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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Solicitation # 240000002338 Electronic Document Management (EDM) Scanning Project Bidders who have questions for the above Solicitation must fill the sections below and attach the document in an email to the Solicitation Manager, as described in the Instruction to Bidders.
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| Answer (to be completed by the State) |
| 0 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Will the state entertain proposals for alternate solutions, software, and/or equipment? |
| Successful proposals from bidders are those that fall within the scope of this solicitation. |
| 1 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Can we take these records offsite for scanning and organizing. The RFP seems like we need 30+ people at state offices in multiple cities. We cannot deploy 30+ people to your facilities, our scanning facility are in Cleveland or Indianapolis. If this has to be done on site, we won’t be able to participate in the RFP. |
| No, all records must be kept on site. |
| 2 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Can the records be removed from the facilities and scanned offsite and out of Michigan? |
| See answer to question #1. |
| 3 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| What is the volume you want to accomplish per year? (We have participated in other state programs, and they have limited funding per year. |
| 6 to 9 million pages a year. |
| 4 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| This project is slated for 5 years. Is that to spread the budget? So, we can only scan so many documents per year? |
| No, the 5 years was based on the amount of work to be performed. |
| 5 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Is there an incumbent contractor performing the work? |
| Yes |
| 6 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| If yes, who is the contractor? |
| The Mannik & Smith Group Inc. |
| 7 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| If yes, what is the contract number? |
| 240000000205 |
| 8 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| If yes, what does the incumbent charge for these services per hour by role? |
| Schedule B pricing on the current contract can be found here: Notice of Contract (Cover Page) (michigan.gov) |
| 9 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| What are the job categories that the incumbent is using for these services? |
| Currently, there are no job categories listed. |
| 10 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Is the QVD/SDVOB price preference applicable to this procurement per MCL 18.1261(8)? |
| Yes |
| 11 |
| Statement of Work, SCOPE |
| 2 |
| The statement of work states there are 20,000 boxes of work to complete. How does that relate to the number of FTE required for the task, 35-40? |
| The number of FTE’s is based on the current staffing of the project. |
| 12 |
| Statement of Work, SCOPE |
| 2 |
| The state references procedures for handling mail. Is this in addition to the 20,000 boxes referenced? |
| Yes, the mail project is separate from the 20,000 boxes. |
| 13 |
| Statement of Work, SCOPE |
| 2 |
| If yes, what is the volume of mail that the contractor will be required to manage? |
| The volume of mail varies from day to day but entails the entire EGLE department statewide which includes 10 district offices outside of Lansing office. These FTEs will support the EDM project when the mail is completed. |
| 14 |
| Statement of Work, 1.1 General Requirements |
| 3 |
| Are the 35-40 FTE equally spaced out amongst the five locations? |
| No, most positions are located in Constitution Hall, Lansing, Michigan. |
| 15 |
| Statement of Work, 1.1 General Requirements |
| 3 |
| Please provide a breakdown of FTE by location. |
| FTE location will vary based on need and can be reassigned as needed. |
| 16 |
| Statement of Work, SCOPE |
| 3 |
| How long is the State estimating the conversion of 20,000 boxes will take? |
| This is dependent upon the staff and the ability to do the work efficiently. |
| 17 |
| Statement of Work, 1.1 General Requirements |
| 5 |
| What is the cost of the 30-day training should the State bill the contractor? |
| The contractor would be responsible for the replacement contractors' hourly rate of pay, lodging, meals and other expenses incurred due to the training. |
| 18 |
| Statement of Work, 2.4 Key Personnel |
| 6 |
| Is the Project Manager the only Key Personnel on the contract? |
| Yes. The project manager will serve as the contact for the resulting contract. |
| 19 |
| Statement of Work, 2.4 Key Personnel |
| 6 |
| Please confirm that a resume is ONLY required for Key Personnel. |
| Per section 2.4.B. The Contractor must provide detailed, chronological resumes of all proposed Key Personnel and personnel working on site. |
| 20 |
| Schedule B - Pricing |
| N/A |
| Since the pricing schedule is hourly, are we to bid 35 or 40 professionals so that the State receives the same headcount? |
| Vendors should use the 47 anticipated employees identified in Schedule B. |
| 21 |
| Proposal Instructions, 16 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT |
| 7 |
| May offerors submit their “Public Copy” in PDF? |
| Yes |
| 22 |
| Standard Contract Terms, 7 Administrative Fee and Reporting |
| 2 |
| What is the purpose of the 1% administrative fee? |
| For the MiDEAL Admin Fee - This is part of our standard contract language. Vendors don’t pay the admin fee unless there are sales to the 1,400 MiDEAL members. The fee goes towards the support of the MiDEAL Program, with grants local governments, colleges, universities and non-profit hospitals access to 500+ State executed contracts, saving them time and money. |
For the SOM Admin Fee - the fee supports the management of the contract.
