SP4705-21-R-7321-QAEEO Interpreting V4-6.17-21.pdf

EEO ASL AD-HOC INTERPRETING SERVICES

SP4705-21-R-7321

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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1. Question

Is this a multi-award? If so, how many vendors do you plan to award?

Answer Yes, this is a multi-award contract vehicle. We plan to have two (2) vendors.

2. Question

What would be the difference between non-specialty hours and specialty hours?

Answer Non-Specialty Hours are those Interpreting Services that do not require a minimum level of a Secret Clearance.

Specialty Hours are those Interpreting Services that do require a minimum level of a Secret Clearance.

3. Question Approximately how many requests require security clearance?

Answer Currently, in the virtual environment, no requests require a security clearance, however, upon return to the office, it is possible that up to 10% of the hours may require a clearance.

4. Question Approximately how many requests are offsite?

Answer Currently all services are being administered virtually via Zoom for Government, however, once employees return to the office on a day-to-day basis, we can expect no more than 5% of the requested hours to be offsite.

5. Question

How should contractors submit an additional rate for interpreters requiring a clearance?

Answer Per PWS 6.2.1, "The contractor shall bill the agency using the rates established and agreed upon in the Rate Schedule, as applicable with either 'Non-Specialty' or 'Specialty' services. The contractor will also include a separate hourly rate for interpreters requested needing a clearance to perform the duties of the job request." The Specialty CLIN(s) will be used to provide all rates associated with a security clearance.

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6. Question Is the noted 1,500 under "SECTION B: Supplies or Services and Price/Costs" the annual estimation of service request hours from years past? What are your weekly and monthly averages of service requests?

Answer Thus far in 2021, roughly 280 hours of service were requested monthly.

In 2020, roughly 185 hours of service were requested monthly.

In 2019, roughly 223 hours of services were requested monthly.

However, we are anticipating an increase in requests over the coming months.

7. Question What are the current incumbent standard hourly rates and After hours/Last Minute rates, if any?

We can’t answer this question.

8. Question What were some of the challenges, if any, that the previously awarded vendors faced while supplying this need?

Answer No challenges experienced, however, as many meetings include extensive jargon and acronyms, provision of a consistent group of interpreters has been found to be the best approach in providing our consumers with a high-quality service.

9. Question Do you have a current incumbent supplying and maintaining services as you prepare for a new contract?

Yes, we have two.

10. Question What is the past contract ID?

SP4705-18-D-0001 and SP4705-18-D-0002

11. Question What is the proposed budget for this contract?

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We can’t disclose this information.

12. Question What factors will determine if this is single or multiple award?

This will be a multiple award.

13. Question Have there been any demanding cases in years past, where Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDIs) were needed for special interpreting circumstances? CDIs are Deaf and work along-side Hearing ASL interpreters to breakdown the language barrier further for those deaf consumers who may have limited language or other disabilities that hinder their comprehension?

DLA has not yet experienced the need for CDI services, nor require them that this time.

14. Question Is the Department open to VRI services in case an on-site interpreter is unavailable for immediate or emergency services?

Answer Currently all services are being administered virtually via Zoom for Government, however, once employees return to the office on a day-to-day basis, the option of VRI will be made know in DLA’s request and based on the appropriateness of its use for each assignment.

15. Question How often are last-minute/ Emergency services requested, or on average, its frequency in the past?

Answer In 2020, roughly 350 hours of service were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

In 2019, roughly 25 hours of services were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

The increase in the number of hours is assumed to be due to the virtual nature in which interpreting services are currently provided.

16. Question Will there be a percentage incentive calculation added for those submissions of Vendors noting Small Business (SB), Certified Women Owned Business Enterprises (WOB).

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No. this solicitation is set-aside 100% for small business. This is a firm fixed price contract; therefore, incentives are not included in this contract. Vendors will only be paid for Services Rendered.

17. Question Who is the incumbent?

Access Interpreting Inc, and Mid-Atlantic Group

18. Question How will the allocated hours be distributed between the multiple vendors selected?

Answer Requested hours will be rotated between the vendors, based on consumer needs and remaining hours available.

