Attachment_15_-Quality_Assurance_Surveillance_Plan_(QASP).doc

ATTACHMENT 15 -Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).doc

Attachment 15

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

1. PURPOSE

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is an SEC developed and applied document used to make sure that systematic quality assurance methods are used in the administration of the performance based service levels included in this task order. The intent is to ensure that the Contractor performs in accordance with performance metrics set forth in the task order documents, that the SEC receives the quality of services called for in the task order, and that the SEC only pays for the acceptable level of services received.

2. AUTHORITY

Authority for issuance of this QASP is provided under Contract Section E.1– Acceptance, which provides for acceptance of the articles, services, and documentation called for the task order to be accomplished by the Contracting Officer or her duly authorized representative.

3. SCOPE

The Contractor is responsible for management and quality control actions necessary to meet the quality standards set forth by the task order. The Contractor develops and submits its Quality Control Plan (QCP) for the SEC approval in compliance with the task order deliverables. Once accepted, the Contractor then uses the QCP to guide and to rigorously document the implementation of the required management and quality control actions to achieve the specified results.

The QASP provides SEC oversight of the Contractor’s quality control efforts to assure that they are timely, effective and are delivering the results specified in the contract or task order. The QASP is not a part of the contract nor is it intended to duplicate the

Contractor’s QCP. The SEC has provided the Contractor with an informational copy of the QASP as an Attachment to the solicitation to support the Contractor’s efforts in developing a QCP as well as for providing the contractor an opportunity to comment and propose innovative solutions for the Government’s QASP.

4. GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

The following definitions for Government resources are applicable to this plan:

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts, and make related determinations along with findings on behalf of the Government.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An individual designated in writing by the Contracting Officer to act as his/her authorized representative to assist in administering a contract. The source and authority for COR limitations are contained in the written letter of designation.

Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) - A Subject Matter Expert (SME) appointed by the Contracting Officer to act as her authorized representative for the administration of specific technical areas under the task order. The duties and limitations of the COTR are contained in a written letter of designation or in the body of the issued task order. The COTRs report to the COR.

5. RESPONSIBILITIES

The Government resources shall have responsibilities for the implementation of this

QASP as follows:

Contracting Officer – The Contracting Officer ensures performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensures compliance with the terms of the contract and safeguards the interests of the United States in the contractual relationship. It is the Contracting Officer that assures the Contractor receives impartial, fair, and equitable treatment under the contract. The Contracting Officer is ultimately responsible for the final determination of the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance.

Contracting Officer’s Representative - The COR is responsible for task order administration and assures proper Government surveillance of the Contractor’s performance. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract, price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative – The COTR provides detailed technical oversight of specific aspects of the Contractor’s performance and reports his or her findings to the COR in a timely, complete and impartial fashion to support the COR’s technical administration activities. While the Technical Monitor [haven’t seen this previously, is it defined anywhere?] may serve as a direct conduit to provide Government guidance and feedback to the Contractor on technical matters, he or she is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government’s behalf. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract, price, terms, or conditions shall be referred to the Contracting Officer for action.

6. METHODS OF QA SURVEILLANCE

One or more of the below listed methods of surveillance may be used by the SEC in the administration of this QASP.

Customer Feedback – Customer feedback may be obtained either from the results of formal customer satisfaction surveys or from random customer complaints. Customer complaints, to be considered valid, must set forth clearly and in writing the detailed nature of the complaint, must be signed, and must be forwarded to the COR.

The COR shall maintain a summary log of all formally received customer complaints as well as a copy of each complaint in a documentation file. The COR shall also keep the tabulated results of all customer satisfaction surveys on file and shall enter the summary results into the Surveillance Activity Checklist.

100% Inspection - This level of inspection will be accomplished by monitoring [contractor-developed?] documentation as deemed necessary by the SEC. Each month, the COR or COTR will review the generated documentation.

Periodic Inspection - Periodic inspections will be conducted if and when the SEC deems necessary. For the potential tasks that have been identified so far and included in this QASP, the appropriate COTR typically performs the periodic inspection on a monthly basis.

Random Monitoring - Random monitoring will be conducted if and when deemed necessary by the SEC. Random monitoring will be performed by the COR or COTR.

7. DOCUMENTATION

The COR and COTR will, in addition to providing documentation to the Contracting

Officer, maintain a Quality Assurance file. The COR will maintain a complete file of all documentation, including that provided by the COTRs and each COTR will maintain a complete file of the documentation for their specific technical area. The file will contain copies of all reports, evaluations, recommendations, and any actions related to the SEC’s performance of the quality assurance function. All such records will be retained for the life of this contract. The COR will forward these records to the Contracting Officer at termination or completion of the contract.

SECHQ1-15-R0015

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