Amendment 0009 PPI Responses.pdf

PRE-PROPOSAL INQUIRY RESPONSES

Question

Reference Question Government Response

Page Section Paragraph

Solicitation

Page 13 of

The RFP for the P-993 F-35

Sustainment Center requires all contractors performing work on the project to hold CMMC Level 2 (Self).

Currently, the vast majority of local and regional subcontractors, equipment suppliers, vendors and service providers – particularly those that qualify as SB - do not possess this certification, and estimates indicate it will take most companies 6–18 months to obtain it, with costs ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per vendor. This requirement is especially burdensome on the local small-business community, many of whom do not have the resources necessary to pursue certification. As a result, the mandate is severely hindering the project’s ability to meet the Government’s 40% small-business participation target.

Can the Government reduce the small-business participation target for this Opportunity from 40% to 20%?

Propose to RFP.

The documents provided do not appear to have analytical data for the water and soil conditions at either the

P-995 or P-993 sites in terms of contamination. is their analytical data that shows the actual constituents of concern and their concentration levels? type of contamination concentrations will affect what landfills the material can be disposed of and impact the analytical tests that will need to be performed.

PENDING RESPONSE

Solicitation

, pages 11 and 15

On page 15 of the solicitation it states

“The minimum required small business participation (i.e. work to be performed by small business as the prime contractor and/or work to be performed by small business subcontractors) is 20%. Offerors who are not able to meet the minimum total small business participation requirement of 20% (of the total contract value) shall provide a detailed explanation why the minimum

The Factor states: “Offerors who are not able to meet the minimum total small business participation requirement of

20% (of the total contract value) shall provide a detailed explanation why the minimum total small business participation requirement cannot be achieved.”

total small business participation requirement cannot be achieved.

The current CMMC Level 2 requirements for all subcontractor involvement create a barrier for the majority of local small businesses, as they have not previously encountered this requirement and do not have this certification. To obtain CMMC Level

2 certification takes approximately 8 months minimum and can be cost-prohibitive for many local small businesses, thereby eliminating them from consideration for subcontracting opportunities on this contract.

On page 11 of the solicitation the anticipated magnitude of construction for this project is identified as “over

$500,000,000”. Considering that the majority of the scope of work is dedicated to P-993, which requires the

CMMC Level 2 certification, the P-

995 facility, which does not require the CMMC Level 2 certification, would need to carry the small business participation. The P-995 facility is significantly smaller in dollar value and will not be able to carry the small business participation requirement to allow Prime contractors to meet the

20% goal. Please revise the small business target goal to a more realistic

10%.

Solicitation

, page 51

On page 51 of the solicitation, paragraph (d) CMMC unique identifiers, states "The Offeror shall provide, in the proposal, the CMMC unique identifier(s) (CMMC UIDs) issued by SPRS for each contractor information system that will process, store, or transmit FCI or CUI during performance of a contract, task order, or delivery order resulting from this solicitation." However, there are no instructions in the submission requirements for where to include this information. Please confirm where this information is to be provided - in our Price Proposal Volume or Non-

Price Proposal volume?

Please provide this information in the price proposal form.

321 00 21 00

Factor 6, Small Business Utilization and Participation paragraph (i.)

Submittal Requirements reads that for

Historic Small Business Utilization, Offerors are to submit the required

Confirmed. Projects that are still in progress but have completed ISRs can be submitted.

information for three projects of their choice. Please confirm that projects shown can be in progress but have completed ISRs which demonstrate the projects current SB utilization and projected SB utilization.

Is this project subject to AIS OR

BABA requirements?

Propose to RFP.

Is this project exempt from state or local taxes?

No.

349 1 SF1442

10.THE

GOVERN

MENT

REQUIRE

S

PERFORM

ANCE OF

THE

WORK

DESCRIB

ED…

**THIS

SOLICITA

TION

INCLUDE

S CMMC

LEVEL 1

(SELF)

(P993)

AND

CMMC

LEVEL 2

(SELF)

(P995)

REQUIRE

MENTS IN

ACCORD

ANCE

WITH

DFARS

252.204-

7025 AND

252.204-

7021**

Many Department of Defense solicitations that require CMMC Level

2 for award are being revised to allow contractors who do not yet meet this requirement to access restricted documents, provided they can confirm a BASIC Confidence Level in SPRS and that this status is accurately reflected in the system.

We respectfully request that this same consideration be applied to this project. This approach does not diminish the requirement for CMMC

Level 2 at the time of award and may also encourage participation from small businesses that are actively seeking to engage, as evidenced by several currently unanswered PPIs.

