Attachment_1_HIS_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf

October 15, 2012

FEMA

HOUSING INSPECTION SERVICES (HIS)

FY2012

Solicitation #: HSFE80-12-R-0033

Performance Work Statement

PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE

Attachment 1

SECTION J, ATTACHMENT 1

This page was intentionally left blank.

Table of Contents

C.1 OVERVIEW

C.2 PURPOSE

C.3 BACKGROUND AND APPROACH

C.4 ACRONYMNS AND DEFINITIONS

C.5 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

C.6 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CRITICAL COMPONENTS

C.6.1 POST AWARD DE-BRIEF

C.6.2 TRANSITION

C.6.2.1 PHASE IN

C.6.2.2 PHASE OUT

C.6.3 OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS

C.6.4 KEY PERSONNEL AND INSPECTOR STAFFING

C.6.4.1 STAFFING/EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

C.6.5 CUSTOMER SERVICE

C.6.6 PAY FOR PERFORMANCE

C.6.7 COMMITMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

C.6.8 INSPECTION TASK ORDER PERFORMANCE

C.6.8.1 INITIAL INSPECTIONS AND APPEAL INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.1.1 WITHDRAWN INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.1.2 NO CONTACT INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.1.3 NO ENTRY/INACCESSIBLE INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.1.4 PRIORITY INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.2 SHELTER INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.3 SITE INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.4 SWEEP INSPECTIONS

C.6.8.5 REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

C.6.8.5.1 FEMA Form 009-0-3 (English) and 009-0-4 (Spanish) Declaration and Release Form (Attachment 9A and 9B)

C.6.8.5.2 FEMA INTRODUCTORY LETTER

C.6.8.5.3 OWNERSHIP VERIFICATION

C.6.8.5.4 OCCUPANCY VERIFICATION

C.6.8.5.5 PHOTOGRAPHS

C.6.9 QUALITY CONTROL

C.6.9.1 INSPECTION CORRECTIONS

C.6.10 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

C.6.11 MANDATORY PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

C.6.11.1 PRODUCTION

C.6.11.2 INSPECTION AGING

C.6.12 REPORTS OF WORK

C.6.12.1 INITIAL OPERATIONAL REPORT

C.6.12.1.1 DISASTER SPECIFIC

C.6.12.1.2 PURPOSE

C.6.12.1.3 CONTENT

C.6.12.2 OPERATIONAL REPORT

C.6.12.2.1 PRODUCTION UPDATE:

C.6.12.2.2 OPERATIONAL UPDATE:

C.6.12.2.3 CUSTOMER SERVICE

C.6.12.3 FINAL OPERATIONAL REPORT

C.6.12.4 YEAR END MANAGEMENT REPORT

C.6.12.4.1 REPORT CONTENT:

C.6.12.5 SURGE EVENT REPORTS (Incremental Operations Reports)

C.6.13 PROJECT COMPLETION

C.6.14 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY AND CONTRACTOR ACQUIRED PROPERTY

C.6.15 FEMA ENTERPRISE EQUIPMENT/SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

C.1 OVERVIEW

C.1.1 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is authorized to provide Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance to survivors during recovery of disasters and emergencies.

The Recovery Directorate mission is to support individuals and communities affected by disasters of all sizes, including catastrophic events and terrorist attacks, in their efforts to recover. To ensure that individuals and families who have been affected by disasters have access to the full range of FEMA programs in a timely manner with the best possible level of service. The Housing Inspection Services contracts provide the basis for grant assistance to disaster survivors. The contracts receive extensive visibility from the highest level of Federal, State, and local Governments, and are continually in the public media.

C.1.2 A Presidential disaster declaration occurs after a sequence of events, beginning with the disaster incident. Following the incident, if the recovery requirement exceeds local and State or U.S. Territory resources, the State’s Governor may request a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA), which will be forwarded to FEMA headquarters along with a formal request for a presidential declaration.

FEMA’s recommendations are sent to the President for approval. If a declaration occurs, a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) is assigned to the disaster, and a Joint Field Office (JFO) is established to coordinate recovery efforts.

C.1.3 Survivors are instructed to apply for assistance by dialing a toll free number (1-800-621-3362) or on line at WWW.DisasterAssistance.GOV. They may visit a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) and use a phone bank or a computer to register for assistance.

C.1.4 FEMA uses special purpose software, currently the National Emergency

Management Information System (NEMIS), for processing applications. The majority of applications requiring an inspection are automatically routed to the Contractor using system business rules. NEMIS “virtual processing” allows work to be assigned, reviewed and approved from any work station via a secure VPN connection and dual factor authentication to the NEMIS network. This “virtual processing” capability allows flexibility in the location utilized for assignment and coordination of inspection activity. Assignment of work will be the responsibility of the Contractor.

C.1.5 Automated Construction Estimator (ACE) is software developed by FEMA and currently used by the Contractors to perform residential damage inspections in the field.

