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Contract Section Page No.
| Title/Topic |
| Question |
| Answers |
Block 9
| Due Date |
| The due date, August 20, 2023, is a Sunday. Will the Government allow for a Monday or Tuesday delivery of proposals? |
| The due date will be extended to Friday, August 25th. |
| 2 |
| SF 33 |
| Draft watermark |
| Please remove DRAFT watermark from cover of final RFP SF 33 cover page. |
| Removed. |
| 3 |
| Section B |
| CLIN Options |
| In multiple locations in the solicitation it is stated that there is one base ordering period (12 months) and 4 option years (12 months each). Section B’s CLIN structure does not support this, as the only labor CLIN is CLIN 001, and Section F identifies that CLIN 0001 ends 29 Sept 2024. Industry recommends the Government revise Sections B & F to accommodate for option years. |
| The Government intends to award IDIQ contracts with a five-year ordering period as permitted by DFARS 217.204(e)(1). The CLINs and Section F have been revised to reflect that approach. The Government may include Options on individual task orders. |
| 4 |
| Section B |
| CLIN 0001 |
| Are contactors required to populate pricing data in Section B under Item No. 0001? If yes, should the level of effort defined by C-1.3 be converted from resource days to man-hours and applied to each labor category rate being proposed? |
| Yes; see revised instructions for determining CLIN pricing. Vendors may use man-hours instead of resource days, but must ensure the Level of Effort is identical to SOW C.1.3. |
| 5 |
| Section B |
| CLINs 0002 and 0003 |
| Are contractors required to populate Section B - Travel Cost and CDRL CLINS at the IDIQ level, or will those be defined at the individual task order level? |
| Vendors will price CLIN 0002 at the task order level. |
Vendors shall price CLIN 0003 at the contract level using the instructions at L-215-H004.
Section L, Factor V
CLIN 0002;
Travel Costs
| Please clarify how travel will be applied? The two clauses that are reference are not clear. Will travel and per diem be paid to employees who live in Hampton Roads area but will be working in Kittery, etc? |
| Travel is included in Other Direct Costs (ODCs). Offerors shall not price travel in their proposals; travel will be priced and evaluated at the task order level. |
Section L, Factor V
| Level of Effort |
| Would the Government please update the totals within the level of effort to properly sum all of the resource days? For example, the FY24 column total should be 44,998. Each column appears to not sum the figures listed correctly. |
| The Level of Effort in Section C-1.3 and in Section L have been revised to accurately reflect the amount of man days. |
| 8 |
| Section C 3.5.10 |
| CDRL A008 Time Reports |
| Para 3.5.10 on page 15 says “All time reporting shall start on Sunday and end on Saturday”. The current time reporting for delivery orders executed at PNS per MAC IDIQ N3904018D003 runs Saturday through Friday. Is there any flexibility in this requirement? |
| Yes; vendors’ time reports may use different days, but those days must be clearly identified and used uniformly for all employees. |
Section G
| Security Requirements |
| Security Requirements. In Section c) the listed SOW (Page 16) indicates that all personnel should have final Confidential or higher, in accordance with Att 2 (DD-254). This aligns with the existing PNS Touch Labor IDIQ. However, in the contract administration section G) page 67 indicates that all DD-254s will be provided at the TO level, if applicable. Will the TO-level DD254s require the same final Confidential requirements or is it possible that a TO-level DD254 will have lesser requirements based on the labor category being procured? |
| The security guidance in SOW C-4.0 governs. Clause G-216-H003 Ordering Process for Multiple Award Contracts (NAVSEA)(May 2019) has been removed. |
Section J Disqualifying Items Attachment 23
| Paragraph 4.5 of Section C identifies an Attachment X for disqualifying items for personnel. This attachment was not provided on the solicitation’s posting on SAM. Request a copy of the attachment. |
| Attachment 22 – Entry Regulations has been added. Section C.4.5 has been revised to refer to that Attachment. |
| 11 |
| Section C.5.1.1 |
| CDRL A007 Status Reports |
| Technical Conferences/Review Meetings – Please confirm reference to CDRL A007 “Quarterly Meeting Status” on page 16 is correct. If not, request this reference is updated or removed from section 5.1.1. |
| Reference to CDRL A007 has been updated in the amended RFP. |
| 12 |
| Section C.9.1.2 |
| Key Personnel |
| Paragraph 9.1.2 identifies that the Program Manager, Task Order Manager, and Supervisors are the key personnel. Paragraph 9.1.2.2 lists “Program and Project Manager,” please confirm what key personnel offerors need to propose. |
| Section 9.1.2.2 has been revised and now refers to the Program Manager and Task Order Manager. Vendors must propose a Program Manager, Task Order Manager and an appropriate number of Supervisors as key personnel. |
| 13 |
| Section C.9.1.2 |
| Key Personnel; |
| Will the Government confirm that the last sentence should refer to “Sections 3.2 and 3.5” vice 3.1 and 3.5? |
| The last sentence in SOW 9.1.2 should refer to Sections 3.1 and 3.5. |
| 14 |
| Section C.9.3.5 |
| Marine Painter |
| In Section C, 9.3.5 Marine Painter (Spray), Section 9.3.5.2.k. states, “Each painter shall be certified in accordance with SSPC C-6 and SSPC C-12 or NAVSEA approved equivalent.” Historically, painters at PNS have used brush and roll techniques and not spray. Is it the Government’s intent to now include spray techniques as a painting requirement? |
