KC-46 LG PBL Pre-Solicitation Meeting Questions and Action Items.pdf

KC-46 LG PBL Pre-Solicitation Action Item List

- 417th and gvmt will reach out to SPO, Boeing, or Boeing liaison to understand if we are considered Tier 1 or not. This is regarding the contractor having to reach back to Boeing for technical questions and if we are not considered Tier 1 there is a $3,200 dollar charge.

*USAF to get the POC from LGT and reach out to Boeing on our own.

• DONE, 417th engineering determined that Military aircraft are not supported the same way as commercial aircraft. The Air Force is not assigned a “tiered customer rating” as commercial customers are. There should be no assumptions in proposals that the Air Force is entitled to free or reduced cost technical support from the OEM.

- What do we want to do when we have a shipset that has an incident or hard landing, and the entire shipset needs to be sent in? Right now, we are only considering shipsets overhaul per the TCI schedule. This would be outside of that.

• Can we consider this as a TCI requirement and the requirement be moved in from its original TCI scheduled date?

• Right now, this type of situation is excluded from our effort… Can this be covered under O&A and tied to our original Shipset CLIN?

• Government to brainstorm and discuss this internally

• DONE, The government team has thoroughly discussed this matter and has developed several courses of action to address these types of occurrences.

1. To provide a mechanism for shipset overhaul/support outside of the standard TCI requirements, the team has added the three specified shipset NSNs to the sub-component list and established three corresponding CLINs. This enables the USAF to independently fund and support additional requirements that may arise outside the scheduled TCI requirements, utilizing those dedicated CLINs as needed.

2. The team has also added the following language to the TRD main, Section 3.8 to account for these incident-related events. “Incident Related Work” refers to parts that require repair or replacement due to damage sustained or identified by documented mishaps or hard landings. All other situations should be covered and factored into the FFP cost defined above. The incident-related work will be covered under the O&A CLIN and shall be submitted utilizing the process outlined in Appendix A, Section 8.”

- Prior to our final RFP release all the disincentive charts/tables, pricing sheets, and EPA charts will need to be updated by Jordan to show the correct Index weighted math and formulas.

• DONE, Jordan and Austin had an internally meeting and all spreadsheets and tables have been updated.

- Look into adding some language in to Appendix B 5.10 that excludes any O&A part.

• DONE, the following was added to Appendix B 5.10: If the Government provides a sub-component as GFM, the cost of that GFM will be deducted from the contractor's Firm Fixed Price (FFP) per Remanufacture (Excluding O&A replacement parts). Providing a GFM part listed on the O&A replacement parts list will have no cost impact during reconciliation; these parts will not be reconciled or subtracted from the FFP.

- Look at adding language on the sub-components for a chance of surge requirements or the ability for the contractor to not be applied the disincentive or held to the RTATs. USAF to discuss and brainstorm this internally.

• DONE, the team discussed internally and has come up with the following to help alleviate some of this concern: The contractor shall deliver at least 25% of the total quantity on order, within the Required Turnaround Time (RTAT) as specified in Schedule B of this contract. Thereafter, the contractor shall deliver at least an additional 25% of the total quantity ordered every thirty (30) days until the total quantity is delivered.

This has been incorporated into the TRD main, section 3.8.2 with an example and Appendix B, section 5.7.2.

- What is our IUID requirement… need 100% clarification on this. Is our requirement per a dollar amount? Required on every one of our NSNs or end item? USAF will look into this and make sure its defined in the TRD.

• 417th and technical team are researching this and will have the exact requirement called out in the TRD.

- Look at the requirement for H0002 Clause, do we have it written as a 30- or 60-day adjustment time? Industry would like 60 days…

• DONE, H0002 has been updated to allow for a 60-day timeframe for CMM adjustment after contractor receives CMMs.

- 417th /Gvmt to provide the demand history/failures per our NSN list. Gvmt will also try and provide current cycle counts if available.

• DONE, an updated NSN list including a column of USAF current failures to date has been sent out. 417th technical team is still researching the viability of attaining and releasing cycle times, if this is doable the team will send out to industry.

- Government to correct: pg. 57 vol 5, contract modification…should say volume 4?

• DONE, looks to be in section M, Kyle will fix in the solicitation and Austin will fix in Section M document.

KC-46 LG PBL Pre-Solicitation Q&A

1. One question about some of the repairs. Are the axle nuts going to allow under size?

Answer: Currently, we are not planning on excluding any repairs outside of the CMMs. Any exclusions from CMM requirements will be clarified and defined in the RFP.

2. Is the way that the new shipset spares will be delivered have impact on how the shipsets/packing will be sent to the contractors?

