CEMAT Q and A - 27AUG20.pdf

N00024-19-R-4304 CEMAT/SEMAT 27 AUG 2020

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1 Sec. B, Sec. L

p. 2 of 153 Section B and p. 139 of 153

Section L

Section B includes the total contract amounts for material and ODC which reconcile to the table provided on p. 139 of the proposal instructions. There are no instructions on how to present these material and ODC amounts in the Attachment L‐3, Cost_Proposal_Format_CMAT template. Would the Government please provide instructions for contractors to include the pricing of these amounts in the proposal?

RFP Section B provides the Material estimated ceiling in support of CLIN 0002 and the estimated ceiling for ODCs in CLIN 0003. The government also provided in Sec. L Table 18 ‐ Material and ODC Cost Estimates by Ordering Period. The Offeror shall use this data to propose pricing and additional details (if so desired). The Government provided Sec. B Notes, Sec. L Instructions, and Attachment L‐3 Cost Proposal Format template. The Government will not provide additional instructions. Offerors shall demonstrate that all RFP requirements are accounted for, with proper application of rates/fee/profit (as applicable) that will add up to a total evaluated cost/price.

2 Sec. B, Sec. L

p. 2 of 153 Section B and p. 139 of 153

Section L

Section B includes the total contract amounts for material and ODC which reconcile to the table provided on p. 139 of the proposal instructions. There are no instructions on how to present these material and ODC amounts in the Attachment L‐3, Cost_Proposal_Format_CMAT template. Will the Government please confirm these amounts assumed to be inclusive of applicable burdens as stated in Section B?

See answer to Question #1 above. Offerors shall populate what is requested in Sec. B, while ensuring that Sec. B and what Offerors are presenting in template L‐3 are in sync for indirect costs (rows 40 thru 46).

3 Sec. B, Sec. F

p. 7 of 153 Section B, Note A and p. 44 of 153 Section F, and p 45 of 153 Section

F

The period of performance is stated as date of award for 12 months plus four 12 month option periods.

Would the Government confirm the start date for consistency in pricing will be Feb 1, 2021 so that all offerors use the same basis as period of performance in calculating the estimated price within Attachment L‐3, Cost_Proposal_Format_CEMAT?

Per RFP clause F‐211‐H021 Delivery or Performance, "For proposal purposes the estimated date of task order award is 01 FEB 2021. The Government reserves the right to award sooner or later if necessary. The start and end dates below will be updated accordingly upon task order award."

Attachment L‐3, Cost_Proposal_Format_CEMAT Template

Tabs: ODC Material‐Supplies, ODC Equipment, ODC Travel, Misc ODC

Details

The tabs in Attachment L‐3 appear to request completion of cells and information that is not provided in the solicitation ODC sections. Would the Government please confirm Offerors should use the not to exceed values provided in Section B instead of populating the tabs?

Per L‐3 Instructions, "the Offeror shall indicate "Not applicable" or "0" in columns if there is no information to include ." The Offerors shall populate each tab in L‐3 with details as applicable to their proposal. Per Sec. B, the NTE values for CLINs 0002 and 0003 are provided. Additional data regarding material/ODC are provided in Sec. L which states, "this estimate will be considered in evaluation proposals." See answers to Questions #1 and #2.

5 Sec. B p. 7 of 153 Section B, Note B

Would the Government please confirm that the composite rates by contract year in this table should reflect total burdened labor dollars through fee divided by total hours for the period?

Yes, confirmed.

6 Sec. B, Sec. L

p. 8 of 153 Section B, Note C, Table 3, p.

8 and 9, of 153 Section B, Note D, Table

4, Section 4.4.2 5), p. 137 of 153

There are numerous references to fixed indirect burdens and profit applicable to all orders for the duration of the contract, specifically related to CLIN 0001 (CPFF and FFP labor), CLIN 0002 (Materials), and CLIN 0003 (ODCs, no fee/profit). Considering that most Cost‐Plus‐Fixed‐Fee type contracts are based on Offeror's direct and indirect rate structures in effect at the time of proposal or subsequent task order proposal on this basis, would the Government please clarify the applicability of fixed indirect burdens and profit to cost‐ type task orders?

CLIN 0001 is CPFF with fixed fee, not FFP Labor. CLIN 0002 is CPFF (fixed‐fee) & FFP (profit). CLIN 0003 is COST Only (with burdens, no fee). Offerors should refer to Sec. B guidance. See also Note B. During execution, the Contractor shall bill actual costs under CLIN 0001. See also answer to question #5 above. Indirect rates are requested per Note C and Note D.

