Answers to Offeror Questions.pdf

QUESTION 1.

Performance Specification – Requirements Features 3.2.5 (page 3) states “The minimum photon energy response range of the instrument shall be 40 kilo-electron volts (keV) to 1.5 Mega-electron volt (MeV).”

However, specific testing requirements specified in Verification Features 4.2.5 states “Minimum photon energy response range testing shall test approximately 80 keV,” one point within the range of 100 keV –

500 keV, and the respective energy ranges for Cobalt-60, Americium-241, and Cesium-137.The instrument will conform to the specification if the responses are ± 20% {±10%} accurate for energies at and above 100 keV and -40% to +20% {10%} accurate for energies below 100 keV.

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Does the government have specific radionuclides / energies to be used to validate performance down to the Minimum photon energy response range of 40 keV referenced in

Section 3.2.5 -”? Or is the 80 keV referenced 4.2.5 the lowest energy to be tested/verified?

ANSWER: At a minimum, approximately 80 keV, as stated in paragraph 4.2.5 of the Item

Specification for the Near Background Survey Meter, shall be tested to validate the requirement. 40 keV may be tested, if desired.

QUESTION 2.

Performance Specification - Requirements Features 3.2.14 (page 3) states the instrument shall include a silent mode to permit operation with no audible signal

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Please confirm whether you require all audio to be silenced, require audio upon exceeding a threshold, or some variation thereof.

ANSWER: All audio shall be silenced in the silent mode.

QUESTION 3.

Performance Specification – Requirements Features 3.2.30 (page 3) - Scaler function features - Gross counting mode Objective is "User-configurable energy/pulse height window counting mode and gross counting mode".

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: How important is this Objective?

ANSWER: Please carefully review Section M 3.1.1 of the RFP and Attachment 6. Offerors are reminded that they are to demonstrate its specific capabilities and approach to perform the tasks in accordance with the SOW and as identified in Attachment 06.

QUESTION 4.

Performance Specification - Requirements Features 3.2.20 (page 4) Scaler Functions - In addition to the rate meter function, the instrument shall also provide a scaler function with the following:

a. User-configurable preset time and preset count modes.

b. Gross counting mode {User-configurable energy/pulse height window counting mode and gross counting mode.}

c. Clear indication of an overflow condition.

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: *What is the government’s specific definition of an overflow condition? We assume overflow means to exceed the count limitation of the instrument.

If overflow is exceeding the count limitation of the instrument, we normally generate and latch an alarm during this condition in our pulse counting instruments but what about instantaneous count events?

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Should we latch an alarm condition if the instrument measures any instantaneous overflow conditions or is a momentary alert sufficient?

If overflow means the same as over-range, we normally generate an alarm during this condition in our rate measurement instruments but what about instantaneous rate events since our rate measurements are non-latching?

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Should we latch and maintain an alarm condition if the instrument measures any instantaneous over-range condition for even 1/16 of a second or is a momentary alert sufficient?

ANSWER: The Government defines an “overflow condition” to mean exceeding the count limitation of the instrument. Use of a momentary alarm condition is sufficient.

QUESTION 5.

Performance Specification –Verification Features 4.2.15 (page 7) states - Accuracy testing shall be performed on at least two points, at approximately 25% and 75%, within the response ranges of 1µR/hr - 10µR/hr, 10 µR/hr - 200 µR/hr, 200 µR/hr-400 µR/hr, 400 µR/hr – 600 µR/hr, 600 µR/hr – 800 µR/hr, 800 µR/hr – 1,000 µR/hr. “All tests shall be performed with the same isotope…”

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Does 4.2.15 apply to a single isotope only over the ranges specified? An example might be Cesium-137. If so, please confirm that no other isotopes are required for this verification feature?

ANSWER: A specific isotope is not required for 4.2.15. Cesium-137 may be used.

QUESTION 6.