19. Question Number of requests requiring a Secret Clearance.

Answer Currently, in the virtual environment, no requests require a security clearance, however, upon return to the office, it is possible that 5-10% of the hours may require a clearance.

20. Question What are the current struggles/issues experienced with the current vendor in filling requests?

No current struggles/issues experienced with filling requests by the incumbents, however, as many meetings include extensive jargon and acronyms, provision of a consistent group of interpreters has been found to be the best approach in providing our consumers with a high-quality service.

21. Question

"PAST PERFROMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE A PAST PERFORMANCE SURVEY

COVER SHEET (Attachment A) and PAST PERFORMANCE MATRIX (Attachment B)"- How many direct customers are required to complete the SURVEY COVER SHEET of past performance on behalf of the offeror to meet the Department's requirement? Will 2-3 suffice?

Answer Three (3) vendors for the Past Performance Matrix and Survey Cover Sheet from direct customers will suffice.

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22. Question

Will this RFP be awarded to multiple vendors? If so, how will the work be distributed?

Answer Yes, this will be a multiple award contract. Requested hours will be rotated between the vendors, based on consumer needs and remaining hours available.

23. Question How does DLA currently organize their requests – do they all go through one team or is it decentralized?

Answer The DLA Interpreting Program operates in a centralized fashion, all requests and management of requests will take place from a single shared inbox.

24. Question Page 6, Section 1.0.5 states "In fiscal year (FY) 2020, the DLA HQC, EEO office provided 5,306 hours of total interpreting services, while approximately 2,286 hours were solely provided through our ad-hoc sign language interpreting services contract, on an as-needed basis." Can you please clarify how the other 3,020 hours were fulfilled if they were not completed through the current ad-hoc sign language interpreting services contract?

Answer The DLA has three full-time federal staff interpreters, as well as an On Call contracted interpreter to fill the remaining hours.

25. Question Does DLA have ASL interpreters on-staff? If so, how many?

Yes, DLA has three full-time federal staff interpreters.

26. Question How many urgent/last minute requests were made in 2019 and/or 2020?

Answer In 2020, roughly 350 hours of service were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

In 2019, roughly 25 hours of services were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

The jump in the number of hours is assumed due to the virtual nature in which interpreting services are currently provided.

27. Question

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will DLA consider utilizing video remote interpretation services as well?

Answer Currently all services are being administered virtually via Zoom for Government, however, once employees return to the office on a day-to-day basis, the option of VRI will be made know in DLA’s request and based on the appropriateness of its use for the assignment.

28. Question Will interpreters be required to purchase a parking pass? What are the parking fees, if any?

Interpreters are not required to purchase a parking pass. DLA Parking is free of charge.

29. Question Page 12, Section 6.2.1 states "The contractor will also include a separate hourly rate for interpreters requested needing a clearance to perform the duties of the job request." We can’t seem to locate anywhere in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) what level of clearance is required for personnel.

Can you provide the level of clearance needed to do the work?

Answer

3.0.5 The DLA may submit requests on occasion requiring the contractor to fulfill the request with an interpreter who possesses a minimum level of a Secret Clearance. The interpreter provided through the contractor is required to satisfy all requirements listed in Section 3.1, as well as possess the clearance level requested.

30. Question Who pays for the clearance(s) required for this opportunity?

Answer Interpreters will already need to possess clearance before being utilized for this contract and assigned to requests requiring security clearances.

31. Question How technical is the jargon to be interpreted?

Answer The jargon can be quite technical, especially in the areas of finance and information technology, which is why a minimum of RID/NAD Certification is required.

32. Question

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Are there any challenges you would like this new contract to address?

As many meetings include extensive jargon and acronyms, provision of a consistent group of interpreters has been found to be the best approach in providing our consumers with a high-quality service.

33. Question We do not see a draft DD-254 in the solicitation. The government does reference at least an occasional need but has not provided any draft security guidance as is standard for this type of solicitation.

