Attachment_2_QASP_CSP.docx

Enclosure (3)

Enclosure (3)

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan / Contract Surveillance Plan for the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Services

1. Purpose

This contract requirement consists of both Level of Effort (LOE) and non-LOE tasks; therefore, a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) and a Contract Surveillance Plan (CSP) are required. The LOE tasks for integration, production engineering and technical support are non-performance based; which requires a CSP, whereas, the non-LOE tasks for production utilizes the QASP.

A Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is a Government developed document used to ensure that systematic quality assurance methods are used in the administration of performance-based service contracts. The intent is to ensure that the contractor performs in accordance with the performance metrics and that the Government receives the quality of service called for in the contract.

A Contract Surveillance Plan (CSP) is a Government developed and applied document used to make sure the systematic quality assurance assessment methods are used in the administration of the PWS. The intent is to ensure that the Government receives the quality of services and products for tasks identified in the PWS.

This requirement is for SOF systems and subsystems integration support services and incidental materials to support NAWCAD Patuxent River, Special Communications Mission Solutions (SCMS), AD-4.11.4, St. Inigoes, MD. The contractor shall provide research, development, testing, prototyping, integration, verification, installation, modification, operations support, independent verification/validation, and combat evaluation/validation support of SOF C5ISR systems and subsystems. A properly executed QASP will assist the Government in achieving the objectives of this procurement.

2. Authority

Authority for issuance of this combined QASP/CSP is provided under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 46.4 – Government Contract Quality Assurance, which requires quality assurance, inspection and acceptance of the services and the associated documentation called for in service contracts, to be executed by the Contracting Officer or a duly authorized Government representative.

3. Scope

To fully understand the roles and responsibilities of the parties, it is important to first define the distinction in terminology between Quality Control Plan and the QASP (Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan)/CSP (Contract Surveillance Plan). The contractor, and not the Government, is responsible for the Quality Control Plan, which defines the management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth by the contract. The QASP and/or CSP, on the other hand, is put in place to provide Government surveillance oversight of the contractor’s efforts to assure that they are timely and effective and are delivering the results specified in the contract.

4. Government Resources

The following definitions for Government resources are applicable to this plan:

Contracting Officer - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter into (Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO)) or administer (Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO)) contracts/task orders and make related determination and findings on behalf of the Government. The PCO for this contract is Mr. Thomas Conrow, AD-2.5.1.2. The ACO will be designated in the resulting contract. Contracting Officers are designated via a written warrant, which sets forth limitations of authority.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An individual appointed in writing by the PCO to act as their authorized representative to assist in administering the contract. The COR will be appointed in the resulting contract. The limitations of authority are contained in a written letter of appointment.

Alternate Contracting Officer’s Representative (ACOR) - An individual appointed in writing by the PCO to act as their authorized representative, in the absence of the COR, to assist in administering the contract. The ACOR will be appointed in the resulting contract. The limitations of authority are contained in a written letter of appointment.

Government Project Leads - The Government Project Lead is identified in the Task Designation Letter to assist in administering specific tasks under the contract.

5. Responsibilities

The following Government resources shall have responsibility for the implementation of this combined QASP/CSP:

Contracting Officer – The Contracting Officer ensures performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensures compliance with the terms of the contract and safeguards the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. It is the Contracting Officer that assures the contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under the contract. The Contracting Officer is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the contractor’s performance Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – The COR is responsible for technical administration of the contract and assures proper Government surveillance of the contractor’s performance. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the contractor deems may affect contract price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

Alternate Contracting Officer’s Representative (ACOR) – The ACOR is responsible for technical administration of the contract and assures proper Government surveillance of the contractor’s performance in the absence of the COR. The ACOR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the contractor deems may affect contract price, terms or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

Government Project Leads – The Government Project Lead is responsible for assisting in administering specific efforts under the contract. A Government Project lead cannot, in any manner, alter the scope of the contract, make commitments, or authorize any changes on the Government’s behalf.

