performance are related and both ask for identical contract requirements. But there is a difference between how each of these two sections are evaluated; color rating with Excellent, Acceptable, and Unacceptable for Similar Experience; confidence ratings from Good to Neutral for Past Performance. As written, a company with no relevant contract Past Performance would receive a Neutral rating which would not necessarily eliminate them during the down select.

However, because actual contract information is also required for Similar Experience, this same company would receive a Red (Unacceptable) rating in this section, directly impacting this company’s ability to make the down select. Is it the intent of DHS that Similar Experience would relate to Staff Experience as this section includes specific scope-related requirements and Key Personnel resumes versus contract Past Performance and if so why are contract requirements identical for both Volume Tabs?

Section E, page 15, Volume I/Tab 2: Summary of Similar Experience states, “The Offeror shall demonstrate similar experience as defined below in the similar experience elements in order to demonstrate its capability to adequately and completely consider, define, and satisfy the requirements specified in the solicitation and SOW”. In addition to the contract/project descriptions for similar experience, the Offeror shall provide the requested information for each of the contracts included in the description of similar experience that demonstrates the similar experience.

Section E, page 17, Volume I/Tab 3: Past Performance states, “The Government will evaluate past performance of three (3) but not more than five (5) current or previous contracts for relevancy and recency based on how well the contractor performed on projects of similar dollar value, scope, and complexity”.

The contract information included for Similar Experience will not necessarily be the same as the contract information included for Past Performance. Offerors must understand the underlying distinction between the Past Performance factor and Similar Experience factors. Under these criteria the Government seeks to evaluate what is an offeror’s capability to meet the Government’s requirements based on its similar experience. By contrast, the Government, under the Past Performance factor, seek to evaluate how well an offeror would be likely to perform the current requirements in light of its past performance information.

B.3 Page 32 of Section E refers once to the “Contract Management and Operations Plan (CMOP).” Is this the offeror’s overall Program Management approach? Please clarify.

‘Contract Management and Operations Plan (CMOP) has been changed to Project Management Factor in Section E, page 32 as follows: “Each Project Management element included in the Project Management Factor is of equal importance.”

B.4 Reference Section E, page 12, G: Are 5 hard copies of each volume required in total, or 5 copies + 1 original for a total of 6 binders?

Section E, page 12, G is changed as follows:

-One (1) CD for Volume I-Phase 1 -One (1) CD for Volume II-Phase 2 -One (1) original and Five (5) each hardcopy copies of Volume I, Phase 1

-One (1) original and Five (5) each hardcopy of Volume II, Phase 2

B.5 Reference Section E, page 13, H: Will numbered tabs (i.e., with no writing) be considered compliant?

Yes, but numbered tabs should correlate to the Table of Contents for each volume.

B.6 Is the Project Coordinator position considered key personnel (as denoted on page 17 of Section E) or are only the Program Manager and Alternate Program Manager considered key (as denoted on page 15 of Section C)?

The Program Manager, Alternate Program Manager, and Project Coordinator are considered Key Personnel. Section C, page 15 is changed as follows:

HSAR 3052.215-70 Key Personnel or Facilities (DEC 2003)

(a) The personnel or facilities specified below are considered essential to the work being performed under this contract and may, with the consent of the contracting parties, be changed from time to time during the course of the contract by adding or deleting personnel or facilities, as appropriate.

(b) Before removing or replacing any of the specified individuals or facilities, the Offeror shall notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, before the change becomes effective. The Offeror shall submit sufficient information to support the proposed action and to enable the Contracting Officer to evaluate the potential impact of the change on this contract. The Offeror shall not remove or replace personnel or facilities until the Contracting Officer approves the change.

The Key Personnel under this Contract are:

Offeror‘s Program Manager, Offeror‘s Alternate Program Manager and Project Coordinator (Individual names will be inserted at time of award).

