Amendment 2

IT Engineering Support Services

SSA-RFP-12-1027

Information Technology Operations and Security (ITOS)

Amendment# 000002

Social Security

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

# SSA-RFP-12-1027

Amendment #000002

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

Question:

1. Would the Government consider extending the due date?

Answer:

Yes, Offerors are instructed to submit proposals no later than June 25, 2012, at 3:00 pm EST.

Question:

2. Is this a new or follow on requirement? If it is a follow on, please let us know the current contract number and incumbent name.

Answer:

This is a follow-on requirement with a few changes. The agency currently has a contract for similar services with MicroTechologies, LLC., and the contract number is SS00-07-60056.

Question:

3. My company is a small business and I was wondering if you will be adding any additional NAIC codes when the RFP comes out? If so we would like to request that SSA consider adding 423430 and a 25 employee or less Small business.

Answer:

Unfortunately, no additional NAICS codes will be added to the solicitation at this time. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has chosen the NAICS code that best represents its need. NAICS code 42430 is for ‘Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers,’ and this code is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of computers, computer peripheral equipment, loaded computer boards, and/or computer software. This definition does not correspond with SSA’s need associated with solicitation number SSA-RFP-12-1027.

Question:

Price Table 1

1) ITOS Price Table 1: the estimated number of hours for the Administrative hours is shown as 0. Should we assume that the current staffing plan does not require the services of this position?

Answer:

Yes, the current ITOS Administrative Support Task does not require support services from the Administrative Assistant. However, offerors are required to furnish labor rates for all labor categories, including the Administrative Assistant.

Question:

Staffing

1. Page 19, Key Personnel

a. Under paragraph (e) , is this applicable only in the case of a contractor’s substitution of key personnel? Or is it possible that the Government may use the process described herein upon contract award; that is, should the contractor assume that the resumes of key personnel submitted with the proposal may be up for continued review upon award?

Answer:

The process described in section B.2.6.1. (e) on page 19 refers to the substitution of key personnel. Resumes submitted with proposals will not be subject to further review after contract award.

Question:

b. There is a requirement stated in paragraph (e) that “Resumes received after 12 o’clock (noon) will be considered to have been received the following day.” It is unclear from the paragraph what submission deadline this 12pm deadline is referring to. Is this intended to help establish the Government’s 5 day window for resume review?

Answer:

Yes, the 12 o’clock (noon) reference in section B.2.6.1. (e) on pages 19-20 is intended to establish the start of the Government’s 5 day window for resume review.

Question:

Description of Services/Additional Services

1. Page 21, B.2.7.1. Formal Classroom Training

a) Shall the contractor consider the need for a Training Specialist or Facilitator role? Or is it assumed that, as relevant, will any of the positions listed under section D.6 Labor Category Descriptions be responsible for formal classroom training as required?

Answer:

No, Offerors shall not include/consider adding a Training Specialist or Facilitator labor category. It is the Government’s intent that, when formal classroom training is required as outlined in section B.2.7.1. of the solicitation, the technical personnel working in the area would provide training.

Question:

b) Who is will be the intended audience of these trainings? E.g. internal to OTSO only? Government employees and contractors (within OTSO)? External to OTSO?

Answer:

The intended audience for the training is the Office of Telecommunications and Systems Operations (OTSO); however, training may include other Government employees.

Question:

c) What is the anticipated frequency of these formal trainings?

Answer:

Based on the requirements in the solicitation, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not anticipate frequent Formal Classroom Training. The agency anticipates one Formal Classroom Training per year.

Question:

Technical Support Tasks

1. Page 26-27, Task 1 – Batch Support

a) (Sub-Task 1, Deliverables) Are problem reports due only for resolved problems (vs. a problem report that identifies problems in various statuses, including pending/unresolved status?

Answer:

The deliverable under Sub-Task 1 “UNIX and Windows Server Maintenance” that requires a problem report complete with status and resolution (bullet four on page 26) refers to resolved problems. The Contractor would report the status of unresolved problems associated with Sub-Task 1 under the last bullet in this section.

Question:

b) (Sub-Task 2, Deliverables) Regarding proposed time estimates to be included in program design document; what will be the desired estimation methodologies – to what degree will formal estimation processes be required to develop LOE estimates?

Answer:

SSA does not have a formal estimate process.

Question:

2. Page 31, Task 3 – Migrate and Distributed Client Server Software

a) (Sub-Task 1, Activities) For “Provide second level support to the field…” should the contractor assume this is synonymous with Tier 2 support?

Answer:

Yes, the referenced section refers to Tier 2 support.

Question:

3. All Tasks referencing third party vendor software – Should the contractor assume that third party vendors will not be responsible for any of the required maintenance of their respective software?

Answer:

SSA does not fully understand the intent of this question. However, SSA contracts with all software vendors for maintenance of software for which it purchases licenses.

Question:

Evaluation Criteria

1. Page 191, 1. Section 508/Accessibility Requirements Compliance

a) The paragraph states that the “offeror shall provide written acknowledgement for each requirement in Section D.3..”; we assume that “D.3” is a typo, and that the intended section for reference is Section D.2 Applicability of SSA’s Accessibility Requirements to EIT Solutions.

Answer:

Yes, the reference to Section D.3 within the Section 508/Accessibility Requirements Compliance section is a typo. Please refer to section E.3.1. within the revised Addendum to SF 1449, which is attached to Amendment 2, for this correction.

Question:

b) Does Social Security request that the technical proposal itself also be 508 compliant?

Answer:

Section 508 Accessibility Requirements apply to documents produced under the contract. Please refer to Section E.7.1 “General Provisions” for the requirements applicable to the proposal submission documents.

Question:

c) Is it Social Security’s intent that all deliverables defined with section B.2.8 Contract Tasks adhere to the SSA’s Accessibility Requirements?

Answer:

Yes, all deliverables associated with the resultant contract must comply with the both the Applicable Section 508 Standards and the Applicable additional agency specific accessibility requirements, which are listed in Section D.2 (pg. 159) of the solicitation.

Question:

2. Are the subcontractors restricted to one past performance or can they submit more than one applicable reference?

Answer:

In accordance with section E.2 of the solicitation, offerors must provide one past performance reference for each subcontractor. The Government will only evaluate one past performance reference per each proposed subcontractor.

Question:

3. Page 193 of 215: “each Offeror shall provide three prime past performance references and one subcontractor past performance reference for the same contracts submitted for Relevant Experience.” Can the government reduce the three relevant past performances to one from the prime and up to three including subcontractor(s)?

Answer:

No, the Government will not change this requirement.

To clarify, the proposed prime contractor (the offeror) must submit three past performance references for the same contracts as submitted for relevant experience. The submissions can be examples of work performed as either a prime contractor or a subcontractor.

Question:

4. Page 193 of 215: “each Offeror shall provide three prime past performance references and one subcontractor past performance reference for the same contracts submitted for Relevant Experience.” Can the government change the past performance requirement to remove SSA referenced environment and focus only on the complexity of the contract?

Answer:

No, the Government will not change this requirement. The past performance section does not reference SSA’s environment.