6. Methods of QA Surveillance

Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) – The Government will perform an evaluation using the CPARS format 1 month prior to the end of each period of performance. Each period of performance will be defined as the annual anniversary of the date on which the contract was awarded for purposes of CPARS evaluation for this contract. The Government will address the quality of product or service, schedule, cost control, business relations, management, utilization of small business, and other important areas. This evaluation will be one determinant in performance of each sequential option. The marketplace for integration, design and technical support services is very competitive; as such, the successful offeror has a vested interest in the Government generated CPARS under this contract. As this information may affect future source selections throughout DoD, the annual Government assessment will be used appropriately as an additional performance oversight and communication tool.

QASP - The below listed methods of surveillance (Enclosures 1 and 2) shall be used by the COR and the Government Project Leads in the technical administration of this QASP. In addition to the below instructions, the form to be used for documentation of quality assurance surveillance is the Surveillance Activity Checklist (Enclosure 3) provided herein.

SAC – The Surveillance Activity Checklist (Enclosure 3) below lists the methods of surveillance that will be used by the COR in the technical administration of PWS tasking performed by the contractor.

Observation, Feedback, and Review – Unscheduled observation of products and services provided by the contractor on site and recurring review of contractor submitted reports and documentation identified in the CDRLs will be performed by the COR and ACOR. Feedback from SCR customers will be collected and used by the COR or ACOR to document surveillance of technical performance.

7. Surveillance Enclosures (1) and (2) set forth the performance standards, incentives, and surveillance methods for the contractor and COR for the completion tasks while Enclosure (3) provides the checklist and means for the COR to document on a quarterly basis the results of the surveillance of both the completion tasks and term (LOE) tasks and shall be provided to the Contracting Officer on a quarterly basis.

8. Documentation

In addition to providing quarterly reports to the Contracting Officer, the COR will maintain a complete Quality Assurance file within the CORT system. The file will contain copies of all reports, evaluations, recommendations, and any actions related to the Government’s performance of the quality assurance function, including the originals of the Quality Assurance Checklists. All such records will be maintained for the life of the contract. The COR shall forward these records to the Contracting Officer at termination or completion of the contract.

9. Enclosures

Enclosure (1) – Performance Standards (For completion tasking only) Enclosure (2) – Incentives (For completion tasking only) Enclosure (3) - Surveillance Activity Checklist (For both completion and term (LOE) tasking)

N00421-17-R-0003 Attachment 2 N00421-17-R-0003

PERFORMANCE-BASED QUALITY STANDARDS

Required Service (Performance Requirements)

Standard (Performance Standards)/ Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) Method of Surveillance (Quality Assurance) Incentives

DATA PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Description

Standard

AQL

Surveillance/ Method/Measure Incentives

Enclosure (1) Enclosure (1)

INCENTIVES

The following incentives shall apply to performance under this contract.

Incentives

Annually; one (1) month prior to the end of each period of performance. Each period of performance is defined as the annual anniversary of the date on which the contract was awarded for purposes of CPARS evaluation.

All measurement areas rate at least “Satisfactory” or above. Two or more areas are rated as “Very Good” or above.

Annual evaluation using the CPARS format covering the previous 12 months.

(+) Meet the acceptable performance definition as a condition for satisfactory or better CPARS rating.

(-) Does not meet the acceptable performance definition as a condition for exercising the next option and will result in a marginal or unsatisfactory CPARS rating.

All PWS/CDRL tasks, including PWS/CDRL sub-tasks, will be assessed focusing on the following:

Quality of Product or Service – Assess the contractor’s effort to transform operational needs and requirements into an integrated solution. Areas of focus may include the planning and management of program efforts, the quality of support provided throughout all phases of contract execution, the integration of program management specialties, management of interfaces, and the management of a totally integrated effort of all program management concerns to meet cost, performance, and schedule objectives. Assess how successfully the contractor meets program quality.

Schedule – Assess the contractor’s adherence to the required delivery schedule by assessing the contractor’s efforts during the assessment period that contribute to or effect the schedule variance. Also address significance of scheduled events (i.e., design reviews), discuss causes, and assess the effectiveness of contractor corrective actions.

Cost Control – Assess the contractor’s effectiveness in forecasting, managing, and controlling contract cost. Is the contractor experiencing cost growth or underrun? If so, discuss the causes and contractor-proposed solutions for the cost overruns. For contracts where task or contract sizing is based upon contractor provided person-hour estimates, the relationship of these estimates to ultimate cost should be assessed. In addition, the extent to which the contractor demonstrates a sense of cost responsibility, through the efficient use of resources in each work effort should be assessed.