(End of clause)

B.7 If an offeror proposes to support more than one region, should resumes be provided for all regions? If so, for which of the required positions (Program Manager, Alternate Program Manager, Project Coordinator, Cable Installation Technician, CAD Operator)?

Yes, all resumes must be submitted for all Key Personnel for all of the regions proposed. See Section E, page 16, Resumes, that states, “The Offeror shall include resumes for all Key Personnel, the Cable Installation Technician(s) and the CAD Operator. Resumes of Key Personnel and other personnel proposed IAW the SOW shall not exceed two (2) pages per resume. Resumes will not be included in the page limit”.

Section E, page 13, Proposal page Limits and Descriptions is changed as follows:

Volume I-Phase 1 (Not to Exceed 30 pages) Tab 1-Executive Summary Tab 2-Similar Experience (page count excludes resumes for Key Personnel, the Cable Installation Technician(s) and the CAD Operator. Offerors shall submit resumes for each region they submit proposals for)

Tab 3-Past Performance

B.8 Section E page 11 of 40 – Section f Submission of offer – can the proposal be hand delivered?

No. See Section E, F. Proposal Due Date and Time that states, “No hand deliveries, emails or facsimiles submittals will be permitted EXCEPT for the entire Past Performance Questionnare, which can ONLY be emailed to cableocio@dhs.gov no later than July 6, 2011 at 3:00 pm, EDT.

B.9 Section E page 19 of 40 - Past Performance Questionnaire. The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment 12-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey) and e-mail the questionnaire to the Government or private sector point-of-contact (POC) responsible for the past/current contract reference. The POC's shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire – Shouldn’t the POC complete section III as well?

Correct. The POC shall complete Sections II and III of the Past Performance Questionnaire.

The change has been made to Section E, page 19 of 40, Past Performance Questionnaire.

B.10 Evaluation of factors for Phase 1 Down select Page 24 of 40- We understand the down select evaluation criteria- How long do you anticipate the Phase 1 down select process will take?

The Government does not have a deadline for completing the Phase 1 down select process.

B.11 C.6 page 18- Optional Contract Line items-Want to confirm that the optional CLINS such as CLIN XX05- Option Labor categories, CLIN XX06 (Option material costs) and CLIN xx07 are mandatory fort a contractor to bid? Do we have to bid them?

If not are there any points taken off our response?

Yes, it is mandatory for an Offeror to propose CLINs XX05, XX06, and XX07 (if proposing for the South Region). Failure to comply with the requirements for cost/price information may result in an adverse assessment of an Offeror’s proposal and reduce or eliminate its chance of being selected for award. Please see Section E, pages 20-21 that has been revised as follows:

Volume II/Tab 3: Sample Design Scenario Price Proposal and Overall Cost/Price Proposal

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COST/PRICE INFORMATION

MAY RESULT IN AN ADVERSE ASSESSMENT OF AN OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL AND

REDUCE OR ELIMINATE ITS CHANCE OF BEING SELECTED FOR AWARD.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS: IDIQ pricing shall be submitted IAW the format in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table. In addition to submitting the information requested in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table, Offerors shall submit the labor categories, labor rates, materials, material prices, and any other information used to calculate the Amounts for CLINs 0001 through 0007. No prices should be inserted on the SF 1449 document. The Offeror shall submit the following information for each of the CLINs in each of the Option Years listed in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table:

CLIN 0001: Site Survey (FFP): Offerors shall submit the fixed daily rate, number of days, and the Not-to-Exceed amount for a small building, medium building and large building.

The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the fixed daily rate and the Not-to-Exceed Amount for CLIN 0001.

CLIN 0002: Site Survey Deliverables: Offerors shall submit the Not-to-Exceed amount for a small building, medium building and large building. The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the Not-to-Exceed amount for site survey deliverables.

CLIN 0003: Installation: Offerors shall submit the Not-to-Exceed FFP amount for each of the following number of drops: 0-50 drops, 51-200 drops, 201-500 drops, and 501-1,000 drops. The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the Not-to-Exceed FFP Installation amounts. Do NOT include travel as part of the Not-to-Exceed price for installation. Travel will be determined on a task order basis.

