Questions for sol_24Q1060 6.24.24.pdf

Video Facility Engineering Support Solicitation No.SPE470524Q1060

1. QUESTION. We would like to know if this is a brand new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services.

ANSWER. This contract has been awarded many times, each with a 1 year, plus 4 option years duration.

2. QUESTION. If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

ANSWER. The current contract number is SP4705-19-P-0007

3. QUESTION. What is the expected volume of events/productions for the year?

ANSWER. The volume varies per year. Some years we use about half of the contract hours, some other years more, up to the contact limit.

4. QUESTION. Are there specific certifications you're requiring our technicians to have?

ANSWER. There are no specific certifications. At least 15 years of experience as a video Systems Engineer is needed.

5. QUESTION. Would the video engineer/other technician assist with production tasks such as switching, camera operating, etc? Or is their role more task-order oriented regarding recommendations, inspections, removals, installations, integration, service & maintenance?

ANSWER. The latter. This is not production operations work, it is systems engineering maintenance, repair, design, and installation.

6. QUESTION. Is there an incumbent for this URFP? If yes, can I access information through the Freedom of Information Act regarding the contract/award letter from the previous award?

ANSWER. Contracting information is public information for the most part. It is the vendor’s right to request information through FOIA, however most vendors usually understand how to access this type of historical information. A commonly used website is the Federal Procurement Data System (Fpds.gov).

7. QUESTION. The past performance questionnaire indicates that CPARs are required for the given citations. We do have the required experience and applicable past performance in this area, however one of them the customer has not initiated a CPAR for yet. Can we still ask the customer to complete and return the questionnaire and if so, how should they address the CPAR section?

ANSWER. We do understand some vendors may not have a CPARS report. Please ensure your reference provide the Past Performance Questionnaire provided before the closing period. It is the vendor’s responsibility to ensure the PPQs are received by contracting by the closing time of the solicitation. If the company has no CPAR report(s) to provide, simply state No CPARS Reports are currently available and provide the completed PPQ by their reference(s).

8. QUESTION.: Are non-governmental organizations acceptable as past performance citations? If so, how should those organizations address the CPARs section of the questionnaire?

ANSWER. Non-governmental organizations are acceptable for this requirement. Please see the response for question number 7, which addressed the CPARS question.

9. QUESTION. Page 18 under Submission Instructions states, "The offeror shall submit one original copy of Aspect I and Aspect II. The offeror’s name must only be included on the original copy."Is a redacted version for Aspects I and II needed in addition to the original?

ANSWER. Only one copy of Aspect I and II is required, and no redacted version will be necessary for this requirement.

10. QUESTION. Is the expectation for the company's name be excluded from Aspect III?

Page 19 under Evaluation Aspect II Past Performance states, "Past Performance:

Offers shall include the resume of the person(s) proposed to provide the required services as within the Statement of Work." Generally resumes are included as part of the Technical proposal so please confirm that you are requesting the resume(s) to be included only in Aspect II - Past Performance.

ANSWER. Yes, for this requirement, please follow the instructions as provided for the resumes. No redaction is necessary for this requirement.

11. QUESTION. If vendors are registered and up to date in SAM.gov, can we supply information to that end or a print out of our SAM.gov record, instead of filling out the reps inserts questionnaire?

ANSWER. All vendors when proposing/quoting are required to provide their representations and certifications from sam.gov. Please do not confuse your reps and certs with the past performance questionnaires.

12. QUESTION. Is there an incumbent for this contract?

ANSWER. Yes

If not, how has DLA handled this service in the past? Yes

If there is an incumbent, can you provide the company name and past value of the contract?

ANSWER. See question 2.

13. QUESTION. An IGCE been done for this contract? If not, is there a budget range allocated?

ANSWER. Yes, there is an Independent Government Cost Estimate for this contract, and this is protected information for contracting personnel only.

14. QUESTION. How did you arrive at the 144 hours per year as indicated in the pricing schedule? (Do you have an indication of how this time will be utilized throughout the year?

ANSWER. The contract holder bills based on hours worked. That could be a 4 hour day, an 8 hour day, or multiple 8 days for longer projects.

15. QUESTION. 2.1 - In the statement of work, contractor is stated not to exceed 144 person hours. Is this just “Key Personnel” or also includes “Non-Key Personnel”?

ANSWER. The SOW has been modified to only ask for a video systems engineer. No assistants are required.

16. QUESTION 2.1 - What is the average length of the five (5) meetings per year? Is there preparation time included for these meetings?

ANSWER: Removed from SOW.

17. QUESTION. 2.1 - For the two (2) scheduled equipment inspections per year, will the studio be in operations while this is taking place?

ANSWER: No

18. QUESTION. 2.1 - Looking at the documents provided on Sam.gov, we do not see the Excel equipment spreadsheet “Video Equipment Inventory 2-2024”. Is there a link that we are not seeing?

ANSWER: Excel spreadsheet to be attached as part of the amendment.

19. QUESTION. 2.1 - “Vendor shall respond within 24 hours of a service call . . .” Will this be by phone, video call, remote, or in-person?

ANSWER: Vendor shall respond within 24 hours of a service call as requested by the COR for phone, online, or in-person support. (updated in the SOW). Typically, the request is 50% phone call, and 50% on-site support.

20. QUESTION 2.1 “Vendor will uninstall equipment . . .” Will the DLA team assist with this or should the vendor provide appropriate technical support outside of business hours?

ANSWER: A DLA employee will always escort the vendor and oversee/approve the requested work. All work will happen during normal business hours. Contractor will provide the technical equipment knowledge support.