C.2 PURPOSE

C.2.1 FEMA anticipates awarding multiple Housing Inspection Services contracts.

Multiple Contractors may be required to respond to the same disaster(s) as needed and required by DHS-FEMA. These contracts support the FEMA Individual Housing Program (IHP) by providing for the collection and reporting of information gathered by on-site inspection and verification or by other means approved by FEMA (e.g. inspector manned phone banks, aerial imagery, or tax data). FEMA and the States determine the type and amount of disaster assistance based on this information. The data collected includes but is not limited to:

the extent of real property damage to the home;

how the habitability of the home has been affected;

verification of ownership, occupancy and insurance information;

the extent of damages to personal property and vehicles;

photos of residential damage;

information regarding other disaster expenses and needs;

multi-family and private road and bridge access issues;

Mobile home site inspections, pre-placement interviews, and post-disaster assessments. This work is primarily to verify that a property is suitable for a temporary disaster housing unit such as manufactured home, mobile home, travel trailer, and/or other readily fabricated housing; and verification of placement.

C.3 BACKGROUND and APPROACH

The Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) of 2006, Title VI – National Emergency Management, Subtitle B – Personnel Provisions, Chapter 1 – Federal Emergency Management Personnel, Section 621 Workforce Development, Sub Section 10102 Strategic Human Capital Plan requires FEMA to have a human capital strategy to ensure that FEMA has a workforce of appropriate size and with appropriate skills and training to carry out FEMA’s mission. Section 624 Surge Capacity Force requires FEMA to establish and implement a Surge Capacity Force for deployment of individuals to natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other man-made disasters including catastrophic incidents. The Surge Capacity Force should be trained and deployed under the authorities set forth in the Stafford Act. As such, the Contractor’s proposals of staffing to include inspector staffing are designed to fulfill Section 624 for this work activity.

In today’s environment, FEMA has established rigid timelines for customer contact, reporting survivor status, residential damage inspection and reporting. The Contractor shall adopt a business model and philosophy that will provide FEMA a robust inspector work force, a Quality Management System (QMS) that identifies the quality policy, quality goals and objectives to perform the requirements identified in this Performance Work Statement (PWS) and provide the deliverables (Attachment 4) for this contract.

C.4 ACRONYMNS AND DEFINITIONS

ACE – Automated Construction Estimator – The field software currently used to complete inspections under IHP.

Applicant Services – National Processing Service Center (NPSC) sections responsible for both Registration Intake and Helpline functions.

Catastrophic Event – Any natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster that result in extraordinary levels of casualties, damage or disruption severely affecting the population.

CMHIS – Contract Management and Housing Inspection Services (CMHIS) section provides oversight, performance monitoring, quality surveillance, and management of equipment, service, and residential damage inspection contract(s) awarded by the Government.

CO – Contracting Officer –Presides over the bid opening, reviews pertinent facts about each bid (including price, terms, free on board (FOB) point, etc.). After subsequent analysis and evaluation, the Contracting Officer will award the contract (s) to the responsive and responsible bidder. Responsible for administering the contract, including the resolution of disputes and protests, and terminating and/or closing out the contract.

CONUS – Continental United States.

COR – Contracting Officer Representative – A program office official who is designated by the Contracting Officer to assist in administering specific aspects (such as technical aspects) of the contract.

CS – Contract Specialist – The Contracting Officer may have several Contract

Specialists. They will often be responsible for negotiating with offerors. Often, the only distinction between the Contracting Officer and the Contract Specialist is actual contracting authority. The Contracting Officer must sign the contractual documents and, therefore, has final responsibility for the contract process and performance.

Double Damage – Applies to any dwelling that had damage from a previous Federal

Declaration within 12 months of the current disaster incident date and is occupied by the same Survivor as the previous disaster.

DRC – Disaster Recovery Center – An office established in areas directly affected by the disaster to facilitate direct interaction between FEMA and the Survivor.

FCO – Federal Coordinating Officer – The Disaster Recovery Manager responsible for all field operations for a particular disaster.

HA – Housing Assistance – Assistance administered by FEMA through IHP. It provides for individuals and households displaced from their pre-disaster residences, and/or whose pre-disaster residences are rendered uninhabitable who are underinsured or who have no insurance to provide for their housing needs.

HRR – Habitability Repairs Required – On each inspection the inspector makes a

“Habitability Repairs Required” determination. FEMA’s definition of a habitable dwelling is one that is “safe, sanitary, functional, and presents no disaster-related hazards to the occupants (CFR 44-206.111).” The HRR decision is based on the damage sustained to the Survivor(s) home and their access, and it is the main factor FEMA uses to determine eligibility for Housing Assistance.

IA – Individual Assistance – Supplementary Federal assistance provided under the

Stafford Act to individuals and families adversely affected by a major disaster or an emergency. Such assistance may be provided directly by the Federal Government or through State or local governments or disaster relief organizations.

IHP – Individuals and Households Program – IHP provides financial or direct assistance to those who have necessary expenses and serious needs as a result of a disaster declaration if they are unable to meet the needs through other means.

