Amendment__2_GovernmentsResponetoQuestionsfinal.pdf

1- Q&A RFQ Amendment 2

RFQ-DC-15-00190 (eBuy RFQ 1063096) Amendment 2

Environmental Response Training Program

Government’s Response RFQ Questions

1. Question: Regarding the “length of the proposal,” Page 3 of the RFQ announcement states that the entire proposal (technical and pricing combined) is limited to 50 pages and “shall be formatted to include all the components as identified above.” It is clear that resumes and tabs are not included in this page limit, but please confirm that the other items required with our quotation package (as listed on Pages 2 to

3 of the RFQ announcement) are also included within the 50-page limit. These are an executed copy of

SF-18; an acknowledgement that our company is registered in the System for Award Management; our

DUNS number; and a copy of the signed cover page of our GSA contract award.

Answer: Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitled “Length of

Proposal” for clarification regarding the page limitations and information that is included/excluded from the page count.

2. Question: Per Page 2 of the RFQ announcement, we are instructed to include with our proposal an executed copy of SF-18. In both the original RFQ and Amendment 1, SF-18 is four pages long to accommodate the detailed information provided under Block 11(b), Supplies/Services. For purposes of our RFQ response, is it sufficient that we only provide the first page of SF-18 with completed Blocks 12 to 18? Are a cover, title page, transmittal letter, and table of contents excluded from the 50-page limit?

3. Question: In accordance with Attachment 5 to the RFQ (Technical Evaluation Criteria), we are required to provide a letter of commitment from the two key personnel being proposed as program manager and training specialist. Are these letters excluded from the 50-page limit, as are the key personnel resumes?

4. Question: Page 4 of Attachment 5, Technical Evaluation Criteria, requires that we submit a subcontracting plan and a quality management plan, which will be evaluated as part of the responsibility determination. Please confirm that these two plans should be provided as attachments to our proposal and are excluded from the 50-page limit.

Answer: Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitle “Length of

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5. Question: Please clarify the instructions for providing past performance information. Page 4 of

Attachment 5 directs us to follow the instructions in Clause 24 “Past Performance Information;” however, this RFQ contains no such clause. Furthermore, Attachment 6 includes a past performance questionnaire, but the sample client authorization letter provided in Attachment 7 makes no mention of this questionnaire. Are we instructed to send our client references the questionnaire? If so, to whom and by what date should we ask them to send the completed questionnaire?

Answer: Please refer to RFQ Attachment 1, entitled Clause List. Clause 24 can found on page 16 and provides specific instruction related to RFQ Attachments 6 & 7. The submission date for receipt of all

RFQ packages, including completed Past Performance questionnaires from your clients, is on or before the established closing date of the RFQ.

6. Question: Page 3 of the RFQ announcement directs us to submit our proposal using FedConnect following the instructions provided in EPA-L-15-104 – Electronic Submission of Proposals. However, this clause is not included in the RFQ.

Answer: Please refer to RFQ Attachment #1, Clause List. Clause 34 EPA-L-15-104 Electronic

Submission of Proposals can be found on page 22.

7. Question: The list of labor categories provided in RFQ Attachment 3 do not match to our GSA supply schedule. Does EPA want a column added into Attachment #4-2 that cross walks our GSA categories into

EPA labor categories?

Answer: Yes, please provide a crosswalk for comparable labor categories in your response to RFQ

Attachment #4-2 entitled Fixed Labor Rate Schedule.

8. Question: The RFQ does not verify how it would like our subcontractors to be accounted for in the pricing proposal. If a subcontractor has a schedule with 899 SINs, should that information be included as well, and if so how? If it does not, would that firm be shown as a subcontractor line item for billing or would it be expected to come through under the prime contractor’s schedule labor categories?

If contactors have indirect cost elements that are applicable to Attachment #4-4 ODCs, would EPA like those elements displayed as line items on this attachment and then totaled and carried forward to

Attachment #4-1?

Answer: All rates proposed for personnel to support this requirement shall be based on their GSA

Schedule contract pricing for both prime contractors and their proposed subcontractors as it relates to

RFQ Attachment 4-2 Fixed Labor Rate Schedule. Labor categories supported by subcontractor personnel shall be noted in the Fixed Labor Rate Schedule as SUBCONTRACTOR, and supporting

GSA Schedule documentation of the subcontractor labor rates shall be included in the quotation package.

For all non-GSA subcontractors, the costs associated with their support shall be accounted for as a separate line item on RFQ Attachment 4-1 entitled Summary Sheet. Amendment 2 updates this attachment to include a “Miscellaneous” line item category. Please refer to the revised Attachment 4.