CLIN 0004: Travel: Government will provide ‘Not to Exceed’ amounts at time of IDIQ award based on a percentage of the IDIQ maximum. Offerors do NOT need to propose Not-to-Exceed amounts. Travel costs will be proposed and approved on a task order basis.

CLIN 0005: Labor Categories (LH): Offerors shall propose labor categories and Not-to- Exceed labor rates for optional tasks.

CLIN 0006: Material Costs: Offerors shall proposal material descriptions, units, and unit prices for materials to be used for optional tasks.

CLIN 0007: OCONUS Shipping: Offerors shall propose labor categories, Not-to-Exceed labor rates, material descriptions, units, and unit prices for materials to be use for the OCONUS shipping time and materials task, if proposing for the South Region.

B.12 Confirm intention to use NAICS code 238210 Electrical Contractors, as opposed to a more traditional telecommunications NAICS code description, such as, 517110 Wire Telecommunications Carriers.

See Section E, Page 24 that states, “The NAICS code for this procurement is 238210 and the size standard is $14M in average annual receipts for the preceding three years”.

B.13 Section E Page 12, Paragraph G states, “Offerors who propose to use subcontractors shall provide the same information as is required for the prime Offeror IAW FAR 52.212-1.” Does the Government require separate Volumes 1 and 2 for each subcontractor proposed, or the addition of subcontractor information into the prime submission? Please clarify the subcontractor submission requirements.

Offerors shall submit all two (2) volumes as a part of the initial proposal. Offerors shall indicate in Volume 1, Tab 1, the region(s) they are submitting proposals for. The Offeror shall submit a separate Volume 2, Phase 2, for each region they submit a proposal for. There are no separate proposals for subcontractors. Subcontractors considering their proposal data as proprietary shall submit their proposals in secure, tamper-proof containers to the prime contractor. The Contracting Officer will not accept subcontractor proposals submitted separately to the Government.

B.14 Section E, page 20, SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS, states that “IDIQ pricing shall be submitted IAW the format in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table.” Do the prices submitted in Attachment 8 bind the contractor to those NTE prices for the life of the contract? Will the Government make awards for subsequent task orders based solely on the price data within Attachment 8 or will task order requests be posted and subsequent awards negotiated?

Yes, it is a binding NTE price. Pricing established in the base IDIQ will be used to negotiate TOs.

B.15 Section E, page 21, PRICE ANALYSIS, states that “The Offeror‘s price shall be separately provided as outlined in Attachment 10, Sample Design Price Format with sufficient information to evaluate the price for reasonableness and understanding of the requirement.” Does this really refer to Attachment 8? How does Attachment 8 differ from Attachment 10? Shouldn’t Attachment 10 be a derivative of Attachment 8 since the same cost buildup data is required for both tables?

No, not related. Attachment 10 is for the Sample Design Scenario Price.

B.16 Instructions in Section E, Volume II/Tab 3: Sample Design Scenario Price Proposal and Overall Cost/Price Proposal state that “In addition to submitting the information requested in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table, Offerors shall submit the labor categories, labor rates, materials, material prices, and any other information used to calculate the NTE Amounts for CLINS 0001 through 0007.” Is the Government requesting labor categories beyond those for which resumes are required (i.e., Program Manager, Alternate Program Manager, Project Coordinator, Cable Installation Technician, CAD Operator)? If so, what are the requirements?

Please see Section E, pages 21-22 that has been revised as follows to provide information on what labor categories/rates the Offeror must provide:

MAY RESULT IN AN ADVERSE ASSESSMENT OF AN OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL AND

REDUCE OR ELIMINATE ITS CHANCE OF BEING SELECTED FOR AWARD.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS: IDIQ pricing shall be submitted IAW the format in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table. In addition to submitting the information requested in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table, Offerors shall submit the labor categories, labor rates, materials, material prices, and any other information used to calculate the Amounts for CLINs 0001 through 0007. No prices should be inserted on the SF 1449 document. The Offeror shall submit the following information for each of the CLINs in each of the Option Years listed in Attachment 8, IDIQ Pricing Table:

CLIN 0001: Site Survey (FFP): Offerors shall submit the fixed daily rate, number of days, and the Not-to-Exceed amount for a small building, medium building and large building.

