Payrolling_Service_Seed_Warehouse_01242023.docx

Service Contract Act Wage Determination No. 2015-5503 Revision No.: 19 Date of Revision: 12/27/2022

Payrolling Services for Seed Warehouse Assistance for 6 employees up to 40 hours per week Monday through Friday. Approximate term: 3 months at 530 hours each position for initial performance period with the option to exercise 2 additional performance periods, one during the summer and one in the late fall/winter timeframe. Each additional performance period will be for approximately 6 people at about 700 hours per candidate. The BLM has 6 candidates identified that are qualified for the positions for the initial period of performance. For the optional performance periods, the candidates could be the same personnel or new candidates. The Government will locate candidates for each performance period.

The payrolling company will be responsible to on-board/sign-up and process the candidates in a straight-forward, stream-lined procedures that promotes timely processing and accurate reporting of information within their system. Will be responsible to properly collect and remit payroll taxes and for paying all employer taxes such as FICA, FUTA, SUTA, Workers’ Compensation, and any local payroll taxes. Payrolling company shall provide easy communication means for candidates to submit timesheets and asks questions. Payments to the candidates shall be bi-weekly with a mechanism in place to alert the COR if timesheets are not received prior to processing deadline.

The government will be responsible for processing the security clearance for the candidates.

Line Item 0010, 21030 - Material Coordinator, $24.81 Minimum Wage Rate + $4.80 per hour Health & Welfare Benefits

Line Item 0020, 21410- Warehouse Specialist, $18.23 Minimum Wage Rate + $4.80 per hour Health & Welfare Benefits Line Item 0030 – 21050 - Material Handling Laborer, $16.20 Minimum Wage Rate + $4.41 per hour Health & Welfare Benefits

BID SCHEDULE

Quoted hourly rate shall be in accordance with the Service Contract Act covering paid Federal holidays and withholding all required payroll taxes.

INTRODUCTION

Work is needed in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Idaho State Office, Division of Resources and Sciences, under the supervision of the Regional Seed Warehouse System (Boise & Ely Regional Warehouses) and National Seed Coordinator Program lead. The purpose of the work is to provide support in storage, testing, inventory control, shipping, receiving, and database management for the BLM's Regional Seed Warehouse (RSW) in Boise and Ely. Provide customer service to BLM Field and District Offices and coordinate seed requests with them. Provide assistance when seed mixing crews come on board with specific attention to employee safety while completing work in a warehouse environment, with heavy machinery, forklifts and very heavy large volumes of seed up to 600,000 lbs. on a daily basis. Overnight travel to the Ely Regional Warehouse may also be required. The incumbents will work with other federal employees on a regular basis. The warehouse systems operation provides seed for restoration, fuels management, and emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ESR) projects throughout the Bureau.

Days and Hours of Operation: The Incumbents will accomplish this work at the Idaho BLM Boise Regional Seed Warehouse or the Nevada BLM Ely Regional Seed Warehouse. The initial work period will be between February 2023 and April 2023 with the option to exercise two additional performance periods with an end date of 12/31/23. The maximum hours worked are not to exceed 530 hours each candidate each performance period. Work shall not be required on Federal holidays, BLM closures due to weather, or Executive Orders. All supplies, materials, equipment, and utilities necessary to complete the assigned work shall be provided by the Government.

All positions will be required to report to duty at the Boise Regional Seed Warehouse. The positions will be required to lift 50-pound bags of seed repetitively.

Line 0010 Material Coordinator – Statement of Work

MAJOR DUTIES:

1. Responsible for the receiving, shipping and storage of seed. Assures delivery dates, invoices, Government bills of lading (GBLs), and technical documents associated with shipments are tracked. Incumbent is responsible for checking seed tags on bags and visual inspections of bag contents for assuring compliance to contract specifications and state seed laws. Assures safe, orderly, and efficient storage of seed with separation for seed lots that have not been accepted or have been rejected. Insures proper items are selected for issue and that shipments are loaded properly to prevent transportation damage and expedite unloading. Follows established procedures for transportation and shipping discrepancies. Coordinates with seed companies, trucking companies and BLM field offices for shipping and receiving.

