Q A_s - Technical Final 7-12-2012.pdf

RFP HSHQE2-12-R-00001

Armed Protective Security Officers – NYC Questions and Answers - Technical

1. What is the make, model, and caliber of the firearms currently being used by the incumbent?

Answer: The current firearm requirement is a .38caliber, 4inch barrel revolver.

2. Are contractors allowed to store weapons and ammunition at each facility?

Answer: No. Please refer to Section 14.4.6 of the Statement of Work.

3. Post Exhibit 1 – Will the Government provide complete addresses for the facilities listed in the Post Exhibit? Partial addresses make it difficult to locate some of the facilities.

Answer: Long Island post exhibits: Federal Courthouse- 398 Federal Plaza, Central Islip NY 11722. All other locations appear to be explicit enough for directions.

4. In Post Exhibit 1, Building NY0355ZZ, U.S. Courthouse, Islip, the Total Days column appears to contain an error - Post 1 is staffed M-F for a total of 251 days, while Post 6 is staffed S/S/H for a total of 116 days for an annual total of 367 days per year. Post 13 identifies 11 holidays, but both wage determinations and the Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal hires only include 10 holidays. Post 10 shows 53 Sundays, and Post 11 lists 52 Saturdays for a total of 116 S/S/H. Please confirm the Total Days and Total Hours to be used for pricing.

Answer: See Amendment 0004 for updated Post Exhibit.

5. Exhibit 8C, Contractor-Provided Firearms and Ammunition: The RFP requires additional training hours if there is a weapons platform change or a weapons transition. Question 1: What is the current weapon being used on the contract?

Answer: See response to question #1.

Question 2 - Is this considered a weapons platform change or transition from the previous contract?

Answer: Yes

6. Section 14 – Training – Government Provided Training: Section 14 states that contractor bears the entire responsibility for scheduling and coordinating with FPS for the Government provided training courses (SGIM Exam, COR Training and X- Ray/Mag). Will Government provide to offerors a monthly training schedule, to include maximum class size, so the contractor can ensure officer attendance, as well as an adequate number of training times/classes to ensure posts are fully staffed?

Answer: The Government- provided training schedule is predicated on contractor requirements. The contractors advise the Govt. (in advance) as to the number of individuals eligible for any specific training requirement and the sessions are then coordinated through the COR.

7. There is a discrepancy the Total Hours column and the calculation of Hours per Day x Total Days as noted in the following matrix. Please confirm the correct amount of hours for the following posts:

Answer: See Amendment 0004 for updated Post Exhibit.

8. We have heard that there is a 15% historical overtime spend that had occurred on the previous, as well as the current contract. Can the Government confirm this?

Answer: The Government is not privy to how the contractor staffs their requirements.

9. Statement of Work, Section 4, Item 4.3 Carriage of Licenses and Permits: Section

4.3.1 states “PSOs shall carry original or photocopy of firearm licenses/permits on their person while traveling to/from duty station and on duty…” We have been told that it takes up to 6 months or longer to obtain a firearm license/permit in New York City. Can the Government confirm the length of time it takes to obtain a NYC firearm license/permit?

Answer: No

10. Does the Government provide a Program Management Office for the Contractor, either at a New York City or Long Island location with enough space for a Contract Manager, Training Instructor, Deputy Contract Manager, Quality Control Manager and Administrative Assistant?

Answer: No

11. If the Government does not provide a Program Management Office for the Contractor, will the Government make leased space available? What is the cost and square footage?

Answer: No.

12. Are parking spaces provided at the various FPS facilities for contractor personnel or contractor vehicles?

13. Section 4.1.3 states contractor must obtain required licenses and permits for contract employee prior to PSO standing post. NYPD has stated that Government has the power to have PSOs carry a firearm while working on federal property. Will Government grant such authority while a PSO is waiting to have their local firearm license processed and issued?

Answer: No

14. Section 4.1.3 states contractor must obtain required licenses and permits for contract employee prior to PSO standing post. With respect to local firearm licenses, NYPD has an Unrestricted Concealed Carry License that is issued to retired NYC law enforcement personnel and the license is valid throughout NY.

Will the Government accept this as an acceptable firearm carry license for this contract?

Answer: No

15. Section 4.1.3 states contractor must obtain required licenses and permits for contract employee prior to PSO standing post. With respect to local firearm licenses, NYPD Carry Guard License is recognized and accepted as a valid license to carry a firearm in NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Duchess Counties in NY. Does the Government prefer that all PSOs assigned to this contract have this particular firearm license or will the Government reimburse contractor for having to maintain business addresses in NYC, Nassau and Suffolk Counties in order to meet local firearm licensing standards?

