Posted

QUESTIONS/RESPONSES

RFP HSCG84-12-R-AA5414

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TOWER SERVICES

@ CG AIR STATION ELIZABETH CITY, NC

Date: 22 May 2012

1. Question: What are the minimum required controllers at any time?

Response: Reference PWS Section 2.2. Hours of Operation. Services shall be provided daily from 0700 through 2200 hours, seven days per week, to include additional staffing during peak training hours Monday – Friday from 0900 through 1700 hours.

2. Question: Is the tower manager available to provide breaks (30 minutes) for tower controller on duty?

Response:

No. Breaks can be taken when an additional ATC in working the tower.

3. Question: In Section 5.3.1 l: “conduct tower familiarization tours” Who conducts the tours? Please clarify the time requirements of tour. The SOW states that tours are 10 minutes and that up some tours consist of up to 60 children, 5 children at a time which would be 12 tours at a minimum of 120 minutes.

Response: The requirement at section 5.3.1 l is deleted in its entirety; and will not be a contractor’s responsibility. See Amendment 0001.

4. Question: In Section 5.15.5: “The Contractor will be required to change the CD-Rom in the DVL throughout the contract.” Please clarify. It is my understanding that there is no CD-Rom. All recording are copied to the hard drive.

Response: All recordings are copied to the hard drive. If the hard drive fails and a CD- Rom is used as back up, the contractor will be responsible to change the CD-Rom. See Amendment 0001.

5. Question: In Section 5.16.1 a: “Maintain a minimum of one commercial, public access telephone line.” Where is this phone line going to be located and is this in addition to the existing phone line in the tower?

Response: All items under 5.16.1 are government-furnished property. There is no additional phone line required.

6. Question: In Section 5.17.2: “The Government will not provide janitorial services or supplies for the tower facility;” Please clarify who is responsible for the cleaning of both inside and outside tower cab windows?

Response: It is the contractor’s responsibility to include minor cleaning of inside and outside windows to assure the avoidance of any obstruction to the viewing of air traffic.

See Amendment 0001.

7. Question: In Section 7.1 “The contractor shall provide contingencies for employees who are absent during their regular work hours; and, shall have in place a suitable replacement for the absentee employee within two hours of initial notification by the COR” During the two hours while a suitable replacement is found, is the Tower Manager permitted to manage the tower traffic?

Response: The Tower Manager has the flexibility to stand in within the two-hours before the suitable replacement employee arrives.

8. Question: In Section 7.2.1 – “The Tower Manager shall not act as a solo Air Traffic Controller.” How will the union required bathroom and lunch breaks be addressed during the Tower Manager’s normal working hours?

Response: Refer to Response under Question 2.

9. Question: How are FAA required proficiency training be addressed for the tower manager if the tower manager is not to run the tower?

Response: The manager can perform their proficiency training while current ATC(s) are performing.

10. Question: In Section 7.2.1 “alternate tower manager is the acting manager when the tower manager is absent, and therefore, not performing ATC duties during this time.” Please clarify what absence means? For example, if the Tower Manger is off site on Coast Guard business, does the alternate tower manager work onsite as the tower manager until the manager returns from Coast Guard business?

Response: Reference 7.2.1. Management If the tower manager has Coast Guard authorization for off-site Coast Guard Business (changes to the work schedule must be approved by the Coast Guard), the manager is still performing in the realm of an ATC Manager for Air Station Elizabeth City. The alternate tower manager will be the acting when the ATC Manager is off-site on unrelated services to the performance of the tower contract.

11. Question: Attention to Offerors: Offerors shall submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to the contract Specialist, Ms Connet Broadnax… no later than 24 May 2012….proposal is due, 31 May 2012

a) With the 24th of May being a Thursday and Monday the 28th of May is a Federal Holiday and the proposal is due on the 31st of May there is only seven calendar days between question due date and proposal submittal date. Removing the three day weekend holiday there remains only 3-working days to respond, prepare, and submit our technical and cost proposals providing there is a quick-turn answer to questions.