All qualified vendors with an active facility clearance at the SECRET or higher level will need at least a draft DD254 to provide a responsive proposal addressing security matters and assuring they can comply with the requirements. DCSA will find a vendor out of compliance with NISP standards if they do not have a DD254 to provide guidance, a security POC, and specific details on the level of clearance needed for every contract that has a classified requirement as this one apparently does. Standing by for your guidance on the DD254.

Answer Due to the potential for classified work to be performed under this contract, a DD254 is required and will be provided. The Solicitation will be amended to include the DD254.

The CLIN for the classified work will be an optional CLIN, therefore, the Facility Clearance does not need to be completed until after award. All offerors should be able to obtain a security clearance and be prepared to quickly request the security clearance if selected.

Questions 34 through Question 37 were added to Amendment Three.

34. Question Your section 3.3.1: If assignment is occurring within the DLA Headquarters facility or at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), interpreters shall arrive in the lobby 30 minutes prior to the start of the assignment to allow for security screening, check-in, and be escorted to the assignment.

a. What percentage of assignments are at these locations, requiring 30 minutes advance?

b. Is this time to be compensated to the interpreters?

Answer While all work is currently being performed remotely via Zoom for Government, when employees return to the office on a daily basis, we expect most of the work, at least 95%, 8 | P a g e will be performed at the DLA Headquarters and DTRA facility. As is standard in the National Capital Region, interpreters are not compensated for time spent in security screening, check-in, etc.

35. Question The instructions for submission are to some degree a holdover from paper submissions, talking about separate “Volumes”, etc. As this will be an electronic submission only, we were planning on sending a single PDF document, containing all the portions of the submission, including all Volumes, and the Key Personnel resumes, in the proper order, with the required Table of Contents, etc. (in reality, two PDF documents- one full, and one with company name redacted, per your instructions). Please advise if this approach of using a single compiled PDF for the submission is appropriate.

The information is stated in the solicitation. Please refer to the table of contents beginning on page 39 of the solicitation.

36. Question

Regarding documentation of past performance (in addition to Attachments A& B), we plan to both describe and cite existing and historical Federal contract numbers we have held and performed under. if you require more documentation, that would be things such as billing records, invoices, WAWF submissions, etc, and those can be provided upon request, or obtained by your research and access to the WAWF system form your end. Will that be a valid approach for your evaluation? No other specific method for documentation of past performance is detailed in the RFP; please advise if there are additional steps you would find helpful.

Answer Past performance – no documentation showing billing records, invoices, WAWF submissions are required.

37. Question Additionally, in response to seeing that you intend to award to only 2 vendors, and you have 2 incumbent vendors, and assuming that you are happy with their services, it seems unlikely you would replace them. Is this contract intended to be additive to, and overlapping with the contract under which the incumbents operate, or is the old contract expiring/expired, and you are looking for only two vendors total for the ad hoc services going forward?

The two contracts are expiring. As the solicitation states, we are looking for two vendors.

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Questions 38 through Question 52 were added to Amendment Four.

38. Question Can DLA provide historical data from the past year on:

o The total number of hours of services

Answer:

In the past year, an average 280 hours of service were requested per month.

However, we are anticipating an increase in requests over the coming months.

o The number of all-day on-call assignments (interpreters scheduled 7 or more hours per day on the same days each week)

In the past year, there have been 3 assignments which were “all-day” on-call assignments on the same day each week.

o The number of assignments that were 3 hours or less.

In the past year, there have been 440 assignments, which were 3 hours, or less in duration.

o The number of assignments that were 7 hours or more.

In the past year, there have been 142 assignments, which were 3 hours or less in duration.

o The number of hours of evening/weekend work

Answer:

In the past year, DLA has had less than 9 hours of evening/weekend work.

o The number of short-notice assignments (less than 5 business days’ notice) o The number of short-notice assignments (less than 1 business days’ notice)

Answer:

In 2020, roughly 350 hours of service were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

In 2019, roughly 25 hours of services were requested under 48 hours’ notice.

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Currently all services are being administered virtually via Zoom for Government, however, once employees return to the office on a day-to-day basis, we can expect no more than 5% of the requested hours to be offsite.