Tasks:

· Primary POC for Project mixing and non-mixing requests deadlines and timeframes.

· Create a seed pick list for each project.

· Scheduling and receiving seed deliveries from seed buys.

· Must be on site to perform “delivery of seed functions” as a Project Inspector (PI).

· Visual inspection of seed for weight, bag count and seed tag accuracy.

· Create and over-see seed pallets for internal physical inventory tracking sheet.

· Shipping project ready seed to the Field offices.

· Over-see and assist mixing crew.

· Operate a forklift with BLM certification.

· Storing seed by like varieties.

· Load and unload seed in semi-truck trailers with the use of a forklift or a pallet jack.

· Inventory all seed once a month to check for accuracy.

· Complete forklift mileage utilization sheets.

· Over-see and maintain a maintenance schedule of all warehouse equipment and machinery.

· Maintain the warehouse and mixing area for safety, dust abatement, flow layout and employee comfort.

· Sampling seed in accordance to AOSCA rules.

· Contract employee may be required to drive a govt owned vehicle and will be required to meet the insurance requirements listed in the Govt Vehicle Operation portion of the SOW.

· Over-see acceptable warehousing safety procedures and overall safety practices.

Performance Measures:

· Work performed must be completed in a timely manner and at least 100 % complete.

· Keeps the National Seed Coordinator informed and updated.

· Incumbent must have less than 4 complaints about shipping, receiving, mixing, or other physical operations of the warehouse.

· The overall appearance of the Regional Seed Warehouse must be less than 15% disorderly during normal operations.

· Incumbent needs to operate all government equipment in a safe manor in accordance to the BLM fleet manual.

· The Inventory must be readily available and up to date.

· No less 1% of seed bags are damaged while in the warehouse.

QUALIFICATIONS

Factor 1 - Knowledge Required by the Position Working practical knowledge of principles and techniques of range management sufficient to understand the interrelationships of revegetation actions and other land management disciplines. Working knowledge of seed including the complexities of seed quality criteria, certification standards, wildland seed collection techniques, agronomic practices of seed growers, seed bag labeling standards, seed sampling, and seed testing techniques and assess seed quality and standards. Thorough knowledge of the morphology, physical characteristics, and market conditions of seed species and varieties to provide technical assistance to resource managers and specialists throughout the Bureau concerning compatibility of species in mixes, special storage needs, longevity, inoculants or coatings, flowability in a wide range of equipment, availability, and cost. Thorough knowledge of industry and government standards on sampling various types of seed. Thorough knowledge of the pure seed laws of each of the 11 states served by the RSW including purity and germination standards and noxious weed restrictions. Working knowledge of certification standards and tagging requirements of all 11 states and USDA. Working knowledge of regulations on shipping of agricultural products across state and national boundaries. Skill in the use of computers to manage a complex database which maintains a detailed seed inventory and tracks historical data on seed acquisition, quality standards, and final destination. Skill in operating equipment such as four wheel drive vehicles, ATVs, motorcycles, forklifts, large trucks, seed mixers, and shrink wrappers. Working knowledge of accepted warehousing safety procedures and overall safety practices. Knowledge of Bureau property regulations, and warehousing guides.

Factor 2 - Guidelines Guidelines include regulations, instructions, information memoranda, research papers, scientific journals, procedural manuals, office practices and procedures, and industry standards. The incumbent is expected to recognize situations and conditions which may require deviation from accepted procedures and practices, and to use judgment to recommend actions not included in manuals and guidelines.