When can we expect answers to questions so we can incorporate them into our proposal and meet submittal deadline?

Response: Proposal due date is 31 May 2012; 4:00pm (est)

b) Because of the short suspense time between question due-date and proposal due-date and with postal services closed on Monday will the Government permit proposals to be emailed?

Response: No, (See Attention to Offerors Page – (NO ELECTRONIC OFFERS WILL BE ACCEPTED). Proposal due date is 31 May 2012; 4:00pm (est)

12. Question: 2.2 Hours of Operations: …This includes staffing an additional air traffic controller during peak training hours, Monday – Friday 0900 – 1700, excluding federal holidays and holiday periods such as Thanksgiving weekend and the period between Christmas Day and New Years Day. Are we to understand that in addition to the controller on shift between 0700 through 2200, the Government is requiring an additional controller to be physically in the tower cab, Monday through Friday, from 0900 until 1700?

Response: Yes

13. Question: 5.8. Inspection Scheduling: The Contractor shall schedule facility rating certifications, Control Tower Operator (CTO) testing; in conjunction with the FAA and facility re-designation inspections and observer certifications through the National Weather Service Office (NWS), located in Wakefield, Virginia. The Contractor shall have testing and certification completed before start of contract award. In order to obtain a CTO certificate a controller must be trained and certified in the control tower in which the CTO is being applied, please provide clarification:

a) Is the Government going to authorize every contractor bidding on this procurement to have immediate access to the control tower in order for our proposed employees to obtain facility rating certification training and CTO/LAWRS awards before the start of contract award?

Response: The awardee contractor will have access to the tower as a part of the transition process before contract start date. Refer to Response under Question 15 below. See Amendment 0001.

b) If so, is the Government going to reimburse all perspective bidders for the cost of their employee’s CTO training while we are waiting for contract award notification so that the successful company is in compliance with this requirement to be fully trained before start of contract award?

Response: No. Refer to Response under Question #14b and #15.

c) Is the Government implying that the incumbent is the only contractor that can win this procurement because they are the only company that has their employees CTO certified prior to the start of contract award?

Response: No. Refer to Response under Question #14b and #15

14. Question: 5.12 Transition Plan: the incoming contractor shall develop a transition plan which thoroughly outlines the transition from the out-going contractor. The plan shall, at a minimum include time requirements, overlap of contractor employees, accomplishment of Government provided on the job training, and a transition plan for use during any subsequent transition. What is the transition time-frame in days that the Government anticipates for all transition and training actions to be completed in?

Response: The government anticipates the award of this requirement to be made at least 30 days before the contract start date of 1 August 2012.

15. Question: 7.2 Personnel Requirements/Management: ….The Tower Manager Position is a fulltime on-site position. The Tower Manager shall work a standard work week of Monday – Friday, 0800 – 1600, excluding Federal Holidays. These work hours may be altered on a case-by-case basis…During the standard workday, the Tower Manager shall not act as a solo Air Traffic Controller…

a) Is it the Government’s intention/position that the Tower Manager is a dedicated facility manager and the position prohibits being regularly scheduled to perform daily controller duties?

Response: The Tower Manager is an administrative manager, responsible for all contractual matters in the contract as defined in section 7.2. The Tower Manager will have an office space and will not normally be working in the tower. In order to maintain proficiency, the tower manager may act as an ATC in the tower as long as he/she is still able to perform his/her duties as defined in 7.2 and not be a “solo” ATC.

b) Can the Tower Manager perform the Monday – Friday duties as defined in 2.2 for an additional controller during peak training hours?

Response: No. Refer to section 7.2 of the PWS.

c) Can the Government please provide work-load history on how many Government directed meetings, the types of meetings, and the duration of each meeting that the Tower Manager attends each month for the past year?

Response: We do not have a tally of the each meeting that the Tower Manger has attended in the last year. Typically, the manager position involves, but is not limited to, weekly meetings during the normal work day with FAA inspectors, FAA equipment maintainers, the Fixed Base Operations (FBO) Manager and the Airfield Manager.