Both HA and Other Needs Assistance (ONA) assistance are provided under IHP.

IIMP – Inspector Identity Management Program – CMHIS will contract with a private service provider to provide registration, background screening, suitability determination, administration, credentialing and related services.

IMAR – Inspection Management Activity Reports – This report shows a variety of disaster specific inspection performance information and provides the data for the majority of the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

ISC – Inspection Services Coordinator – The ISC, deployed from the VA-NPSC, and temporarily re-locates to the Joint Field Office (JFO). Serves as liaison between the Task Monitor, JFO staff, Contractor representatives, and field personnel assist in resolving inspection issues at the lowest possible level.

ISO – International Organization for Standardization – ISO is a series of standards for quality management systems. These standards support efficient/effective operation systems, customer satisfaction, and continual improvement. ISO is administered by accreditation and certification bodies.

JFO – Joint Field Office – A facility established near or within the designated disaster area housing representatives from federal, State and voluntary agencies responsible for coordination and monitoring disaster assistance delivery.

NOC – (Network Operations Center) – The Network Operations Center (NOC) is a 24/7 operation center that serves as the central control for IT network systems.

NPSC – National Processing Service Center – FEMA currently has three NPSC's located in Winchester, VA, Hyattsville, MD and Denton, TX. The NPSC is a full service disaster assistance processing and solutions center which delivers IHP assistance from survivor registration through communication of assistance determination.

OCONUS – Outside of the Continental United States

ONA – Other Needs Assistance – Other Needs Assistance provision of the Individuals and Households Program provides assistance for necessary expense and serious needs that cannot be met through other available resources/program. ONA may be administered by FEMA (FEMA option) or the State (joint option).

Operations – Includes all ongoing, non-disaster-specific efforts necessary to meet the performance requirements under the contract on extremely short notice, as specified in the contract.

PIV – Personnel Identity Verification primarily involves issuance of Personal Identity

Verification (PIV) Cards, the federal standard for a secure form of identification which was mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.

PPI – Pre-Placement Interview – An interview with the Survivor, using scripted screening questions, to determine the need for, size, accessibility features, and possible location for the placement of a temporary housing unit (Temporary Housing Units for Individuals with a Disability 9452.1).

Preparedness – The organizations level to be ready and able to respond to disaster assignments and return completed quality inspections to FEMA within defined thresholds.

Product – A conforming and compliant inspection.

PRS – Performance Requirements Summary – Identifies the Government’s performance standards; acceptable quality levels and monitoring method for determining if the acceptable quality level has been met by the contractor for production requirements per task order(s) performed by the contractor.

PWS – Performance Work Statement – A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes (Federal Acquisition Regulations).

QASP – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan – a document designed to provide the

COR an effective and systematic surveillance method for evaluating the contractors performance. It defines what the Government’s plan is for ensuring that the contractor has performed in accordance with the PWS performance standards.

QS – Quality Surveillance – A system structure designed to provide quality control oversight.

QC – Quality Control – Quality Control is the Contractor’s process for assuring that inspection quality meets the performance standards of the contract. FEMA participates in QC in order to verify that the Contractor is adhering to their QC plan.

QMS – Quality Management System – ISO 9001:2008 is a series of standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what the user organization does, its size, or whether it is in the private or public sector.

Organizations can be registered, indicating they are meeting all requirements.

SI – Site Inspection – This is a physical site inspection to determine the feasibility of placing a mobile home, travel trailer or other readily fabricated housing unit on the property.

TM – Task Monitor – Delegated authority by the Contracting Officer Representative

(COR); the Task Monitor’s responsibility is to monitor the day-to-day inspection activity of the Inspection Contractors during the course of a disaster. The Task Monitor’s are located at the VA-NPSC.

TO – Task Order – An order for services placed against an established contract or with

Government sources (FAR 2.101).

TOPR – Task Order Proposal Request, tailored for each IA declaration and issued to all

Contractors offering supplies and services.

C.5 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall register their QMS by the end of the 12th month following contract award date with a certification entity that demonstrates competence to audit, experienced in certifying organizations that conform to the management systems standards and accredited by the National Accreditation Board (ANAB)/ American National Standards Institute-American Society of Quality (ANSI-ASQ). Corporate ISO 9001 certificates of registration will only be accepted if the organization can show evidence that the relevant office conforms to the standards as defined by FEMA’s inspection requirements. The certificate of registration must be awarded to or in the name of, the specific entity, office, or project that is responsible for carrying out inspection operations via a third party audit conducted by an accredited registrar. ISO 9001 certificates of registration must be successfully maintained throughout the life of the contract. The Contractor’s ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) shall comply with version 2008 or any later version as designated by FEMA.

The Contractor’s ISO 9001 QMS shall emphasize a process and preventive management approach that provides FEMA with assurances that the Contractor’s QMS will meet contract inspection requirements. The Contractor shall demonstrate quality management processes as coordinated activities that direct and control the Contractor’s organization with regard to quality management.

