Alaksa_HSHQWA-14-R-00001_QAs.docx

Alaska Questions and Answers

HSHQWA-14-R-00001

The incumbent contractor is Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc., contract number HSHQWA-10-A-00002. This RFP is considered a new requirement.

See Question 1.

See Amendment 0002.

In the RFP Proposal Submission Requirements on page 277 of 306, it states, "1. The resulting contract requires access to classified information. Offerors shall possess a Top Secret facility clearance prior to the date and time established for PSO’s to begin standing post. PSO’s shall begin standing post on 10/1/14 at 00:00. If the Contractor selected for award does not possess a Top Secret facility security clearance, DHS will sponsor the firm for the facility clearance. If a sponsored Contractor does not receive the required facility clearance prior to the date by which PSOs are to stand post, DHS may employ appropriate contractual remedies, up to and including termination of the contract. Offerors shall document within their proposal whether or not they possess the required facility clearance.” However, in Section “5.4.2 Security Clearance Requirements” on page 74 of 306, it states, “5.4.2.4(a) Contractor must possess a facility clearance that is equal to level for work on this contract as specified in Section 5.4.1.2 prior to submission of proposal or quote.” But on page 75 of 306 5.4.2.4(b), states, “DHS may sponsor Contractor for a facility clearance, if contract performance requires access to classified information and Contractor selected for award does not possess a facility security clearance that is equal to level for work on this contract as specified in Section 5.4.1.2.”

Question: Will the Government sponsor a company to obtain the necessary facility clearance or does the company need to have the facility clearance prior to proposal submission as stated in section 5.4.2.4(a)?

A) It is not necessary for the offeror to have the Top Secret clearance prior to submittal of the response

B) Section 5.4.2.4 indicates that 5.4.2.4 (b) is applicable. IAW Section 5.4.2.4 (b), DHS may sponsor Contractor for a facility clearance. DHS may sponsor Contractor for a facility clearance.

Section 5.4.1.1 states “Government shall notify Contractor of required security classification of this contract and elements thereof, and of any subsequent revisions in such security classifications, by use of Contract Security Classification Specification (DD Form 254), or other written notification.

Question: Will the Government please provide the “DD254 or other written notification” as to the security classification of this contract?

IAW Section 5.4.1.2, DHS determined that performance of this contract requires Contractor, subcontractor(s), vendor(s), etc., (herein known as Contractor) to access sensitive DHS information and may require access to classified National Security Information (herein known as classified information) up to and including Top Secret classification level. Special Access Programs (SAP) is not Applicable (N/A) for this contract.

a. Past Performance Questionnaires (Attachment 4) shall be submitted for each reference contract unless a Contract Performance Assessment Report (CPARS) for the most recently completed performance period is resident in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) for the reference contract.

Question: Should we submit the CPAR copies with our proposal if they are on PPIRS?

Copies of CPARS reports do not need to be submitted if the most recent completed CPARS for the last performance period is available in PPIRS. As stated in the Proposal Submission Requirements, at their discretion, offerors may supplement their PPIRS report by having a Past Performance Questionnaire completed and submitted.

The Government requests that “Proposals shall be comprised of THREE (3) separate sealed envelopes. The first envelope shall contain five (5) copies of the technical (non-price) submission. The second envelope shall contain the original and one copy of the pricing submission and all other documents required by the solicitation (e.g. SF 1449, Pricing Schedule, Price Element Breakdown, Disclosures, Representation & Certifications, Subcontracting Plan (if applicable), etc.). The third envelope shall contain a disc containing a saved electronic copy of the offerors Management Approach (in Microsoft Word or equivalent format) and the offerors Pricing Schedule and Price Element Breakdown (in Microsoft Excel or equivalent format). All of these envelopes should then be sealed in a fourth envelope that clearly identifies the RFP for which it is being submitted.

Question: Can a box be substituted for the fourth envelope used for all envelopes for proposal shipment?

Question: Please clarify how the proposals should be bound i.e. three-ring-binders, bound with a binder clip etc.?

1) Yes.

2) Offerors may secure their proposal submissions together with a binder clip, paper clip, etc.

It is up to the individual offeror to determine the number of PSOs per post shift.

Patrol positions rove both inside and outside of facilities.

No.

PSOs will sign in on the 139 and PSO post desk book will be secured at the facility.

The post hours identified on the Exhibit 1 represent the hours for which a PSO shall be present on post. IAW Section 12.1.2.1 Contractor shall provide breaks and/or meal periods in accordance with minimum state requirements and/or applicable Collective Bargaining Agreements. Exhibit 1 specifies which posts require a PSO relief provision.