The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the fixed daily rate and the Not-to-Exceed Amount for CLIN 0001.

CLIN 0002: Site Survey Deliverables: Offerors shall submit the Not-to-Exceed amount for a small building, medium building and large building. The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the Not-to-Exceed amount for site survey deliverables.

CLIN 0003: Installation: Offerors shall submit the Not-to-Exceed FFP amount for each of the following number of drops: 0-50 drops, 51-200 drops, 201-500 drops, and 501-1,000 drops. The Offeror is NOT required to provide labor categories/rates or any other information used to calculate the Not-to-Exceed FFP Installation amounts. Do NOT include travel as part of the Not-to-Exceed price for installation. Travel will be determined on a task order basis.

CLIN 0004: Travel: Government will provide ‘Not to Exceed’ amounts at time of IDIQ award based on a percentage of the IDIQ maximum. Offerors do NOT need to propose Not-to-Exceed amounts. Travel costs will be proposed and approved on a task order basis.

CLIN 0005: Labor Categories (LH): Offerors shall propose labor categories and Not-to- Exceed labor rates for optional tasks.

CLIN 0006: Material Costs: Offerors shall proposal material descriptions, units, and unit prices for materials to be used for optional tasks.

CLIN 0007: OCONUS Shipping: Offerors shall propose labor categories, Not-to-Exceed

B.17 Do the sites survey costs count toward the 51% of the installation?

See Section C, page 4, that includes Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996 as follows:

XX (13) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996) (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(14)).

Section E, page 24, Special Note is changed as follows:

Special Note: This procurement is set aside 100% for small businesses who meet the size standard of the identified NAICS code. The NAICS code for this procurement is 238210 and the size standard is $14M in average annual receipts for the preceding three years.

Refer to Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996) for subcontracting requirements. A small business shall perform a minimum of 51% of the actual work throughout the period of performance of any awarded contract and/or subsequent task orders. This work shall not be administrative or pass through in nature to meet the required minimum.

The Capital Region is set aside 100% for Small Business Administration (SBA) certified HUBZone small businesses Offerors. No proposal from other than an SBA certified HUBZone Offeror will be considered for this region.

B.18 If our implementation Strategy incorporates the use of 100% subcontractor labor and all sub contractors meet the under 14 million set aside, can the prime qualify if they are larger than 14 million annually?

The prime contractor must meet the small business standard for NAICS code 238210. See FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996) for subcontracting requirements.

B.19 How do we correlate our subs past performance questionnaire that is to be email directly from their customer to you? i.e., how will the Government be able to tell which prime proposal the past performance questionnaire relates to?

The Government will reference the subcontractor list in the Executive Summary. Volume I, Tab 1, Executive Summary, POC List, is changed as follows to include a list of subcontractors:

POC List For the prime Offeror and each teammate/subcontractor, a one-page summary shall be provided that identifies the Company/Division List of Subcontractors Mailing Address CAGE code Tax Identification Number (TIN) Size of business (large or small) and North American Industrial Classification System

(NAICS) code(s) Congressional district of parent company Primary and alternate point of contact for all matters concerning the proposal (i.e.

including name, position title, address, phone, and e-mail address)

B.20 Page 24, Phase 2, paragraph 3. Is the administrative portion included in the 51% of work that must be done by the prime, or excluded?

Please refer to FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996) for subcontracting requirements.

Section E, page 24 is changed as follows:

Special Note: This procurement is set aside 100% for small businesses who meet the size standard of the identified NAICS code. The NAICS code for this procurement is 238210 and the size standard is $14M in average annual receipts for the preceding three years.

Refer to FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Dec 1996) for subcontracting requirements. A small business shall perform a minimum of 51% of the actual work throughout the period of performance of any awarded contract and/or subsequent task orders. This work shall not be administrative or pass through in nature to meet the required minimum.

B.21 The company program manager has to have cabling experience (10 years min) We have been in business 5 years. But our employees (our electrical engineers) have over 30 years each, can they be project manager. Their resumes would reflect the projects they did and managed. If this is not acceptable do we then have to do joint venture with another small biz? Or can we joint venture with a large prime (we have teaming agreements to do this if necessary)?

This is desired experience and it is not discriminating where the experience comes from. For example, electrical engineers could be a PM if they meet the PM qualifications required by the solicitation, section E, paragraph 8, page 16. However, if the Offeror makes a business decision to enter into a team arrangement with another entity to obtain a better qualified PM, the Offeror is governed by FAR 52.219-14.

B.22 The same exact information is requested in Volume I/Tab 3: Past Performance under Contract Descriptions. Do you want the same information repeated in both sections? Under Volume I/Tab 2: Summary of Similar Experience, there is a requirement to provide following information for each of the contracts included in the description of similar experience:

• Contractor/Subcontractor place of performance and Data Universal Numbering

System (DUNS) Number. If the work was performed as subcontractor, provide the name of the Page 16 of 40

• prime contractor and a POC within the prime contractor organization (name, current address, e-mail address, telephone number and fax numbers).

• Government/Commercial contracting activity, current address, Procuring CO's name, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

• Government‘s technical representative/COTR or Commercial technical representative to include current e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

• Government contract administration activity/Commercial Contracting Office and the Administrative CO's name, current e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

• Contract Number. In the case of Indefinite Delivery type contracts, GSA contracts, and Blanket Purchase Agreements, include Delivery Order Numbers.

• Contract Type (i.e. FP, CR, T&M, etc.) In the case of Indefinite Delivery contracts, indicate specific type (i.e. Requirements, Definite Quantity, and Indefinite Quantity) and secondary contract type (FP, CR, T&M, etc).

• Awarded price. Final or projected final price.

• Original delivery schedule, including start and completion dates. Final or projected final delivery schedule, including start and completion dates.

The information included for each of the contracts included in the description of similar experience may or may not be the same information the Contractor provides for Past Performance. If the contract information is the same, the Contractor shall refer to the information in a different section to minimize duplicating information.

B.23 Ref. Section E, Page 21, Offeror/Government Site Rates: Where/how are offerors to provide offeror site rates (is there a template the Government wishes offerors to follow)?

Offerors shall only provide one rate as specified in Section E, page 21. The Offeror will NOT propose a separate Offeror site rate and Government site rate. The rate shall be provided as outlined in Section E, Volume II/Tab 3: Sample Design Scenario Price Proposal and Overall Cost/Price Proposal, Submittal Instructions.

Section E, page 21, Offeror/Government Site Rates has been changed as follows:

OFFEROR/GOVERNMENT SITE RATES: Offeror site rates shall also include Offeror-provided facilities, furniture, equipment, supplies, tool kits, employee training and overhead amounts required for work at Offeror sites rates, which shall not be included in Government site hourly rates. This includes, but is not limited to, telephones, facsimile machines and their telecommunications lines, copiers, personal computers, postage (to include courier services such as Federal Express), ordinary business software, such as word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, normal copying and reproduction costs. The use of uncompensated overtime is not allowed. The hourly labor rates used to calculate the fixed daily rate and any NTE amounts shall be based on a fixed hourly rate based upon a 40 hour work week (2080 hours per year). When performing at Government sites, the Offeror shall provide fully burdened hourly rates for each category. The Government will NOT provide supplies, tools, and any other equipment necessary to complete the tasks specified in the base IDIQ contract and all subsequent TO(s).