Answer: EHCC and 417th are waiting for clarification from the SPO on how the spare shipsets will be packaged and delivered from Boeing. 417th is currently working their own Special Packing Instructions (SPI) per the AF generated and identified shipset NSNs and P/N 202513111-100; Left Main Landing Gear TCI Definition, P/N 202513111-200; Right Main Landing Gear TCI Definition, P/N 202513111-300; Nose Landing Gear TCI Definition.

EHCC and 417th will continue to develop SPIs or tailor SPIs that best support the cleanest and most streamlined support for the removal, overhaul, and installation of the gears. – the expectation from the contractor would be to ship back in the same container.

3. Regarding the KC-46 platform, is this contract or the government considered a Tier 1 entity with Boeing? Each technical request submitted to Boeing outside the scope of the CMMs can incur a charge, potentially $3,400 with talk the charge is going up to $6,400 depending on Tier 1 status.

Answer: 417th engineering determined that Military aircraft are not supported the same way as commercial aircraft. The Air Force is not assigned a “tiered customer rating” as commercial customers are. There should be no assumptions in proposals that the Air Force is entitled to free or reduced cost technical support from the OEM.

4. Is it the intention to allow the contractor to go direct to Boeing for technical requests outside the CMMs?

Answer: Our intention is currently to allow this, which is documented in TRD appendix C, section 2.6 for deviations and waivers. We have an initial thumbs up from the SPO that concurs with our intentions. We have been asked by 417th leadership to formally document this with a memo, which is in work. If SPO leadership pushes back there is opportunity for this to change, but as it stands the short answer is that we will allow the contractor to go direct to Boeing.

Section 2.6 of TRD appendix C reads in part “...The contractor is not authorized to deviate from the CMM without submitting a technical inquire request to Boeing to approve the deviation. The contractor is approved to resume work following receipt of approved deviation instructions from Boeing…”

5. There are some clauses in the solicitation that are perhaps not applicable, what does the government want Industry to do on these?

Answer: Government is not taking these out, just ignore them if they do not apply.

6. As we are preparing our responses to the RFP, can we ask questions if certain questions arise during the 6-month proposal timeframe?

Answer: Yes, you are allowed to ask questions. The USAF will have to provide those questions out to the rest of industry to ensure fairness.

7. What is considered in the FFP price for shipsets and not O&A?

Answer: Everything needed to complete the overhaul per the CMMs should be included in the FFP except for the replacement of the identified O&A parts. Please see the definition identified in the TRD Main, Section 3.8.

8. Shipset metric will be set at the 75 days?

Answer: 75 days for repair and 7 days to take into account for shipping, so a total of 82 days, and the 82 days doesn’t start until the assets are received at the contractor’s facility, this will be tracked using the date stamps and CDRLs outlined in the TRD.

9. Will there be any GFM provided?

Answer: The government has outlined a process outside of the O&A and standard overhaul/remanufacture process where if an asset were to scrap or the contractor cannot repair it then a determination for GFM may be available. GFM will be provided if determined necessary but as a last resort – contractor should try to have items on the shelf to avoid this. All GFM processes and allowable instances should be reviewed and followed per the TRD.

10. Would repricing after the contract is negotiated be allowed?

Answer: No, can’t consider this in a competitive effort.

11. Will reconciliation be done at the end of the year?

Answer: Yes, reconciliation to be completed NLT 90 days after PoP end. As of now we plan to award in January 2028 and you will be paid monthly and it covers a 12-month period – regardless of what time of year the award falls on it will always cover a 12-month period (for example, if awarded in April 2028 it would cover through March 2029).

12. Will contractors schedule need to reflect 90 days for ramp up?

Answer: Yes, we are going to try to give a 6 month ramp up period (Awarding January 2028 and first shipset delivery July 2028), but 90 days will be the minimum ramp up time give to the contractor.

13. What is the time for review and response allowed for H0002 Clause (Price Adjustment for Component Maintenance Manual)?

Answer: 30 days, Gvmt is open to feedback (contractors suggested they would like 60 days)

14. Do we anticipate the cycle times will be similar for the entire fleet?

Answer: With the fleet being a new procurement, this should be the first overhaul cycle. The government will reach out and try and determine the availability of cycle time data from the SPO and provide if available.

15. Can industry exchange for available contractor furnished material inventory for O&A parts, can they exchange for subassemblies to beat turn time?

Answer: If the government provides an ‘F’ condition asset to the contractor for overhaul/remanufacture and industry has an “A” asset on the shelf from their internal CFM pool and would rather send that back to us instead of overhauling our asset to shorten lead time… yes that is allowable as long as we aren’t sending AF parts to commercial aircraft, government assets need to remain in the closed loop approach.