Answers: No – the Government has no preference that all PSO’s assigned to this contract have this particular firearm license; and No – the Government will not reimburse the contractor for having to maintain business addresses in NYC, Nassaue and Suffolk Counties in order to meet local firearm licensing standards.

16. Section 5.3.1 states Government encourages use of electronically scanned fingerprints. Will the Government accept same as part of the suitability package rather than the contractor incurring the additional cost of inked fingerprint cards?

Answer: No

17. Section 6.5.1 states that contractor must schedule Government administered written exam upon completion of PSO’s basic training. Will Government pay for costs incurred for training and licensing due to delays by Government in administering written examination in a timely and consistent manner?

Answer: No

18. Section 6.5.4 states that contractor shall complete transitional weapon platform change in accordance with Exhibit 4C. Exhibit does not specify the number of live fire rounds to complete the transition. Will the Government clarify how many live rounds are required?

Answer: No – the number of live fire rounds vary.

19. Section 6.7.3.2 states PSO that fails attempt must take retake exam within 30 days. What if Government fails to schedule exam in that time?

Answer: The Government will make every effort to make sure PSO testing is scheduled timely.

20. Section states contractor is responsible for cost of operation and maintenance of vehicles. Will the Government provide off street parking for contractor vehicles or does contractor have to bear the cost of securing vehicles?

Answer: No, the Government does not provide off street parking for contractor vehicles.

The contractor will have to bear the cost of securing vehicles.

21. Section 14.3.2 states contractor is responsible for cost of operation and maintenance of vehicles. Due to the significant cost impact of tolls between various sites and parking, will the Government include a CLIN so offerors can account for these additional costs?

Answer: No, the contractor must account for such costs within its overall pricing.

22. Section 6.7 states that contractor bears the entire responsibility for scheduling and coordinating with FPS for the Government provided training courses, i.e., COR Training, SGIM, and X-Ray/Mag. Does the Government provide these classes concurrently in order to expedite the hiring of new PSOs?

Answer: No. See answer to Question No. 6.

23. Statement of Work, Paragraph 1.1.1 provides in relevant part, “Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) consider PSO positions as First Responders Awareness Level.

OSHA defines First Responders Awareness Level:

“First responders at the awareness level are individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who have been trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities of the release.

They would take no further action beyond notifying the authorities of the release.

First responders at the awareness level shall have sufficient training or have had sufficient experience to objectively demonstrate competency in the following areas:

An understanding of what hazardous substances are, and the risks associated with them in an incident.

An understanding of the potential outcomes associated with an emergency created when hazardous substances are present.

The ability to recognize the presence of hazardous substances in an emergency.

The ability to identify the hazardous substances, if possible.”

Question: Given that OSHA’s definition of first responders at the awareness level requires an intimate knowledge of hazardous material, is any additional training required for uniformed contract employees to qualify as first responders at the awareness level?

Answer: Contractors must comply with all applicable OSHA training requirements.

24. Section 5.2.2.1 of the Statement of Work provides in relevant part, “Contractor shall require PSOs to undergo a pre-employment medical/physical examination and every three years thereafter. A licensed physician shall administer the examinations and document results on Medical Questionnaire (Exhibit 7).

Question A: Are the physical/medical examination standards in this RFP different from the physical/medical examination standards currently applied to incumbent personnel?

Answer: Yes

Question B: Will incumbent PSOs with physical/medical examination records that meet the requirements of the current contract be required to undergo physical/medical examination during transition because the physical/medical examination standards have changed?

Answer: Yes

25. Statement of Work, Paragraph 5.2.4 Initial and Recurring Screening for Illegal Drugs, subparagraph 5.2.4.1 provides: “PSOs must submit to urine drug screening as part of initial pre-employment process and during recurring medical examination, every three years.” Subparagraph 5.2.4.2 provides: Drug screenings shall conform to current U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.”

Section 3.4 of the SAMHSA “Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs” provides:

“Marijuana metabolites

50 ng/mL

Cocaine metabolites 150 ng/mL Opiate metabolites Codeine/Morphine 2 2000 ng/mL 6-Acetylmorphine 10 ng/mL Phencyclidine 25 ng/mL Amphetamines 3 AMP/MAMP4 500 ng/mL MDMA6 500 ng/mL”

It has been our experience that on other FPS solicitations of similar scope, the drug standard limits have been the following:

“Substance Cutoff Level

(ng/mL)

Marijuana metabolites

Cocaine metabolites 300 Opiate metabolites 2,000 Phencyclidine 25 Amphetamines 3”

Our questions below presume that the government has determined the specific needs so that it can properly evaluate Offerors management approach and price.