| If this is in accordance with SSPC C-6 and SSPC C-12, this will be an included technique. |
| 15 |
| Section C 9.3.15.2 |
| Fabric Worker |
| Page 39, paragraph 9.3.15.2.a states that each contractor Fabric Worker shall have at least “three (2) years of experience”. Is it 2 or 3? |
| This should be three (3) years of experience. This is updated in the amended solicitation. |
| 16 |
| Section G |
| Seaport Portal |
| Clause G-216-H003 states that IDIQ holders will see notifications in Seaport. Request clarification if PNS plans on using Seaport as the portal for Task Orders and RFQs during contract execution. |
| Clause G-216-H003 Ordering Process for Multiple Award Contracts (NAVSEA)(May 2019) has been removed.. |
| 17 |
| Section J |
| Attachment 5 - Production Support Rate Spreadsheet |
| The Government provided Attachment 5 listed all labor categories defined by three levels: (1) straight-time, (2) overtime, and (3) Supervisor. However, page 9 of 166 only defines straight-time and overtime by each labor category. Would the Government define how to price the hours associated with the Supervisory labor categories? |
| Hours associated with the Supervisor labor is determined at task order level by the manning requirements. “For evaluation purposes only, the Government will use 10% of the straight time and over time for each trade in SOW Section C.1.3 to identify an adequate level of supervision. Vendors shall identify the 10% figure on Attachment 5 for each supervisor under each trade; round the figure up to the next whole number. ” |
| 18 |
| Section J |
| Attachment 5 - Production Support Rate Spreadsheet |
| Would the Government please confirm that the hours to be populated within Attachment 5 should be calculated by taking the resource days listed on page 9 of 166, applied by 8 hours. For example, Shipfitter (ST) FY24 resource days total 1,948 x 8 hours = 15,584 hours to be proposed within Attachment 5. |
| Yes that is correct. |
| 19 |
| Section J |
| Attachment 5 - Production Support Rate Spreadsheet |
| The Government provided Attachment 5 lists “Management Rate (Identify Job Title).” Are Contractors allows to propose additional labor categories and rates not defined by Section C of the RFP for Program Management roles? If yes, how should those rates be included within Section B. |
| Offerors may not propose addition labor categories at the contract level. Offerors should use the “Management” rows for Key Personnel. |
| 20 |
| Section J |
| Attachment 7 - Past Performance |
| May the Offeror modify Attachment 7, Past Performance Report Form, to include the customer contact information? |
| Yes |
| 21 |
| Clauses |
| 252.234-7002 |
| 252.234-7002 EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DEVIATION 2015-O0017) (SEPT 2015) has been included as a clause in this solicitation. While EVMS techniques have been used for many years in the shipbuilding industry for large construction and repair projects, we believe EVMS may not be beneficial for the management of LOE projects on a Production Support contract in a Naval shipyard. It is also important to note that the purchase of EVMS compliant software and training would present a significant financial burden to small businesses. EVMS has not been shown as an effective tool on contracts that are non-schedule-based, which include: * Those compensated on the basis of “Time and Materials” (T&M) * “Services” contracts * Any contracts composed primarily of Level of Effort (LOE) activity; such as shipyard Production Support contracts * Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) or task order type contracts, within which work is awarded on the basis of delivery orders that may or may not be schedule-based, such as shipyard Production Support contracts. Since PNS Production Support would be considered “non-scheduled-based” (a services based, LOE and ID/IQ task order type contract) it would not have objective work progress and milestones typically measured using EVMS, due to the fact that work cannot be divided into subtasks that produce tangible, measurable product(s). Would the Government consider removing the subject clause from the solicitation. |
Based upon experience in a shipyard production support environment, the Government may wish to consider requiring the contractor to provide weekly reports that incorporate the following reporting components: * Weekly Total and Cumulative Total of hours worked for each labor category by trade * Separated by ST and OT * Comparison of ST and OT hours to actual budgeted hours taken from the manning tables * Projected through a time-series graph * A ST and OT daily hours burn rate
· A projected date that ST and OT hours will be expended
· Weekly total cost and cumulative expended cost separated by labor cost and other direct costs
· Comparison of cumulative expended funds for labor and other direct costs to the authorized amount
· Projected through a time-series graph
· A daily burn rate that projects the amount of funds remaining or needed at the end of the delivery order
· A projected date that we will reach 75% of the authorized funds and a projected date that we will reach 100% of the authorized funds
· An estimated date to send the 75% letter
a. For cost or incentive contracts valued at $20,000,000 or more, this clause must be provided in the solicitation and contract. The Government is determining whether it can waive 252.234-7002.