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9. Question: Section 1.2, Page 2 of the PWS indicates that the contractor shall provide adequate staff, instructors, and equipment to present the training courses [except for Incident Command System (ICS)

Key Leadership Position (KLP) courses] as required by the task orders. Can you please confirm that all equipment costs for contractor owned/rented equipment are represented by the Agency provided ODC costs presented in RFP Attachment 4, Sheet 4-4, ODCs?

Answer: Please refer to the Attachment 4 instructions – Pricing Instructions for Preparing Price

Proposal. The equipment costs for contractor owned/rented equipment for the standard course list found on RFQ Attachment 4-3, Schedule for Fixed Priced Courses, are not accounted for as an ODC on Attachment 4-4 Other Direct Costs.

For the fixed priced courses, these costs should be accounted for per the instructions found on

Attachment 4, which states that “the cost estimate of the Fixed Price courses shall include; labor to travel to and from a course (up to 8 hours each way; all on-site labor for the courses set-up, break-down, instructions, exercise support etc.: labor to prepare course equipment and supplies for shipping;

all supply costs, and all equipment costs including maintenance/repair, cleaning, calibration, depreciation, rental, etc. These costs should not be included anywhere else in the cost estimate.”

10. Question: A labor description for the position of QA officer is not included in Attachment 3. Can

EPA please provide the qualifications for this category?

Answer: This QA Officer is not a labor category that will be used to support this requirement. The

Quality Management Plan will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis as a part of the responsibility determination as stated in RFQ Attachment 5, Technical Evaluation Criteria. .

11. Question: Can EPA confirm that the ODC “plug” numbers provided in Attachment 4-4 should be applied to the total costs and only included in the Attachment 4-1 Summary Sheet? Similarly, can EPA confirm that the fixed price courses should include the travel and ODCs necessary for the delivery of those courses and that these course-specific non-labor costs are separate from the ODC plug figures provided in Attachment 4-4?

Answer: Please refer to Answer #9 above.

12. Question: According to the RFQ, proposals (technical and pricing combined) are limited to 50

(double-sided) pages including tables and figures. Please clarify whether that means a maximum of 50 pages or 100 pages (i.e., 50 pages x 2 for double sided).

Answer: Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitled “Length of

Proposal” for clarification regarding the page limitations and information that is included/excluded from the page count.

13. Question: For the price proposal, typically this is submitted as a separate volume from the technical proposal. Please clarify if the technical and price proposals should be submitted as one volume or as two separate volumes.

Answer: The technical and price proposals should be submitted as two separate volumes, however the combined length is limited to a total of 100 electronic pages.

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14. Question: Please clarify the page limitation for this response described in the announcement: As this is an electronic submission, please confirm that the 50 (double-sided) pages refers to a total of 100 electronic pages.

Answer: The page limitation is 100 electronic pages.

15. Question: Please confirm that the two plans (Subcontracting Plan and Quality Management Plan) under the Evaluation of Responsibility Matters are not included in the page count.

Answer: The Subcontracting Plan and Quality Management Plan are NOT included in the page limitation. Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitled “Length of

16. Question: For the pricing, RFQ Attachment 4, Pricing Instruction and Schedule, requires contractors to provide copies of the tables in Attachments 4-2 and 4-3 for EACH YEAR, among other information

(Summary, ODCs, SF-18, cover page of GSA contract, etc.). In light of the number of pages these instructions require, we would request that the pricing be excluded from the page count.

Answer: Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitled “Length of

Proposal” for clarification regarding the page limitations and information that is included/excluded from the page count.

17. Question: The Evaluation Criteria states that Past Performance should include “contracts and subcontracts performed during the past three (3) years and all contracts and subcontracts currently in process”. Please clarify if the term “performed” during the past 3 years should be “completed” within the past 3 years.

Answer: Please refer to the language as stated in Clause 24 Past Performance Information which states:

(b) Contractor’s and team subcontractors shall distribute the Past Performance Questionnaire and

Client Authorization Letter found in Attachments 6 and 7 of this RFQ to at least five (5) current or past clients for projects/contracts which are similar in scope, magnitude, relevance, and complexity to this requirement. All projects/contracts must either have been completed in the past three (3) years or, if ongoing, have been in existence for at least six months.

18. Question: Clause 24) Past Performance Information states that contractors and team subcontractors shall distribute the Past Performance Questionnaire and Client Authorization Letter found in Attachments

6 and 7 of this RFQ to at least five (5) current or past clients..." Please confirm EPA only requires submission of these attachments for 5 past or current contracts total, for both prime or subcontractors.

Answer: Please refer to the language as stated in Clause 24 Past Performance Information which states:

(b) Contractor’s and team subcontractors shall distribute the Past Performance Questionnaire and

Client Authorization Letter found in Attachments 6 and 7 of this RFQ to at least five (5) current or past clients for projects/contracts which are similar in scope, magnitude, relevance, and complexity to this requirement. All projects/contracts must either have been completed in the past three (3) years or, if

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19. Question: There is a requirement for font size for text that is 11-point for larger (Times New Roman).

Please clarify if offerors may use smaller size fonts in graphics and tables as long as they remain readable.

In addition, please clarify if offerors may use a different font style than for in graphics and tables to enhance the readability.

Answer: No, offerers may not use a smaller font size in graphics and tables, or use a different font style.

20. Question: The attachment entitled Sol_RFQ-DC-15-00190.docs seems to be missing Sections A –

H. Pages with these headers print but there is no information under each Section. Is this information included elsewhere or are these Sections missing or are they not applicable?

Answer: Please disregard SOL_RFQ-DC-15-00190.docs in FedConnect.

21. Question: If an offeror’s approved accounting system allows the application of G&A to non-labor costs, is it correct to assume that G&A will be allowed on non-labor and that offerors should assume that the ODC “Plug” numbers shown in Attachment 4-4 include any applicable G&A?

Answer: Yes, if an offeror’s approved accounting system allows the application of Indirect Rates to non-labor costs, then applicable Indirect Rates may be applied to non-labor costs. The “Plug” figures in RFQ Attachment 4-4 do not include G&A.

22. Question: Given that this proposal is being procured in accordance with FAR 8.405-3, please clarify the inclusion of FAR 52.242-4 Certification of Final Indirect Costs as part of the RFQ.

Answer: This provision is being included and would be applicable to contractors with an approved accounting system that allows for the application of Indirect Rates to non-labor costs.

23. Question: Is the document entitled "SOL_RFQ-DC-15-00190 (1)"which seems to be the table of contents for Standard Form 33 applicable given that Amendment 1 provided Standard Form 18?

Answer: Please disregard SOL_RFQ-DC-15-00190.docs in FedConnect.

24. Question: In the Instructions for Attachment 4, EPA states: “The cost estimate of the Fixed Price courses shall include; labor to travel to and from a course (up to 8 hours each way; all on-site labor for the courses set-up, break-down, instructions, exercise support etc.: labor to prepare course equipment and supplies for shipping; all supply costs, and all equipment costs including maintenance/repair, cleaning, calibration, depreciation, rental, etc. These costs should not be included anywhere else in the cost estimate.”) Attachment 4-4 includes an ODC for equipment. Please clarify what equipment would be included in the Fixed Price courses and what equipment would be included in the Attachment 4-4 ODCs.

Answer: The equipment to be included on Attachment 4-4 ODCs, is equipment that would be used for the courses and exercises listed in sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Performance Work Statement. All the equipment costs for the standard courses listed in section 5 are to be incorporated into the Fixed Priced courses found on RFQ Attachment 4-3.

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25. Question: EPA has not identified any Government Furnished Property (GFP) as part of this solicitation. Please clarify if there will be GFP under this BPA. If so, please provide a list of the GFP. In addition, please confirm that EPA will provide the GFP to the awarded contractor, with the contractor being responsible for storing the GFP.

Answer: There will be NO Government Furnished Property (GFP) as part of this solicitation. For the purposes of this solicitation contractors should assume that there will be no supplies, expendables transferred to them that they will be responsible for storing.

26. Question: For Past Performance, please indicate if there is a threshold for including past performance for any proposed subcontractors (e.g., for subcontracts expected to exceed $500,000).

Answer: Please refer to the language as stated in Clause 24 Past Performance Information which states:

(b) Contractor’s and team subcontractors shall distribute the Past Performance Questionnaire and

Client Authorization Letter found in Attachments 6 and 7 of this RFQ to at least five (5) current or past clients for projects/contracts which are similar in scope, magnitude, relevance, and complexity to this requirement. All projects/contracts must either have been completed in the past three (3) years or, if

27. Question: Please confirm that none of the labor categories in the RFQ are subject to the Service

Contract Act (i.e., these are all professional positions not subject to hourly labor rates under the U.S.

Department of Labor).

Answer: It depends. In the past, some technicians used to support this requirement have been subject to the Service Contract Act.

28. Question: EPA has provided the labor categories and qualifications for this RFQ in Attachment 3.

However, these labor categories do not match the labor categories in our GSA Professional Services

Schedule (PSS) SIN 899-1. Given this situation, please confirm that we are to propose labor rates based on our GSA SIN 899-1 labor categories that meet or exceed the qualifications for each labor category specified in Attachment 3.

Answer: Contractors should propose labor rates based on their GSA SIN 899-1 labor categories. Please provide a crosswalk for comparable labor categories in your response to RFQ Attachment #4-2 entitled

Fixed Labor Rate Schedule.