EXAMPLE text from five USACE solicitations:

2. Procedure to Obtain Restricted

Solicitation Documents

This solicitation or its attachments contain Federal Contract Information

(FCI) or Controlled Unclassified

Information (CUI). Contractors requesting access to the FCI/CUI portions of the solicitation must have an active System for Award

Management (SAM) Registration and a current BASIC confidence level in the Supplier Performance Risk System

(SPRS) in order to receive access to the documents.

Step 1: Ensure your firm has an active

SAM Registration.

Step 2: Ensure your firm has a current

BASIC confidence level assessment posted in SPRS in accordance with

DFARS clause 252.240-7997 and

NIST SP 800-171.

Step 3: Request access to the restricted attachments by email to the following

Propose to RFP.

point of contacts with your company's information:

To: Adam Brooks and Bjorn Hale

Email:

adam.m.brooks@usace.army.mil and bjorn.t.hale@usace.army.mil

Subject: SPRS Verification for [Insert

Solicitation Number or Project Name]

Body of Email: Include your company's CAGE Code and Unique

Entity Identifier (UEI). Confirm that your firm has BASIC Confidence level in SPRS and this is accurately posted in SPRS.

Step 4: Upon Government confirmation of your SAM registration and SPRS Basic confidence level, access will be granted within PIEE.

3. Mandatory CMMC Requirement for Award

This solicitation requires the contractor and/or subcontractor(s) information system to process, store, or transmit Federal Contract

Information (FCI) or Controlled

Unclassified Information (CUI), and requires the contractor and/or subcontractor(s) to comply with

CMMC requirements.

398 03 30 00 1.6.10

P-995 - Specification Section 03 30

00, Paragraph 1.6.10 requires a

Thermal Monitoring Control Plan for mass concrete, including embedded temperature sensors, data collection, and reporting.

We acknowledge that certain placements on this project may meet the specification definition of mass concrete. However, based on coordination with suppliers and review of similar NAVFAC and industry projects, full thermal monitoring programs (embedded instrumentation and continuous data logging) are not typically required where thermal performance can be reliably controlled through mix design and placement procedures.

We request approval of a modified, performance-based approach in lieu of full thermal monitoring, as outlined below:

PENDING RESPONSE

1. Thermal Control via Mix Design and Placement Procedures

Utilize a concrete mix and placement methodology designed to limit heat of hydration and thermal gradients, including:

o Use of supplementary cementitious materials (e.g., slag, fly ash) o Reduced cement content / low heat mix design o Controlled placement temperature o Insulated curing methods

2. Pre-Placement Thermal Analysis

Submit calculations and/or modeling demonstrating that:

o Maximum internal temperature will remain below specified limits o Surface-to-core temperature differentials will be within allowable ranges

3. Elimination of Continuous

Monitoring

Based on the above, request that the requirement for embedded sensors and continuous temperature monitoring be waived.

4. Verification (If Required by EOR)

If deemed necessary, the Contractor can provide limited field verification

(e.g., surface temperature checks or spot measurements) rather than a full monitoring system.

Attachment C - Historic Small

Business Utilization - In the

Instructions for Completing

Attachment C on the first page, it reads "If the project was a task order and no goals were established at the task order level, only complete the

"ACTUAL" column. Goals for the overarching IDIQ contract should not be included in the "GOAL" column for task orders." If the "GOAL" column is blank, how is the

"ACTUAL" columns evaluated on if the Whole Dollars and Percentages have shortfalls in any of the socioeconomic categories. Please confirm that if the project demonstrated is a task order, and the

GOALS columns are blank due to overarching IDIQ goals, no further

Provide any and all supporting or amplifying information into sections 1.

and 2 of Attachment C as applicable.

explanation is needed at the bottom concerning shortfalls as there is nothing to measure against.

Attachment C - Historic Small

Business Utilization - In the

Instructions for Completing

Attachment C on the first page, it reads "If goals were not established for the project submitted, or if goals were not established for a specific socioeconomic category, check N/A where applicable. The N/A block does not apply to the “ACTUAL” column, as actual subcontracted values are required for ALL projects, regardless of whether goals were established." If no goals were established for the project, and none were tracked as it was not a requirement of the project, please confirm that is an acceptable explanation for Items #1 and #2 on the form explaining why goals weren’t met/had $0 and that 0's are to be placed in the ACTUAL Whole Dollars column as a result.

Confirmed.

Attachment C - Historic Small

Business Utilization - When completing the GOALS column for

Whole Dollars and Percentage, please confirm that it is allowable to fill these fields based upon the approved Small

Business Subcontracting Plan which used the original Subcontracting Value and Total Contract Value at the time of project award, which may be different than the Total Project Dollar Value

(line (a)), Total Self-Performed Value

(line (b)), and Total Subcontracted

Value (line (c )) as these are values during/at the end of the project due to change orders, accepted bid options, etc.

Confirmed.

(End Summary of Changes)