Performance Specification – Verification Features 4.2.3 (page 6) states Minimum measurement range testing shall include at least two points on each range of 1µR/hr - 10µR/hr, 10 µR/hr - 200 µR/hr, 200 µR/hr- 400 µR/hr, 400 µR/hr – 600 µR/hr, 600 µR/hr – 800 µR/hr, 800 µR/hr – 1,000 µR/hr. The instrument will conform to the specification if the exposure rate is within ± 30% {±10%} accurate over the minimum measurement range of 1.0-1,000 µR/hr, AND Verification Features 4.2.15 states Accuracy testing shall be performed on at least two points, at approximately 25% and 75%, within the response ranges of 1µR/hr - 10µR/hr, 10 µR/hr - 200 µR/hr, 200 µR/hr-400 µR/hr, 400 µR/hr – 600 µR/hr, 600 µR/hr – 800 µR/hr, 800 µR/hr – 1,000 µR/hr. All tests shall be performed with the same isotope. For the 1µR/hr – 10 µR/hr range, an alternate method, such as an electronic pulse generator, may be used to extrapolate the response of the instrument to radioactive sources. If an alternate method is used, there shall be an overlap range of at least one decade between the alternate test data and the radiological test data to validate the conversion factor. The instrument will conform to the specification if each exposure rate meets the accuracy requirement of Section 3.2.15.

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION: Can 4.2.15 testing and results be used as verification of 4.2.3?

ANSWER: The test data may be used for both 3.2.3 and 3.2.15; however, note there are different validation requirements for 4.2.3 and 4.2.15.

QUESTION 7.

N0016722R0012 - SOW – REQUIREMENTS – 3.2 Testing – 3.2.1 (page 10 of 81) - The Contractor shall deliver production units that are in compliance with the Item Specification for the NBSM

(Applicable Documents, Section 2). The Contractor shall deliver the units in three production lots, where a “lot is defined as the quantity of units delivered at one time”.

QUESTION/CLARIFICATION:

a) If the offeror is willing to take the risk to build all 56 NBSM’s in a single production run, would this be acceptable to the government?

b) If all 56 NBSM’s are allowed to be produced at the same time, would the government allow all required testing be done at that time? If not, would it be acceptable to perform the required testing of the appropriate quantity of NBSM’s at a later date to match the contract specified quantities and delivery dates?

ANSWER: a) No, the Government only intends to procure a quantity of six instruments in the first year of production. b) Not applicable (see Government’s answer to Question 7(a)).

QUESTION 8.

Attachment 06 Section 2.0 Pg. 2. Does the testing require a U.S testing facility? Can testing be completed by the Government? Does the Government have a preferred lab to complete the testing?

ANSWER: A United States testing facility is not required. Some testing will be performed by the

Government; however, the Contractor is still required to perform testing in accordance with the

Statement of Work. The Government does not have a preferred lab for the contractor to complete the testing.

QUESTION 9.

Attachment 06 Section 2.3 Pg. 2 Which category of unit usage in the MIL STD 461G should the unit be tested to: 1. Aircraft (external of safety critical) 2. Aircraft (Internal) 3. All Ships (above deck and exposed below deck) and submarines (external) 4. Ships (Metallic) below deck 5. Ships (non-metallic) below deck 5. Submarine (internal) 6. Submarine (internal) 7. Ground 8. Space

ANSWER: See Attachment 06, Paragraph 3.1.7 of the Item Specification for the Near Background

Survey Meter (Ground).

QUESTION 10.

Attachment 06 Section 4.1.7 Pg. 5 references MIL-STD-416G. Did you mean to reference (MIL-STD)-

461G?

ANSWER: Yes.

QUESTION 11.

Solicitation Section 9 Pg. 01 states that the RFP response is due February 14, 2022 at noon EST. Can we receive a 2 week extension?