The labor fixed hourly rates shall include all direct, indirect, general and administrative costs and profit, all labor and labor-related costs, such as, but not limited to, the following list of representative labor-related costs: salaries, wages, bonuses to include stock bonuses, incentive awards, employee stock options, stock appreciation rights, employee stock ownership plans, employee insurance, fringe benefits, contributions to pension, other post-retirement benefits, annuity, employee incentive compensation plans, incentive pay, shift differentials, overtime, vacation time, sick pay, holidays, and all other allowances based upon a comprehensive employee compensation plan.

Offerors are ONLY required to submit labor categories and rates for CLIN 0005, Labor Categories, and CLIN 0007, OCONUS Shipping.

B.24 Ref. Section E, Page 22, Overtime: Where/how shall offerors “provide prospective overtime rates for all labor categories for each of the periods of performance”?

Provide in your pricing proposal

B.25 Section E, page 14, Proposal Matrix, requires the inclusion of a Proposal Matrix in the Proposal Volume I TAB 1. Does every SOW and Section E “shall” statement need to be addressed in the Proposal Matrix? This could significantly increase the size of the table and jeopardize the 30 page limit for Volume I. If yes, then recommend that this table not be included in the page count.

Section E, page 14, Proposal Matrix has been deleted.

B.26 Since we are not including any pricing data on the SF 1449, do we need to include all twelve pages in Volume I?

The SF 1449 is not included in the page limitations. See Section E, page 13, J. Proposal page Limits and Descriptions, Volume I-Phase 1, Tab 1-Executive Summary that has been changed.

B.27 Is there a section in either volume for certs and reps Section e page 1-9, 35-40. Do certs and reps count towards pages?

Representations and Certifications (See 52.212-3) will not be included in the page count. See Section E, page 13 that has been changed. Section E, page 14 has been changed as follows:

J.1 Volume I: Phase 1 Volume I/Tab 1: The Executive Summary The Executive Summary shall describe the Offeror‘s general background, organization, capabilities, experience, and other pertinent information. This section will not be considered in the Government‘s evaluation; material presented here shall not be considered as meeting the requirements for any portions of other volumes of the proposal. The Executive Summary shall contain a cover letter that includes, but is not limited to proposal validity period and exceptions to the solicitation. The Offeror shall include their Representations and Certifications (See 52.212-3) in the Executive Summary.

B.28 Section E, pps 14-40 J.1, Proposal Matrix: Should the proposal matrix included in Volume I also include Volume II or should a similar table be included in volume II?

Section E, page 14, Proposal Matrix has been deleted.

B.29 Is it correct that completed Attachments 8 and 10 do not count against the 50-page limit for Volume II?

Attachments 8 and 10 DO count against the 50-page limit for Volume II because Attachments 8 and 10 are included in Volume II, Phase 2. The page count for Volume II is not to exceed 50 pages (See Section E, page 13, Volume II-Phase 2 (Not to Exceed 50 pages).

B.30 Can one company submit a proposal for multiple regions?

See Section E, Page 10, B. Proposals that states, “Offerors have the opportunity to submit proposals for a minimum of one (1) region and a maximum of five (5) regions”.

B.31 Can the Past Performance References be collected by the Offer and scanned into a single file for submission? Do all Contractor Performance Evaluation Surveys need to be emailed to the Contract Specialist by the customer or can they be attached to our bid proposal?

The past performance references CANNOT be collected by the Offeror and scanned into a single file for submission. ALL Contractor Performance Evaluation Surveys need to be emailed to the Contract Specialist by the customer. The surveys CANNOT be attached to the proposal. See Section E, page 19, Past Performance Questionnaire that states, “The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment 12-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey) and e-mail the questionnaire to the Government or private sector point-of-contact (POC) responsible for the past/current contract reference. The POC’s shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire to cableocio@dhs.gov no later than July 6, 2011 at 3:00 pm, EDT. The Past Performance Questionnaire will not be a part of the resultant contract.

B.32 Are we only to supply a pricing breakdown on Attachment 8 IDIQ pricing and not on the SF1449?

