Tab_25_Attachment_2_PWS.pdf

Performance Work Statement Sign Language Interpreting Services

Defense Logistics Agency – Land and Maritime

1. GENERAL: It is the policy of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime, a federal agency, to provide equal employment opportunities for its employees, former employees, as well as applicants for employment with policies and practices in full compliance with the laws and regulations governing equal employment opportunity.

2. SCOPE: The scope of the result ing contract is to obtain on-site interpreting services for deaf and hard of hearing employees, former employees, and applicants on an as needed basis for the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus, OH. The resulting contract will be for one base year and four option years.

3. BACKGROUND: Due to the increase in demand and the lack of in-house resources necessary for effective and timely interpreting services for employees who are deaf and hard of hearing, DLA Land and Maritime has determined that contractor-provided services for this requirement is in the best interest of the Government. A representative from the DLA Land and Maritime Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office will be appointed as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for the Government. The EEO office will initiate all sign language interpreting requests, and the COR will monitor all vendor performance. The COR’s delegation of authority is limited to vendor performance reviews and does not authorize the COR to make contractual decisions. The authority to resolve contractual issues and make contractual decisions rests exclusively with the Contracting Officer.

4. REQUIREMENTS/TASKS: The Contractor will provide all of the necessary personnel, services, and material needed to perform the work set forth in this Performance Work Statement including, but not limited to, all equipment and related materials/office supplies, and administrative support services. Key personnel for this requirement include the Scheduling Coordinator and the Shift Interpreter.

Note: At any time assignments could be cancelled, additions made and/or changes made to start and stop time.

A. The Contractor shall provide interpreting services for scheduled trainings and other appointments as required. Current requirements include, but are not limited to:

I. Shift Interpreter: Due to the high volume of interpreting appointments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays; the Contractor shall provide a Shift

SP4702-20-R-0013

Attachment 2 - PWS

Interpreter on those three days each week. This will ensure an interpreter is available for last minute interpreting service requests.

i. The Shift Interpreter shall be available for 8 work hours each day, for a total of 24 hours each week, and 1,248 hours per year. Work days are designated as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

ii. Typical work hours at DLA Land and Maritime are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, however the vendor and the EEO office will coordinate the shift interpreter schedule to ensure maximum availability.

II. Formal training sessions dealing with specialized terminology and subject matter in the fields of acquisition, human resources, supply, information technology, disposition services, and quality assurance.

III. On the job training, working in specific applications used in the fields of procurement, human resources, supply planning, information technology, disposition services, and quality assurance.

IV. Other appointments as requested; including but not limited to:

i. job interviews,

ii. safety talks,

iii. discussions on work procedures,

iv. policies or assignments,

v. disciplinary discussions, and

vi. various meetings

V. The estimated total yearly hours for items I, II, III, and IV above are 3,933 (inclusive of the Shift Interpreter’s hours). Historical demand data for this requirement shows that the Contractor should expect non-Shift Interpreter scheduling needs to be highly irregular, at times requiring only a few interpreters actively working and at other times requiring in the range of as many as ten (10) interpreters being needed simultaneously. If necessary, the Contractor will subcontract with other local interpreting agencies or individual sign language interpreters to ensure all requested appointments are satisfied. Any subcontracted interpreter must meet the qualifications contained in this Performance Work Statement.

B. Upon receipt of an interpreting requirement, the EEO Office will contact the Contractor allowing sufficient time to meet the requirements. Minimum sufficient

SP4702-20-R-0013

time is defined as follows:

I. Three business days in advance of any single event.

II. Seven business days in advance for a large or long (more than 24 interpreting hours) work training session.

III. Requests which fail to provide sufficient lead time, as establ ished by Paragraphs 4(B)(I) and 4(B)(II), will be deemed a last minute request. The Contractor may still elect to provide the requested services for last minute requests, however they are not contractually required to do so.

C. The EEO Office will provide the following information:

I. Type of interpreters required (American Sign Language (ASL), Pidgin Sign Language, Signed English, or Oral)

II. Dates of the event to include daily start and end times

III. Event Point of contact (POC) of the organization requesting the interpreter (name, telephone number, location)

IV. The Event POC is responsible for ensuring that interpreters are signed-in upon arrival, escorted to the event(s) where the service is needed, and ensure the interpreter(s) is escorted to the check-out location, as necessary.