Factor 3 - Complexity The incumbent must coordinate work with a highly diverse cadre of resource specialists, research scientists, managers, and line officers from multiple offices and agencies while providing guidance on seed characteristics, proper storage, sampling, testing, and contracting procedures in order to gain interagency efficiencies. The incumbent must have a well-developed appreciation and knowledge of the complexities and subtleties of a wide variety of disciplines including seed morphology, seed market conditions, agronomics, livestock management, surveying, visual resources, cultural resources, rehabilitation, restoration, fuels management, fire management, and employee safety.

Incumbent must be creative in devising ways to accomplish assigned workloads involving the highly varied, technical application of seed industry practices and, marketing techniques as well as a broad spectrum of land rehabilitation practices and principles. The work is further complicated by such factors as continually changing laws, guidelines, public attitudes, natural resource objectives, time frames, and organizational structures in addition to the urgency to mitigate natural resource damage resulting from natural disasters such as fire and floods while accomplishing the normal work load.

Factor 4 - Scope and Effect

The quality, quantity, and price of the seed acquired as well as the technical expertise provided affects the quality, quantity, and cost of ESR and other land treatment projects on public land throughout the western states. Work performance has the potential to significantly affect the federal liabilities; integrity/health of the natural resources; and social and economic stability of individuals, businesses and communities throughout the western states. The work effects the management of the public lands and impacts the public's impression of the adequacy of the management of the total land and resources.

Factor 5 - Personal Contacts Contacts are regularly made with representatives of other disciplines in 40 District and State offices, contractors, vendors, and state and federal agencies.

Factor 6 - Purpose of Contacts The purpose of contacts is to provide technical consultation, develop strategies and priorities, provide foresight and review, discern and clarify public opinion, foster education, resolve complex issues and conflicts, obtain compliance, and provide recommendations.

Factor 7 - Physical Demands Although a fair amount of sedentary work is required, some work requires standing, stooping, bending, and working in tiring and uncomfortable positions. Sometimes lifts and carries supplies, equipment, and materials that could weight 50lbs on hard surface floor, wareyard, or shop area.

Factor 8 - Work Environment Incumbent works in both inside and outside areas. Warehousing is done in areas that are hot, cold, drafty, and poorly lighted. The work is dirty and dusty. The employee is exposed to the possibility of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the safety hazards inherent in warehousing and field work. Much of the work is performed in an office setting with adequate environmental conditions. Infrequent field work involves outdoor environments with exposure to a variety of climatic conditions and rough terrain.

Line 0020 Warehouse Specialist – Statement of Work

MAJOR DUTIES:

2. Responsible for the receiving, shipping and storage of seed. Assures delivery dates, invoices, Government bills of lading (GBLs), and technical documents associated with shipments are tracked. Incumbents are responsible for checking seed tags on bags and visual inspections of bag contents for assuring compliance to contract specifications and state seed laws. Assures safe, orderly, and efficient storage of seed with separation for seed lots that have not been accepted or have been rejected. Incumbent will be required to pass a forklift training/refresher class and operate a standard and non-standard warehouse forklift, hand and power trucks. Incumbent will be required to operate seed mixing, and sewing machines. Incumbent will be required to operate hand and power tools such as drills and saws. Insures proper items are selected for issue and that shipments are loaded properly to prevent transportation damage and expedite unloading. Follows established procedures for transportation and shipping discrepancies. Coordinates with seed companies, trucking companies and BLM field offices for shipping and receiving.

Tasks:

· Create a seed pick list for each project.

· Coordination of Seed Mixing crew to form seed mix from individual seed species.

· Must be on site to perform “delivery of seed functions” provide assistance to the Project Inspector (PI).

· Secondary contact for scheduling and receiving seed deliveries from seed buys.

· Visual inspection of seed for weight, bag count and seed tag accuracy.

· Label seed pallets for internal physical inventory tracking sheet.

· Shipping project ready seed to the Field offices.

· Operate a forklift with BLM certification.

· Storing seed by like varieties.

· Load and unload seed in semi-truck trailers with the use of a forklift or a pallet jack.

· Inventory all seed for accuracy.

· Complete forklift mileage utilization sheets and coordination of equipment maintenance.

