FBOAmendment002.pdf

Amendment to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Notice

Amendment No.: 0002

Identification No.: NCNJ3000-18-00238

Title: NOS/OCS Hydrographic Surveying Services

Amendment Purpose: This amendment is issued to provide answers to questions received to date for NCNJ3000-18-00238 (NOS/OCS Hydrographic Surveying Services) posted to FBO on February 8, 2019 and revise two of the selection criteria based on these questions.

The following questions with respective answers are provided herein:

Question 1: Would you consider electronic copies instead of paper?

Answer: No.

Question 2: The survey plan listed on the OCS website is for 2018. Is the hydrographic survey plan for 2019 available and can it be shared?

Answer: The hydrographic survey plan (StoryMap) for 2019 has not been published.

However, the OCS planned survey areas can be found at the following website:

http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgis.charttools.

noaa.gov%2Farcgis%2Frest%2Fservices%2FHydrographic_Services%2FPlanned_Surve y_Areas%2FFeatureServer&source=sd.

Question 3: “In order to be qualified, firms will need to have personnel on payroll for all of the labor categories identified in Attachment B, Labor Category Descriptions.” Does this statement indicate that the prime contractor needs to show specific personnel assigned to each of the 37 listed labor categories? Or can this also include coverage from any potential sub-contractors? If we need to show specific individuals to fill each labor category, can one individual be used in more than one category?

Answer: Please refer to the responses to Questions 1 and 4 included in Amendment 0001.

Question 4: There are 36 labor categories shown, but a limit of 25 resumes. Should the respondent prioritize the labor categories represented by resumes and just provide names for the remaining categories?

Answer: There is 37 labor categories provided in Attachment B, Labor Categories.

Please refer to Selection Criterion 1, Professional Qualifications. There is a limit of 25 resumes. Resumes shall be provided for Key Personnel. Respondents shall prioritize the remaining resumes and provide names for the remaining categories. Please also refer to the revised language for Selection Criterion 1 included in this Amendment.

Question 5: Please define “substantially complete” with regards to acceptable project descriptions.

Answer: A project will be considered substantially complete if it has reached 80% completion based on amount invoiced as compared to maximum value, before the date of issuance of this notice.

Question 6: Is a Small Business Subcontracting Plan required for submission by Large businesses? Does this count as part of the 100-page count?

Answer: As stated in the Request for SF330s, if a large business is selected for a contract, it must comply with FAR 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (AUG 2018) regarding the requirement for a subcontracting plan.

Question 7: If Section F is less than 20 pages, can the balance of available pages be applied to Section H?

Answer: As stated in the Request for SF330s, Section H shall be no more than 30 pages.

Question 8: For each of the 6 Key personnel categories, do we name only one or several (i.e.

more than one) person(s)?

Answer: Please refer to the response to Question 4 and the revised Selection Criterion 1 included in this Amendment.

Question 9: If 9 projects are provided, do all 9 require a PPQ reference or only 3?

Answer: Please refer to the response to Question 7 included in Amendment 0001. Please also refer to the revised Selection Criterion 4 - Past Performance included in this Amendment.

Question 10: If an offeror is down-selected and invited to submit a price proposal, would it be acceptable to add additional labor categories?

Answer: This will be evaluated during negotiations with the selected contractors.

Question 11: With regards to the specified "Single line spacing and no less than 1-inch margin" requirement, can you clarify whether this requirement is for Section H only? SF330 Part II, and several sections of Part I are commonly formatted with 1/2-inch margins to allow easier legibility and larger font sizes. Can we adopt 1/2-inch margins for SF330 Part I sections A through F and Part II?

Answer: It is understood that the SF330 form may not be conducive to formatting.

Single line spacing and no less than 1-inch margins applies to Section H only.

Question 12: Is a PPQ required to be submitted when CPARS has been completed?

Answer: A PPQ shall not be submitted if a CPARS evaluation has been completed.

Please refer to the revised Selection Criterion 4 – Past Performance included in this Amendment.

Question 13: Can a PPQ be submitted for an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity Contract?

Can a PPQ reference more than one task order?

Answer: A PPQ shall not be submitted for Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity Contracts. A PPQ must address only one task order. Please refer to the revised Selection Criterion 4 – Past Performance included in this Amendment.

Based on the questions received regarding the Professional Qualifications and Past Performance Selection Criteria, the two criteria are revised as follows:

Selection Criterion 1 - Professional Qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services. Firms will be evaluated on the ability of proposed personnel to perform the work required under this contract, including participation in example projects as outlined in the SF330 Part 1, Section G. In order to be qualified, firms will need to have personnel on payroll for all of the labor categories identified in Attachment B, Labor Category Descriptions. Key personnel are individuals who will have major contract or project management responsibilities, and/or will provide unusual or unique expertise. Key personnel include the labor categories of Principal, Project Manager, Lead Hydrographer, Senior Hydrographer, Hydrographer, and Vertical Control Specialist. In order to be qualified, firms must also have on payroll: two (2) or more certified hydrographers (any combination of Hydrographer, Senior Hydrographer, Lead Hydrographer) with at least three (3) years of experience in hydrographic surveys, surveying using shallow water airborne hydrographic Lidar systems and interpreting data;

and one (1) or more Vertical Control Specialist with demonstrated experience in measuring tides and water levels, tidal data and tidal zoning and their application to hydrographic surveying. Resumes must be provided for all Key Personnel.

Selection Criterion 4 - Past Performance. Firms shall demonstrate past performance with Government agencies and private industry completing hydrographic data collection and processing to support routine activities and emergency incidents (relevant in size and scope to this acquisition) with respect to cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules, stakeholder/customer satisfaction, and regulatory compliance.

Evaluating past performance will include information provided in Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) for projects provided in the SF330, Part I, Section F and may include customer inquiries, Government databases, and other information available to the Government including contact with points of contact provided in the SF330. A minimum of three (3) references must be provided. The PPQ can be utilized for example projects listed in SF330, Part I, Section F or for other projects that demonstrate past performance with Government agencies and private industry completing hydrographic data collection and processing to support routine activities and emergency incidents (relevant in size and scope to this acquisition) with respect to cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules, stakeholder/customer satisfaction, and regulatory compliance. A PPQ shall not be submitted for projects that have a completed CPARS evaluation. A PPQ shall not be submitted for Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite- Quantity Contracts; a separate PPQ must be completed for each task order. If a PPQ is utilized, the Contractor is to complete blocks 1 through 4 and the Client (the agency, private firm that the Contractor completed work for) is to compete blocks 5 through 8. The Client shall provide the completed PPQ via email to the Contract Specialist, Stacy Dohse at Stacy.Dohse@noaa.gov and cc Contracting Officer, Tiffany Squyres at Tiffany.Squyres@noaa.gov. The PPQ does not count towards the total page count. Firms shall discuss their past performance in complying with subcontracting goals for small business concerns supplying sufficient information regarding past contracts to allow NOAA to verify the information with contracting agencies or in Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), if deemed necessary.