Amendment 3

IT Engineering Support Services

SSA-RFP-12-1027

Information Technology Operations and Security (ITOS)

Amendment# 000003

Social Security

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

# SSA-RFP-12-1027

Amendment #000003

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

Question:

1. Would the Government consider a solicitation due date extension?

Answer:

SSA extended the proposal due date to June 25, 2012 in Amendment #000002.

Question:

2. In light of the extension of the due date for proposal submission, will the due date for receipt of past performance questionnaires be extended also?

Answer:

Yes, reference section E.4 “Past Performance Questionnaire” that includes the following revised language:

Please complete the Evaluation Questionnaire to the best of your knowledge. When it is completed, email the questionnaire directly to Traci Leach, Contract Specialist, at traci.leach@ssa.gov, on or before the solicitation close date listed in section E.2. ______________________________________________________________________________

Question:

3. For purposes of the Price Proposal Volume 2, please provide anticipated contact start date.

Answer:

The Government anticipates an award of this solicitation to be made before September 30, 2012; however, this award date is not guaranteed.

Question:

4. In Section E.2.D, SSA states that “Each resume shall clearly identify its corresponding task number”. Is there a specific resume format SSA would prefer?

Answer:

No; however, resumes must fit within the overall page limitations and other formatting limitations specified in Section E.7.1 of the solicitation.

Question:

5. In section D.2.6, The Labor category “Expert Intrusion Protection Specialist” is provided in the labor category descriptions, but is not provided in the Staffing Plan. Will SSA be providing an updated Staffing Plan to include this labor category?

Answer:

This labor category is not required for the existing tasks; however, the labor category may be required for future tasks. The staffing plan has been updated to include Expert Intrusion Protection Specialist; however, Offerors shall enter “0” for this labor category.

Question:

6. In Section D.2.6, The Labor Category Descriptions provide a requirement of years of experience, but no education requirement. Does college education and certifications equate to a number of years of experience?

Answer:

There are no substitutions for experience for any RFP labor categories.

Question:

7. Should contractor's PMO costs be built into the labor rates, including labor categories, such as Contracts Administrator, Subcontracts Administrator, Finance Specialist, Billing Specialist, Deliverables Coordinator, Security Specialist, Task Order Manager, etc., or do you expect the contractor to build in the costs of these functions into the labor categories provided in your list?

Answer:

Please reference Section E.2(6)(c) – Price Proposal Instructions on page 190 which requires offerors to provide Fully Loaded Hourly Rates. Offerors are not to propose additional labor categories or Direct Costs other than those required in the solicitation.

Question:

8. The solicitation states ARRA funds are to be used in conjunction with award of the contract. Can the Government please identify if ARRA will apply to all task orders, or if this will be implemented order by order, and if so, how?

Answer:

Please refer to page 103 of the solicitation which states “Task orders issued on the contract’s IDIQ line item may be funded using ARRA funds. ARRA-funded task orders will be clearly designated.” Some, all, or none of the task orders may use ARRA funds. Task Orders will be only be issued as needed and only for Additional Services as defined in Section B.2.7 of the solicitation. If a task order is required, it will be issued in accordance with the procedures contained in Section B.2.12.11Task Ordering Procedures – IDIQ Line Item. The Government does not anticipate issuing any Task Orders or using ARRA funds at the time of contract award, but may do so at a future date.

Question:

9. Regarding section E.2.10, paragraph (e), please confirm that a Prime Contractor would be permitted to submit multiple proposal responses to RFP No. SSA-RFP-12-1027 using different subcontracting teams.

Answer:

Please reference Section E.2(10)(e) which states Multiple Offers are not applicable to this solicitation.

Question:

10. Regarding section E.2.4., Please indicate whether Resumes count toward the 200 page limitation. Please indicate whether Letters of Commitment count toward the 200 page limit.

Answer:

Resumes and Letters of Commitment count toward the page limitation. Page limitations were increased to 250 pages in Amendment #000002, which was issued on June 8, 2012.