· Maintain the warehouse and mixing area for safety, dust abatement, flow layout and employee safety and comfort.

· Sampling seed in accordance to AOSCA rules.

Performance Measures:

· Work performed must be completed in a timely manner and at least 100 % complete.

· The overall appearance of the Regional Seed Warehouse must be less than 15% disorderly during normal operations.

· Incumbent needs to operate all government equipment in a safe manor in accordance to the BLM fleet manual.

· No less 1% of seed bags are damaged while in the warehouse.

QUALIFICATIONS

Factor 1 - Knowledge Required by the Position Working knowledge of accepted warehousing safety procedures and overall safety practices. Knowledge of Bureau property regulations, and warehousing guides.

Factor 2 – Guidelines Guidelines include regulations, instructions, information memoranda, research papers, scientific journals, procedural manuals, office practices and procedures, and industry standards. The incumbent is expected to recognize situations and conditions which may require deviation from accepted procedures and practices, and to use judgment to recommend actions not included in manuals and guidelines.

Factor 3 - Complexity Incumbent must be creative in devising ways to accomplish assigned workloads involving the highly varied, technical application of seed industry practices and, marketing techniques as well as a broad spectrum of land rehabilitation practices and principles. The work is further complicated by such factors as continually changing laws, guidelines, public attitudes, natural resource objectives, time frames, and organizational structures in addition to the urgency to mitigate natural resource damage resulting from natural disasters such as fire and floods while accomplishing the normal work load.

Factor 4 - Scope and Effect

The quality, quantity, and price of the seed acquired as well as the technical expertise provided affects the quality, quantity, and cost of ESR and other land treatment projects on public land throughout the western states. Work performance has the potential to significantly affect the federal liabilities; integrity/health of the natural resources; and social and economic stability of individuals, businesses and communities throughout the western states. The work effects the management of the public lands and impacts the public's impression of the adequacy of the management of the total land and resources.

Factor 5 - Personal Contacts Contacts are regularly made with representatives of other disciplines in 40 District and State offices, contractors, vendors, and state and federal agencies.

Factor 6 - Purpose of Contacts The purpose of contacts is to provide technical consultation, develop strategies and priorities, provide foresight and review, discern and clarify public opinion, foster education, resolve complex issues and conflicts, obtain compliance, and provide recommendations.

Factor 7 - Physical Demands Although a fair amount of sedentary work is required, some work requires standing, stooping, bending, and working in tiring and uncomfortable positions. Sometimes lifts and carries supplies, equipment, and materials that could weight 50lbs on hard surface floor, ware yard, or shop area.

Factor 8 - Work Environment Incumbent works in both inside and outside areas. Warehousing is done in areas that are hot, cold, drafty, and poorly lighted. The work is dirty and dusty. The employee is exposed to the possibility of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the safety hazards inherent in warehousing and field work. Much of the work is performed in a warehouse setting with variable environmental conditions. Infrequent field work involves outdoor environments with exposure to a variety of climatic conditions and rough terrain.

Line 0030 Material Handler – Statement of Work

MAJOR DUTIES:

3. Incumbents will assist Warehouse Leads in checking seed tags on bags and visual inspections of bag contents. Will follow procedures for safe, orderly, and efficient storage of seed with separation for seed lots that have not been accepted or have been rejected. Incumbent will be required to pallet jack, hand and power trucks. Incumbent will be required to operate seed mixing and sewing machines. Incumbent will be required to operate hand and power tools such as drills and saws. Insures proper items are selected for issue and that shipments are loaded properly to prevent transportation damage and expedite unloading. Follows established procedures for transportation and shipping discrepancies. Coordinate with Leads to load and unload shipping and receiving of seed and picking seed for project mixes.

Tasks:

· Picking pre-identified seed from pick list for projects.

· Visual inspection of seed for weight, bag count and seed tag accuracy.

· Label seed pallets for internal physical inventory tracking sheet.

· Process shipping of seed mixes ready for the Field offices.

