M95494-17-R-0002_QA1.pdf

M95494-17-R-0002 Questions & Answers

Q.1) Because this contract supports Marine Corps Installations located in the Continental United States

(CONUS) and Hawaii, should courses be bid as a “local” price plus cost-reimbursable travel?

A.1) Yes, travel costs for all courses must be priced separately. Per Section 9.0 of the RFP, all travel shall be coordinated and approved by the COR prior to incurring any travel expense. Travel authorized by the COR shall be included on Task Orders issued by the Contracting Officer.

Q.2) How should the transportation costs for courses that require additional equipment (e.g. semi-trucks) be calculated?

A.2) The transportation costs for a course that requires additional equipment must be included in the rate for that respective course. Per Section 9.0, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for the reasonable actual cost of transportation, lodging, meals and incidental expenses. Actual cost does not include handling charges, general and administrative cost, overhead, profit or any other indirect cost.

Q.3) Will ESAMS be used for registration?

A.3) Most Marine Corps Installations under this requirement employ ESAMS, which will be used for registration. The registration process for installations that do not employ ESAMS will follow the procedures in Section 5.9.

Q.4) What is the student minimum that must be registered for a class to be provided?

A.4) There is no student minimum. Task Orders will be issued with the anticipated number of students per class. Per Section 5.9.4, operational demands may result in fewer than the expected number of students reporting for a course; therefore, courses may be overbooked to ensure full classes. In the event of an overbooked course, the contractor shall notify the COR and the Contracting Officer in writing. An additional Task Order or Task Order modification may be issued to account for the additional services.

Q.5) Is the student minimum affected by absent students on the day of class?

A.5) There is no student minimum. If a Task Order cannot be bilaterally modified in time to account for anticipated absences, the classes must commence as required.

Q.6) Is there a form that needs to be completed for DFARS 252.209-7991 (DEV) or is a statement of compliance sufficient?

A.6) There is no preexisting form. Offerors must submit a completed copy of the representations and certifications at DFARS 252.203-7005 and DFARS 252.209-7991 (DEV) within their Offer Letter.

Offerors who have completed the representations and certifications in the System for Award Management

(SAM) do not need to submit a separate copy. Instead, they shall include a statement stating their representations and certifications are up to date in SAM, which will be verified by the Contracting Officer.

Q.7) Since some of the curriculum vendors have established business relationships with the bidders (some good, some bad), not every vendor may provide pricing to each bidder. In the possible event that no bidder is able to get 100% of the pricing/resumes/certificates from every listed curriculum vendor, will the best overall proposal be selected or will all bids be considered non-compliant?

A.7) The Government will issue, if at all, an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with Firm-Fixed-

Price (FFP) task orders to the responsible Offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, provides the best value to the Government.

Q.8) Does the past performance of bidders include failure to pay subcontractors and current ongoing arrears to subcontractors?

A.8) Past performance may be positive or negative. Please refer to Volume II of FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to

Offerors - Addendum, under the solicitation for more details regarding past performance submission requirements.

Q.9) Does a COR positive performance review based primarily on the work by a subcontractor impute to the subcontractor who may become a bidder during this process?

A.9) Any recent and relevant past performance should be provided in accordance with Volume II of FAR

52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Addendum, under the solicitation. An offeror that has performed as a subcontractor may submit past performance information regarding that effort.

Q.10) After a bidder has changed its name to appear as a new company to avoid previous bad past performance, how much times does the “new” company have to have in operation to be considered as having overcome the past bad performance and to be considered for the bid?

A.10) Offerors are encouraged to submit recent and relevant past performance information. An offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.

Q.11) Given the very diverse business models and interests of the available curriculum providers, can a curriculum provider be forced to give proprietary trade information and pricing to support a bidder when that provider claims it would be adverse and damaging to the provider’s own business model and best interests.

A.11) No.

Q.12) Do the individual classes named in the solicitation (BRC, IRC, ARC, etc.) need any kind of description in the bid or is the fact that they are listed enough?

A.12) A description of the individual class is not required; therefore, referencing the acronyms utilized in the solicitation in the proposal is sufficient.

Q.13) Please provide an estimated number for each training course by location for each contract period.