Question:

11. Regarding section E.4. (B), will the required supporting documentation be confined to the 200 page limitation?

Answer:

The Government assumes this question refers to Section E.2(4)(B) of the solicitation. Amendment #000001 to the solicitation changed the requirement for Offerors to submit a copy of the Statement of Work for purposes of identifying experience. Offerors shall instead submit a complete and full description of the services provided under the referenced contract. This information shall be included within the page limitations. Please see the highlighted changes in Section E.2(4)(B) – Relevant Experience on page 171 of Amendment #000001 for more information.

Question:

12. Will the Government ensure that the names and resumes of incumbent personnel be provided to awardees of ITOS?

Answer:

The Government will not provide the names and resumes of incumbent personnel.

Question:

13. As it relates to the descriptions outlined in section D.6.1, are there education requirements for the PM and APM ? If not, can a degree be substituted for years of experience? (For example, if a candidate has a BA/BS degree it may substitute for two years of experience. If a candidate has a Master degree it may substitute for four years of experience.)

Answer:

There are no education requirements for the PM and APM. There are no substitutions for experience for any RFP labor categories.

Question:

14. As it relates to the descriptions outlined in section D.6.2, are there education requirements for the Technical Support ? If not, can a degree be substituted for years of experience? (For example, if a candidate has a BA/BS degree it may substitute for two years of experience. If a candidate has a Master degree it may substitute for four years of experience.)

Answer:

There are no substitutions for experience for any RFP labor categories.

Question:

15. Throughout the Task and Sub-Tasks in the SOW, there is mention of a Task Manager. We do not find Task Manager positions in the Current Task Staffing attachment provided with the RFP. Please confirm that the Task Managers in these instances are Social Security Administration employees and will continue to be on the new contract.

Answer:

Task Managers will be Government employees. Task Managers will be named and designated at the time of contract award.

Question:

16. Page 18, Section C. Hours of Operation: indicates occasional weekend and other support outside of normal working hours. Will the individual be expected to work their normal 40 hour work week and the additional hours? How many hours are expected per labor category per year? Should these hours be billed at straight time for the over-time hours? Is there a shift differential for individuals responding outside of normal hours, holidays, and/or assigned to non-standard shift duty? If there is a shift differential how are we to annotate it in Table 1?

Answer:

Contractor personnel may be required to work hours in addition to the normal 40-hour week. Please see Price Table 1 for estimated hours per labor category per year. The hourly rates in the Schedule shall not be varied by virtue of the Contractor having performed work on an overtime basis. SSA will not pay overtime rates in excess of the hourly rates stated in Table 2 for each contract year.

Question:

17. Page 18, Section D. Key Personnel – Designation and Qualification: In order to provide the largest qualified pool of candidates, we would like to propose either increasing the years of experience and/or education/certification for a reduction in the requirement of “at least 40 highly skilled personnel” for the PM and APM positions.

Answer:

The Government will not change the qualification requirements.

Question:

18. Page 20, Section G. Contractor Training Requirements: Security Awareness Training is identified as a billable task. However, there will likely be other training requirements for security and PII that will be directed therefore these should be billable also?

Answer:

Security Awareness Training is not a “billable task.” Security training is a requirement in order to work onsite at SSA. As such, Contractors may include time spent on this and other Agency-specific training as billable hours.

Question:

19. Page 28, ITOS Task 1 Batch Support: Please verify one individual will work during the day and the second individual will work the 12AM (midnight) to 8AM shift leaving no cover between 6PM-ish and midnight.

Answer:

Yes, as outlined on page 28, “Full-time support is required within a flexible bad of 6am to 6pm, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Full-time support is also required on the midnight shift between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 8:00 am, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.”

Question:

20. Page 123, C.6.x. Clearance Requirements: Is US Citizenship required? If not required, what type of work visas are acceptable?

Answer:

Contractor staff members do not have to be US citizens. H1B visas are acceptable. Non-citizens will be required to provide a copy of their visa and other supporting documentation to SSA in order to verify their eligibility to work on the contract. Please see Section C-6.2 AS clause 0401 – Security and Suitability Requirements for additional information.