21. QUESTION. 2.1 - Will the Vendor be required to bring necessary tools and equipment (ladders, scaffold, etc.) necessary to complete each task? Is there a separate rental allocation for these tasks?

ANSWER: There is no separate rental allocation. Ladders will be provided by DLA Installation Management. The vendor is expected to bring tool box sized tools, wire ties, wire labeling and video testing equipment.

22. Question. 2.1 - “Vendor will update the current audio/video wiring diagrams. . .” What format are the current wiring diagrams in? Can we have access to these diagrams to get an estimation of how extensive your studio facility is?

ANSWER: The documents are paper scans. They have not been updated in a few years, hence hand written changes on the documents. I will request an update after a major system change is completed.

23. QUESTION. 2.1 - Is the cost of updating wiring diagrams included at the “Key Personnel” rate and subject to the 144 hours maximum for the year?

ANSWER: Yes

24. QUESTION. 2.1 - It has been our experience that ANY update or change to systems should be done when the facility is not in active use. Do you have times during normal operating hours where installations and/ or removals may take place?

ANSWER: Yes. The facility will be available during normal operating hours for updates/changes.

25. QUESTION. 9.1.2 - If the actual hours for proposed and authorized work/job/project exceeds the estimated amount, will the extra hours be able to be billed?

ANSWER: No, we will not exceed the 144 hours per year. We will most likely do a large project around end of the Fiscal Year, so if the year’s 144 hours are used up, next year’s billable hours will pick up the remained cost to complete the work.

26. QUESTION. 9.1.5 - Where are we to include the non-key personnel hourly billing rate?

There is not an area for this in the Price Schedule.

ANSWER: We have removed the non-key personnel provision. All billing will be for the Key Video Systems Engineer.

27. QUESTION. Is there an incumbent Vendor who has been Supporting the Operations?

ANSWER: This contract has been awarded many times, each with 1 year, plus 4 option years.

The current engineering supporting contract expires FY24.

28. QUESTION. How many Video Engineers are on-site daily for this facility?

ANSWER: Zero. The video engineers are not required to be on-site on a daily basis.

29. QUESTION. What is the typical output of this facility? Is it in production continuously during normal business hours?

ANSWER: This contract will support live streaming equipment functionality, which is in use on average once per week for 2 hours. A 20-30 ft. studio will be installed within the next year or so, requiring wiring/design/space reconfiguration. The space/walls/electrical/lighting is an Installation Management/building maintenance responsibility.

30. QUESTION. Does the facility stock common Video Engineering tools and supplies necessary to support its operations?

ANSWER: No.

31. QUESTION. Does the facility have video scopes, waveform monitors, critical reference monitor, etc. onsite? If not, would this be required to be brought in by the Support Vendor?

ANSWER: Waveforms/Scopes are wired into the system. Perfect color-correction monitoring is not supported. Other engineering equipment is not available. For example, to help identify unlabeled wires, should that arise.

32. QUESTION. Would being awarded this contract make the winning contractor ineligible for bidding on recommended upgrades to the facility, including equipment purchases and broadcast systems installations and integrations?

ANSWER: No. Note that equipment is only purchased directly by DLA.

33. QUESTION. What happens when the work required by the vendor at the request of the DLA exceeds the 144 hours allowed in this contract? There is roughly an allotment of 12 person hours per month (which is roughly 1.5 days).

ANSWER: We will not exceed the 144 hours per year. We will most likely do a large project around end of the Fiscal Year, so if the year’s 144 hours are used up, next year’s billable hours will pick up the remained cost to complete the work.

34. QUESTION. How old is the equipment that is being used on a daily basis?

ANSWER: The original installation was between 2009 to 2011. Some equipment has been replaced over the years, as needed for failure or incompatibility reasons.

35. QUESTION. What type of network infrastructure is in place in this facility and is that part of the support as well? As video systems advance, their interdependence upon network infrastructure is increasing.

ANSWER: We have a network router, replaced in 2019, isolated from the rest of the building and not on the internet. Setting up network configurations of new and existing equipment is a needed skill. Agreed that equipment dependence on network connectivity is increasing. Trouble shooting may require an engineer to use the internet, their phone internet could be needed. The building does have Verizon repeaters.

36. QUESTION. The instructions indicate that offerors shall submit a completed pricing schedule for Base Year CLINs through Option Year 4 CLINs, and the pricing summary (page 20). Also, Attachment 2 - Price schedule final outlines pricing for the base year and four option years. However, on page 21 it is stated: "All pricing information shall be placed in Aspect III. Aspect III shall include pricing for the base period and the two (2) options, see Attachment-II-Price Schedule. The price shall include a summary for each year and a three-year summary that includes the base and all options."

To ensure compliance with the solicitation requirements, could you please confirm whether the price schedule should include:

- A breakdown for the base year and four option years as detailed in Attachment 2, or

- A summary for each year and a cumulative summary for the three-year period including the base year and two option years as mentioned in the instructions on page 21?

ANSWER: Both documents are required Aspect III is the summary of the pricing listed in the spreadsheet. The government requires both the pricing narrative and the pricing spreadsheet. The narrative supports the spreadsheet.

37. QUESTION. In the Statement of Work, it is mentioned that the contract includes 144 billed hours per year for specialized video engineering services. Additionally, there is a reference to assistants to the engineer. Could you please clarify whether the hours worked by assistants should be included within the 144 billed hours per year, or if they should be accounted for separately?

ANSWER: We have removed the non-key personnel provision. All billing will be for the Key Video Systems Engineer.