Yes. See Section E, pages 20 and 21, SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS, that state, “No prices should be inserted on the SF 1449 document”.

B.33 Section E, page 19 of 40, Past Performance Questionnaire. The 2nd line states “(See Attachment 12 – Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey)”; yet Attachment 12 is a list of Wage Determinations. Please Clarify.

Section E, page 19 of 40, first paragraph, Past Performance Questionnaire, has been changed from “Past Performance Questionnaire. The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment 12-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey) and e-mail the questionnaire to the Government or private sector point-of-contact (POC) responsible for the past/current contract reference. The POC's shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire to cableocio@dhs.gov no later than June 22, 2011 at 3:00 pm, EDT. The Past Performance Questionnaire will not be a part of the resultant contract” to mailto:cableocio@dhs.gov�

“Past Performance Questionnaire. The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment 1-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey) and e-mail the questionnaire to the Government or private sector point-of-contact (POC) responsible for the past/current contract reference. The POC's shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II and Part III of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire to cableocio@dhs.gov no later than July 6, 2011 at 3:00 pm, EDT. The Past Performance Questionnaire will not be a part of the resultant contract”.

B.34 Clarification Request: Reference Section E, page 13, 1st paragraph “Graphics shall be 10 point font or larger”. Will the Government allow 10 point font or larger for tables?

Section E, page 13, 1st paragraph states, “A standard, 12-point minimum font size applies to all volumes. Proprietary statements only, if applicable, may be included in an 8 point font.

New Times Roman fonts are required. No double sided pages. Graphics and/or charts if used, it will count in the page count. Graphics shall be 10 point font or larger. Foldouts if used, will count as 1 page as measured by standard 8.5 X 11‖ page size. Example, if a foldout measures 10‖ X 11‖, this foldout will count as two pages, if it is 18‖x11‖ it shall count as three pages, etc”.

For clarification purposes, the Government shall include ‘tables’ in the definition of ‘graphics’. Therefore, tables and/or graphics shall be 10 point font or larger”.

B.35 Section E Page 13, Paragraph H states, “Offerors shall attach a cover sheet to the outer cover of each volume.” It also goes on to state, “Use tab indexing sufficient to identify all sections within a particular proposal volume.” Are the cover page, tab index page and individual tab pages considered to be part of the page count?

The following sentence has been added to Section E, Page 13, Paragraph H: “The Cover sheet attached to the outer cover of each volume, the tab index and the tab indexing pages will be excluded from the page count requirements for Volumes 1 and 2.

B.36 Clarification: Reference Section E, page 14-15 Are the Master Table of Contents, Proposal Matrix, SF 1449, Blocks 30a, 30b, and 30c, and Signed RFP Amendments excluded from the Volume I: Phase 1 maximum page allotment?

See Section E, page 13, J. Proposal page Limits and Descriptions, Volume I-Phase 1, Tab 1-Executive Summary that has been changed as follows:

Changed from: Tab 1-Executive Summary to Tab 1-Executive Summary (page count excludes Master Table of Contents, Proposal Matrix, SF 1449, Blocks 30a, 30b, and 30c, Representations and Certifications (See 52.212-3), terms and conditions, POC list, cover letter, Subcontractor Consent Letter and Signed RFP Amendments).

B.37 Clarification Request: Reference Section E, page 14, paragraph Master Table of Contents. The clarification request is in two (2) parts.

Part 1 - Is the Master Table of Contents specific to each volume of the proposal response?

Part 2 - Is the Master Table of Contents response section requesting a combined Table of Contents for both volumes (Volume I: Phase 1 and Volume II: Phase 2)?

Section E, page 14, paragraph Master Table of Contents, states “This tab shall contain a master table of contents (with hyperlinks in the electronic version) of the entire proposal”. The Master Table of Contents shall include both Volume I: Phase 1 and Volume II: Phase 2.

