Industry Day Questions and Answers.pdf

Pre & Post Industry Day Questions & Answers

As of July 3rd, 2024

Questions Received Prior to Industry Day and covered during Industry Day

1. Will there be any Authority to Operate (ATO) requirements on the TDIII program?

Typically, we do not handle ATOs at this level, however this could be a customer driven requirement and we must stay cognizant of things that could affect a negative outcome on an ATO as programs are developed.

2. Will the TDIII trainers (where applicable) be required to be part of the Simulator Common Architecture Requirement Standards (SCARS) program?

SCARS is still in the development and rollout phase and is not currently viable for anything that the 502 TDS or its customers would be involved with at this time.

3. Will the contractor be required to perform repairs of trainer components/modules at site (depot repairs)?

Yes, there is this potential.

4. The PWS mentions anywhere in the world delivery, could the Government give us the top three potential locations for global delivery?

No, this cannot be forecasted at this time.

5. The PWS mentions acquiring retired aircraft, does the Government have a recommended/most common approach?

If the Contractor were to perform work on an acquired retired aircraft, this aircraft will be provided by the Government as GFE.

6. Are there any other “hot buttons” or critical aspects to program execution?

No

7. Who is the 502 TDS’ most common customers in the DoD?

Primarily the Air Force and Navy.

8. Will bids that include large businesses be accepted?

We are currently in the market research stage and have not determined an Acquisition Strategy yet. As such, no set-aside determination has been made.

9. Are you committed to a small business acquisition?

We are currently in the market research stage and have not determined an Acquisition Strategy yet. As such, no set-aside determination has been made.

10. Will the acquisition remain a multi-award BPA or are you considering a single award?

This requirement is currently anticipated to be a single award IDIQ contract. However, we are currently in the market research stage and have not determined an Acquisition Strategy yet.

11. What’s the on-site requirement?

The primary place of performance for development and integration will be at the Contractor’s facilities. However, installation, testing and/or delivery may be on site at multiple Government locations in CONUS and OCONUS. Specific places of performance will be defined in each of the individual Task Orders.

Questions Received After Industry Day held on June 27th, 2024

12. Will the Government release an updated draft PWS/RFP including instructions and evaluation criteria (Section L and M) and if so, when would this be released?

An updated draft PWS/RFP including instructions and evaluation criteria (Section L and M) is anticipated to be released during the Synopsis/Pre-Solicitation Notice which will be posted at least 15 days before the issuance of the solicitation.

13. Will the government accept Past Performance and experience from the Prime’s team (Prime plus Subs) during evaluation of the process?

Instructions to Offerors and evaluation criteria (Sections L and M) have yet to be drafted and the Government has not determined an Acquisition Strategy yet. As such, this question cannot be answered at this time.

14. When will the Government make the final determination on whether the acquisition will go small business set aside?

We are currently in the market research stage and have not determined an Acquisition Strategy yet. As such, no set-aside determination has been made. Approval of the Acquisition Strategy is not anticipated until early September.

15. Given the large amount of funding aligned to CLIN 0003 Other Direct Costs (ODCs), does the Government intend for subcontractor labor to fall under CLIN 0003 or will subcontract labor fall under CLIN 0001 FFP Labor?

All labor hours performed under a prime contract that meet the requirements of a labor category or categories of that prime contract are to be paid at a fixed rate set in the prime contract, regardless of whether the labor hours are performed by the prime contractor or by a subcontractor unless separate labor rates for the contractor and subcontractor have been established in the contract.

16. Will the Government allow charging of indirects, including fees and/or material handling, on ODCs under CLIN 0003?

No, CLIN 0003 is for Other Direct Costs (ODC) which covers expenses other than the direct labor hours. An ODC is reimbursed based on the contractor’s actual costs. In a time-and-materials (T&M) contract, or order placed against an indefinite-delivery contract, the Government and supplier agree on a fixed hourly rate for each labor category required. Each required labor rate is inclusive of the supplier’s applicable cost elements such as direct labor, labor overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. All material and the associated material handling expense are supplied at cost. Profit or fees will not be paid on the cost of material or material handling. Material handling costs are all appropriate indirect costs allocated to direct materials in accordance with the supplier’s usual accounting procedures, but only to the extent they are clearly excluded from the hourly rate.

17. When do you project to have the acquisition strategy approved?

Approval of the Acquisition Strategy is not anticipated until early September.

18. How will you treat Joint Ventures (JVs) in the TDIII solicitation construct (i.e. past performance, size, risk, etc.)?

If the contract is awarded to a JV the JV must be registered in SAM.gov before the submission deadline, have a separate CAGE Code and the joint venture itself must be processed for a Facility Security Clearance (FSC) of SECRET, even if all JV partners are cleared. The rules for joint ventures (with regards to small business set asides) can be found at 13 C.F.R. § 125.8. One aspect of joint ventures worth noting here is that, per the language of section (a) of that regulation just cited, while each business must be small under the applicable solicitation’s size standard, their receipts are not combined for the purpose of said size standards.

Therefore, for a solicitation with a $10 million size standard, if two businesses with average annual receipts of $8 million each form a joint venture, that is fine to the SBA. This is important as, absent the small business joint venture rule, two businesses that have a joint venture together are treated as affiliated (13 C.F.R. 121.103(h)).

19. What is the planned NAICS code to be used on TDIII?

We are in the process of locking down the NAICS code. NAICS 336413 Other Aircraft and Auxiliary Equipment was being considered but this may change to NAICS 333310 Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing.

20. When will you release draft solicitation documents, specifically the Section L and M for review and questions?

An updated draft PWS/RFP including instructions and evaluation criteria (Section L and M) is anticipated to be released during the Synopsis/Pre-Solicitation Notice which will be posted at least 15 days before the issuance of the solicitation. Potential offerors can ask questions at any time and the Government may post Responses to Questions received if answers are to be provided.

21. When do you project the TDIII solicitation will be released?

As noted in the Industry Day slides, the solicitation is anticipated to be released around September 10th, 2024.

22. If market research is still ongoing and the acquisition strategy is not final, how has the GSA pre-determined the TDIII will be a single award IDIQ?

This was a business decision by GSA Leadership.

23. Will the TDIII solicitation include a sample task order (TO) as part of its proposal submission requirements? If yes, will this TO be awardable?

A sample TO is not anticipated at this time.

24. What measures of merit do you intend to utilize in determining Best Value offerors as part of the TDIII solicitation?

Neither the Evaluation Plan nor the Evaluation criteria have been drafted or approved at this time.

25. If awarded to a small business (SB), how do you plan to ensure future TO awards do not have issues with ostensible contracting or become burdened with too much of the work simply being a pass through for the SB?

That is something the Government will probably have to consider for approval of the Acquisition Strategy. As the Acquisition Strategy has yet to be determined, we do not have an answer at this time.