Question:

21. Page 188, Pricing Table 1: Task 6 differs from the current staffing plan. Which do want us to use?

Answer:

As indicated in section E.2, page 188, Offerors shall complete Table 1 “Price for Transition Period, Administrative Support, and Technical Tasks 1 through 20.” The current staffing provided in section D.8 is for historical reference only. SSA is aware that the staffing levels have changed.

Question:

22. Page 188, Pricing Table 1: How should shift differentials be handled?

Answer:

The resultant contract will not provide shift differentials.

Question:

23. Page 188, Pricing Table 1: Do the hours include all anticipated overtime?

Answer:

No, the hours provided in Table 1 “Price for Transition Period, Administrative Support, and Technical Tasks 1 through 20” do not include anticipated overtime. The hours listed reflect full-time support.

Question:

24. Page 188 and Page 189, Pricing Table 2: Where is Table 2?

Answer:

Table 2 “Unit Pricing Table, Hourly Rates” is located in Section B.1, on pages 6-7.

Question:

25. The totals in the “Staffing Plan ITOS Template” spreadsheet do not calculate correctly. Will SSA provide another template?

Answer:

Please see the revised Addendum to SF 1449 associated with amendment #00003, which corrects this error.

Question:

26. Reference ITOS_RFP_Addendum document, p. 14, Activities section: the text indicates research and analysis requirements as related to tasks identified in Section B.2.5. However, section B.2.5 doesn’t identify any tasks. Would the Government clarify regarding the reference of tasks?

Answer:

The reference to section B.2.5 is incorrect; the correct reference is section B.2.8. Please see the revised Addendum to SF 1449, which corrects this error.

Question:

27. Reference ITOS_RFP_Addendum document, E.7.1: the text indicates “portrait page” orientation. Is it acceptable to use landscape orientation where needed for readability, such as for the staffing plan? Would it also be acceptable to use a foldout 11 x 17 sheet if needed to display a large chart or graphic?

Answer:

Yes, for figures and tables, Offerors may use a different page orientation (see amendment #00003, section E.7.1 for additional information concerning page orientation). The use of an 11 x 17 sheet may be used for the staffing plan only.

Question:

28. Reference Current Task Staffing (ITOS) document: the current staffing plan lists 2 Administrative Tasks. Are there currently two or just one?

Answer:

There is only one Administrative Task. See section D.8 for the updated document.

Question:

29. Reference ITOS_RFP_Addendum document, p. 190, paragraph 10: the bullets in this paragraph make references to specific paragraphs, but it is unclear where these paragraph references reside within the solicitation documents. For example, the first bullet starts “In paragraph (c), “Period for Acceptance of Offers” …”, but it does not state where paragraph (c) is located. We request that the Government clarify the location of the referenced paragraphs.

Answer:

The bulleted items are associated with section E.2 “Addendum to FAR Provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (FEB 2012).” The citation (i.e. paragraph (c)) refers to the location of the information within FAR Provision 52.212-1.

Question:

30. Reference ITOS_RFP_Addendum document, p. 190, paragraph 10: are the directions in the bullets within this paragraph applicable only if a completed SF 1449 is not submitted with our proposal?

Answer:

For offers that do not include a signed SF 1449, the information contained in paragraph 10 is required. The information in the bulleted list following paragraph 10 is applicable to all offers.

Question:

31. Reference ITOS_RFP_Addendum document, p. 189, Instructions for Completing Table 2, Unit Pricing Table, Hourly Rates, paragraph c): the instructions state that “If a labor category is to be provided by a subcontractor, contractors must annotate these categories with a “sub” designation.” While a bidder will know at the time of proposal submission/start of period of performance what positions will be self-performed and which positions will be subcontracted, over the life of the contract those assignments may change due to a myriad of reasons, with some initially subcontracted positions becoming self-performed and perhaps some self-performed positions becoming subcontracted. Will the Government allow the contractor, over the life of the contract, to dynamically determine which positions will be self-performed and which positions will be subcontracted? In light of this question, we do acknowledge and embrace the contractor’s responsibility with respect to the Limitations on Subcontracting FAR 52.219-14.