ANSWER: After posting to the SAM.Gov website it was discovered that the contract writing system did not correctly generate sections L & M in the final solicitation pdf. Because there are minor differences between these two solicitation sections, please reference the fully conformed copy titled “N0016722R0012 Amendment 2,” located in the Attachments/Links section of the SAM posting. Due to this error, the deadline for responses has been extended from 12:00PM 14 Feb 2022 to 12:00PM 28 Feb 2022.

QUESTION 12.

Solicitation Section 3.4.3.5 & 3.7 Pg. 13 & 14 states that meetings should be hosted at the contractor's facility and be witnessed in-person and remotely. The SOW will be executed in Erlangen Germany. Is the

Navy willing to travel overseas in order to observe the SOW deliverables? Would the Navy prefer to travel to one of our US locations, and participate in the observation remotely?

ANSWER: The Government would prefer to travel to one of the United States locations.

QUESTION 13.

Solicitation Section 3.7.2 Pg. 15. How detailed should the training and the service manual be? Customer will only be able to make minor repairs. After major repairs (like exchange of the PCB), the instrument must be re-calibrated.

ANSWER: Training material details were discussed within the Near Background Survey Meter

Statement of Work paragraph 4.4.1 and DID # DI-PSSS-82354. Technical manual (service manual) details were discussed in TMCR #SNIPP-210067-000.

QUESTION 14.

Solicitation Section L Instruction, Conditions and Notices to Offerors 1.0 Eligibility Pg. 66. If this contract/solicitation is not equal to or in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold of $750,000 (FAR

19.702(a)); will the requirement for a Small Business Subcontracting Plan still be required?

ANSWER: No.

QUESTION 15.

Solicitation Section 2.3 Pg. 68 Proposal Format requires a spreadsheet for pricing. Do you have a pricing template to provide that satisfies the requirement?

ANSWER: There is no pricing template for this solicitation. The cost summaries can be in the offeror’s own format, but must use Microsoft Excel (2010 or compatible).

QUESTION 16.

Exhibits+A+-CDRL+A001-D004 Can we get a detailed description of all the Data Item Numbers to understand what the requirements and deliverables are? Can you spell out the acronyms so that we are aware of the details of the requirements? Are there additional templates or documentation that you can provide for each Data Item Number?

ANSWER: The DID’s can be accessed using https://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsSearch.aspx. Acronyms are spelled out within the Near Background Survey Meter Statement of Work. Data descriptions, templates / data formats are provided within the applicable DID.

QUESTION 17.

Exhibits+A+-CDRL+A001-D004 No. 16, Block 8 CDRL A018 states "The draft for LMI for ICAPS

Database shall be submitted 30 Days prior to the Provisioning Conference." What does LMI and ICAPS stand for and what are the deliverables?

https://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsSearch.aspx

ANSWER: CDRL A018 is the Entry for Logisitics Management Information (LMI) for Interactive

Computer Aided Provisioning System (ICAPS) Database. The deliverable requirements are detailed in DID # DI-MGMT-82106.

QUESTION 18.

Exhibits+A+-CDRL+A001-D004 No. 16, Block 8 CDRL A019 requires the contractor to submit a draft of the GIDEP Report. What does GIDEP stand for, and what are the deliverables?

ANSWER: CDRL A019 is the Government Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP) Alert / Safe

Alert Report. The deliverable requirements are detailed in DID # DI-QCIC-80125B.

QUESTION 19.

CDRLs A003, B001, B002 and C001 are all listed as part of CLIN 0002 in Section B, page 2 of the solicitation. According to Section F, page 26 of the solicitation, CLIN 0002 is due 365 days ADC. The first (Draft) submission of each of these CDRLs is 240 DAC per the DD 1423 form for each. If you add the time for Gov review of the Draft and the time for contactor submittal following Gov review then the

Final submission is due 480 DAC. Since the effort for the subject CDRLs extends past the Base year into the first Option year, how should the cost be handled? Should all of the cost for these CDRLs be included in CLIN 0002 or just the cost for the first submittal? If the latter, where should the cost for addressing

Gov comments and submitting a final revision go?