Business Relations – Assess the timelines, completeness and quality of problem identification, corrective action plans, proposal submittals, the contractor’s reasonable and cooperative behavior, effective business relations, and customer satisfaction.

Management – Assess the contractor’s success with timely award and management of subcontracts, including whether the contractor met small/small disadvantage and women-owned business participation goals. Discuss the extent to which the contractor discharges its responsibility for integration and coordination of all activity needed to execute the contract; identifies and applies resources required to meet schedule requirements; assigns responsibility for tasks/actions required by contract; communicates appropriate information to affected program elements in a timely manner. Assess the contractor’s risk mitigation plans. If applicable, identify any other management areas that are unique to the contract.

Utilization of Small Business – Assess the contractor’s success in utilizing and meeting small business goals/concerns.

Other areas – Assess additional evaluation areas unique to the contract, or that cannot be captured elsewhere.

The evaluation ratings are as follows:

Performance Based Evaluation: The Government will evaluate contractor performance based on their ability to complete work specified in the scope and PWS paragraphs 3.1 through 3.6. The contractor shall be evaluated using the following ratings:

Exceptional Performance: Contractor’s performance of virtually all contract requirements consistently exceeds the acceptable standards and in addition provides numerous significant, tangible or intangible, benefits to the Government (e.g., improved quality, responsiveness, increased timeliness, or generally enhanced effectiveness of operations). The few areas for improvement are all minor. There are no recurring problems. Contractor’s management initiates effective corrective action whenever needed.

Very Good Performance: Contractor’s performance of most contract requirements is consistently above acceptable standards and provides significant tangible and intangible benefits to the Government (e.g., improved quality, responsiveness, increased timeliness, or generally enhanced effectiveness of operations). Although some areas require improvement, these areas are minor and are offset by better performance in other areas. Few, if any, recurring problems have been noted, and the contractor takes satisfactory corrective action.

Satisfactory Performance: Contractor’s performance of most contract requirements meets the acceptable standards with some tangible or intangible benefits to the Government (e.g., improved quality, responsiveness, increased timeliness, or generally enhanced effectiveness of operations). Although there are some areas of very good or excellent performance, these are more or less offset by unsatisfactory performance in other areas.

Marginal: Performance does not meet contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the task and sub-task being assessed reflect a serious problem for which the contractor has not yet identified corrective actions. The contractor’s proposed actions appear only marginally effective or were not fully implemented.

Unsatisfactory Performance: Contractor’s performance of most contract requirements is inconsistent and frequently does not always meet acceptable standards. Quality, responsiveness, and timeliness in many areas require attention and action. Corrective actions have not been taken or are ineffective.

Enclosure (2) Enclosure (2)

SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITY CHECKLIST

Quarterly Surveillance:

The COR will perform a quarterly assessment of Quality, Schedule, Cost Control, Business Relations, Management, Utilization of Small Business, and Other Areas as applicable utilizing the CPARS evaluation rating definitions listed in Enclosure 2.

Contract Requirements in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Measure

Quarterly Summary of Ratings For:

Contract requirements in accordance with the Performance Work Statement/Statement of Work.

Checklist Completed By: ____________________________

Date Completed: ____________________________

Contract Requirements in accordance with Contract Data Requirements List’s (CDRL’s) Form DD-1423

Description

Standard

AQL

Surveillance/ Method/Measure Incentives

Quarterly Summary of Ratings For:

Contract Requirements in accordance with Contract Data Requirements List’s (CDRL’s) Form DD-1423.

Checklist Completed By: ____________________________

Date Completed: ____________________________

Annual Surveillance:

The COR will perform an annual assessment of overall contract performance utilizing the CPARS evaluation rating definitions listed in Enclosure 2. This annual assessment will occur at the midpoint of each year following the award of the contract and cover the previous 12 months, except for the first year of the contract which cover only the previous 6 months.

Measure

Schedule Review of Quarterly Ratings.

Cost Control Review of Quarterly Ratings.

Business Relations Review of Quarterly Ratings.

Management Review of Quarterly Ratings.

Other Areas Review of Quarterly Ratings.

Annual Surveillance Completed By: ____________________________

Date Completed: ____________________________