The Contractor’s customer is FEMA and the product delivered to FEMA is a conforming and compliant inspection(s). The Contractor’s QMS shall include all the processes and procedures to deliver conforming and compliant inspections to FEMA and apply all requirements of ISO 9001 to those processes developed by the Contractor to perform the PWS requirements. The Contractor shall establish, document, implement, and maintain a QMS that will continually improve effectiveness by meeting FEMA requirements and ISO 9001 requirements.

The Contractor’s Quality Manual shall include the entire scope of ISO 9001 with attention to the clauses contained in the ISO 9001 defining repeatable processes and procedures referenced in clauses 4 through 8: (4 – Quality Management System, 5 – Management Responsibility, 6 – Human Resources, 7 – Product Realization and 8 – Measurement, analysis and improvement). The ISO 9001:2008 Standards can be purchased at the following website: http://asq.org/iso9001/.

The QMS shall evolve to support interactions between the Contractor’s and CMHIS’s QMS processes and systems. The benefits shall be strengthened through effective internal auditing and management review of system performance to support continual improvement.

The Contractor shall continually monitor/measure and refine all processes throughout the life of the contract to address all product, performance, and quality issues as well as demonstrate to FEMA the evolution of the Contractor’s QMS by improving procedures, work instructions and training that result in product (inspection) improvements. The Contractor shall continually provide FEMA with evidence of compliance including but not limited to: the quality manual (and amendments made thereafter), required procedures and records, audit reports/findings and certificate of registration for the defined series of standards (ISO 9001). Implementation of the QMS shall ensure that continual process improvement is established, measured and enforced.

At COR discretion, FEMA participation during audits shall include but not be limited to:

internal, external, surveillance and recertification audits conducted by the Quality Manager and/or the certification official/third party.

The Contractor shall provide all audit schedules to FEMA once confirmed, enabling FEMA adequate time to participate.

FEMA will review or audit the results of the following:

Quality Management System – FEMA audit will verify conformance to the ISO 9001 Standards through third party/external audit findings.

Operations and Preparedness – FEMA will audit these requirements to verify conformance and validate submitted invoices.

Task Order Performance – FEMA will measure and record utilizing the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), and all contract requirements and supporting documents/guidance. Aspects which fall below thresholds will be included in future FEMA audits to verify corrective/preventive actions taken and the successes and/or failures of implementation.

The Contractor shall provide all audit findings and all corrective actions required for all nonconformities. The contractor shall maintain audit logs for the above.

FEMA will provide an audit plan prior to the audits. Nonconformities discovered during the audits will be provided to the Contractor. FEMA will provide findings in writing to the Contractor.

The Contractor shall include in their QMS the method they will use to implement corrective and preventive actions, verification of corrective action and how they will maintain improvement in the area of the non-conformity(s).

C.6 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CRITICAL COMPONENTS

The critical components are the requirements to be performed by the Contractor to deliver FEMA a conforming and compliant inspection.

C.6.1 POST AWARD DE-BRIEF

The Contractor and FEMA shall meet to review and discuss the QMS, and their strengths, weaknesses, and risks identified by the Source Selection panel. The review will determine if all the processes to perform the critical operational component requirements of C.6 are addressed and applicable ISO 9001 standards to manage the processes are included. Additionally, corrective actions for the weaknesses and risks as a result of the de-brief shall be due no later than ten (10) days following the de-brief.

The Contractors proposed task order Capability Threshold Plan for consecutive ongoing and new additional task order assignments is subject to acceptance by the FEMA Program Office shall be due at Post Award de-brief.

C.6.2 TRANSITION

The incumbents shall continue to perform task orders issued during the transition period of up to 90 days, at no additional cost to the government. The transition period allows the Contractors to apply their approaches to transition workloads and equipment from the incumbent Contractor (i.e. current activations), initiate activation of the staff proposed for this effort and apply their QMS in the operation.

To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on services, the Contractors shall have personnel on board during the phase out/phase in periods. During the phase in period the new awardees shall implement test/training requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract start date.

C.6.2.1 PHASE IN

Transition by the new awardees for this contract will begin on the day of the award. The Transition audit will consist of a verification of the capabilities to perform the requirements. FEMA shall provide training for the Contractor’s trainers within seven (7) days following contract award. A maximum of ten (10) Contractor staff members per contract may be trained by FEMA during this transition period. The trained Contractor staff members shall provide subsequent training to other Contractor personnel. Classes will be held at a location agreeable to all parties and will last approximately five (5) calendar days. The scope of the training is subject to change.

Training shall include the operation of the NEMIS System, for the residential damage data collector (ACE), inspection assignment, Contractor Review, QC review, No Contact inspections, Contractor Supervisor Review. ACE System training also includes the use of the system to make habitability determinations and to complete home inspections. Training will include hands-on use of the system to accomplish inspections in simulated or actual disaster conditions. The training is limited to explanation of FEMA programs and policies and not intended to establish the Contractor as a subject matter expert on damage assessment. Training shall also include fraud awareness and detection to identify indicators of potential fraud and procedures to follow when encountered. FEMA shall attend and audit the training exercise performed by the Contractor.

