Industry QA (12April22).docx

Demil Solicitation Number W15QKN-22-R-0016 Questions / Answers to Industry

Q1. Is a DCAA-audited and approved accounting system required to provide cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) pricing for this solicitation?

An approved accounting system for cost type CLINs will be required. However, if the offeror does not currently have one, an Offeror can still submit pricing, along with the completed checklist in Section J, Attachment 0008 of the solicitation, entitled “PRE-AWARD SURVEY OF PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTING SYSTEM CHECKLIST”. The completed checklist will be submitted to DCAA after award if the successful Offeror does not have a current approval of their system. DCAA will conduct a review of the design of the Offeror’s accounting system. NOTE: Only the design of the accounting system will be reviewed. It does not need to be fully implemented, pending successful award of the contract. The design of the system must only show how the system will work and how it will be adequate for accumulating the actual costs associated with the Cost type CLINs.

Q2. Instead of providing both FFP and CPFF, we request that the Government allow the option of providing either firm fixed price (FFP) or CPFF pricing at the bidder’s discretion.

Answer: The Government’s intention is to issue *each task* as either CPFF or FFP. There are a variety of possible tasks, and the decision of CPFF or FFP will depend on the nature of each individual task. This is the method that was decided upon by all Government parties during the acquisition planning phase and is currently not subject to change.

Q3. If a pricing option in addition to FFP is required, will the Government accept time-and-materials (T&M) pricing in lieu of CPFF pricing?

Answer: The solicitation as it stands only allows for CPFF. All CLINs listed as CPFF should be proposed as such unless an amendment is issued to the solicitation.

Q4. The use of a Cost Plus Fixed Fee type contract does not fit our business model. Would a proposal submission which indicated we would only accept task orders utilizing a Firm Fixed Price type contract be rejected?

Answer: The Government’s intention is to issue *each task* as either CPFF or FFP. There are a variety of possible tasks, and the decision of CPFF or FFP will depend on the nature of each individual task. This is the method that was decided upon by all Government parties during the acquisition planning phase and is currently not subject to change. Therefore, unless a solicitation amendment is issued in the future, only proposals submissions utilizing both contract types will be accepted.

Q5. In the Past Performance section, can non-U.S. Government projects be referenced and used, i.e., projects for commercial entities or foreign governments?

Answer: Yes, as long as the projects/efforts are within the past 3 years and indicates similar efforts of equal or greater complexity have been performed using the Offerors existing plant capability and demonstrate satisfaction of customer requirements.

Q6. For the small business portion, is >50% of the work required for each task or for the overall contract?

Answer: Overall contract Q7. Are subcontractors required to supply DCAA documentation/payroll records as part of the pricing?

Answer: For CPFF labor, offerors as well as subcontractors are required to provide sufficient documentation to support the direct labor rates proposed. The required data, in order of preference is included in Section L.4.3.3.3 of the solicitation.

Q8. Are FFP labor rates required of subcontractors, or just CPFF labor rates?

Answer: In accordance with Section L.4.3.2 of the solicitation, for FFP labor, only one FFP fully loaded labor rate is submitted for each labor category. Separate rates are not required for the offeror and subcontractors. However, for any SCA covered labor category that will be provided by a subcontractor, the offeror may need to obtain documentation from the subcontractor to complete the required data and ensure SCA compliance.

Q9. How will the government determine what future tasks will be awarded on FFP labor rates versus CPFF labor rates?

Answer: It depends on the nature of the task/how complex the requirement is and how clearly the government can define the requirement. In addition, once the contract is awarded, the government will consult with the contractor in making the determination, to do what makes for the best approach.

Q10. Can a named subcontractor elect to only participate on FFP tasks, without providing CPFF labor rates?

Answer: It is the offeror’s decision on the utilization of subcontractors for FFP and CPFF tasks. Only subcontractors with CPFF rates on contract will be able to perform on CPFF tasks. Offerors need to ensure the requirements of the PWS will be met and are consistent with the Management Approach detailed in the Offeror’s technical proposal for both FFP and CPFF effort.

Q11. Is the blue shaded formula in Attachment 5 enabled to be changed to match the approved DCAA rate calculation or should we provide the Overhead Labor Rate as required in the spreadsheet without changing the formula knowing that for this specific subcontractor (and potentially others) the Overhead Labor Rate in the spreadsheet will not match the approved DCAA overhead labor rate calculation for this subcontractor.

Answer: The formulas shaded in blue may be changed, if the offeror (or subcontractor) account for costs differently that the formula provided. The spreadsheet is not protected, so edits should be enabled.