· Storing seed by like varieties.

· Load and unload seed in semi-truck trailers with the use of a pallet jack.

· Assist with accounting for Seed Inventory accuracy.

· Complete forklift mileage utilization sheets.

· Maintain the warehouse and mixing area for safety, dust abatement, flow layout and employee safety and comfort.

Performance Measures:

· The overall appearance of the Regional Seed Warehouse must be less than 15% disorderly during normal operations.

· Incumbent needs to operate all government equipment in a safe manor in accordance to the BLM fleet manual.

· The Inventory must be readily available and up to date.

· No less 1% of seed bags are damaged while in the warehouse.

QUALIFICATIONS

Factor 1 - Knowledge Required by the Position Working knowledge of accepted warehousing safety procedures and overall safety practices. Knowledge of Bureau property regulations, and warehousing guides.

Factor 2 – Guidelines Guidelines include regulations, instructions, information memoranda, research papers, scientific journals, procedural manuals, office practices and procedures, and industry standards. The incumbent is expected to recognize situations and conditions which may require deviation from accepted procedures and practices, and to use judgment to recommend actions not included in manuals and guidelines.

Factor 3 - Complexity Incumbent must be creative in devising ways to accomplish assigned workloads involving the highly varied, technical application of seed industry practices and, marketing techniques as well as a broad spectrum of land rehabilitation practices and principles. The work is further complicated by such factors as continually changing laws, guidelines, public attitudes, natural resource objectives, time frames, and organizational structures in addition to the urgency to mitigate natural resource damage resulting from natural disasters such as fire and floods while accomplishing the normal work load.

Factor 4 - Physical Demands Although a fair amount of sedentary work is required, some work requires standing, stooping, bending, and working in tiring and uncomfortable positions. Sometimes lifts and carries supplies, equipment, and materials that could weight 50lbs on hard surface floor, ware yard, or shop area.

Factor 5 - Work Environment Incumbent works in both inside and outside areas. Warehousing is done in areas that are hot, cold, drafty, and poorly lighted. The work is dirty and dusty. The employee is exposed to the possibility of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the safety hazards inherent in warehousing and field work. Much of the work is performed in a warehouse setting with variable environmental conditions. Infrequent field work involves outdoor environments with exposure to a variety of climatic conditions and rough terrain.

INVOICING

Invoicing shall be submitted monthly in arrears through the Internet Payment Platform per the contract clause. Individual timesheets and travel reimbursement paperwork for each candidate shall be submitted with hard copy invoice to document contract expenditures.

CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY AND SUITABILITY REQUIREMENTS

Performance of this contract requires contractor personnel to have a successfully adjudicated background investigation (BI), a security clearance, and a Federal government-issued personal identification card before being allowed unsupervised access to a DOl facility and/or information system. The Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) will be the sponsoring official, and will initiate the process for personal identity verification, BI, security clearance, and card issuance.

At least two weeks before start of contract performance, the Contractor will identify all contractor and subcontractor personnel who will require physical and/or logical access for performance of work under this contract.

The Contractor must make their personnel available at the place and time specified by the COR in order to initiate screening. The following forms, or their equivalent, will be used to initiate the credentialing process:

• OPM Standard Form 86

• OF 306

• Fingerprinting (done electronically) (local procedures may require the fingerprinting to done at a police station;

in this case, any charges are to be borne by the contractor)

• PIV Form Contractor employees are required to give, and to authorize others to give, full, frank, and truthful answers to relevant and material questions needed to reach a suitability determination. Refusal or failure to furnish or authorize provision of information may constitute grounds for an unfavorable security and suitability decision and denial or revocation of credentials. Government personnel may contact the contractor personnel being screened or investigated in person, by telephone or in writing, and the Contractor agrees to make them available for such contact.

Alternatively, if an individual has already been credentialed by another agency through OPM, and that credential has not yet expired, further investigation may not be necessary.