29. Question: Further, within an individual EPA labor category, we have multiple GSA labor categories that meet or exceed the RFQ qualifications, thus allowing us to provide maximum value to EPA for our proposed solution for individual POs issued under the contract. We would therefore like to confirm that it is acceptable to propose multiple GSA labor categories within an individual EPA-specified labor category. By way of example:

EPA RFQ Labor

Category

GSA PSS SIN

899-1 Labor

Category

Total Hours

Per Year

Sr.

Instructor/Scientist/Engineer 4

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Category 1 2000

Category 2 1000

Total Sr.

Instructor/Scientist/Engineer 4

Answer: Yes, it is acceptable for a contractor to propose multiple GSA labor categories within an individual EPA-specified labor category.

30. Question: Please confirm that it is EPA’s intent to issue all purchase orders (POs) against this BPA on a fixed price basis (FP), as described in Clause 9. If this is correct, please confirm that EPA will revise/remove the clauses and other references that are not applicable to FP POs, including (1) Clause 9

(b) that references billing based on the fixed rates established in this Agreement and (2) the language within Clauses 15 (monthly progress reports) and 16 (submission of invoices) that references labor hours and labor hour categories. If it is EPA’s intent to issue all purchase orders against this BPA on a Fixed

Price basis, billing would be based on an agreed upon payment scheduled and incorporated into the subsequent Purchase Order. Please confirm that the Purchase Orders will be Firm Fixed Price and not

Labor hours/Fixed Rates.

Answer: No, these Clauses will not be revised or removed. They are applicable to the RFQ Attachment

4-2, Fixed Labor Rate Schedule. Please refer to revised Clause 10, previously named Fixed Priced

Purchase Orders, now renamed Purchase Orders. Fixed Priced and Time and Material type Purchase

Orders will be issued against this Blanket Purchase Agreement and the negotiated fixed labor rates will be used to develop a ceiling price.

31. Question: Given that the responses to questions will have a significant impact on our proposal preparation, we would ask that EPA extend the due date for offers by one week to March 11, 2016.

Answer: Yes, the submission date has been extended to 4:30 PM EST, March 11, 2016. Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement.

32. Question: Do the Subcontracting Plan and the Quality Management Plan count towards the 50 page technical proposal limit?

Answer Please refer to the revised RFQ Announcement under the section entitle “Length of Proposal” for clarification regarding the page limitations and information that is included/excluded from the page count.

33. Question: Should it be assumed that EPA has access to the contractor’s existing GSA Schedules in order to determine discounts reflected in Sheet 4-2?

Answer: Yes, EPA will have access to each contractor’s existing GSA Schedule.

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34. Question: Travel expenses for fixed price courses are not listed in the Section 4 instructions as an item to include in the fixed price. Are the travel costs for fixed price courses covered as part of the ODCs in Sheet 4-4?

Answer: For the fixed priced courses, these costs should be accounted for per the instructions found on

Attachment 4, which states that “the cost estimate of the Fixed Price courses shall include; labor to travel to and from a course (up to 8 hours each way); all on-site labor for the courses set-up, break-down, instructions, exercise support etc.: labor to prepare course equipment and supplies for shipping;

all supply costs, and all equipment costs including maintenance/repair, cleaning, calibration, depreciation, rental, etc. These costs should not be included anywhere else in the cost estimate.”

35. Question: The EPA’s Memorandum for its RFQ for Environmental Response Training Program

(ERTP), begins, “Attached please find RFQ number RFQ-DC-15-00190 (eBuy RFQ 1063096), which is being issued to procure services to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)

Environmental Response Team (ERT) from GSA Schedule number 899: Environmental Consulting

Services 899-1.”

Last year, GSA Schedule 899 (along with GSA Schedules FABS, AIMS, Language Services, PES, MOBIS, LOGWORLD, and Consolidated Services) was absorbed into the GSA Professional Services

Schedule (PSS) 99. Would the Agency please clarify under what conditions a business that holds a GSA

Schedule 99 may now bid this ERTP RFQ since this transition was not an option but a mandate for small business schedule holders in 2015?

Answer: GSA Schedule 899 still exists under the umbrella of GSA Schedule 99. A contractor holding a

GSA Schedule 99 is eligible to respond to this requirement.

36. Question: Within the past six months I have obtained references from a number of clients for a US Navy training proposal. In order to satisfy the past performance requirements for this RFP I will need to go to some of the same clients, for essentially identical references on the same training projects, and I am sensitive to going back to clients with what they may see as duplicate requests for information. Given that the Navy reference forms ask for similar information (though they are not identical), may I provide these existing references in response to this RFQ?

I would ensure the RFQ reference number is provided for each, along with the full contact information of each referee.

Answer: Yes, the existing references may be used provided that the RFQ number is on each and that they were submitted within the past 6 months.