Currently, there is only a total number of classes provided in Attachment B – Pricing Template.

A.13) The Contractor is expected to provide services at all places of performance identified in Section 4.0 of the

PWS. Please note that MARFORRES has been removed from Section 4.0 and 5.9.1 While an estimated number for each course/location for each contract period has not been determined, the majority of the courses are expected to occur at MCI – West and MCI – East.

Q.14) In similar recent vehicle safety training solicitations the Service Contract Act (SCA) FAR Clause is included and applicable since the DOL has determined instructors should be classified as wage determination employees. Please incorporate the Service Contract Act and applicable Wage

Determinations for all locations listed in the solicitation and require that all bidders be evaluated for proper utilization of WD rates in their price proposal.

A.14) The SCA of 1965 does not apply to this requirement as the personnel to be employed do not qualify as

“service employees” as defined in 41 U.S.C. 6701. The Contracting Officer has determined that professional employees will primarily accomplish contract performance. The personnel to be employed under this requirements are considered “professional employees” as defined in FAR 22.1102, as any person meeting the definition of “employee employed in a bona fide…professional capacity” given in 29 CFR

541. Additionally, in accordance with 29 CFR 541.303(b), teachers engaged in automobile driving instruction are exempt from the SCA.

Q.15) For Level III classes, how should we propose pricing if the curriculum owner’s class size is not 12 as indicated in Exhibit A? For example, if a curriculum owner has determined it’s maximum class size is 30, should we propose based on a class size of 12 (which would require the Government to issue an order for 3 units of the class to meet the 30 students) or propose based on a class size of 30?

A.15) The intent of the class sizes listed in Exhibit A is to maintain a consistent student-to-instructor ratio.

Multiple units of a class may be ordered if the class size is larger than the amounts prescribed under Exhibit

A. Contractors should price these courses accordingly.

Q.16) For Level III classes, are we to assume that the classes will be required and taught at the Marine

Corps Installations or at the curriculum owner’s location(s)?

A.16) Per the PWS, the traffic safety training shall be provided at the installations listed in Section 4.0 (Place of

Performance).

Q.17) For Level III classes where there are multiple options for the same course (duration for example), are we to propose pricing based on the shortest course duration or some other basis?

A.17) As this is a competitive procurement, Contractors should price these courses accordingly.

Q.18) In the Instructions to Offerors Addendum, Factor 4 Price, Section 2.0, states “the CLINS for training courses shall not include the cost of travel.” However, PWS Section 5.8.3 Level III Availability, states “Level III curricula may involve mobilization/demobilization costs, travel or other costs due to its more limited availability or regional concentration.” For these courses where the curricula requires travel by a subcontractor, are offerors to include the total cost for the subcontracted course

(including applicable subcontractor travel) in the CLIN pricing for that course?

A.18) Travel costs for all courses must be priced separately. The transportation costs for a course that requires additional equipment must be included in the rate for that respective course. Per Section 9.0, the

Contractor shall be reimbursed for the reasonable actual cost of transportation, lodging, meals and incidental expenses. Actual cost does not include handling charges, general and administrative cost, overhead, profit or any other indirect cost. Per Section 9.0 of the RFP, all travel shall be coordinated and approved by the COR prior to incurring any travel expense. Travel authorized by the COR shall be included on Task Orders issued by the Contracting Officer

Q.19) For Volume III (Price and Solicitation Documents), is a price narrative required to support the pricing proposed on Attachment B?

A.19) A price narrative is not required; however, the information included in Volume III (Price and Solicitation

Documents) must support the level of resources required to complete the requirements of this solicitation.

In addition, the Offeror shall provide sufficient price information to allow for a reasonable price determination per FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Addendum, under the solicitation.

Q.20) For Volume III, is Attachment B only required to be submitted in Microsoft Excel format and not included in the written volume?

A.20) Correct. For clarification, Volume III consists of both the price and solicitation documents. The pricing template (Attachment B) shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel format while the solicitation documentation may be provided in Microsoft Word and/or Adobe format. Please refer to FAR 52.212-1, Instruction to

Offerors – Addendum, for more details.

Q.21) For price reasonableness, will the Government be evaluating the proposed instructor salaries to ensure they are compliant with the SCA?