7 Sec. B

p. 9 of 153 Section B B‐232‐H006

LIMITATION OF COST OR LIMITATION OF

FUNDS CLARIFICATION (NAVSEA) (OCT

2018) Note F, and

p. 10 of 153 Table 6

In Note F (Page 9) the Government states “…of the total dollars the Government plans to obligate each contract year under this contract, the Contractor shall intend to award 30% or more to first‐tier, small businesses.” However, in the footer of Table 6 (Page 10) the Government states that the “Base for measurement is total subcontract dollars, SBSIF may be earned for meeting these goals.”

Will the Government please confirm the 30% Small Business Goals is based on total subcontracted dollars and will adjust Note F on Page 9?

On page 9 in Note F of Section B, the Government has stated: "Therefore, of the total dollars the Government plans to obligate each contract year under this contract, the Contractor shall intend to award 30% or more to first‐tier, small businesses." On page 10 in Note F of Section B, the Government additionally clarified: "The Government desires at least a thirty (30%) overall small business participation goal to be set by the Offeror, inclusive of the congressionally mandated five (5%) minimum for Small Disadvantaged Business concerns." The SBSIF is a separate discussion. Pg. 10 lines out "the Contractor shall submit to the COR and ACO of each delivery order, a Subcontracting Program Performance Report that includes the information required for the Government to determine the amount of SBSIF earned. At a minimum, the Contractor’s Report shall include the total amount obligated against target cost for the applicable CLIN, the total labor hours worked during the evaluation period by CLIN, and any other data required for the Government to evaluate the Contractor’s Small Business Subcontracting performance." Table 6 further points out the the "Base for measurement is total subcontract dollars, SBSIF may be earned for meeting these goals."

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8 Sec. C p.17 Section C, Par 1.6 Requirements

Deliverables

Par 1.6 states V‐09 Configuration File which is no longer used. Would the Government please confirm they will accept configuration file updates via Configuration Data Managers Database ‐ Open Architecture (CDMD‐OA) Work Files?

Yes. See Amendment 0003.

9 Sec. C

p. 28 of 153 Section C 5.8, and p. 137 ‐ 139 of 153 Section L 4.4.2 Labor Mix

Discussion

C5.8 states "Contractor shall be required to provide support on weekends and evenings" and describes the requirements for Overtime authorization. However, the Government's estimate of labor hours in L4.4.2 does not separate out hours for Overtime. Will the Government clarify what hours should be used for Overtime?

No. Offerors shall propose OT (as needed and if applicable to their basis of estimate). See 5.8 of Sec. C regarding OT. See answer to Question #19.

10 Sec. L, Sec. M

p. 117 of 153, Section L Volume

Description Table; p 124 of 153 Section L and p. 147 of 153 Section M

There appear to be discrepancies between Table 12, Section L and Section M. Will the Government please clarify which section(s) of the RFP Offerors are to use as the proposal outline of all volumes, technical and cost, in order to maintain compliance?

Specific discrepancies must be identified. The Government has spent substantial time and effort into providing Table 12 (pg 117) as guidance to the Offerors. The Government clarifies that Vol I (SF33 Solicitation Set), Vol II (Technical Capability), Vol III (Past Performance) and Vol IV (Cost/Price Volume) are requested. P. 124 only pertains to Vol II (specifically Factor 1 Management Approach). Please identify specific issues with p. 147. There are 5 Factors (3 factors are in Vol II, 1 in Vol III and 1 in Vol IV) that Offerors will be evaluated against.

11 Sec. L

p. 119 of 153, Section L2.0 Physical

Format

Will the Government confirm that a total of 10 foldouts are allowed and each foldout counts as 2 pages toward the total page count?

As stated in the RFP, "For Volume II, 1 foldout page counts as one page against the maximum foldout limitation of 10 and counts against the page limitation stated in the table."

12 Sec. L

p. 124 of 153 Section L Management

Approach Instructions and p. 137 of 153 Section L, Labor Mix Discussion

On p. 124 the RFP states "The Program Manager (PM) is preferred to be one (1) individual on each coast."

In Table 17A Labor Mix, the Government's estimate of labor hours for Program Manager (Contractor Site) appears to include 228 additional PM Contractor site hours (using a 1920 FTE manyear). Table 17A also provides 360 hours for a Program Manager on Government Site. Will the Government clarify the requirement for additional Program Managers including 1 on Contractor Site (at 228 hours) and/or 1 on Government Site (at 360 hours)?

Table 17A is a Government estimated LOE. The Government recommends the Offeror review Tables 14A, 14B Work Percentage by Location of the RFP and propose appropriately. There is no requirement for additional program managers other than the 2 key personnel specified. See answer to question #15 below. The PM may spread his time at either Contractor site or Government site as necessary.

13 Sec. L

p. 124 of 153 Section L Management Approach Instructions, p. 129 of 153 Table 15 and p. 137 of 153 Section L, Labor Mix Discussion

On p. 124 the RFP states "The Program Manager (PM) is preferred to be one (1) individual on each coast."