39. Question

Section 6.3 Cancellation of Requests: Billable vs Non-Billable, subsection 6.3.2, page 12, it states “Requests that are cancelled with equal to or less than twenty-four (24) continuous hours’ notice prior to the event shall be reimbursed to the contractor and considered billable. Requests cancelled with more than twenty-four (24) hours’ notice shall not be reimbursed and are considered unbillable.”

Industry standard is to pay interpreters for the full assigned time for all cancellations not received with at least 2 full business days’ notice. Skilled and professional interpreters have plenty of work available to them in the National Capitol Region that honors their industry standards and have no reason to accept work that does not. It is thus imperative, in order for vendors to be able to fill the work, that the interpreters are paid for any cancellations with less than 2 full business days’ notice. Will DLA change the wording on this to, “Requests that are cancelled with equal to or less than two full business days’ notice prior to the event shall be reimbursed to the contractor and considered billable.

Requests cancelled with more than two full business days’ notice shall not be reimbursed and are considered unbillable.”

Language will remain as is.

Question

40. 3.0.3 states, “No additional or special rates shall be used for requests placed with less than 5 business days’ notice”. This term guarantees that DLA vendors will struggle to fill last-minute requests, since interpreters in the NCR have plenty of work and are generally not available at the last minute, and an extensive amount of overhead must be expended for late-notice requests to find someone who has had a cancellation. Then section 7 allows DLA to penalize vendors who are not able to fill requests. If vendors cannot recoup this cost, they cannot employ the methods needed to fill the late-notice requests.

This combination of requirement and consequences puts the vendor in a very unfair position.

Will DLA remove this requirement and add a CLIN for requests with less than 5 business days’ notice so that late notice requests can be filled consistently?

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Question

41. Section 3.4 “Reassignment of Ad Hoc Interpreters as Needed”, sub-section 3.4.2, page 9, it states “The COR/scheduling Coordinator has the option to re-assign the interpreter to another request if needed within the 45-mile radius of the McNamara Headquarters Complex without an additional charge/cancellation fee.”

Additionally, in Section 6.1 Reimbursement for Services-Ad Hoc Interpreter(ing) Requests, subsection 6.1.3, page 12, it states “In the event that a job assignment ends earlier than the scheduled and confirmed timeframe, interpreters are required to contact either the COR or the DLA Scheduling Coordinator to either be re-assigned to another job within the same timeframe or to be released early.”

Industry standard is that if an interpreter is reassigned, it has to be within the same time frame or additional time must be approved by the interpreter), same general location, similar in subject matter, and no other conflict of interest is noted. The interpreter often accepts an assignment based on location—based on needing to be in the same general area immediately before or after the assignment. If a change in location is far enough that it cannot be accommodated by the interpreter, or if a change in the subject matter that the interpreter cannot accommodate, the change results in a new a new request.

Will DLA change their statement to say, “In the event that a job assignment ends earlier the scheduled and confirmed timeframe, interpreters are required to contact either the COR or the DLA Scheduling Coordinator to either be re-assigned to another job within the same timeframe and general location, or to be released early. DLA will recognize valid ethical or relocation conflicts as they arise.”?

Language will remain as is. Section 3.4 indicates that any reassignments will be within the same timeframe to include travel time.

42. Question Additionally, where it mentions the interpreter being within a 45-mile radius from the

McNamara Headquarters Complex could be re-assigned. Can the government provide the following information in this regard?

• Based on historical data, how often would an interpreter be asked to travel 15 or more miles from the original assignment location?

2% of requests or less.

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• Do the locations that the interpreters may travel to have free shuttle buses?

No Shuttle buses will be provided.

• Is free parking available at all locations?

Answer:

While parking is free at most locations, we cannot guarantee free parking at every location.

• Are all locations Metro accessible? Public transportation accessible?

Not all locations are accessible by Metro or public transportation.

43. Question Section 4.1 Liberal Leave, subsection 4.1.1, page 10, it states “If the job request has been cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, the contractor may invoice for the originally confirmed hours.”

Section 4.2 Closure of Federal Government due to Inclement Weather or Emergency, subsection 4.2.1, page 10, it states “The contractor shall not bill the government for interpreting service hours when the facility is closed due to inclement weather or emergency.”

