J.7 QUESTIONS RECEIVED ON DRAFT RFP AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSE.pdf

# Question Answer

Please confirm that the discount would only apply to the FOIL task orders and not the other task orders included in the RFP.

The discount will only apply to the task orders for FOIL maintenance. The discount will not apply to research and other support task orders.

Please confirm that the discount would only apply to the labor rates for the FOIL support staff.

The discount will only apply to labor rates.

Please confirm that work with NCHRP/NAS/TRB count as non-federal/non-government purposes.

NCHRP projects related to roadside safety will be considered as federal work, all others will have to go through the contractor as non-government purposes.

The Labor Rate spreadsheet references an ODC cap of “NTE $85,000.” - Is this cap applicable to the current solicitation, or is it a leftover from a prior RFP?

It is calculated to be about $20K for ODCs each year, the template has been updated to reflect that. These ODCs are just for Task Order 1, with a period of performance of 3 years.

The Draft RFP states fee and G&A cannot be charged on materials or travel. - Can fee and G&A be applied to other ODCs (e.g., simulation charges, consultant fees)?

Language regarding G&A on materials and travel has been removed. However, fee cannot be applied to any ODCs.

6 Are kickoff meeting costs considered allowable?

The cost of general administration of the IDIQ (including the kick-off meeting) is expected to be built into the general T&M rates, as there will be no funding available on the IDIQ itself for billing. However, administration and management for specific tasks is expected to be priced out under the their corresponding task order.

Are there any escalation rate caps expected to be applied across the contract term?

There are no escalation rate caps for this contract, but it is expected that contractors propose a reasonable escalation rate that is commiserate with current inflation rates. Price analysis will be conducted by comparing escalation rates to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Consumer Price Index and other similar indexes.

8 What is the anticipated total dollar value or ceiling amount for the IDIQ? The total ceiling for this IDIQ contract will be $18 million.

Is there an incumbent currently performing FOIL operations or related crash analysis work? If yes, please provide the incumbent contractor name and contract number.

The current contractor is George Mason University, under the contract 693JJ321D00001.

Does FHWA have an estimated level of effort (labor hours or staffing levels) expected for Task Order 1 (FOIL O&M)?

The total value of the task order is estimated at $2.8 million.

The total amount of hours for three years is estimated at 23,970 labor hours across the labor categories.

Beyond the Key Personnel identified in J.6, how many full-time onsite personnel does FHWA expect for day-to-day FOIL operations?

FHWA currently has four onsite personnel which includes the lab manager/senior tech, but offerors are welcome to propose more depending on expected work load.

Are there any known equipment maintenance backlogs, deficiencies, or immediate repair needs at the FOIL facility that the contractor should factor into pricing?

There are no known backlogs, just regular maintenance.

FHWA is currently going through several equipment updates that will be finished before the new contract begins.

What is the projected number of crash tests (full-scale, pendulum, anti-ram, or other) anticipated annually under this contract?

On average FHWA conducts around a dozen full scale tests a year, which is due to barrier installation and cure time.

Pendulum tests have ranged greatly depending on work but can have reached to about 250 annually in the past.

What software tools and versions (e.g., LS-DYNA, data acquisition systems, high-speed camera systems) are currently used at FOIL, and will licenses be Government-furnished or contractor-supplied?

Software related to testing will be government furnished and updates are conducted through FHWA IT help desk. The data acquisition system utilized by the FOIL is produced by DTS (Sliceware software), and the camera system is NAC (MXLink software). LS-dyna can be accessed via a goverment direct connection with Argonne National Lab.

J.7 QUESTIONS RECEIVED ON DRAFT RFP AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Does FHWA have an existing digital repository, data management platform, or required format for storing crash test data, FE models, and instrumentation logs?

Crash test data, including instrumentation logs, will be saved in their raw format on FHWA storage servers that are automatically backed up daily. FE models are normally stored by contractor and provided upon request.

Is there an established pricing methodology or cost-sharing formula for determining fair rental value for commercial use of FOIL under FAR 45.301?

The discount being requested on the Task Order 1 will be used as consideration for commercial use of FOIL.

What security clearances, background checks, or cybersecurity requirements (e.g., NIST 800-171, CUI handling) apply to contractor personnel and data systems?

Onsite personel must be able to aquire a DOT contractor PIV card.

18 Whether this requirement is a recompete or new requirement This is a recompete.

19 The incumbent contractor’s name George Mason University 20 The previous contract number 693JJ321D00001 21 The previous award value or obligated amount Total contract value for the current IDIQ is $8.5 million.

Why are the management of the FOIL and simulation-based research activities combined? These should be separated and be their own RFPs respectively.

Most of the projects FHWA deals with require components from both testing and simulation to simultaneously work together. One example would be the development of the FE vehicles, where the results from testing are continuously fed into the process of creating the models.

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