Performance of manual paper inspections will also be demonstrated for Cyber recovery and security awareness.

FEMA will provide training on the different disaster assistance programs (e.g.

disaster housing, Small Business Administration disaster loans, and Individual and Households Program). FEMA will also provide training on the process by which assistance is obtained, including application, verification, disbursement, appeals/reconsiderations, Help-line functions, and other factors related to the recovery process.

C.6.2.2 PHASE OUT

To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on services, the Contractor (s) shall have personnel on board, at no additional cost to the government, approved by FEMA, during the ninety (90) day phase in/phase out periods. During the phase in period, the Contractor shall become familiar with test requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract start date.

C.6.3 OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall describe in detail the components of their proposed operations to respond to any size/type disaster and/or multiple disaster declarations. This shall include the methodology and business practices to accomplish the production and quality requirements for this contract. The Contractor shall propose their organizational structure to be implemented for this contract. The organizational structure shall demonstrate the different levels of authority of the organization; the duties assigned, and detail the layers that make up the Contractor’s QMS, day to day staffing and inspector work force. If more than one job function is assigned to an individual, the percentage of time dedicated for each job function shall be disclosed. The Contractor shall describe in detail all positions associated with day-to-day operations. Describe in detail all processes, functions and procedures to be implemented to respond to any size/type disaster and/or multiple disaster declarations with a workforce to accomplish the production requirements and quality deliverables.

C.6.4 KEY PERSONNEL AND INSPECTOR STAFFING

Key Personnel

FEMA’s contract partners shall have an organization structure to interact with Housing Inspection Services Program Management Staff. Replacement of these positions after contract award shall be approved by FEMA prior to position offer.

EXAMPLE

Inspector Staffing The Contractor shall include in their Quality Manual an inspector and Contractor staff readiness initiative. The Contractor shall use as a model for their initiative the FEMA Workforce Enhancement Initiative for Employee Readiness, Recruiting, Retention and the Logistics Cadre Management Directorate for managing temporary personnel, experts, and consultants for disaster work done during a disaster. Program Management of this initiative shall be provided by the Contractor’s Inspector Readiness Program team that shall be established within the Contractor’s organization structure. This initiative shall be composed of three (3) components:

Duty Readiness – This component has two (2) parts: A.) Improving or re-engineering inspector support processes to ensure that every new inspector is fully equipped with functional tools to perform the work assigned, access to home office support for problem solving, FEMA approved Contractor travel policies, personnel security adjudication criteria for Contractors, etc. and B.)

Training courses must be provided to cadre inspectors at a minimum of every quarter by the Contractor’s staff subject matter experts in key disaster prone areas of the US. The agenda, location and duration of this course shall be provided to FEMA 30 days prior to the course date. The Contractor shall augment this training with a web based version. The training curricula shall provide the inspectors specifics of the FEMA repair program, inspection guideline updates, customer service, security awareness and privacy awareness training (Attachment Six (6), required annually). The Contractor’s training program schedule shall be provided to FEMA. The Contractor will provide FEMA a progress report at the first of each month disclosing staff that has received training, types of training and score/ skill level achieved. The report will include the inspector ID number and last name. On-site training audits may be conducted as frequently as determined necessary by FEMA. Contractor training topics shall include an annual tabletop readiness exercise that FEMA will observe to verify readiness and inspection production capabilities. The exercise shall be a FEMA-declared mock disaster exercise, and be performed at the Contractor’s operations center. The exercise shall be an introduction of new procedures and include, but not be limited to, discussion of the program mission, scenario response covering the requirements of the PWS, procedural influences and inspector participation in the exercise.

Mission Readiness – The FEMA Program Office of Recovery shall teach a limited number of Contractor subject matter experts about the agency, its mission, its culture, and how to navigate the organization.

This training shall be included in a training course scheduled and conducted by the Contractor. Each class of students is assigned a Mentor, who is at a minimum a lead inspector for the contracting firm and participates as both a member of the student class and an adjunct instructor during deployments. The Mentor then maintains communication with the students as a “group mentor” for the duration of the contract.

The class is taught entirely by FEMA Contractor staff Subject Matter Experts (SME) and covers material approved by FEMA that includes the basics of emergency management to the purpose and function of the inspector and how to achieve a work/life balance. It contains many team-building and group problem solving exercises designed to maximize interaction and discussion.

The course places special emphasis on the role of the FEMA inspector and the legislation (Stafford Act, Homeland Security Act, PKEMRA, etc.) and CFR 44 of which all controls; the way the agency conducts its business and achieves its mission.

Each graduating student receives a Certificate of Completion signed by the Contractor Program Manager.

Inspector Logistics Cadre Readiness – Contractor inspectors serve an invaluable role in the continued support of FEMA's mission by providing critical resources and skills when disasters strike. Their service is invaluable in assisting FEMA with our response and recovery efforts throughout the country.