V. Name(s) of Deaf/Hard of Hearing employee(s).

VI. Type of interpreting event(s).

VII. Length of time for the event(s).

VIII. Location of the interpreting event(s)

D. Cancellations and Scheduling Changes: At any time assignments can be cancelled, additions made, and/or changes made to start and stop time.

I. The Government is responsible for payment of the full appointment fee for any assignment for two days (16 hours) or less cancelled less than two business days before the scheduled start of the assignment.

II. The Government is only responsible for payment of the equivalent of two

SP4702-20-R-0013

days’ appointment fee for any assignment for over two days (16 hours) cancelled less than two business days before the scheduled start of the assignment.

III. In such a situation, the Government reserves the right to reassign the interpreter(s) to another assignment as needed or to release the interpreter(s) if they are not needed elsewhere.

E. For all assignments identified as on-going or routine assignments, the Contractor will provide a confirmation that the assignment is filled and give the name of the interpreter(s) scheduled to perform the service no later than the Wednesday preceding the assignment by noon EST. For all assignments identified as non-recurring or special assignments, the EEO office will provide a deadline for when the Contractor is required to provide confirmation that the assignment is filled and the name of the interpreter(s).

F. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring interpreters have complete and accurate job information prior to day of assignment. All necessary information for each assignment will be provided to the Contractor from the EEO Office.

G. Interpreter(s) must contact the EEO Office or designated POC upon arrival for assistance with accessing the facility and must arrive 30 minutes before scheduled assignment to clear security and complete travel to specific event location on the DSCC installation.

H. All contractor personnel or any representative of the Contractor entering any government facility or government leased facility shall abide by all security and safety regulations and be subject to security checks. All contractors need to be a US citizen and able to satisfy criteria to gain base/site access. Access to DSCC site must be coordinated with the EEO Office POC.

I. Interpreter(s) must notify the EEO Office via telephone at 614-692-2577 if an assignment is canceled a ft er t hey have ar r ived at t he DSCC Fac i l it y, or if it is completed early. If this occurs, the EEO Office reserves the right to reassign the interpreter(s) to another assignment as needed or to release the interpreter(s) if they are not needed elsewhere.

J. If the communication mode of the consumer and the interpreter do not match, the EEO Office reserves the right to request that the Contractor replace the interpreter within 24 hours.

SP4702-20-R-0013

K. TRAVEL: While the Contractor has discretion in assigning personnel, unless prior approval has been obtained from the EEO Office, the principle of minimizing costs to the Government is controlling. No travel or per diem will be reimbursed for local travel. For the purposes of this contract, “local travel” will be defined as any event occurring within a 65 mile radius of the DSCC Installation. For travel outside of this defined area, the Contractor may be entitled to per diem and travel costs, after approval from the Contracting Officer or COR. Government travel information can be accessed at the following website: https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/travelreg.cfm

5. CONTRACTOR STAFFING REQUIREMENTS:

A. Scheduling Coordinator: The Contractor shall maintain a Scheduling Coordinator for this requirement. The Scheduling Coordinator will be the single point of contact that the EEO Office and/or COR will contact for all appointment scheduling or other issues related to this contract. The Scheduling Coordinator is considered ‘key personnel,’ and as such any individual serving in this capacity other than the individual the Contractor originally identified in its proposal is governed by ‘C05 Changes to Key Personnel (OCT 2016),’ which can be found in the solicitation and contract documents.

B. Shift Interpreter: The Contractor shall maintain a Shift Interpreter certified with The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) to provide sign language interpreting services every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as stated in Paragraph 4(A)(I)(ii) for unscheduled appointments. The Shift Interpreter shall have the capacity y to del iver sign language interpret ing services at a level sufficient to provide thorough and instantaneous translation and interpretation in American Sign Language (ASL), Pidgin Sign Language, Signed English, and Oral. The Shift Interpreter is considered ‘key personnel,’ and as such any individual serving in this capacity other than the individual the Contractor originally identified in its proposal is governed by ‘C05 Changes to Key Personnel (OCT 2016),’ which can be found in the solicitation and contract documents.