Question A: Are the drug screening standards in this RFP different from the drug screening standards currently applied to incumbent personnel?

Answer: Yes.

Question B: Will incumbent PSOs with drug screening records that meet the requirements of the current contract be required to undergo drug screening during transition because the drug testing standards have changed?

Answer: Yes

26. Statement of Work, Paragraph 5.3.1 Suitability Requirements, subparagraph

5.3.1.15 provides “Contractor is responsible for all costs associated with obtaining and renewing suitability clearances for employee associated with this contract.”

Question: Does this paragraph mean that contractors bear the administrative costs of requesting the suitability and the employee’s time spent completing the process online only and that the Government bears responsibility for the costs related to the suitability review? Generally this is our experience working under federal contracts.

Answer: While the Government will cover any of its costs related to the suitability review, the contractor will bear all other costs associated with the suitability process.

27. Statement of Work, Paragraph 5.3.2 Suitability Determination, subparagraph

5.3.2.2 provides “Any investigation conducted by or for another federal agency on an individual that is of same or higher type and scope as one required for position is sufficient to meet investigation requirements if investigation occurred within past five years.”

We are trying to determine the extent of clearance efforts needed during transition.

Question A: Was the investigation conducted on incumbent personnel the same or higher type and scope as the one required for PSO positions under this RFP?

Answer: Yes

Question B: How many of the incumbent personnel meet the five year investigation requirement?

Answer: All

28. Statement of Work, Paragraph 6.6.4 Transitional Weapon/Weapon Platform Change, subparagraph 6.6.4.1 states “Contractor shall complete Transitional Weapon and Weapon Platform Change training in accordance with Exhibit 4C.”

Also, Exhibit 8C Contractor Provided Firearms and Ammunition provides in relevant part “The contractor will provide all security officers, including part-time and reserve officers, with their own pistol. Select the firearm that will be used: 38 Special, 9mm, .40 S/W, .357 SIG.” The Exhibit specifies the .40 S/W as the type of firearm required for performance on this RFP.

Our questions below presume that the government has determined the specific needs so that it can properly evaluate offerors management approach and price.

Question A: Is the current weapons platform different from the weapon platform required under this contract?

Answer: Yes See Question 5.

Is the .40 S/W considered a change from the current platform?

Answer: Yes. See Question 5

Question B: Please identify which specific requirements of Exhibit 4C are applicable for incumbent PSOs:

-3 hours of Transitional Weapon training (revolver to revolver; semi-automatic to semi-automatic) or -8 hours of Weapons Platform Change training (revolver to semi-automatic pistol)

Answer: 8 hours of Weapons Platform Change Training (revolver to semi-automatic pistol).

Question C: Please confirm that the 40 hour course identified in Exhibit 4C (4 hours Use of OC Spray, 4 hours Use of Baton, 8 hours Firearms Maintenance, Safety and Handling, and 24 hours Initial Firearms Familiarization Fire) is required for both incumbent and new employees.

Answer: There are only 36 hours required. Please see Exhibit 4C of the solicitation as the 4-hour use of Baton is not required.

29. Attachment 2, Exhibit 4C, Contractor Provided Initial and Transitional/Platform Firearms and Less-Than-Lethal Weapons Training and Qualification includes shotgun qualification requirements. Also, a “Shotgun Qualification Course” is included although shotguns are not identified in Exhibit 8C: Contractor-Provided Firearms and Ammunition.

Question A: Does this contract require every PSO to qualify with a shotgun?

Answer: No

Question B: Does this contract require that shotguns be made available to PSOs? If so, where are they stored (please provide the facility address and method of storage)?

Answer: No

30. Statement of Work, Paragraph 11.3.2 provides in relevant part, “Under no circumstances shall Supervisors perform productive hours while working in supervisory capacity.”

Question: Are supervisors permitted to work in a capacity other than a supervisory capacity?

Answer: Yes, but they cannot concurrently perform supervisory duties with any other duties.

If yes, are supervisors working in non-supervisory capacity permitted to provide relief and/or stand post?

Answer: Yes

31. Statement of Work Paragraph 14.5 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), subparagraph 14.5.3 provides, “Contractor shall follow OSHA standards for respiratory protection including Appendix D to 29 C.F.R. § 1910.134. FPS will require Contractor to medically evaluate and clear contract PSOs for the use of respirators, at least every three years, in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134.