Answer:

The contractor will be responsible for determining whether or not to subcontract any positions and which positions are to be subcontracted.

Question:

32. Page 188, Pricing Table 1: Task 12 differs from the current staffing plan. Which do want us to use? It has 2 additional Subject Matter Experts which don’t appear anywhere else.

Answer:

After reviewing the current staffing levels, SSA may have updated the required support on tasks for the follow-on solicitation. However, the staffing levels for Task 12 “Social Security Accounting and Reporting System (SSOARS) Hardware and Software Support” are the same as the levels listed in Table 1.

Question:

33. Can the Government confirm one non-key resume for each task area would be acceptable? Or the government expects offerors to provide resume for each FTE in Task 5, 7 and 16 (For example in Task 16 CICS Programming Support, provide 4 Resumes for Expert Systems Programmer labor category).

Answer:

The Government expects resumes for each position required in the task.

Question:

34. Task 7 (Intrusion Protection): We don't see any staffing requirement for "Expert Intrusion Protection Specialist" labor category. Please verify.

Answer:

Task 7 does not require the usage of an Expert Intrusion Protection Specialist for existing tasks. Future tasks, however, may require the use of this labor category under the IDIQ line item. As such, Offerors are instructed to provide pricing for all labor categories listed in Table 2 “Unit Pricing table, Hourly Rates.”

Question:

35. Could the fully loaded hourly rate be different by project types (IAC, ITSM, ITOS) with the same labor category or has to be the same rate for labor category regardless project types?

Answer:

Pricing for this requirement shall be for ITOS tasks only. The Government will only pay one rate per labor category for each contract year of this requirement. The IAC and ITSM solicitations are separate requirements and shall have each have their own labor rates.

Question:

36. Would you clarify what the "IDIQ Line Item" is on the pricing table? And Do we need to estimate the amount for the "IDIQ Line Item"?

Answer:

Please refer to Section E.2 (6) “Price Proposal Instructions” on page 189 of amendment #000003 which states:

“IDIQ line item –This is a zero-dollar line item that will be used to issue task orders for services in accordance with Section B.2.7 “Additional Services.”

Offerors shall not submit pricing for the IDIQ Line Item.

Question:

37. Page 162, D2, 1.5 Technical Support and Assistance (Hotline): We are not clear how this requirement relates to the ITOS RFP. We understand while providing technical assistance that we need to be complaint with 508. However, we do not see a requirement to provide a toll-free number or webpage. We do believe we may be required test different communication mechanisms to be compliant with 508. Is our assumption correct?

Answer:

The current requirement does not require Section 508 coverage for the “Technical Support and Assistance (Hotline) agency specific standard; this standard was inadvertently checked off. Reference the revised Addendum to SF 1449 associated with amendment #000003, which corrects this error.

Question:

38. Page 96, B.2.11.4 Summary of Reports: Can you elaborate on the “Sign-In/Out Log”? Is this a physical log book? Can we use an electronic version? Is your intent to determine the start/end of day or would you like to know when a task is started/ended?

Answer:

The Sign-In/Out Log as described in Section B.2.11.4 “Summary of Reports” is a document that Contractor employees will sign to certify that his/her time is accurate. Provided the Sign-In/Out Log is difficult to falsify time, the document may be a physical log or an electronic version. For example, Contractor employees must sign-in in order of arrival and sign out in order of departure.

The intent of this log is have a mechanism that verifies the amount of hours Contractor employees worked, which will be used as supporting documentation for verifying invoices in accordance with FAR clause 52.212-4 (ALT )(i) “Payments.”

Question:

39. Are foreign owned companies permitted to bid on the contract as Prime or subcontractors?

Answer:

Yes.

Question:

40. Can subcontractors to the Prime have their own subcontractors?

Answer:

Yes, subcontractors to the prime contractor may have subcontractors. However, all subcontractor arrangements must be in compliance with FAR clause 52.219-14 “Limitations on Subcontracting.”