16. Are there site visits after proposals are sent in for validation of what was provided?

Answer: No, but what we could do is a pre-award survey before award.

17. Will we get feedback on the proposal such as… hey we think this may add value to include this or what we think these are benefits to the government?

Answer: If it goes into discussions we wont say if you have a strength but where you may have not met requirements. Unsuccessful contractors will have a debriefing on where there could have been improvements. We may set a competitive range for discussions and not include contractors outside of the competitive range.

18. What’s your approach to a supplier that wins but doesn’t perform?

Answer: That’s a risk on every contract and if within a year they aren’t performing they will get dinged on their metrics– the best way to mitigate risk is through market research and understanding what was proposed.

The government will make every attempt to correct all non-compliance issues through direct communication, verbal and /or written, with the contractor and all participating parties. In the event that the contractor shows no sign of willingness to correct or continues to show consistent non-compliance, the contractor will be given a stated period of time to improve and become compliant. If required, prescribed procedures as stated in FAR 15 and FAR 49 will be followed for contract termination.

19. Is there a limit to the amount of proposals to move forward?

Answer: As long as there are two competitive offers, we can move forward with a competitive contract. IAW DFARS 252.215-7008, ONLY ONE OFFER, if only one offer is received, the government may request additional cost or pricing data required in order to determine whether the proposed price is fair and reasonable.

20. Is there flexibly to change the fluctuation in how many jets are coming in per year?

Answer: No

21. Does the TEP table need to be completely filled in by industry?

Answer: One year of pricing. The areas that are required to be filled in will show a certain color in the cell. Follow the instructions on Tab 1 of the TEP worksheet.

22. Is there still opportunities to ask additional questions?

Answer: Yes, we have requested all questions and feedback from this conference to be given back to the government by November 28th

23. Is there a handling fee/administrative cost for the GFM?

Answer: As a last resort if the contractor were to use GFM, there is a charge. Government Furnished Material (GFM) will only be considered as a last resort, on a case-by-case basis, and only when the Government Contracting Officer determines it to be in the government's best interest. Cost of Government Furnished Material is defined as the AF Standard Unit Price (Acquisition Cost + Overhead Costs). This Standard Unit Price will be pulled from the Governments FLITES or SPM system. This cost will be reconciled from the FFP.

24. Will we be able to use FEDMALL?

Answer: Industry would need to get contract approval through FEDMALL and it was recommended that they don’t use FEDMALL as a long-term strategy. Government would not recommend that as a good source for parts as we don’t know what DLA will be procuring or stocking for KC-46 LG consumables.

25. Do we know what the forecast is going to be for the subcomponents yet?

Answer: We don’t know what the forecast is for the subcomponents, these are based on failures from the field and until this program matures we don’t have a good picture of these demands just yet.

26. Will the transcript be shared after the meeting?

Answer: The questions/action items from the conference will be posted to Sam.Gov along with the slide deck and any other material requested during the conference.

27. What is the PoP considered per the shared TCI schedule?

Answer: Per Attachment (5) KC-46 TCI Schedule the anticipated PoP will be from January 1st to December 31st of each year. For year 1 the schedule shows 9 shipsets. This will be dependent upon contractor award date, but the goal is to award January 2028.

28. Is there any way to get a list of the failures the USAF has currently seen on the KC-46 LG NSNs?

Answer: Yes, the government will update the provided NSN list with a column that shows the current failures/demands. There is a small amount, roughly a handful on the Bogie Beam and maybe a couple on a few of the other components. USAF will post that to Sam.Gov for everyone to see.

29. For the failures that have currently happened how has the AF supported those repairs?

Answer: From USAF understanding the SPO as well as the 424th SCMS utilized a contract with a market basket structure that went directly to Boeing for interim support on field level failures.

With management now residing within the 417th, the team with continue to use the established contractors in the interim until this PBL is awarded.

30. What is the USAF IUID requirement for this effort? Is it at the end item level, on every one of the listed NSNs, dollar threshold, or something else?

Answer: The contractor shall follow the instructions, AFMCIs, and manuals outlined in Appendix A, section 9.0 of the TRD for specific IUID requirements.

31. FOB Destination. If the contractor is supposed to be responsible for the transportation of shipsets back to the government how do those costs factor in this?

Answer: The contractor will need to organize, plan, and pay for the shipment of shipsets back to the designated USAF location. The costs associated with this should be factored into the FFP per Remanufacture for the shipsets. It will be the responsibility of the contractor to factor the transportation cost in the FFP.

32. Can you explain the difference between asking a clarifying question and discussions during the RFP and or the source section process?