| What is the total approximate volume of doc pages per box out of the 20,000 boxes involved in the digitization? |
| 75,000,000 pages for 20,000 boxes – 3,750 pages per box |
| How many district offices are involved for the 20,000 boxes? |
| 10 districts located around the State of Michigan plus 6 sections that are a part of the RRD division located in our central office in Lansing, Michigan |
| 25 |
| Schedule A, 1 |
| 3 |
| Please confirm that Kalamazoo, Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Bay City and Warren the only offices for the QA/QC processes? |
| All districts and sections are included in the QA/QC process that is conducted in Lansing, Michigan |
| Has EGLE established the criteria (e.g. litigation hold) for sorting the documents by site? |
| Yes |
| Does EGLE already use production scanners for digitization? If yes, what are the makes and models you have? How many of each and where located? |
| Yes, Fujitsu 6700 & 7600 |
1 – Cadillac, 1 – Grand Rapids, 2 – Kalamazoo, 1 – Jackson, 1 – Bay City, 8 – Warren, 42 - Lansing
| To improve efficiencies and reduce errors, will the SOM consider alternative proposals that deliver scanners and automation software to enable document automation (i.e., hub and spoke model with less labor and automation of manual processes using technology)? |
| No |
Continuation of question 28
IF YES:
Continuation of question 28
| Does Content Manager have APIs for integration? |
| N/A |
Continuation of question 28
| Does SOM currently use any integration tools to connect applications/systems? If yes, what is currently used? |
| N/A |
Continuation of question 28
| What backend databases support Content Manager & RIDE? Will the solution provider have access (read/write)? |
| N/A |
Continuation of question 28
| Will SOM provide infrastructure on premises for the Digital Process Automation software to run locally? |
| N/A |
Continuation of question 28
| Can document automation services be provided through the cloud? |
| N/A |
Continuation of question 28
| Will SOM be willing to extend the RFP timeline to allow for process automation discovery session(s)? If no, can you extend the Q&A period to allow for clarification questions related to the alternative proposal? |
| N/A |
| 29 |
| Schedule A, 1 |
| 4 |
| Could EGLE provide sample documents of the different types likely to be encountered during the transformation? Would the vendor be able to visit these sites to review a sampling of these physical documents? |
| No. No. The awarded vendor of this solicitation will have an opportunity to review physical documents. |
| Could EGLE be able to provide sample logic to determine sorting, classification and rule handling/routing of the sample documents provided? |
| EGLE has developed these processes for only RRD. New processes will have to be developed for the other divisions as they are brought into the program. EGLE will train staff on appropriate procedures when a vendor is selected. |
| How many staff members from EGLE will be participating in the digital transformation? |
| 10 FTEs |
| How many staff members will be involved in the QA/QC side? |
| 1 SOM Employee, 7 Contractors. This number will increase as districts are completed and contractors are moved. |
| Please provide a high-level map of the EGLE organization and different groups involved? |
| Visit: Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (michigan.gov) |
| 34 |
| Schedule A, 1 |
| 3 |
| Has the EGLE QA/QC team modeled and mapped out the rigorous processes needed for certification of the official record? |
| Yes |
| Could EGLE provide us technical information about the Content Manager, the RIDE database, and other systems involved in setting up the official record? |
| When a vendor is selected. |
| Has EGLE already come up with the retention model (schedule, security, naming convention, deduplication, etc.) for the documents/boxes involved? If yes, please provide details. |
| Yes, RRD has a retention schedule and naming convention in place for all documents. Details will be provided when a selection is made. |
| How are public access and FOIA requests currently handled by EGLE? |
| Public access to the RRDs documents is through the public facing RIDE database and the EGLE Department FOIA process. The contractor will only be involved on the conversion of paper files and indexed into Content Manager so the State of Michigan FOIA team can deliver the requested documentation |
| 38 |
| Schedule A, 1 |
| 3 |
| What are the procedures for handling EGLE mail and subsequent scanning? What are the volumes the department typically deals with? |
| The contractor would procure the mail from the EGLE mailroom to scan and post on the department SharePoint page so the divisions can pick up the mail. On average, 100 pieces of mail a day of various sizes. |
| Are guidelines from EGLE's IMD and RRD for the overall transformation from physical document to generating the official record already available/published? If yes, please provide details. |
| Yes, and will be provided to the selected vendor. |
| What are the typical schedules for the RRD staff meeting? |
| Once Monthly |
| The spreadsheet allows for only labor rates and quantity of hours. Kyndryl will also propose tooling solutions. Are we permitted to alter the spreadsheet form to allow for our insertion of non-labor costs? |
| This RFP is for labor only. The RFP does not request alternate solutions, software, equipment, etc. The state does not permit the altering of Schedule B to include non-labor costs. |