The escalation rate is/was not determined by the Government but negotiated between the parties to the CBA.

No, the current schedule and relief schedule are applicable to the current contract and not necessarily indicative of this requirement.

S & W – M&P Semi-Auto 40 caliber

There is no material cost to the Contractor for the PIV card; however, the cost associated with PIV processing (e.g. enrollment station processing time, any travel time/cost which may be necessary to and from the enrollment station etc.) should be built into the proposed hourly rates.”

The paragraph above the table states one per officer on post. Exhibit 9-D states the Government will additionally provide 1 radio per post.

Question/Request for Clarification: Please confirm the number of cell phones required.

1 cell phone per post is required.

Additionally, if this must be completed on the weekends, when are the incumbent hires who are working the weekend shifts expected to train?

Yes, training will be accomplished in all 3 cities listed in the solicitation.

Prior to the start of performance.

See Amendment 0002.

See Question 14

This information will be provided to the awardee.

IAW Section 9.3.10 PSO shall not provide more than 12 hours of combined service on any one or multiple contracts administered by FPS, in any 24 hour period. Exception to rule: There must be an eight hour non-duty period between work periods or granted an exception by COR.

There is no requirement for a shotgun.

None. Refer to Question 22.

Refer to section 5.2, Medical and Physical Qualifications, of the RFP.

No.

No.

Question: Please confirm that Temporary Additional Services (TAS) is not a requirement under this contract and that the only types of services under this contract will be Basic Services and Emergency Security Services (ESS) as shown in the Pricing Schedule.

TAS hours will be required under the resultant contract. The estimated hours for both Basic Services and TAS services are included under the CLINs titled PSO Services. The basic services and TAS services are to be priced as a weighted average hourly rate.

Question: Are all PSOs currently trained for the use of the baton and OC spray?

Yes.

Question: If the Contractor chooses to use the same weapon (same make and model) as used in the incumbent contract, is Transitional Weapons Training required during transition?

No. If offeror chooses to use the same weapon, Transitional Weapons Training is not required of incumbent personnel during transition.

Contractor-Provided Communication Equipment

Question: Paragraph 4 discusses radios and using them but the quantity in the Table is zero. Government is providing one radio per post in Exhibit 9D. Please clarify does the contractor need to provide more radios and how many?

No. The contractor does not need to provide radios, the Government will provide radios.

Contractor-Provided Communication Equipment.

Question: Paragraph 2 states “equip each security officer on post a method to communicate with FPS and the Post Tracking System.” The table shows a quantity of one. Please clarify with a quantity of zero for radios, are we expected to propose a cell phone for each post and/or each PSO as a secondary means of communication?

Yes, the contractor shall provide a cell phone for each post.

The rows called out do not line up with the spreadsheet, i.e., there are no formulas in those rows to automatically calculate applicable totals.

Question: What are the correct rows?

See Amendment 0002 for updated Attachment 6A-Price Element Breakdown Instructions.

The Basic Rate is row 94 not 92 and there is no formula in row 94 to calculate the labor hour rate.

Question: Can the Government please add the formula that is supposed to be there based on the Government’s statement that “data should not be inputted into this row”?

Row 94 contains the following formula: =IF(B8=0,"",B92/B8), which will automatically calculate the labor hour rate. The Attachment 6 – Price Element Breakdown, may need be downloaded again from FedBizOpps to ensure that all of the formulas are present.

See Amendment 0002 for updated Attachment 6A-Price Element Breakdown Instructions.

There is a requirement to propose Indirect Burden Rates for the proposed base year and four option years.

Question: Does the Government require a submittal of the build-up of the proposed indirect rates?

No, a build-up is not required. Each Offeror does however need to complete the Indirect Rate Table on page 285 or 306 of the solicitation.

The proposal instructions state that “Prices (for the base and option periods including the 6-month option) will be evaluated, whereas, the price element breakdown spreadsheet does not have a space to input the 6-month option to be shown.

Question: Even though the 6-month option is just half of the Option Year 4 period, does it need to be shown on the spreadsheet?

No. IAW the price proposal instructions, the Government will evaluate the FAR 52.217-8 option to extend services by using the offeror's proposed option year 4 unit prices and applying them to the 6 months immediately following the conclusion of Option Year 4.

In the instructions, it states that the offeror is supposed to fill out this table.

Question: What document does this need to be submitted in?

IAW Attachment 9, Proposal Checklist for Offerors, the indirect burden rates should be submitted with the price proposal.

No.