The Contractor shall provide FEMA access to the Contractor’s inspector data base that includes a description of the various inspector cadre levels within the organization. These descriptions shall include quality supervisors, quality control inspectors, field inspector supervisors and varied levels of field inspectors. This data base will become the baseline field staffing model proposed by the Contractor to perform the scope of work.

Inspectors are assigned as needed. All inspectors are expected to display an overall level of expertise. However, specific assignments may or may not require the inspector’s strongest skill set. Work assignments for inspectors will vary.

The Contractor shall provide Deployment and Travel guidelines that meet the following required criteria:

A. Deployment

Inspectors who are available for deployment must register with the Contractor Deployment Database system monthly via a toll-free number or the web to let the Contractor know whether or not the inspector is available for deployment.

Inspectors listed as available in the database are expected to deploy to the disaster area in a timely manner. If inspectors in the system cannot deploy to the assignment, it is considered a "refusal" and will be noted as such on their record. FEMA shall request reports on this status. The Contractor shall develop policies and procedures that govern the inspector deployment process. The contractor can access the GSA link below and view the Federal Travel Regulations.

B. Travel

The Contractor shall pre-authorize payment for mode of travel to and from the disaster location and will authorize payment for air fare, rental vehicle or mileage reimbursement for POV (over 50 mile radius). The Contractor shall also pay for all lodging expenses associated with the disaster deployment and per diem which pays for food and other personal expenses while deployed. The amount of per diem varies from city to city. Current travel allowance and per diem rates are at:

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287. Per Diem status begins when the inspector leaves home and continues until they return home. On travel days, the inspector only receives 3/4ths of the allowable per diem rate. All allowable travel costs associated with disaster deployment shall be paid for by the Contractor. The Contractor shall refer to Federal Travel Regulations, CFO Bulletins and Directives for guidance on allowable travel reimbursements. If the inspector is not authorized a mode of travel for their deployment, they will not be reimbursed for those expenses. The inspectors shall maintain trip travel logs or journals (Attachment 19) and submit those travel logs or journals to the Contractor along with the inspector travel expense summary (Attachment 20) for validation along with receipts for all allowable expenses covered under their deployment as they are paid including prepaid expenses by the Contractor. Reimbursement of any travel expenses shall not be approved by the Contractor without the Inspector’s travel log submission.

C.6.4.1 STAFFING/EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

Contractor staff working on this contract must submit to all requirements for pre-employment screening and background investigation processing as prescribed by DHS/FEMA Policy. The background investigation to be conducted and/or accepted for all contractor staff will be at least that of a Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) as defined by OPM

Contractor staff will be authorized to begin work following a favorable prescreening performed by FEMA Personnel Security after which the full background investigation will be conducted.

Each employee/individual and or Contractor must be a citizen of the United States of America. The HIS Contractor(s) will be responsible for citizenship verification through the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Employment Eligibility Verification (e-Verify) system for all persons working on the HIS Contract.

The CMHIS Inspector Identity Management Program (IIMP) vendor to issue PIV-I is GSA approved Contractor. Upon award of the HIS Contract vendor information will be provided to the Contractor (s). FEMA shall coordinate with the HIS contractors to provide the 3x 15 amp electrical circuit, enough space to handle the registration events, and a reliable, constant internet connection to provide communication with intercede IDMS system and a 15 amp electrical circuit for power and internet connectivity for FBCA authentication. The contractor for PIV-I provides cell connectivity through the Verizon network and secure VPN. If cell network is not available CAT V connectivity may need to be leveraged as well as protection from direct weather elements; maintaining ambient temperature. CMHIS will sponsor Contractor companies for vetting approved Contractor/independent Contractors or employees of the prime. OPM requires periodic re-investigation once every (5) years. All cost of services provided by the contractor will be the responsibility of the Government.

HIS Contractor(s) must utilize the identified GSA approved provider to issue PIV-I identity credentials to all personnel working as contractors, employees or sub-contractors under this contract only once the individual meets the FEMA security suitability requirements and issuance is authorized by same. Contractor must notify FEMA security immediately if at any time PIV-I issuance cannot be accomplished by an approved GSA provider.

CMHIS, in its sole discretion, will approve and sponsor the HIS Contractor companies whose employees will be eligible to register for the IIMP. The CMHIS sponsored Contractor companies each will designate a representative within their company to serve as the company’s point of contact (POC) for the IIMP. The approved vendor will inform the COR and Contractor POC when to register for the Program.

After the Contractor’s staff and employees and/or independent Contractors are deemed approved to work on the contract in accordance with the Agency’s criteria, the Contractor’s staff and employees will be issued an identity credential (PIV-I). The PIV-I credential must remain with the individual until terminated by the Contractor. The CMHIS-IIM Program will supply the unique inspector identification number to be used on the credential and in the FEMA NEMIS Inspection Software. The identity credential shall be resistant to fraud, tampering and counterfeiting. The Contractor POC must have the capability to issue identity credentials to each approved inspector and or individual/employee, regardless of location (CONUS/OCONUS), within a 72 hour timeframe.