b. The format / content information will remain the same.
| 22 |
| Clauses |
| 52.215-21 |
| Would the government consider replacing 52.215-21 Alt II with 52.215-21 Alt IV? FAR 15.408 (m) states to use Alt IV if exceptions to certified cost or pricing data are not expected to be required because an exception may apply, but data other than certified cost or pricing data will be required as described in 15.403-3. Given that the current contract has multiple awardees, it is likely that certified cost or pricing data would be exempt based on two or more responsible offerors, competing independently, will submit priced offers that satisfy the government's expressed requirement. |
| The Government has inserted Clause 52.215-21 Alternate IV in place of 52.215-21 Alternate II. |
| 23 |
| Clauses |
| C-223-H002 |
| Page 45, C-223-H002 (b) states that the Contractor is responsible for providing an experienced Safety Inspector/Fire Marshal who will accomplish daily inspections of the Contractor’s entire work area on the ship, together with the Contracting Office’s Safety Representative. This requirement is commonly used for discrete work where a contractor is assigned a specific segment of work in a specific compartment(s). For touch labor, where contracted workers are embedded in Shipyard work crews, a contracted Safety Inspector/Fire Marshal would then become responsible for Shipyard controlled worksites. Is it the Government’s intent to transfer worksite safety inspection responsibilities from the Government to the Contractor? |
| No; the contractor’s responsibilities are identified in the clause. |
| 24 |
| Clauses |
| C-223-N001 |
| Page 51, C223-N001 requires contractor employees to attend a one-half hour indoctrination briefing with radiological fundamentals and information on radiological postings and controls prior to being issued a permanent badge. This training is provided by the Shipyard as part of New Employee Orientation (NEO) which occurs after workers obtain their security badges which gives them access to the Shipyard’s training facility. If the intent is to have this training completed prior to badging, would the Shipyard provide the video used to execute this radiological briefing to the Contractor for an earlier presentation by the Contractor? |
| The NEO training will satisfy the requirements of this clause and will not hold up issuance of a badge. A video will not be provided as the NEO training will cover this. |
| 25 |
| Clauses |
| Security Badges |
| Do the employees have to have red badges? |
| The contractor personnel are not required to have a red badge. The Government will issue the badges. |
Section C.3.5.2
| Key Personnel |
| Will the Government confirm that the number of Key Personnel resumes required in accordance with Section L is 3 (Program Manager, Project Manager and Supervisor)? If not, request the Government provide the positions and number of Key Personnel Resumes required for submission to this RFP.. |
| Resumes are required for all Key Personnel, which includes: Program Manager, Task Order Manager and Supervisors. Offerors are responsible for determining the appropriate level of staffing consistent with guidance in the amended SOW and solicitation. Section 3.5.2 has been revised and now states, “Vendors are expected to propose one sample On-site supervisor for each trade proposed.” |
I. General.
| Minimum Number of Proposed Labor Categories |
| Request clarification regarding Q4 from Amendment 0001. Is it possible for contractors to demonstrate capabilities to manage all labor categories but propose only three (3) labor categories with the ability to “on ramp” additional labor categories during contract execution? For reference, only five unique labor categories were contracted as full and open on the existing contract vehicles, indicating that the Government doesn’t need all contractors to submit for all labor categories. |
| Offerors must demonstrate the capability to perform all Trades listed in the Solicitation. The Government is concerned with manpower shortages. |
| 28 |
| Section L, Factor I |
| Training Records |
| a. Section L, Page 140 requires offerors to submit Training Records for ten (10) employees in each proposed trade. Prime Contractors may not have ten (10) available at this time for all proposed labor categories. In addition to this, with codified procedures for qualification programs, each training record would indicate the same training elements only with different qualification dates. Recommend the Government change the training records to one each per labor category. |
b. Also, offerors looking to support the Government in all labor categories may not have any of a given labor category (e.g. Sound & Deck Tilers). What does the Government recommend in the event not every labor category is available at the time of bid?