ANSWER: The cost for the CDRLs should be included in CLIN 0002.

QUESTION 20.

CDRL A008 Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) indicates on form DD 1423 that “The draft ECP shall be delivered 30 days after the CLIN is exercised”. CDRL A008 appears in CLIN 002, 1002 and 2002. It is our experience that ECP’s come up after a released drawing package has been established. In this case

240 DAC per CDRL C001 so we believe for CLIN 002 there is no opportunity to submit an ECP until at least 240 DAC. Also, ECPs tend to come up at times that cannot be anticipated like a test failure or notice of discontinuance of a component. Therefore, hard deadlines for ECPs will be difficult if not impossible to comply with.

ANSWER: CDRL A008 will be updated to state that the draft ECP shall be delivered 30 days after the Contractor is notified of an ECP requirement.

QUESTION 21.

According to Section F, page 26 of the solicitation CLIN 1001 and 2001 are due 60 days AOE. We suggest that 60 days is not adequate time to fabricate, calibrate, lot test and deliver 25 units. We respectfully suggest that CLINs 1001 and 2001 be changed to at least 120 days AOE. Similarly, we suggest that the due date of CDRL A004 Calibration Certificate, as referenced on the DD 1423 and in paragraph 3.3.2 of Section C Statement of Work on page 11 as being 60 days AOE, be changed to 120 days AOE for CLINs 1001 and 2001 should those be extended as requested.

ANSWER: CLINs 1001 and 2001 will be updated to allow delivery of production units 120 days after option exercise. CDRL A004 will be updated to state 120 days after option exercise

QUESTION 22.

CDRL A016 As-Built Configuration Bill of Materials indicates on form DD 1423 block 12 that it is due

120 DAC. The first delivery of units is not due until 240 days ADC per Section F, page 26 of the solicitation for CLIN 0001, so an as-built configuration will not be available 120 DAC. We respectfully suggest that CDRL A016 due date be in line with the due date for CDRL C001 Product Drawings/Models of 240 DAC.

ANSWER: CDRL A016 will be updated to state 240 DAC as the date of first submission in block

12.

QUESTION 23.

We note that according to Section F, page 26 and Section B, page 4 of the solicitation for CLIN 0004 that the Provisioning Conference is due 270 days after contract award. Per Section B page 4 and Section C

Statement of Work page 15 paragraph 3.7.2 “the current equipment shall be disassembled such that the

SM&R codes and maintenance philosophies can be established for each part” during the conference.

Since the six initial units will have been delivered 240 days ADC per CLIN 0001, should the contractor assume that the Gov will supply units as GFP for the Provisioning Conference?

ANSWER: The Government will not provide GFP for the Provisioning Conference.

QUESTION 24.

Paragraph 3.4.2.9 of Section C Statement of Work on page 12 of the solicitation references Technical

Manual Contract Requirements (TMCR) SNIPP-210067-000 and SNIPP-210068-000 for the development of a Technical Manual and Technical Repair Standard respectively. These TMCRs are also referenced in CDRLs B001 and B002. We note that the TMCRs were not provided with the solicitation and they do not appear to be publicly available on the internet. Please provide copies of SNIPP-210067-

000 and SNIPP-210068-000 to facilitate the cost estimation of developing a Technical Manual and

Technical Repair Standard.

ANSWER: A copy of the TMCRs have been added to the solicitation available on SAM.gov.

QUESTION 25.

FAR 52.232-16 Progress Payments appears on page 34 in the table in paragraph G-232-H002 of Section

G of the solicitation. However, FAR 52.232-16 does not appear in Section I Contract Clauses. Please clarify if 52.232-16 Progress Payments applies to this solicitation. If it currently does not, we respectfully request that it be included to mitigate financing concerns related to this program.

ANSWER: 52.232-16 Progress Payments does not apply to this solicitation and will not be included.

QUESTION 26.