DHS-FEMA shall exercise full control over granting, denying, withholding or terminating unescorted access to all DHS-FEMA facilities, assets, systems and information based upon the final adjudication of the required background investigation.

The Contracting Officer may direct the Contractor to exclude from working on this contract any staff found or deemed to be unsuitable or whose continued employment on the contract is deemed contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the best interest of the agency.

The Contractor POC shall notify the COR and Alternate; arrange with its staff the return of any DHS, FEMA or CMHIS vendor-issued identification badges that either have expired or have been collected from terminated or departing Contractor employees and or independent Contractors to the COR within 24 hours of termination or departure from the prime Contractor.

The Contractor’s inspection staff shall be trained to recognize record and assess disaster related damages to residential structures for the purpose of determining habitability, and be indoctrinated to the process between disasters.

The Contractor shall be trained on fraud awareness and detection to identify indicators of potential fraud and procedures to follow when encountered.

C.6.5 CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Contractor shall ensure that inspectors conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. Job behavior shall include rules of behavior policies and procedures (Attachment 3, DHS Handbook) which are required of the National Processing Service Center (NPSC) Federal Employees. Those on the job topics to be enforced are alcohol/drug-free workplace rules, smoke-free workplace, security, weapons, and threat levels, violence in the workplace, harassment, safety, dress code and personal use of Government office equipment.

The Contractor shall provide the COR a customer service and community needs sensitivity training curricula along with an implementation and follow up plan for approval at Post Award de-brief

The Contractor shall describe how a cadre of highly trained professional inspectors, knowledgeable in dealing with individuals who have just been traumatized by a disaster will be trained.

A third party FEMA Contractor will execute a Customer Service Survey performing a random sampling of survivors the Contractor has contacted, including “withdrawals”, during the course of activation. Survey forms will be distributed and results will be evaluated by FEMA based on the Customer Survey scoring system used by the Customer Survey Contractor (Attachment 5A and 5B). The Contractor will identify, address and report customer service issues and complaints to FEMA in a timely manner.

C.6.6 PAY FOR PERFORMANCE

Performance incentive bonus programs reflect a company's definition of success by how they are measured and the extent to which that measure is met.

For this contract, the Contractor shall provide a pay-for-performance bonus philosophy for all inspectors whereby bonuses are tied to two important measures: how well the inspector performs on a task order with respect to the associated measures of the

Performance Requirements Summary, Selected Service Performance Areas (SSPA) # 1 Quality Control, # 2 Production and Timeliness and # 3 Customer Service; and how well the inspector is doing with respect to the company’s expectations. The Contractor shall provide FEMA the results of this pay for performance program in their operational report.

The inspector pay for performance goals should be hard set and they should be neither too ambitious nor too easy to achieve. Task Order incentive bonuses are meant to be motivational for the inspector pool. They shall be designed to reward inspectors for fulfilling their responsibilities and for delivering superior results. The bonus targets and their associated payouts shall reflect a range of expected levels of performance.

C.6.7 COMMITMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

The Operations, preparedness and inspection requirements established by FEMA for the Contractor are the Agency’s commitment to provide a prompt response and provide a quality assessment of residential damage in order to provide assistance to disaster survivors. The Contractor shall commit to FEMA their resources to perform the work within the boundaries of the contract.

The commitment is displayed throughout the proposal to meet the mandatory performance capabilities. The proposals do not leave open-ended timelines for completion of their capability to perform work. Milestones for various activities are shown to include depth of support and staff size to complete work at all levels.

The Contractor shall participate in regular exchanges of information with FEMA and regarding program, performance, quality, complaints and procedural changes that may occur. Nothing in this contract is intended to limit any formal or informal exchanges of information designed to enable the Contractor to perform under this contract. Such exchanges are encouraged.

A proactive communication between the Contractors and FEMA on issues and challenges shall occur as opposed to FEMA initiating the communications in the areas of performance, quality, and complaints. Clearly defined protocol within the Contractor’s proposals that defines key points of contact to bring issues to resolution will be considered the most effective.

C.6.8 INSPECTION TASK ORDER PERFORMANCE

The Contractor shall respond to inspection task orders that are in a single declared area, or multiple declared areas in CONUS and OCONUS. The Contractor shall comply with local, State, and federal laws, statutes and ordinances; health, occupational and safety regulations; and any State and local rules or regulations. To support the inspection effort, IHP Inspection Guidelines (Attachment 7) contains pertinent and relevant instructions for the inspection process. Disaster specific addenda could require ongoing modifications to the IHP Inspection Guidelines. Any additional clarification or specific guidance not contained in the IHP Inspection Guidelines will be in the form of an Addenda or Inspection Standard. The inspectors are provided a unique inventory of IHP Line Items in the ACE software to record damages.