During performance of the contract, the Contractor will keep the COR apprised of changes in personnel to ensure that performance is not delayed by compliance with credentialing processes. Cards that have been lost, damaged, or stolen must be reported to the COR and Issuing Office within 24 hours. Replacement will be at the contractor's expense. If reissuance of expired credentials is needed, it will be coordinated through the COR.

At the end of contract performance, or when a contractor employee is no longer working under this contract, the Contractor will ensure that all identification cards are returned to the COR.

These requirements must be incorporated into any subcontracts that require subcontractor personnel to have regular and routine unsupervised access to a federally controlled facility for more than 180 calendar days or any unsupervised access to a federally controlled Level 3 or 4 information system.

GOVERNMENT VEHICLE OPERATION

If government vehicle is authorized for the occasional travel the following conditions will apply to the contract employee:

Government Property Management and Use: The BLM assumes no liability for any actions or activities conducted under this contract except to the extent that recourse or remedies are provided by Congress under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 USC 1346(b), 2401(b), 2671-2680, as amended by PL 89-506, Stat.306).

Use of Government Vehicle: The required use of a government vehicle will require the BLM to provide Defensive Driving Training for any contract employee not yet certified with the BLM Defensive Driving Certificate. Either a current defensive driving certificate will be presented or the defensive driving training will be conducted and certified before the operation of any government vehicle.

Use of Government Off-Highway Vehicle: The required use of a government off-highway vehicle will require the BLM to provide off-highway vehicle training for any contract employee not yet certified with the BLM off-highway vehicle training certificate. Either a current off-highway vehicle training certificate will be presented or the off-highway vehicle training will be conducted and certified before the operation of any government off-highway vehicle.

Required Insurance: The Contractor or contract employee shall, at its own expense, procure and thereafter maintain Automobile Insurance. This insurance shall be required on the comprehensive form of policy and will provide bodily injury liability and property damage liability covering the operation of all vehicles, including government owned, used in connection with the performance of the contract.

At least the minimum limits of $300,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $300,000 per occurrence for property damage shall be required.

The Government will provide the contract employee with access to a typical office environment furnished with a workstation, telephone, facsimile, copier, computer connected to the internet and local area network at the office listed above. The contract employee will also be furnished with a Government ID/Facility Access Card. (See SECURITY)

OVERTIME

Overtime may be authorized to accomplish the task.

TRAVEL

Travel will be authorized to accomplish the task. Travel requests must be submitted in writing, and in advance, with a funding document to cover any travel costs incurred, to both the Project Officer and Contracting Officer. If personal vehicle is authorized the contract employee will be reimbursed with Government Travel rates, but this must be approved by both the Project Officer and Contracting Officer.

SECURITY

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 - Clause mandated by the Department of the Treasury Acquisition Bulletin (AB) No. 05-12 - October 26, 2005.

(a) The Contractor shall comply with agency Treasury and Bureau Personal Identity Verification Processes (PIV), which implements Homeland Security presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24, and Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201.

(b) The Contractor shall insert this provision in all subcontracts when the subcontractor is required to have physical access to a federally-controlled facility or access to a Federal information system.

The Bureau of Public Dept. Addendum to AB No. 05-12 Additional information regarding HSPD-12 can be located by clicking on the following link http://arc/publicdept.treas.gov/files/pdf/fsbpdapplicantrrainmodfinal.pdf In summary, this directive applies to:

Physical Access is the ability to enter a federally owned facility or federally leased space:

* If federal space is limited to a portion of a building then HSPD-12 applies only to that portion owned or leased by the federal government

* Physical access requirements do not apply to: contractors needing supervised access for less than six (6) months; guest researchers; volunteers; intermittent, temporary or seasonal contractors

* Contractors, as of October 27, 2005, will be subject to HSPD-12 requirements.

Logical Access is the ability to access federal IT systems or databases - applies to everyone regardless of how long access is required and whether within a federal facility or by remote connectivity.

Attached is the current SCA Wage Determination.