A.21) The SCA of 1965 does not apply to this requirement. Please see A.14 above for more detail.

Q.22) The National Safety Council is only offering the USMC version of the Alive @ 25 course materials for the duration-of-contract quantities, which includes all option years and requires a substantial initial cost. Would USMC consider purchasing those materials directly from the curriculum owner or offering to buy-back unused quantities from the contractor in the event that any of the option years are not exercised?

A.22) Currently, the USMC does not intend to purchase materials directly from the curriculum owner and will not offer to buy-back any unused quantities.

Q.23) Is the USMC version of the National Safety Council course guide required or is the off-the-shelf course guide acceptable?

A.23) Off-the-shelf course guide is acceptable.

Q.24) Is the Quantity (qty) column in Attachment B, Pricing Template for the Base Year and all Option

Years the quantity of classes or the quantity of students that will attend classes?

A.24) The quantity column in Pricing Template (Attachment B) represents the quantity of classes.

Q.25) When proposing the pricing for Level III courses that only offer their training on a specified track at a location other than the Marine Corps Installation, will the Marine Corps arrange for travel of the students and their motorcycles?

A.25) Training at an off-site location will only be approved on a case-by-case basis and the Marine Corps will arrange transportation and travel expenses for the students.

Q.26) On some Level III courses, there are requirements for special apparel and/or equipment. Should the rental of that apparel and/or equipment be included in the price of the course or does the student pay for those themselves?

A.26) If the Level III provider requires special apparel and/or equipment, this should be reflected in the price estimate.

Q.27) Some driving courses are priced based on the number of students that attend; however, not all curriculum providers specify the maximum number of students. In those cases, how many students should we price per class?

A.27) The intent of the class sizes listed in Exhibit A is to maintain a consistent student-to-instructor ratio.

Multiple units of a class may be ordered if the class size is larger than the amounts prescribed under Exhibit

A. Contractors should price these courses accordingly.

Q.28) Under Paragraph 5.8.4, it states the Government may seek to add or delete specific traffic safety training curricula or modify the locations where specific curricula is to be provided under the provisions of the Changes Clause of the Contract. What does the Change Clause say regarding this paragraph?

A.28) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items, para. (c) pertains to changes. This clause states that changes in the terms and conditions of this contract may be made only by written agreement of the parties.

Q.29) Under Paragraph 5.9.4, it states the Contractor shall immediately report any discrepancies between the roster provided and the students present for the course to the COR or a regional representative designated by the COR to include:

a. Names of students on roster that are not present

b. Names of students present that are not on the roster

c. Whether the numbers present are or are not within the limits per the Course under the Task

Order

d. Whether the number of students present is or are not within the limits established by the curriculum owner.

e. Whether sufficient training motorcycles are available for the class

How does the contractor report these since the Instructor will be on the range for the course delivery?

A.29) This paragraph has been modified via Amendment 0001. All discrepancies must be reported no later than the end of the class.

Q.30) Under Volume III, FAR 52.212-2, Paragraph 1.3, it states that the Government will consider the company itself, predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience and subcontractors who will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement. What is meant by the evaluation of predecessor companies?

A.30) Predecessor Companies may include a company that operated under another business name or had its business transferred to it by another entity.

Q.31) Should a curriculum provider not respond with their pricing for an offeor’s proposal or can an offeror submit a proposal without a price for a specific course? Can the price be modified after contract award when a Curriculum provider realizes that their course may be asked for by the

Marine Corps?

A.31) Per FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Addendum, it is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that their proposal is received by the date and time listed on the SF1449. Failure to conform to any of the requirements of the solicitation may form the basis for rejection of the proposal. All modifications under the resulting contract will be executed in accordance with the Changes Clause of the Contract.

Q.32) We would like to request that the RFP due date be extended by a week to allow for all curriculum providers to provide their pricing response.

A.32) The RFP due date has been extended to 23 January 2017. Additional requests may be considered.

Q.33) Does the USMC use ESAMS as their scheduling tool?

A.33) Most Marine Corps Installations under this requirement employ ESAMS, which will be used for registration. The registration process for installations that do not employ ESAMS will follow the procedures in Section 5.9.