All Task Orders will be competed between the Housing Inspection Service Contractors prior to a declaration for Individual Assistance (IA) giving a Fair Opportunity for each Contractor to be considered. Task Orders are awarded in accordance with the Federal Acquisitions Streamlining Act (FASA) and FAR 16.505(b) requirements for “Fair Opportunity” to be considered.

Task Order Proposal Requests (TOPRs) will be tailored for each IA declaration and issued to all Contractors offering supplies and services under the Housing Inspection Services multiple award contracts. TOPR’s should be returned to the COR within 2 – 4 hours of the initial request. Urgency of the response will be tailored to the declaration.

Task Order will be based on best value and all inspection task orders will be competed.

Price/Cost is a fixed rate at contract award; however, for TOPR evaluations, the Contractor (s) may submit an inspection rate lower than the award fixed rate (s). At a minimum technical acceptability will be determined based on the below factors being weighted equally.

Timeliness in Response to the declaration area Availability of inspector resources Strategy for delivering a quality inspections and eliminating FEMA Correction’s

(FCOR)

Potential impact on other Task Orders placed with the Contractor Estimated Travel Cost Price/Cost is a fixed rate at contract award and will not be a factor if one

Contractor(s) per inspection rate is significantly lower. However if the Contractor (s) submit an inspection rate lower than the award fixed rate; rates will be submitted to the Contract Officer for consideration.

The CMHIS COR’s will conduct an evaluation of the Contractors TOPR and submit a recommendation to the Contracting Officer for review. A “Standby Notice” for selection will be sent to the selected Contractor via email as well as a “Not on Standby” to the other Contractor (s) by the CO. FEMA reserves the right to deploy multiple contractors to the same Task Order as needed.

Once the Contractor is put on stand-by for an event, in rare instances FEMA may issue a task order for the Contractor to pre-deploy the inspector cadre planned for that event to a location that can enable a quicker start of the inspection process. FEMA expects the Contractor to commit to FEMA their resources to perform the work within the boundaries of the contract.

FEMA will make every effort to alert the Contractor of anticipated levels of production, inaccessible areas, mandatory evacuations, and disaster magnitude for each disaster task order. The Contractor shall be responsible for determining the potential number of inspections per task order via other information gathering methods (e.g. performing their own disaster assessments within the affected areas).

The Contractor shall begin activation immediately following receipt of notice of the Task Order by the CO and start issuing inspections to inspectors immediately after the NEMIS Housing Assistance Module (HA) is turned on. FEMA will consult with the Contractor as to when the module will be activated. The Contractor’s workforce shall be capable of completing the inspections in the shortest timeframes. The inspection workload needs to be assessed by the Contractor to ensure a first-in, first-out process of completing inspections by the inspectors.

The contractors will notify the FEMA COR or delegate at least 24 hours prior to release of their intent to decrease any active inspector(s) from an open Task Order. If a decrease is requested to remove active inspector(s) from a Task Order the following must be met:

PRS SSPA 2-I Production and/or SSPA 2-J, aging prior to release. Removing inspector(s) and replacing with other inspector(s) does not require notification to the

COR.

The Government reserves the right to disable Contractor review of returned work in large disasters. The Contractor will receive a minimum of one (1) hour notice of this action. This means the toggle function within NEMIS called “Auto-determination” is turned on. The work will come directly from the inspector to FEMA without a review capability by others. The quality assurance surveillance by FEMA will not be suspended when Contractor Review is disabled. Contractor Review may be reinstated at the Government’s discretion, usually when the workload has decreased to a level which the Contractor Review staff can process in a timely manner.

The Contractor is responsible to maintain a continuity of operations that will meet all of FEMA’s requirements during normal and catastrophic events.

Cooperative management and working in concert with FEMA to achieve the task order performance objectives shall be accomplished in the spirit of partnering. Successful partnering will result in issues being resolved at the lowest management level possible.

Failure to comply with these requirements will result in a disincentive as specified in the

QASP.

C.6.8.1 INITIAL INSPECTIONS AND APPEAL INSPECTIONS

The Contractor shall perform inspections of residences via electronic means at the damaged residence using Contractor-acquired property (CAP). For each task order, inspectors shall make every effort to reach the damaged dwellings by whatever means possible including but not limited to utilizing aircraft, boat, or foot travel when necessary. The Contractor shall make every effort to schedule the inspection with the Survivor prior to arrival at the damaged dwelling.

The Contractor shall document the damages sustained in accordance with this contract and IHP Inspection Guidelines that address specific inspection processes as well as any unique disaster circumstance for the Contractor to follow. The inspectors shall assess the actual disaster related damage and the overall habitability of homes and complete each appropriate field in the residential damage data collection software.

Appeal inspections are performed in the same manner as the initial inspection, and are performed as a result of the Survivor appealing to FEMA that their initial inspection did not capture all the damages and/or repairs; and in some cases, the first inspector failed to identify all damages caused by the disaster.

In the event electronic means are not possible, inspections shall be completed manually. The Contractor shall provide staff to insert the results of these paper inspections into the NEMIS system.