Table 15‐ Key Personnel Requirements on p. 129 of the RFP lists the number of Program Managers as 2. In Table 17A Labor Mix, the Government's estimate of labor hours for Program Manager (Contractor Site) appears to include 228 additional PM Contractor site hours (using a 1920 FTE manyear). Table 17A also provides 360 hours for a Program Manager on Government Site. Will the Government confirm the additional 588 hours for the Program Manager LCAT are considered to be Non‐Key?

See above response. As stated in the RFP, Key Personnel identified in Attachment J‐23 are a part of this IDIQ contract. Offeror shall review the RFP and propose key personnel based off the labor mix provided.

14 Sec. L

p. 125 of 153, L4.2 Management

Approach, Numbered Requirement 9.

Section L requires offerors to "Discuss the data deliverable requirements of the contract including execution planning, availabilty progress reports, and project completion reports to the Government";

however, there are no data deliverable requirements specified in the RFP for availability progress reports or project completion reports. Will the Government modify the requirement to remove availability progress reports and project completion report?

See RFP Exhibit A‐ Contract Data Requirements List. No change to RFP. Offerors are requested to discuss their management approach in meeting deliverables due to the Government. The progress/completion report may be identified in the individual orders per A012, A013, and A016 CDRL requirements. No change/removal of requirement Item 9.

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15 Sec. L

p. 130 of 153, Section L Key Personnel

Descriptions

In section L, the minimum qualifications for the Program Manager are identical to that in the previously released draft SOW, and include specific requirements for the Surface Ship Program Manager. In this RFP, the Government has consolidated the requirement for a Surface Ship Program Manager and a West Coast Carriers Program Manager into a single position. Since the position is no longer platform‐specific, will the Government please clarify that the qualification requirements are not platform‐specific?

The Government did not consolidate the requirement for Program Managers. Requirements are platform specific. Offerors shall provide 1) A candidate qualified for Surface Ship requirements, and 2) A candidate who meets Carrier specific requirements.

16 Sec. L

p. 132 of 153, Section L Resource

Capabilities Instructions and 137 of 153 Section L Labor Mix Discussion

Page 132, numbered paragraph 5, requires Offerors to "Provide additional details on a staffing plan to support the anticipated growth projected for each availability and fiscal year." However, the Government's level of effort estimate in Table 17A indicates no projection for growth‐‐the hours for each labor category are the same for each contract year. Will the Government please clarify that this requirement is not applicable?

In Factor 3 ‐ Resource Capabilities, Item 5, the Government is requesting that Offerors provide additional details on how they will support any "unanticipated work" and management of resources.

Unanticipated work will be addressed at the individual delivery order level (if applicable). Factor 1 now references "unanticipated work" instead of "growth". See AMEND 0003.

17 Sec. L

p. 133 of 153, Section L: Volume II, Section 3.0 Resource Capabilities

Section L: Volume II, Section 3.0‐ Resource Capabilities‐ Staffing Plan (without cost) states, “The high level guidance for the Staffing Plan (without cost) is provided as an attachment in Section J.” There is no Staffing Plan (without cost) attachment provided in the RFP documents nor listed in Section J of the RFP. Would the Government please provide the referenced attachment?

Previously answered. See AMEND 0002.

18 Sec. L

p. 133 of 153, Section L: Volume II, Section 3.0 Resource Capabilities

Section L: Volume II, Section 3.0‐ Resource Capabilities‐ Staffing Plan (without cost) states, “ The Staffing Plan shall be uploaded as a separate file and include all of the information requested using the provided template.” Based on the size of the staffing plan needing to include over 500 FTEs and provided as a separate excel workbook file, would the Government exclude the Staffing Plan (without cost) workbook from the 20 page count limit of 3.1?

Yes. See AMEND 0003.

19 Sec. L p. 137 of 153, Section L 4.4.2, Table 17A

Would the Government please define full‐time equivalent hours to be used in developing the required staffing plan and pricing workbooks?

No, the Government is not required to advise Offerors in defining what is a FTE regarding hours to be utilized in developing their staffing plans and pricing data. This is a Level of Effort (LOE) contract. A conservative Government estimate was provided to all Offerors to include OT. Offerors shall notate the hours utilized to calculate the basis of estimate in the assumption section of proposal submissions.

20 Sec. L

p. 137 of 153 Section L Labor Mix

Discussion and Attach J‐23

Attachment J‐23 indicates there is a requirement for 5 Project Managers. The hours in the Government's LOE estimate in Table 17A on p. 137 indicates a requirement for 4.4 Project Manager FTE (using a 1920 hour FTE Manyear) on Contractor site and 0.7 Project Manager FTE on Government Site. Will the Government confirm that it requires a part‐time Project Manager on Government Site in addition to 4.4 Contractor Site FTE, for a minimum of 6 individuals?