| SOW indicates that the Contractor must provide 35 to 40 staff in various EGLE Offices. However, the SOW also states on Page 2, Section 1.1 “Obtain the paper or electronic site file from the district office.”, It could be interpreted that some of the work is to be performed off-site, away from the State offices. Please clarify if all or a portion of the requirement is to be performed On-Site at State offices. |
| All work will be performed on-site at various district offices. Documentation from district offices that do not have a contractor working in house will have the documents delivered to Lansing by state resources, not by the contractor. |
| 43 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1 |
| 3 |
| Will the awarded contractor be responsible for providing the QA resources as well, or does EGLE already have or will provide those resources separately? |
| QA resources are to be provided by the vendor and overseen by EGLE |
| 44 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Please provide an address list of all State locations where the Contractor would be placing staff. |
| · Lansing Central – 525 W. Allegan St., Lansing, MI. |
· Cadillac District Office – 120 W. Chapin St., Cadillac, MI,
· Bay City District Office – 401 Ketchum St., Bay City, MI,
· Grand Rapids District Office – 350 Ottawa Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, MI.,
· Kalamazoo District Office – 7953 Adobe Road, Kalamazoo, MI.,
· Jackson District Office – 301 East Louis Glick Highway, Jackson, MI.,
· Warren/Detroit District Offices – 27700 Donald Court, Warren, MI.
| 45 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1 |
| 3 |
| It is assumed there is a mail processing team already, and it is understood that contractor would provide additional scanning resources. What volume of mail will be scanned by page will be handled by that group? |
| See 38 |
| 3 |
| Would the state consider skill instead of associates degree requirement? |
| Yes |
| 3 |
| Are the onsite staff provided by the vendor expected to be “full-time” staff? |
| Yes |
| 3 |
| Will the vendor staff be provided dedicated space for production equipment as well as document preparation space onsite? How large a room will be allocated in each of the three locations noted? |
State of Michigan provides the offices, computers and scanners to perform the services. Offices are 8’x 8’ modular furniture.
| 3 |
| Will the State require that the technical digitizing specifications meet the FADGI standards, established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), to produce the highest-level quality? |
All documentation is to meet the archivable document standards
| 3 |
| The pricing worksheet titled “06a RFP 240000002338 – Schedule B – Pricing” covers the professional staff rates. Is the intention that the vendor provide an additional non-editable pricing schedule to include all other chargeable events other than staffing? |
Contracted staff will be housed in state offices and reimbursed for travel/lodging when receipts are submitted with the monthly invoice. Travel expenses may be reimbursed with EGLE Program Manager approval. All “other chargeable” events should be built into the hourly billing rate. Link to FY2024 travel rates: DTMB - Travel (michigan.gov)
| 4 |
| Are there any specific security and compliance requirements that need to be adhered to during the document conversion process, particularly regarding the handling and redaction of PII? |
All contractors must pass a drug and criminal history background check to work with the documents. Contracted staff will follow all processes and procedures provided during training.
| 4 |
| Are there specific technical requirements or standards for the PDF conversion, such as OCR accuracy, resolution, and file size limits? |
Yes. Documents must be delivered in PDF A-2b, and OCR formats. Redacted for PII, Scanned at 300dpi in B&W, Color and Greyscale. Scans are to be 1 to 1 for size. Documents can only be in 500-page volumes that do not go over 1 gig in size.
| 4 |
| Can you provide more details on the expected volume of documents to be processed daily and the anticipated balance between manual processing and automated workflows? |
The current process is manual.
| 4 |
| Are there any specific protocols to be followed for handling and transporting physical documents between the district offices, Records Center, and contractor scanning facility? |
All scanning will take place in the district offices and downtown Lansing State of Michigan offices. No off-site processing will be allowed. All documentation being processed in Lansing will be transported by the State of Michigan using Freight services
| 4 |
| What quality control measures are currently in place? |
EGLE has a QA team that reviews documents daily.
| 4 |
| Are there any specific considerations or challenges associated with converting and managing different types of environmental documentation, such as large format maps or videos? |
Yes, our documentation contains large format map which needs to be scanned one to one, no scaling.
| 4 |
| When policies and procedures change, is it acceptable for contractor to generate a change request thru change control procedures to compensate if they such changes materially impact scope? |
No. The scope of the work will remain the same. Processes on how it is done may change, but the scope remains the same.