Answer:

Questions About the RFP (Pre-Proposal)

Pre-proposal questions are a critical tool for contractors to understand the government's requirements, clarify ambiguities, and develop competitive proposals. These questions can remove ambiguity, resolve inconsistencies, and ensure a level playing field. The government would intend to consolidate all questions and answers and any RFP changes and issue an amendment to ensure that all potential bidders have the same information.

Clarifications (After Proposal)

The purpose is to help the government understand the proposal as written and resolve ambiguities or minor errors. The goal is to ensure the government fully comprehends what the offeror already proposed. It's about understanding, not changing. It can clarify items that are unclear, confusing, or contradictory. It is not for making material changes to the proposal.

Essentially, “I don’t understand what you said. Can you explain it better?”

Discussions (After Proposal)

The purpose is to allow the government to communicate with offerors in the competitive range about deficiencies or weaknesses in their proposal. The focus is on revising and improving proposals to correct flaws and improve awardability. They must be meaningful, fair, and comply with FAR requirements. Discussions are held with each offeror in the competitive range.

Essentially, “Here are some problems with your proposal. You need to fix them to improve your proposal.”

33. For the sub-component pricing on the TEP worksheet are quantity ranges required, or can we submit the min range?

Answer: You are not required to provide quantity ranges for each sub-component field in the TEP worksheet. If you prefer to provide a single price and min quantity range, you only need to complete the first section and leave the remaining range fields blank. This worksheet provides the option to specify price breaks for different quantity ranges, but a single price and quantity range or qty is also acceptable.

34. Why is there no incentive tied to the sub-components and only disincentive?

Answer: Not any specific reason. The driving requirements are on the shipsets, and the TCI scheduled overhauls. There is a high cost associated with an aircraft coming in for the 10yr TCI and the USAF having to send that aircraft back out or turn it away because there isn’t a gear ready. The depot costs for that situation were easier to establish and then we could translate those into an incentive to help ensure there is always a shipset ready to go.

The subcomponents are a valued proponent of this requirement but the drive to meet those metrics is not as significant as the TCI portion. So to still drive the importance of the RTAT on sub-components the disincentive is applied. As you stated the sub-components as well may not have as high attention as the shipsets and thus the disincentives will then help drive that requirement and on time deliveries.

35. Are the time stamps starting from the time the government ships the assets or when the assets are received at the contractor’s facility?

Answer: An asset is considered delivered when the unserviceable ‘F’ condition asset arrives at the contractor’s facility. This delivery will be accepted by the contractor from the shipping/transportation company utilized by the Government. This date stamp, captured by the shipping/transportation company, serves as proof of delivery and will be documented by the contractor and provided to the Government for each exchange per CDRL A009 (Shipsets) and A010 (Sub-components).

36. Discussion and questions on the O&A Parts:

Answer: The contractors expressed concerns about the unclear threshold for O&A parts, making it difficult to accurately estimate costs. They suggested a collaborative meeting to provide feedback on what should be included or excluded, aiming for a clearer and more equitable process. What is the appropriate threshold for these parts? Is it $15,000, 50,000, something greater? Industry was to convene together and possibly provide the USAF with additional feedback on the O&A parts list. USAF has no issues with contractors convening together to discuss where the threshold is when it comes to O&A parts to outline a Low failure / high usage rate.

The USAF is concerned about the administrative burden if the threshold is too low, leading to excessive paperwork and modifications. The government acknowledges these concerns and is open to adjusting the threshold to balance risk and administrative efficiency, seeking a "plug and play" approach while avoiding unnecessary complexity. The government views this O&A for a very high dollar and low failure items. Ultimately, the goal is to make the process manageable for all parties and to eliminate as many unnecessary O&A parts as possible.

37. Discussion on the H002 Clause and the need to substantiate the adjustment from Proposal to KC-46 CMM, how does this work?

Answer: The DRAFT H0002 clause in the draft RFP dictates what is required to request and substantiate an adjustment.

To justify increased component costs due to differences between the 767-300F and KC-46 Component Maintenance Manuals (CMMs), the Contractor must provide:

• Detailed comparison: Specific, referenced differences between the two CMMs (including page/section numbers).

• Quantified cost breakdown: Precise breakdown of increased costs associated with each difference (labor, materials, etc.).

• Causal link evidence: Solid evidence showing the direct relationship between the CMM differences and increased costs (e.g., analyses, quotes, records).

• Official Certification: Signed confirmation from a responsible official ensuring accuracy and completeness.

• 5% Threshold: Proof that the increased costs represent at least a 5% increase over the original proposed unit price.

38. What happens to late submissions past the due date, or doesn’t follow the instructions for submittal for DoD Safe?

Answer: Late proposals will be handled IAW FAR 15.208. Please refer to Section L 2.17 Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals for information regarding proposal submission requirements.