Section 4.5 Inclement Weather: Non-Closures, subsection 4.5.2, page 11, it states “If an event has been cancelled due to inclement weather, the contractor may assess the cancellation fee for requests for services that are cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice.”

Because highly qualified and certified interpreters make commitments to clients and then decline other work, and it is extremely difficult to find replacement work at the last minute. Industry standard is to pay interpreters for the full assigned time for all cancellations not received with at least 2 full business days’ notice. The entire section on cancellations, closings and delays in the solicitation does not follow this standard.

Will DLA change the language in the solicitation to state that cancellations provided to the vendor with at least 2 full business days’ notice will incur no fees?

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44. Question Section 4.3 Other Federal Government Closures/Delays/Telework, subsection 4.3.3, page

10, it states “In the event that a contingency working environment is in effect, interpreting services may be delivered in a virtual manner instead of onsite, per the DLA Contracting Officer’s approval.”

Many agencies have moved to providing interpreter services virtually due to COVID 19.

We assume that is what is meant by a “contingency working environment”.

Can DLA verify this?

Yes, remote/virtual work during COVID-19 is considered a contingency working environment.

45. Question Section 15.0 Payment Procedures, page 15, DLA mentions the use of PIEE: and in Section

VI. Invoicing and Payment Schedule, page 21, DLA mentions using WAWF payment system.

Can DLA please clarify which system they require the vendor to use?

WAWF is within the PIEE system

46. Question Throughout the solicitation, DLA is asking for 15,000 hours of Ad-Hoc Non-specialty Interpreting Services and 3,000 hours of Ad-Hoc Specialty Interpreting Services per year.

The solicitation mentions during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, DLA’s EEO office provided 2,286 hours of services under the contract this solicitation is replacing.

It is understandable that COVID-19 has impacted FY 2020 and the use of interpreting services, However, the total of 18,000 hours of service is drastically more than previous solicitations for this same work, and far more than what was used in FY 2020.

Can DLA clarify why the number of expected hours of service is being increased so significantly over prior solicitations?

Emerging requirements are expecting to drive up the number of hours requested.

47. Question

1.0.4 on page 6 states that DLA has approximately 25+ employees and tenet customers that may request services. Can DLA clarify what “tenet customers” is?

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A tenant customer is one of the organizations listed in section 1.0.3, collocated within the DLA HQC and Lorton facility.

48. Question

3.0.5 requires cleared interpreters. Can DLA clarify if the vendor must have a facilities clearance to bid on this work?

According to the Performance Work Statement, section 14.0 Facility Security Clearance The Contractor shall, immediately upon award and prior to commencement of any work on any Specialty services, obtain and provide the Contracting Officer with written verification of an Active Facility Security Clearance (FCL) at the Secret Level. After validation by the Government the notice to proceed will be issued. Written verification of an Active Facility Security Clearance is not required for award.

49. Question

6.1.2 requires billing in 15-minute increments. Professional interpreters bill the vendors in 30-minute increments. Will DLA change 6.1.2 to 30-minute increments to correct this discrepancy?

50. Question Section F IV states that no travel can be reimbursed in the NCR. However, the solicitation requires interpreters to be available to be relocated within a 45-mile radius of HQ. This cost to move from one DLA location to another during the assignment time is normally reimbursed by federal government agencies. Will DLA change this to allow for reimbursement for costs to relocate between DLA sites during the workday?

51. Question The instructions direct vendors to provide a copy of the cover letter that does not identify the company. 90% of the information in a cover letter would by nature identify the company.

Can DLA confirm they would like vendors to redact as much as necessary from the cover letter to make the company non-identifiable?

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As is in the solicitation under Section L “Instruction to Offerors “under Part B-“Proposal content and volume”, states Cover Page / Executive Summary: Two electronic copies, one original, a second copy of no mention of the contractor’s name.

52. Question Was the previous contract a multi-award? If so, can DLA provide historical data on the number of hours of services requested from each of the awarded vendors in FY 2019 (in order to show volume pre-COVID).

Yes, the previous contract was a multi-vendor award. For FY2019, an average of 223 hours of services were requested monthly.

38. Question