B.38 Section E Page 12, Paragraph G states, “All volumes of the proposal shall consist of a Table of Contents.” Will the table of contents for each volume be considered part of the page count?

Yes, the Volume I Table of Contents and Volume II Table of Contents will be considered part of the page count for each volume. However, the Master Table of Contents included in Volume I, Tab 1, Executive Summary, will NOT be included in the Volume I page count.

B.39 Section E Page 19, Paragraph Past Performance questionnaires states, “The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire (See Attachment 12-Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey) and e-mail the questionnaire to the Government or private sector point-of-contact (POC) responsible for the past/current contract reference. The POC's shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire to cableocio@dhs.gov no later than June 22, 2011 at 3:00 pm, EDT.” It has been this contractors experience that many DoD and Federal Contracting Offices have put policies in place that do not allow for the completion of past performance questionnaires for in response to new solicitations. Many of our government contracts utilize the Government web based Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPARS) tool and as such will not complete the questionnaires. Will the Government utilize CPARS for the evaluation of past performance instead of completed questionnaires? If not, how will the lack of a completed questionnaire effect the evaluation of a submitted offer?

Section E, page 27, section titled VOLUME I, TAB 3-PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR states, “In performing this evaluation, the Government will consider the Offeror's past performance information provided by the Offeror, responses from Past Performance Questionnaires (See Attachment 1-Contractor Performance Survey), (3 – 5 past performance references) and may consider information obtained from other sources and/or databases. The Government may, but is not required, to contact the points of contact provided in the Past Performance Volume, and/or respondents to the PPQ or those obtained from other sources and/or databases. Past performance will be assessed for recency, relevancy, and scope. Evaluators may but are not required to augment questionnaire responses through dialogue with contact persons completing the questionnaires. Assessment may include Government site visit(s) and surveys of identified sources to validate performance information. If there is no relevant past performance information, past performance will be rated as neutral”.

The Government may consider information obtained from other sources and/or databases.

CPARS, PPIRS, and (whats the other one) may be another source/database that the Government uses when evaluating past performance, but not limited to only the mentioned sites. If there is no relevant past performance information, past performance will be rated as neutral.

B.40 If awarded a contract for a given region, is there an option to decline an order at the task order level?

The Contractor does NOT have the option to decline an order at the task order level.

B.41 Section E, page 12, Section G. Proposal Contents, states that “One (1) CD for Volume II – Phase 2” is required. Since an Offeror may be submitting more than one proposal, then are all of the proposals to be placed on that single CD?

No. There should be a separate Volume II-Phase II CD submitted for each region the Offeror is submitting proposals for since the Offeror shall submit a separate Volume II, Phase 2, for each region they submit a proposal for.

B.42 Section E, page 12, Note, states a requirement for delivery of CDs and the same page states that “Packages arriving through the postal service are screened and may be damaged prior to receipt at ICE. CDs within the package will be radiated and destroyed due to the screening process.” Will CDs in FedEx or UPS packages have the same screening process and the same problem?

No. Sending proposals through the postal service is strongly discouraged because of tightened security measures. Sending CDs through FedEx or UPS will NOT have the same problem.

B.43 Section E, Page 11, states that “CRDS screening delays deliveries by one to five days.” Will following the 4 steps listed on pages 11-12 of Section E ensure that proposals submitted via Federal Express 1 business day prior to the due date will pass through security screening in time to meet the submission deadline?

See Section E, pages 11 and 12 that state, “While ensuring mail and packages are safe, CRDS screening delays deliveries by one to five days. Therefore, in order to meet the due date and time as specified in the RFP Offerors will need to take the following steps”. The Government cannot guarantee proposals submitted via Federal Express 1 business day prior to the due date will pass through security screening in time to meet the submission deadline.

B.44 Section E, page 15, Description of Similar Experience, states, “submit a list of past contract/project which demonstrate the Offeror had a minimum of five years experience in all of the following:…..” Is DHS looking for several 5-year contracts to be listed or several contracts…