Section L paragraph L-215-H004 on page 64 of the solicitation states “(a) The Offeror shall complete the

“Price Group” (Block 17) and “Estimated Total Price” (Block 18) of each data item on the Contract Data

Requirements List (CDRL) of this solicitation…”.

a. In lieu of filling out block 17 and 18 on all 31 CDRLs and submitting those as 31 pdf documents in the

Cost Volume, is it permissible to create a table of CDRLs with a Block 17 and 18 entry for each in the

Cost Summary Excel spreadsheet?

b. For completing Section B pricing for CLIN 0002, would that be a single number representing the sum of all Block 18 prices from all CDRLs?

ANSWER: a) Yes. b) Yes

QUESTION 27.

Section L paragraph 2.3 Proposal Format on page 68 of the solicitation states on the eighth bullet “Prime

/Subcontractor Cost Summaries shall be submitted using Microsoft Excel (2010 or compatible) in the

Cost Summary Format”. We note the term “Cost Summary Format”. We find no guidance on what that format is. Is there any additional guidance on format, or should it be considered contractors format?

ANSWER: Please see answer to Question No. 15 above.

QUESTION 28.

Section L paragraph 4.1.2 Subfactor B on page 72 of the solicitation requires a Small Business

Participation Commitment Document, even for Small Business primes. Is there a standard or desired format for such a plan?

ANSWER: "There is no standard format for a Small Business Participation Commitment

Document (SBPCD). Per Section L 4.1.2 of the solicitation, the SBPCD shall demonstrate a realistic commitment (in terms of percentages of total costs*) to achieving the Small Business Participation goals set forth in the proposal. This commitment can be demonstrated in the offeror’s proposal in the form of a letter of commitment, Joint Ventures, mentor/protégé agreements, or other demonstrations of commitment.

QUESTION 29.

Section L paragraph 1.2 Start Date for Use in Cost/Price Proposal on page 66 of the solicitation states “In order to allow for procurement lead-time and a fair and equal evaluation of all proposals submitted under this competitive procurement, all proposals shall be based on the contract start date stated in Section F”.

We find no such start date in Section F. Please advise as to what start date should be used.

ANSWER: Section L paragraph 1.2 language has been updated in order to clarify an estimated/anticipated contract award date of 15 July 2022

QUESTION 30.

Section L paragraph 4.4 Volume IV on page 76 of the solicitation states in item #2 “Fill-ins for Section B, H and as applicable”. Please clarify whether Section B cost information is required in Volume IV as well as Volume

ANSWER: The fill-ins for Section B cost information shall be included only in Volume III. This is clarified in Section L of the most recent amended solicitation.

QUESTION 31.

Paragraph 3.2.11 on page 3 of the Performance Specification requires the instrument to have the characteristic “ease of decontamination”. The associated verification method in paragraph 4.2.11 on page

7 states “The instrument will conform to the specification if the instrument is constructed to facilitate decontamination (e.g. a smooth, nonporous external surface free from crevices)”. We are concerned about the term “free from crevices” as there are no dimensions or tolerances to make an objective assessment of what a crevice is in this context. All instrument case types will have seams where parts mate together which could be interpreted as crevices. We respectfully suggest that “free from crevices” be removed or further definition of crevice be defined to allow for seams to be present

ANSWER: Paragraphs 3.2.11 and 4.2.11 apply to the instrument itself. Paragraph 5 discusses instrument case requirements. A crevice is defined as a crack or opening on a surface.

QUESTION 32.

ITEM NO 0005 “Configuration Audit”, ITEM NO 1003 “Quarterly Program Review”, and ITEM NO

2003 “Quarterly Program Review” all have the same SUPPLIES/SERVICES Description: “ The

Contractor shall perform the Configuration Audit IAW SOW Section 3.4.3”. So is the Title or the

Description incorrect in ITEM NO’s 1003 and 2003?

ANSWER: The description is incorrect. The correct description will be updated as follows...

”Contractor shall conduct Quarterly Program Reviews (QPRs) IAW SOW Section 3.7.3”