| What is the estimated budget for this contract? |
| The budget is going to be dependent on the needs that arise from the work that comes up from the State. |
| Is there any incumbent for this contract? If yes, can you please let us know the name of the incumbent, their budget, and historical spending? |
| Yes, see answers to questions 5 and 8. |
| 60 |
| 05 RFP 240000002338 - Schedule A - Statement of Work, Section 2.4, A |
| 8 |
| What is the work location of the proposed candidates? |
| EGLE district offices and Lansing State Complex |
| 61 |
| 05 RFP 240000002338 - Schedule A - Statement of Work, Section 2.4, B |
| 8 |
| Do we have to provide references for the proposed key personnel? |
| While not required, bidders are welcome to include references for key personnel. |
| Please provide the addresses of the District Offices. |
| See answer to #44. |
| Are all records at the District Offices? |
| No, some records are held in the central office located in Lansing, Michigan. |
| Please provide the box size(s) – are they record center 1.2 cu ft boxes? |
| Yes. All documents are shipped in record center boxes. |
| What is the estimated percentage of records in the 20,000 boxes to be removed from the site due to being duplicates, outdated (past retention), or other reasons? |
| 5 – 10% |
| Is the contractor to remove duplicates/outdated from records in Litigation Hold status? |
| No, if a site is on Litigation hold, we would hold on to the records and process them into Content Manager. |
| What is the scanning resolution requirement, 300 dpi? |
| Yes |
| What is the scanning bit depth requirement; bi-tonal and color or grayscale where necessary? |
| B&W, Color & Greyscale – Scanned to match the page. |
| What is the estimated volume of oversized (large format) drawings? |
| 25 – 30% in historical reports. |
| Are the large format drawings intermixed in folders containing letter and legal-sized records? |
| Yes |
| Can the State provide an estimate of the average number of large-format drawings per box? |
| No. This is dependent on the site. |
| What percentage of the records are fragile, brittle, or damaged that will require special handling? |
| The percentage varies – Hard to put a number on it. |
| Please provide the division naming conventions. |
| This will be provided when a vendor is selected. |
| Please clarify the requirement “Convert the documents into the Portable Document Format (PDF) document by document reviewing each one for:” 8. Track progress on division trackers. |
| This is for internal tracking to meet division and department metrics. This also allows us to rate the contractor to make sure they are producing. |
| “To address the historical paper files within EGLE based upon Executive approved timelines, the Contractor must provide 35-40 full-time professionals to provide services in the various EGLE district offices as required.” Please clarify ‘as required’ in the above requirement. |
| Below is the breakdown of current contractual staffing levels at each location: |
1 – Cadillac 1 – Grand Rapids 1 – Kalamazoo 1 – Jackson 1 – Bay City 8 – Warren 34 - Lansing
| Will these professionals be at their location long-term or will travel be required? |
| Contractors will be assigned to a work location and stay there until the work is completed. At which time the State may request the position to be moved to the Lansing Central office. |
| Can the State provide an estimated number of professionals that will be required at each location based on historical volumes or another metric? |
| See #75 |
| Will this be desktop work or onsite consulting? |
| All work is completed onsite/in-person. |
| Is a mail scanning operation currently in place? |
| Yes. |
| What is the expected volume of mail? |
| See answer to #38. |
| How many locations will mail scanning be required, or can the mail be sent to a central location for scanning? |
| One. Lansing Central Office |
| Please confirm the four weeks of training are provided by the State? |
| Yes, the selected contractor will be trained by State employees on the current processes on-site in Lansing, MI. |
| Is this training on-site or off-site? If on-site, will living expenses be reimbursed as part of this training? |
| See #17, #82 |
| What are the approximate costs of a 30-day training period? |
| Hotel, meals and mileage. Price depends on where the contractors’ office is. Hotels meals/mileage per State of Michigan rate. Link to FY2024 travel rates: DTMB - Travel (michigan.gov) |
| EGLE requests for professional replacement within the probationary period; would exceptions negate the contractor bearing costs for training such as reasons beyond the reasonable control of the Contractor, including illness, disability, leave of absence, or personal emergency circumstances? |
| Exceptions would be looked at on a case-by-case basis. |
| Work hours are 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, which is in excess of standard full-time hours. Are contractor staff expected to work all hours within that timeframe or a standard 8-hour shift within that timeframe? |
| Standard 8-hour shift. New employees are required to work an 8am – 5pm schedule for the first 90 days after training during their probationary period. Once the contractor has passed the probation period and has acquired the 5% correction to input ratio, they can move to an adjusted work schedule if desired within the timeframe noted. |
| Is the Key Person, Project Management Professional requirement for one Key Person, or one key person at each of the six locations? |
| One Key Person for the contract. This person must be the sole contact for all contract activities. |
| Can records be processed out of State? |
| See answer to question #1. |
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