5 Key Personnel are required for the Project Manager Support. The Offeror will decide how to propose to Contractor vice Government site locations, per the RFP.

21 Sec. L

p. 137 of 153 Section L Labor Mix

Discussion and Attach J‐23

Attachment J‐23 indicates there is a requirement for 62 Production Managers. The hours in the Government's LOE estimate in Table 17A on p. 137 indicates a requirement for 3.0 Production Manager FTEs (using a 1920 hour FTE Manyear) on Contractor site and 64.5 Production Manager FTEs on Government Site. Will the Government clarify the number of Full‐Time and Part‐Time Production Managers Offerors shall include in the proposal submission?

Offerors shall review Table 17A and propose their overall allocation of labor hours in accordance with the Government estimated LOE. 62 production managers are requested per Att J‐23.

22 Sec. L

p. 137 of 153 Section L Labor Mix

Discussion

Table 17A, Labor Mix, on p. 137 indicates a requirement for 3.0 Production Manager FTEs (using a 1920 hour FTE Manyear) on Contractor site. Will the Government clarify the work locations of the Contractor site Production Managers?

Offerors shall review Table 14A and 14B of the RFP on page 124.

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23 Sec. L p. 137 of 153, Section L 4.4.2 1

Historical labor rates by the Government's labor categories in this RFP are not typically tracked other than potentially by an incumbent contractor. Offeror's are likely to provide labor on the basis of qualified individuals using current payroll data, contingent hire information, averages of employee workforce by functional areas, market salary survey data, etc. In the interest of fair competition and given that offerors are required to provide the basis for direct labor rates proposed, would the Government please consider removing the requirement for 3 years of historical labor rate information reflecting lowest and highest rates charged by Government labor category?

Offerors can provide similar acquisitions to support 3 year minimum.

24 Sec. L p. 138 of 153 Section L CLIN 0001

Section L CLIN 0001 Labor Mix Discussion: The Senior Engineering Technician‐ Mechanical positions does not indicate Contractor or Government site in the title. Would the Government confirm 2,800 hours are located on Contractor site and 139,950 are located on Government site?

Correct.

25 Sec. L Page 118, Para. 1.6, Table 12

On page 118 of the RFP, item 1.6 of Table 12 in 3rd column, says “Limited to a total of 14 resumes. Key resume page count is in addition to this section’s 30 page maximum.” This indicates that there are 14 key personnel resumes. On page 129, Table 15 indicates there are 17 key personnel resumes. Would the Government please clarify?

Previously answered.

26 Sec. L Page 129, Para. 2

On page 129, second paragraph, second sentence says: “A description of the minimum educational and experience levels personnel categories can be found under section 4.3.2.1.” And on page 137, first paragraph, second sentence says: “The government minimum requirements for each key personnel labor category are identified in paragraph 4.3.2.1 of this section, and the minimum requirements for each non‐ key labor category are as noted below.” There is no paragraph labeled “4.3.2.1” in the RFP. Would the Government please provide this section?

Previously answered.

27 Sec. L Page 129

On page 129, Table 15 requires a total of 10 Production Manager key personnel resumes. In Attachment J‐ 23, there is a “62” in parenthesis beside Production Managers seeming to indicate that 62 Production Manager key personnel resumes may be required. Would the Government revise Table 15 on page 129 to 62 Production Managers to match Attachment J‐23, and to be consistent with the Labor Mix hours provided in Table 17A on page 137?

Previously answered.

28 Sec. L Page 133

On page 133, the first paragraph under Staffing Plan (without cost) section, the second sentence says, “Offerors shall, in vendor format, provide a Staffing Plan (excel file – without burdened rate information), which shall include all proposed labor category personnel (by name – both Prime and Subcontractors) known at the time of proposal submission to support the functional areas specified in the SOW.”

On the same page (page 133), the second paragraph under Staffing Plan (without cost) section, the second sentence says, “All Key Personnel shall be identified. The Staffing Plan shall be uploaded as a separate file and include all of the information requested using the provided template.”

Does the government intend for the Staffing Plan to be in “vendor format” or a “provided template?” If a template is supposed to be provided, request the government to provide the Staffing Plan template.

Previously answered.

29 Sec. L Para. 2.0, Page 118

RFP Section L, 2.0, (page 118) states that all paragraphs shall be numbered, can Key Personnel Resumes be excluded from individual paragraph numbers in the essence of page limitation of 2 pages per resume?

See AMEND 0002.

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30 Sec. L Para. 2.0, Page 118

RFP Section L, 2.0 (page 119) states that diagrams shall have type no smaller than 8‐point size. Likewise, would the Government allow for the font size in tables also be reduced to 8 or 10‐point size as long as they are viewable/distinguishable by the average person with the naked eye?

Yes. The Government will allow.