C. The Contractor shall provide on an ongoing basis evidence that it has a pool of interpreters (supplemental to the Shift Interpreter) capable of satisfying the requirements in this PWS. Historical demand data for this requirement shows that the Contractor should expect non-Shift Interpreter hours (totaling roughly 2,685 hours annually) to be highly irregular, at times requiring only a few interpreters actively working and at other times requiring in the range of as many as ten (10) interpreters being needed simultaneously. This information is essential to ensure that DLA Land & Maritime’s EEO Office will be able to satisfy ‘The

SP4702-20-R-0013

Attachment 2 - PWS https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/travelreg.cfm

Americans with Disabilities Act’ requirement that qualified interpreters w it h a p r o ve n a b i l i t y t o e f fe c t ive ly co mmu n ica t e be p r o v id e d in a variety of settings. To satisfy this requirement, the Contractor shall:

i. Provide a resume for each individual interpreter (not inclusive of the Shift Interpreter position discussed in Paragraph 5(B) above) demonstrating that:

1. The individual is a US citizen and able to satisfy criteria to gain base/site access;

2. The individual is RID certified;

a. If the lack of testing availability by the RID has caused an individual to not be able to obtain RID certification, that individual may still be found to be suitable to perform under this contract on an temporary basis if all other criteria is satisfied and two years of experience as an interpreter is demonstrated);

i. Once RID testing becomes available again, any interpreter receiving temporary approval shall obtain RID certification as soon as possible.

3. Capable of providing sign language interpreting services in a variety of communication skill sets (including but not limited to American Sign Language, Pidgin Sign Language, Signed English, or Oral);

and

4. This individual has work experience in at least four of the following capacities:

a. Work related to the Department of Defense.

b. Work related to technically complex subject matter in procurement.

c. Work related to technically complex subject matter in supply chain management.

d. Work related to technically complex subject matter in demand planning.

e. Work related to formal training settings.

f. Work related to on the job training settings.

SP4702-20-R-0013

g. Work related to routine Human Resource functions (job interviews; safety talks; discussions on work procedures, policies, or assignments; disciplinary discussions;

performance reviews; etc.)

ii. Provide the information outlined in Paragraph 5(C)(i) to be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis in advance of any specific interpreter’s performance under this contract.

1. Approval Needed Only Once: Once an individual interpreter’s resume has been reviewed and approved, that interpreter will be cleared for any future work under the contract that is relevant to their skillset (and barring any performance issues which may arise).

2. Contractor’s Duty to Perform: It is the Contractor’s exclusive responsibility to ensure that sufficient interpreters have been approved to meet the Contractor’s performance obligations under the contract during the entirety of the contract’s period of performance.

3. Individual Performance Issues: The Government retains the absolute right to subsequently remove an interpreter from the list of approved interpreters due to performance issues. Performance issues could be anything from repeated and/or extreme customer feedback that an individual interpreter is unable to satisfactorily provide necessary interpretation, substantial time management issues, inappropriate workplace behavior, or other similar issues.

6. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS:

A. Security and Privacy Act Requirements: All work-performed relative to the tasking identified in this PWS are unclassified or carry a Privacy Act Classification. C o n t r a c t o r s ystems security shall be in accordance with Security Requirements for Automated Information System.

B. Security Investigation Requirements: No classified work will be required.

However, the Contractor will be working with sensitive information which is covered by the Privacy Act.

C. Contractor ID Badging: The contractor employees will be given ID Badges under this contract and must pass the ID badge back ground check to have access to the

SP4702-20-R-0013

DSCC base. Specific instructions regarding facility access will be provided by the EEO Office. If and when Common Access Cards are required, DLA Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) J72.001 will be attached to the solicitation.

7. INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS: Invoices shall be submitted via the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment’s (PIEE) Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) system.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is responsible for inspection and acceptance of invoices. Payment will be made in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act.

8. Government holidays and weather/emergency info

A. The following Holidays are observed by the DSCC Facility:

New Year’s Day – 1 January Martin Luther King Jr. Day – 3rd Monday in January President’s Day – 3rd Monday in February Memorial Day – Last Monday in May Independence Day – 4 July Labor Day – 1st Monday in September Columbus Day – 2nd Monday in October Veteran’s Day – 11 November Thanksgiving Day – 4th Thursday in November Christmas Day – 25 December

B. If these holidays fall on Saturday, the preceding Friday will be observed. If these holidays fall on Sunday, the following Monday will be observed. If the holiday falls on one of the Shift Interpreter days (Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday), work will not be performed on that particular day. If a scheduled appointment falls on a holiday, the vendor shall clarify with the EEO office regarding that appointment.

C. Occasionally, the DSCC installation may be closed due to weather or other emergencies. In the event of a closure, the EEO office will coordinate with the vendor regarding what appointments are affected. See Paragraph 4(D) for cancellation procedures.

9. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS EXCLUDED: Inherently Governmental Functions (IGF) are excluded from the scope of this Performance Work Statement.

SP4702-20-R-0013