Q12. Is this expected to be the prime’s FFP number? Or is this expected to be a FFP number to represent the entire team? In other words, is it to represent rates that the entire team has to fall under, and not just the prime? If it is to represent the entire team it includes large and small businesses with very different rate structures.

Answer: offerors are not proposing an FFP price but rather only proposing one FFP fully loaded labor rate for each of the listed labor categories that will be used on future task orders. The extended price when applying the Government provided hours is for evaluation purposes only, is not considered a proposed FFP total price and will not be incorporated into the contract.

Q13. Can you explain a little bit how the FFP rates will be used during task order bidding and execution after contract award? Are FFP tasks anticipated to be bid and executed on a FFP lump sum basis or will they be bid and invoiced more like T&M tasks with FFP labor rates where we will have to show buildup to the FFP price based on these rates? Will actual hours against the submitted FFP rates be contractually binding and be reported and billed under this single rate sheet for FFP tasks, regardless of the team member executing, or are these FFP rates only being submitted in this manner for evaluation and comparison purposes?

Answer: Task orders are not going to be competed – that is something we do if we were awarding multiple IDIQ contracts, which we are not – we are awarding only one contract. So, the FFP and CPFF labor rates will be incorporated into the contract. When we issue a task order, it will specify whether or not it’s FFP or CPFF. The contractor will propose specific hours by labor categories to meet the requirements for the task order and apply the applicable labor rates that were incorporated into the base contract. Proposed hours will be evaluated on the task order basis. For the FFP tasks, the extended price will be the firm fixed total price for the task order. No further detail of the labor rates is needed on a task order basis and there will be no adjustment to actual hours for the FFP tasks. Refer to Section H – Info on updating fully loaded labor rates for Ordering Periods 2 -5.

Q14. For proposal submission, the RFP states that it is to be electronically via DOD site. How do we get access to this site to upload our proposal next week?

Answer: Offerors will need to contact the contracting officer and the contract specialist for a request for drop off via the DoD SAFE site. (margaret.a.heyrich.civ@army.mil & anthony.j.bleakley.civ@army.mil).

Q15. Can additional labor categories be added at the request of an Offeror?

Answer: For the sake of this proposal – Offerors are limited to what’s currently listed. However, additional labor categories can be added AFTER award. For example – future task orders.

Q16. Our company has been tasked with providing the Government with labor rates and supporting documentation for a role that our company will play as a teaming partner with a prime contractor on the aforementioned solicitation. Our company has the CPFF rate proposal prepared on the spreadsheet requested. However, our company has questions regarding the necessary supporting documentation that the Government is requesting. Our company is a small business of five employees, including the two owners; the company’s corporate structure is as an LLC, which provides a direct pass-through to the owners – owners do not collect salaries. So, a typical labor rate support based on salary details is a bit of a challenge. In addition, one of those employees, who will play a significant role on the project, just started earlier this year and we have not previously had an employee in that labor category.

In the past, our company has used labor rate comparison data from the GSA (calc.gsa.gov). This has been accepted on contracts we have done with PD Demil through the USACE. However, those rates have not gone through a DCAA audit. Would such a rate evaluation be acceptable for this solicitation? If not, employee pay checks can be provided as backup data, but what information can be provided for owners who do not collect paychecks (i.e., rate grid utilized on existing relevant services contract).

Answer: In accordance with solicitation requirements, see Section L.4.3.3.3 of the solicitation, and detailed below:

Direct Labor:

L.4.3.3.3 b. - Current employees payroll records and/or paystubs showing rate of pay and referenced to the labor category for current employees.

L.4.3.3.3 c. - For new hires, Letters of Intent can be provided which include, at a minimum, the position, direct hourly rate, on the Offeror’s or subcontractors letterhead and signed by the employer and prospective employee.

L4.3.3.3 d. If anticipated new hires, salary survey data can be provided, which shall include, at a minimum, the source of the data, job title, geographic location and salary range, with reference to applicability of amounts.

Indirect Rates:

L.4.3.3.3 c. Detail of the proposed rates, including detailed pools of expenses and allocation bases for those indirect rates used in the computation of the fully loaded labor rates. Three years historical actual indirect rates, to include the detailed pools of expenses and allocation bases.

For the owners of the LLC, refer to FAR 31.205-6(a)(6). In order to be allowable, compensation must (A) be reasonable for the personal services rendered; and (B) not be a distribution of profits (which is not an allowable contract cost).

Offerors shall provide documentation supporting the reasonableness of the proposed salary, such as salary survey data as noted above. Note that for a CPFF effort, all direct labor is reimbursed based upon the actual costs incurred and recorded in accounting records, and are subject to the same timekeeping requirements as all direct employees performing effort.