a. Section L has been revised; Offerors are required to submit training records for one (1) employee in each trade.
b. Offerors who lack the organic capability to perform support the Government in a particular Trade may seek to fulfill that requirement through subcontractors, joint ventures, teaming partners or other business associations.
| 29 |
| Section L |
| Section L |
| Based on Amendment 0001, the Government states, “Offerors are required to demonstrate an understanding of and capability to perform all Trades listed in the Solicitation by the time specified (Section L, (c)(2)(i); Page 35 of AMD 0001). This represents 15 trades and 150 personnel the Offeror must provide training records for. If an Offeror is deemed qualified in some, but not all, labor categories, but unqualified in other labor categories, is the Offeror then deemed ineligible for award or will the Offeror be awarded a contract for only those labor categories they are deemed qualified for? |
| The Government plans to award contracts to contractors that are capable of performing in all Trades; vendors who fail to demonstrate that capability may be ineligible for award. |
| 30 |
| Section L/page 146 |
| Proposal Adequacy Checklist |
| Industry recommends removing the Proposal Adequacy Checklist in Section L. DFARS 215.408 identifies that Proposal Adequacy Checklists are required when supporting certified cost and pricing; as MAC re-compete the Government can expect adequate competition for this re-compete cycle. |
| The checklist has been removed. . |
| 31 |
| Section L |
| DUNS |
| Per the GSA website, on April 4, 2022 the Federal Government stopped using the DUNS number and now uses the unique identifiers from SAM. Recommend removing the requirement for the DUNS number from offeror’s cover letters. |
| This will be removed in updated amended solicitation. |
| 32 |
| Section L.4.6.2(h) |
| Supporting Cost/Price Data (Prime Offerors) |
| Would the Government please confirm if firm fixed price, labor hour, and time and material subcontractors are required to submit sealed packaged to the Government. If yes, would the Government please clarify the level of detailed information of the subcontractors needed when not executing a cost-reimbursement contract. |
| Offerors shall provide detailed cost information for all subcontractors in the same format as required for the prime contract, regardless of contract type. Subcontractors may submit that information directly to the Government. |
| 33 |
| Section L.4.6.2(h) |
| Supporting Cost/Price Data (Prime Offerors) |
| Would the Government please confirm if firm fixed price, labor hour, and time and material subcontractors are required to submit DCAA Points of Contract. Subcontractors that do not hold any current cost reimbursement contracts are not subject to DCAA nor have a point of contract. Please consider modifying the statement, "Failure to provide the required subcontracting date/cost may render the Prime's offer ineligible for award" if the above questions adjust the requirements for fixed price/labor hours subcontractors. |
| If a subcontractor is not assigned to the Defense Contract Management Agency for contract administration or is not assigned to DCAA for contract audit, the Offeror include a statement to that effect in its proposal.” |
4.6.2(h)
| Submission Process |
| 4.6.2(h) states, “Subcontractors must submit their information directly to the Government via email.” Can the Government confirm that subcontractors do not need to submit their detailed information to the government via hard copy, and if not, provide the e-mail address(es) subcontractors shall submit their proposals to. |
| All proposal information must be submitted by hardcopy and CD ROM. Section 4.6.2(h) has been revised accordingly. |
| 35 |
| Section L |
| Past Performance |
| In Section L, III. Proposal Content Factor III- Past Performance Customer Assessments, Offerors are instructed to submit Past Performance Report Forms (Attachment 7) to Customer POCs. In many cases of subcontractor team members, the Offeror is itself the Customer POC. |
a. Is the Offeror allowed to submit Past Performance Report Forms for any subcontractor performing 10% or more of the work?
b. Is the Offeror allowed to submit Past Performance Report Forms on itself coinciding with its overall proposal?
a. Yes, an Offeror may provide a customer assessment for one of its subcontractors if the Offeror was the subcontractor’s Customer.
b. The question is unclear.
Note, an Offeror’s self-assessment regarding the quality of its past performance is, by its nature, of less value as compared to the disinterested assessment provided by third parties.
Factor I
| Key Personnel |
| May the Offeror propose that the Key Personnel Project Manager and Key Person (Task Order Manager) billets be filled by the same person? |
| The Project Manager and Task Order Manager positions may be filled by the same person. |
| 37 |
| Section L, Factor V |
| Accounting System |
| Do the Subcontractors have to have an approved Accounting System? |
| No; the requirement applies to contractors. See 252.242-7006. |
Factor V
| Labor Costs |
| There is shift work in the statement of work, how do we price it I don't see any place on spreadsheet? I believe there is a differential that is paid for shift work. |
| Offerors shall price labor using straight-time and overtime rates only. Any adjustments for shift work will be proposed and evaluated at the task order level. |