Contractor is responsible for employee fit testing at such time a public health authority declares the use of respirators to be mandatory.”

Question A: Is the requirement for employee respirator fit testing in this RFP different from the employee respirator fit testing requirement in the current contract?

Answer: Yes

Question B: Are incumbent PSOs with current respiratory protection clearances required to take a respiratory protection examination during transition because the respiratory protection standards have changed or are new?

Answer: Yes

32. Exhibit 8E, Contractor-Provided Communication Equipment indicates 300 Cellular telephones.

Question: Does the Government have a preference for a specific make and model of cellular telephone?

33. Contract Clauses, Section E, Part II Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors, Price Proposal, Section 4.A.(1) provides in relevant part, “Elements in the proposed unit prices that are associated with the level of supervision, staffing, quality control, transition, relief, COOP and other advantageous aspects proposed under the Management Approach factor.”

FAR 52.212-4, Section 04 Prices, C.4, Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Implementation provides in relevant part, “All other direct costs (ODCs) associated with implementation of the COOP, including but not limited to:

overtime, travel and per diem, PPE replenishment, changes to IT/communication systems or devices, and training and certification of additional personnel etc. shall be reimbursed under the Optional COOP Implementation CLIN contained in the Schedule of Supplies/Services and Prices.

Since COOP implementation costs cannot be pre-determined at this time, the Government has provided estimates and established Not-to-Exceed Amounts in the Schedule of Supplies/Services and Prices.”

The Addendum to FAR 52-212-1 Instructions to Offerors, Price Proposal, Section 6 provides in relevant part “The Government has estimated other direct costs in support of COOP implementation as follows:

Other Direct Costs in Support of COOP Implementation Base Year $100,000.00 Option I $100,000.00 Option II $100,000.00 Option III $100,000.00 Option IV $100,000.00”

Exhibit 8D: Contractor Provide Personal Protective Equipment provides, “Contractor shall maintain a stock of the following personal protective equipment items for each officer, post, and location covered by this contract in quantities sufficient to furnish all productive and supervisory security officers performing on Contract with equipment for a two-week period. Contractor shall maintain all equipment in a ready and usable condition and replenish stock as necessary to ensure a two-week supply is available at all times.”

Question: Please clarify whether the initial two week supply noted in Exhibit 8D PPE is included in unit hourly rates or if it will be reimbursed under the separate Not-to-Exceed CLIN.

Answer: In accordance with paragraph C(4), Definitions COOP Implementation, under ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS —COMMERCIAL ITEMS (Alternate I) (FEB 2012) “the Government may unilaterally exercise the COOP Implementation CLINs in the event of an emergency event. All other direct costs (ODCs) associated with implementation of the COOP, including but not limited to: overtime, travel and per diem, PPE replenishment, changes to IT/communication systems or devices, and training and certification of additional personnel etc. shall be reimbursed under the Optional COOP Implementation CLIN contained in the Schedule of Supplies/Services and Prices.” There is no guarantee that the government will exercise the COOP Implementation CLINS.

The personal protective equipment (PPE) required by Exhibit 8D must be furnished, stocked and distributed by the contractor, regardless of whether the COOP implementation CLINS are unilaterally exercised by the government. Contractors should price the PPE required by Exhibit 8D accordingly.

34. The Post Exhibit indicates that all the posts under this RFP require a relief provision. However, the applicable CBA and the applicable AWD are silent in terms of the relief scheme provided to PSOs.

Question: What is the relief scheme provided under the current contract (e.g. are all PSOs currently provided with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break and two 15-minute paid rest breaks? Are all posts under this RFP currently provided the same type of relief provision?)

Answer: Section 13.A of the scope of work of the current contract, entitled “Relief and Lunch Breaks”, provides that contractor follow all federal, state and local laws.

35. According to the information posted on fbo.gov, "The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Procurement Operations, Federal Protective Service Acquisition Division, East Consolidated Contracting Group intends to acquire protective security officer (PSO) services at federally owned and leased facilities in Manhattan, the Bronx and Long Island, New York, via full and open competition."

In reviewing Attachment 2 - Post Exhibits, some of the facilities are neither in Manhattan, the Bronx nor Long Island. Is this correct?

ex. 1 Park Place 20 South Broadway 75 South Broadway 40 Huguenot 240 W. Nyack Road 200-228 E. Post Road

Answer: Yes. They are located in Westchester/Rockland counties.