Attachement_(A).pdf

To: Offerors

From: Faybein Moy, Contracting Officer

Date: October 24, 2014

Subject: Answers to the Questions asked by offerors for Make Ready Services Solicitation

(SPK33014R5720) after and at pre-proposal conference on October 14, 2014

1. Q) What will be the average volume of work load in one month? What are the peak months for this contract?

Ans) 15-25 Task Orders, May to September

2. Q) Are the Performance Bonds required? If yes, amend SF-1442 to reflect the same.

Ans) Yes! Performance Bonds will be required at the time of award. We will initiate an amendment to reflect the same on SF-1442.

3. Q) Will Bar chart be required to submit for this IDIQ contract?

Ans) As this contract is an IDIQ Contract, so Bar Chart is not required with your technical proposal.

4. Q) Is there any specific Company recommended by the U.S. Embassy for Insurance and performance bonds?

Ans) Insurance/Performance bonds are accepted from any well reputed company. There is no specific company recommended by U.S. Embassy.

5. Q) What will be working days and timings to perform under for this contract?

Ans). Monday – Sunday, 0800 – 1830 hours and or as approved by COR.

6. Q). Why Janitorial Services are not included in this solicitation?

Ans: Embassy already has Janitorial Service Contract.

7. Q) Do vendor requires to submit SAM certification every year?

Ans) SAM certification is not required every year but it should remain valid till during the entire contract period.

8. Q) What is the tentative date for the award of this contract?

Ans). We are planning to award this contract somewhere in December-2014

9. Q) Is Escalation (Economic Price Adjustment) clause included in this contract?

Ans) This is Firm Fixed Priced Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. No

Economic Price Adjustment clause is included in this contract.

10. Q) Who will determine what needs to be done in a particular house for make ready? Will there be a joint survey (Embassy and Contractor)?

Ans.) There will be joint survey (Embassy and Contractor).

11. Q) If a specific brand is not available in the local market against any task order, then can contractor use any equivalent brand with the consent of the COR?

Ans) It can be, however contractor has to submit at least three samples for approval.

12. Q) RFP requires offerors to provide price per square meters (sqm) for electrical services under CLIN 18, how would you measure the area?

Ans). It will be on measured by covered area basis.

13. Q) Will contractor be allowed to charge for the inspection services when they will perform inspection of the house to know what needs to be fixed?

Ans) Vendor must include all overheads in their price proposal as per SOW. The Government shall not be obligated to pay any charges other than the contract price.

14. Q) What is a florescent light?

Ans) White color light is considered florescent light in US terminology.

15. Q) Do we need to provide brand names of supplies (with the proposal) that will be used to perform services under this contract?

Ans) SOW includes brand names that we require to use.

16. Q) Line Item#22 Gardening Services- Does it include planting/removing of seedlings or trees?

Ans) It’s all trimming, cleaning and grass cutting. NO cutting (removing) of big trees. Tree trimming and branches cut includes.

17. Q) Provide minimum required safety level?

Ans) See section C.1.2, H.7.2, H.8, and H.10 of solicitation.

18. Q) What are the insurances which contractor needs to have for his workers?

Ans) The bidder/offeror shall assume liability toward their employees and their beneficiaries for war-hazard injury, death, capture, or detention, in accordance with the clause at FAR 52.228-4 under Section I. If vendor fails to furnish all contractual documents, required bond(s) within

10 days after receipt of the forms by the bidder, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract for default.

19.) Line item#22, 23, 24 and 25 are just the maintenance/services or do contractor required to provide replacements for the damage items?

Ans) Replacement will be charged as separate item. Please consider plumbing services as item#26 (reference C.2.5).

20. Q) Solicitation requires the offeror to provide prior construction experience while the requested services are multi-task instead of construction.

Ans) All the services requested in this solicitation are somehow covered under construction, that is why prior construction experience is required for pre-qualification.

21. Q) During maintenance, if any switch, fan or any equipment is found faulty, what course of action contractor will take?

Ans) Contractor will inform COR.

22. Q) Will the contractor be allowed to work independently at a house or they must be escorted by an Embassy employee?

Ans) Contractor will be escorted.

23. Q) Is this necessary to maintain store at your premises? If yes then how much stock of accessories required at a time?

Ans) No

24. Q) The line items are silent about plumbing work while C.2.5 asks for these services. Please clarify.

Ans) Please consider plumbing services as item#26 (reference C.2.5).

25. Q) In your solicitation, it is just mentioned emulsion. Please clarify either it will be Vinyl emulsion or plastic emulsion?

Ans) Plastic emulsion

26. Q) . Tax is not to be included in the price due to the tax exemption. Will the Embassy provide the tax exemption certificate to the contractor?

Ans) U.S Embassy will not be providing any tax exemptions/waivers during the course of this contract. We do not deduct any applicable tax from vendor’s payments. It is vendor’s responsibility to decide whether their price should include tax or not.

27. Q) How will the Embassy pay the contractor the establishment of Health and Safety protocols, its maintenance and requirements specific to the job? For example if there is 10 sq.

mtr. paint is to be done on the exterior first or second floor of the building, the H&S protocol will require the deployment of scaffolding and harness belts. The cost of paint for example is

350/ sq. mtr., the payment of 3500 will be done according to the measurement. But the H&S protocol will take more than 5 times the cost of item. How will the Embassy provide the payment?

Ans) Embassy is not liable to pay any amount in addition to the price quoted. If any cost on account of H&S protocols is to be incurred, the contractor should structure their CLIN rates in a manner that their prices should include these costs.

28. Q) How will the Embassy pay the contractor the overheads of fixed costs e.g. cost associated in making of bonds, insurances of labor, material, bodily injury, machinery, property damage, etc?

Ans) Already answered in question#27.

29. Q) Will there be any extra payment to the contractor if the Embassy ask the contractor to work on holidays like Sundays and other holidays or in extended working hours?

Ans) Vendor won’t be paid for this. The timelines mutually agreed (between the contractor and the COR) is binding on the contractor to complete the assigned job in the designated time.

30. Q) Are there any shop drawings to be submitted? If yes, how will the Embassy pay the additional costs associated with them?

Ans) Lines items should include all overhead cost. There will not be any additional cost.

31. Q) Is it necessary to use air conditioning equipment and consumables from USA when all of them are available here? It is requested to change the item 19.5 from USA made to USA standards.

Ans) USA made items in item 19.5 are available locally.

32. Q) Kindly elaborate I.4 (b) and I.4 (d). They seem opposite to each other.

Ans) (I.4) discusses FAR 52.216-19 ORDER LIMITATIONS that explains for the contractor what will be our limits for placing order under the resultant contracts

I.4 (b) (1) maximum order: Any order that we will place for a single item shall not exceed PKR.

1,25,000.00

(2) Any order for a completion of various supplies/services in one Task Order shall not go beyond the PKR. 8, 000, 000.00

(3) Same ordering office shall not place the orders within 10 days to exceed the threshold given in paragraph (1) or (2) above

(d) If the ordering office has placed the orders beyond the threshold as stated in the paragraph b and in c. The contractor shall honor these orders unless those orders are returned back to the ordering office within three days of issuance. Contractor these orders with their written notice stating that contractor is unable to ship commodities or deliver requested services with reasons for not been able to honor these orders. So upon of these notice government may acquire these services/commodities from other contractors and contractors have no right to object or protest.