PA DEPT OF HOMELAND SEC QUESTIONS _4_.pdf

The following information is provided in response to questions posed to the Government from industry:

1. Who holds the records for guard physicals, gov’t or contractor? Government Response: Contractor

2. What weapon are the incumbent officers currently carrying in performance of their duties? Government Response: Caliber 9mm

3. The weapons training exhibit make reference to Shotgun training. Are shotguns going to be required? Government Response: Army Corps location

4. Page 32 of Attachment 2 states that First Aid is an annual training requirement.

However page 60 of the same attachment states every 3 years. Which is correct?

Government Response: First Aid/ AED/ CPR are annual requirements

5. Do PSOs currently have PIV cards? Government Response: No

3. For the Army posts, there is no CBA in place so do we use SCA rates? Government Response: Government Response: Yes.

2. If officers have had a physical within one or two years, we assume that we will not have to give them a new physical if we assume the contract but will be required to provide physicals for new hires and to maintain the integrity of the three year cycle for the existing officers, is this correct? Government Response: Yes.

3. We have on staff a retired USCG LE officer who has certification as an instructor in ASP, PPCT, CURB(OC) Spray, and Defensive Tactics, through the CG or the Smith & Wesson Academy; would this person meet the standards for providing instruction under this contract? If no, is there a resource for obtaining instructors or qualifying personnel as instructors? Government Response: Yes

4. Once an applicant has been deemed “Suitable” and begins the initial contractor provided training, are the training hrs billable? Is it permissible to pay these hrs at the unarmed rate since the applicant is not currently filling an armed position or should he be paid at the higher “armed” rate? Government Response: See Section 6.1.7.1 and

6.1.7.13 of the Statement of Work.

5. Do the trainers for the initial contractor training (SGIM material) need to be certified by the gov’t to conduct the training? Government Response: No.

6. Is there a fee for the submittal of Gov’t required documents? Sponsorship of facility?

Government Response: No

7. How are single guard posts (or remote sites) handled in regards to offsite weapons clearance and relief for the guard? Government Response: All PSOs are armed and, are authorized to carry weapon between work site and home. It is incumbent upon the vendor to develop and institute a relief/break plan.

8. While serving in the USCG I held a higher than Secret clearance and was allowed to work under an “interim” until finalization of the clearance came through; does this hold for these officers or can they not work until the clearance is finalized? Government Response: Clearance has to be finalized.

9. Given that a DHS rep must be present for all “qualification” shoots and that these shoots must be accomplished every 6 months, is it permissible, so as not to disrupt the work schedule, to hold these qualifications on a weekend? Government Response:

Qualifications shall be scheduled Monday thru Friday.

We read the RFP specs to imply that all PSOs who have cleared drug screening through the previous contractor do NOT need to be re-screened if rehired by our company. We also assume that we are not required to re-screen PSOs annually, but simply need to randomly test 10% of PSOs annually. Are these assumptions correct? Government Response: Yes.

How much lead time can a new contract vendor expect between award of the contract and contract start date (01 Oct 11)? Government Response: See Section 2.1 of the Statement of Work.

Reference Attachment 2, Training Exhibits 4A-4H Discussion Question/Comment Are the current incumbent employees trained to the same standards as those provided in Exhibits 4A – 4H?

1.

Government Response

Yes

Reference Attachment 6 Collective Bargaining Agreements Discussion There are 5 buildings that are in counties covered under two CBA’s.

They are as follows:

-PA0476, SSA 119 Professional Center, Indiana PA (Indiana County) -PA0679, SSA & ODAR, Johnstown PA (Cambria County) -PA0741, SSA, Somerset PA (Somerset County) -PA0808, SSA, Du Bois PA (Clearfield County) -PA0358, IRS, Johnstown PA (Cambria County) These counties for the above buildings are listed in the CBA between Knight Protective Service & National Union of Protective Service Associations (Western Pennsylvania) and are also listed in the CBA between Knight Protection Service & Industrial Technical and Professional Employees Union AFL-CIO.

2.

Question/Comment Will the government please clarify the respective CBA that covers these 5 buildings?

Government Response

ITPE

Reference Attachment 6 Collective Bargaining Agreements & Attachment 3, Section E, pg 61

Discussion The CBA between Knight Protection Service & Industrial Technical and Professional Employees Union AFL-CIO contains wages and benefits effective 12/1/2010 and 12/1/2011. Per Section E, Price Proposal Instructions, contractors are advised that the wages and benefits corresponding to the initial period of performance are applicable for proposal preparation purposes.

Question/Comment Can the government please clarify which wages and benefits offerors should use from this CBA? Exact Period of Performance start date was not stated in the solicitation so it is unclear which wages and benefits would correspond to the initial period of performance.

3.

Government Response

Updated CBAS are provided.

Reference Attachment 2, Exhibit 8E: Contractor Provided Communication Equipment

Discussion Exhibit 8E states that 1 cellular telephone, charger, and holder is required per facility and the total quantity is 60. Per the post exhibit, there are a total of 71 buildings/facilities with productive security posts which conflicts with the total cellular phone quantity of 60.

Question/Comment A. Will the government please confirm if contractors should account for cellular phones based on the number of facilities in the Post Exhibit or Exhibit 8E Communication Equipment?

B. If the requirement is by number of facilities in the post exhibit, are cellular phones required for the Temporary IRS Buildings?

4.

Government Response

1 phone per facility; Yes to 17B

Reference N/A Discussion There is no mention of a site visit in the Solicitation.

Question/Comment Will the government please advise if a Site Visit will be conducted prior to proposal submission?

5.

Government Response

Correct, there is no site visit.

Reference N/A Discussion Question/Comment Will the government please provide a seniority roster of the current employees for the purpose of capturing accurate CBA benefits based on hire date?

6.

Government Response

A seniority list is not provided.

RFP Section(s) Attachment 2, Government Provided Training Discussion/Assumptions The locations of where government provided training will be conducted is not included in Attachment 2.

Question Can the government please provide locations and addresses for where FPS provided training will be conducted as well as range locations where an FPS official will be available for weapon qualification oversight?

Government Response To be determined

RFP Section(s) Attachment 2, Exhibit 9E, Government Provided PIV Cards Discussion/Assumptions The locations of where PIV cards can be issued is not included in Exhibit 9E.

Question Can the government please provide locations and addresses for where PIV cards will be issued?

Government Response To be determined

RFP Section(s) Attachment 6-1, Collective Bargaining Agreements

Discussion/Assumptions The CBA between Knight Protective Services & National Union of Protective Services Association and the CBA between Knight Protective Services and Industrial Technical and Professional Employees Union include shift differential pay as follows:

2nd Shift 1600-2400 3rd Shift 2400-0800

Question Are portions of an hour that fall outside of the 1st shift required to be paid at the 2nd shift wage? For example Bldg PA0648 start time is 0800 and end time is 1630. Is the time on post between 1600 and 1630 paid at 2nd shift wage? Government Response: Labor rates to be paid in accordance with the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement.