NMS_QA_9Mar2016.pdf

QUESTION ANSWER

Will the Government confirm that ground equipment and weapons are no longer a maintenance requirement, as they were omitted from the attachment 0001 density list changes published on 24

February 2016?

The requirement still includes ground equipment. Final RFP will include the omitted density listing for ground equipment. Weapons have been removed from the requirement entirely.

Will the Government please provide the Afghan

National Army Personnel Density Projection, as this data was omitted from the version of attachment 0003 published on 24 February 2016?

Final RFP will include the omitted Personnel Density listing for the

ANP.

Section L released 26 February omits the requirement to address FAR clause 252.237-7024 “Notice of

Continuation of Essential Contractor Services. Can the

Government confirm whether this was simply an omission or that offerors do not have to provide a plan for mission-essential contractor services with their proposals?

Refer to Section L-14 of the RFP for the information regarding FAR clause 252.237-7024.

RFP paragraph 3.2.1.1 Scheduled and Unscheduled

Maintenance on page 479 provides contractor performance standards for both the MoD and the MoI for each year of the contract. In option year four, the standard for the MoD is to complete 0% of maintenance work orders. For the MoI, the standard for option year four is 15%. The performance standard for the MoI appears to be at odds with the mission of enabling the ANDSF in its entirety to be self-sufficient in maintaining and sustaining its vehicles and ground equipment, while maintaining combat readiness. Can the Government confirm whether the performance standard for the MoI in option year four is actually 15% as stated or 0% so that it is consistent with the MoD standard and, therefore, fully supportive of the

Coalition exit strategy from Afghanistan?

The performance standards stated in the PWS are correct.

National Maintenance Strategy (NMS) Q&A

RFP paragraph 3.2.1.1 Scheduled and Unscheduled

Maintenance on page 479 provides the contractor performance standard for completion of 100% of maintenance work orders within the timeframe indicated in Attachment 0017 unless deferred with COR approval. Attachment 0017 (AMOD/ANA Decree) does not specify timeframes for the completion of work orders. Can the Government provide the work order completion timeframes?

Work order completion timeframes will be consistent with Decree

4.9 (Attachment 0017) and with the level of maintenance required.

RFP Section C, paragraph 2.6 Phase-in states in part, “The USG will inform the contractor the priority for standing up each of the regional locations.” Based on this statement, can the Government confirm that offerors will not be expected to describe the sequence for standing up operations in each region in their phase-in approach narratives?

The USG will provide a priority listing of locations at time of award.

Offerors shall provide the approach to phase-in, in accordance with

Section L.

FP Section C, paragraph 3.1.1.1 states in part, “The contractor shall conduct Maintenance Management

Training and Mentoring (MMTM) to the ANDSF maintenance management personnel on the maintenance systems (ANDSF manual (See glossary) and I-GET (See glossary), supply chain systems (ANDSF manual (See glossary) and CORE-IMS (See glossary), supervision of maintenance and supply personnel, maintenance and supply processes, maintenance and supply operations, and QC processes to achieve

Transition.” To date, none of the material released by the Government addresses who the developers or proponents for these systems (ANDSF manual maintenance system, ANDSF manual supply system, CORE-IMS, and I-GET) are. Additionally, none of the material released by the Government provides documentation in the form of User’s Manuals for these systems. In order to develop the training materials required for this contract and to hire personnel experienced with these systems, offerors will need to obtain this documentation or be provided the name and contact information for the system proponents or developers. Can the Government please provide this information to all offerors?

CORE-IMS will be used as the inventory management system (CLASS

IX Repair Parts). The asset management system (Property Book

Items (Class VII)) and the maintenance management system are currently being tested by the ANDSF and CSTC-A. The final asset management and electronic maintenance system will be determined by final RFP release.

The manual supply and maintenance systems utilize hard copy

(Paper) MoD/MoI forms.

CORE-IMS information can be found at the following website:

http://www.coreims.com/ and the maintenance system called out in the Draft RFP "I-GET" will not be used as the electronic maintenance system. The maintenance system will be identified at time of final

RFP release.

To date, none of the material released by the

Government addresses who the developers or proponents for these systems (ANDSF manual maintenance system, ANDSF manual supply system, CORE-IMS, and I-GET) are. Additionally, none of the material released by the Government provides documentation in the form of User’s Manuals for these systems. In order to develop the training materials required for this contract and to hire personnel experienced with these systems, offerors will need to obtain this documentation or be provided the name and contact information for the system proponents or developers. Can the Government please provide this information to all offerors?

CORE-IMS will be used as the inventory management system (CLASS

IX Repair Parts). The asset management system (Property Book

Items (Class VII)) and the maintenance management system are currently being tested by the ANDSF and CSTC-A. The final asset management and electronic maintenance system will be determined by final RFP release.

The manual supply and maintenance systems utilize hard copy

(Paper) MoD/MoI forms.

CORE-IMS information can be found at the following website:

http://www.coreims.com/ and the maintenance system called out in the Draft RFP "I-GET" will not be used as the electronic maintenance system. The maintenance system will be identified at time of final

RFP release.

What is the current level of implementation of I-GET at

Level 1 (Organizational and Provincial), Level 2

(Regional – EMS and RMC), and Level 3 (National) within both ANA and ANP?

I-Get is no longer a requirement for National Maintenance Strategy.

The electronic maintenance system currently being tested will only be at all RMC, RLSC and EMS sites. The Kandacks for the ANA and the

Provincials for the ANP will not have an electronic maintenance system and will utilize the ANDSF manual system to process all work orders.

10 Is I-GET being used at the ACOP Sites?

I-Get is no longer a requirement for National Maintenance Strategy.

The electronic maintenance system currently being tested will be at all ACOP sites and will be identified at time of final RFP release.

At what levels will the contractor be required to operate and maintain I-GET?

I-Get is no longer a requirement for National Maintenance Strategy.

The electronic maintenance system identified in the final RFP release will be provided by the USG. The contractor shall operate the electronic maintenance system within the parameters in the contract for training and metoring and CLS. The USG will provide all license and software upgrades. The contractor shall ensure all licenses and software upgrades are installed and up to date.

Will the USG provide reference material for CORE-IMS prior to release of the final RFP?

The USG will not provide any reference material for CORE-IMS. CORE-

IMS is a commercially available system and information can be found on its website: http://www.coreims.com/

What is the current level of implementation of CORE-

IMS at Level 1 (Organizational and Provincial), Level 2

(Regional – EMS and RMC), and Level 3 (National) within both ANA and ANP?

CORE-IMS Systems are currently being deployed through out

Afghanistan. CORE-IMS will be at all regional and national level sites.

The Kandacks for the ANA and the Provincials for the ANP will not have an electronic inventory management system and will utilize the

ANDSF manual system to process all part requisitions. All regional and national level sites are scheduled to be operational at time of contract award.

14 Is CORE-IMS being used at the ACOP sites?

CORE-IMS is not currently being used at the ACOP sites. CORE-IMS will be utilized at all ACOP sites during NMS performance and is scheduled to be operational at time of contract award.

At what levels will the contractor be required to operate and maintain CORE-IMS?

The contractor shall operate CORE-IMS as required by the PWS. The

USG will provide all license and software upgrades. The contractor shall ensure all licenses and software upgrades are installed and up to date.

Are there any other logistics automation systems besides I-GET and CORE-IMS that the contractor will be required to operate and/or maintain?

The final RFP will contain the logistics automation system requirements.

17 Are CORE-IMS and I-GET integrated?

I-Get is no longer a requirement for National Maintenance Strategy.

The USG is currently testing electronic maintenance systems to integrate capabilities with CORE-IMS.

Training and Mentoring for ANA G-4 Staff, ANA AT&L

Staff, and ANP G-4 Staff were in the previous draft RFP but not in the current draft. Has the requirement for executive level maintenance management and supply chain management training and mentoring been removed from this contract?

It has been removed because Coalition forces are now providing the necessary training for ANDSF leadership.

For small business subcontracting planning, what is the

NAICS code for this procurement?

The NACIS Code for this procurement is 541614.

L.4.1.1 states, “provide information for a total of up to three recent and relevant contracts performed by the offeror.” Will a prime contractor be allowed to use a recent and relevant contract of a major subcontractor as part of their response to the Past Performance

Factor?

For the up to three contracts that will be evaluated, a maximum of two shall be submitted for the offeror and a maximum of one for the

Significant Subcontractor.

L.4.1.1.2 lists three PWS activities to be considered for relevancy. Does a single contract have to include all three activities in order to be evaluated as relevant?

The USG will evaluate the contracts in accordance with Section L.4.1

Please provide information for the MOI and ACOP facilities. It would also be helpful for offerors to be provided with facility condition status reports, if available, and some pictures in order to gauge the condition for estimating facility maintenance requirements. It will be very difficult to estimate facility maintenance based on the information provided in

Attachment 0019.

Information regarding MOI and ACOP facilities are not available for release.

The contractor shall include in its proposal all equipment necessary to manage MOI and ACOP facilities provided by the USG or the

ANDSF listed in Attachment 0019.

Does the USG intend to provide any historical workload data or repair parts demand history or vehicle/ground equipment condition status information with the final

RFP?

No historical data will be released with the final RFP. Historical workload data, part demand history and updated density listings will be provided at contract award.

We noticed that Personnel Security is shown as an unexercised option throughout the Base Year CLINs.

What is the intent for Personnel Security in the Base

Year?

As an option CLIN, the Government has the discretion to exercise this option at initial contact award through the parameters outlined in the option CLIN clauses. Because the security situation is dynamic, the USG cannot currently anticipate when and if it will execute the security option.

We did not receive the Attachments referenced in

Sections L and M. When will they be released?

All RFP attachments will be released at time of final RFP release

Is it only the ACC that will be part of the SSA and SSEB?

Will there be representation from any other organization or country?

Proposals will be evaluated by appointed Government personnel in accordance with DFARS 215.3.

For the Past Performance volume, is the offeror restricted to three examples total for their proposal or is the offeror permitted three examples each for the prime and every subcontractor?

Contractors shall submit up to a total of three recent and relevant contracts with its proposal. For the three contracts, a maximum of two shall be submitted for the offeror and a maximum of one for the

Significant Subcontractor, per the instructions provided in Section

L.4.1.1.1 in the final RFP.

Has a final acquisition schedule and closing date been established?

Government anticipates release of the Final RFP to be July 2016.

Will the Government review the Cost/Pricing forms required for proposal submission on Industry Day?

The USG did not provide any Cost/Pricing forms on Industry Day. All required forms will be released with final RFP.

Will the USFOR-A or Coalition provide MILAIR transportation to all operating locations? If not, to which in-country operating locations will MILAIR be provided?

MILAIR will be provided to Other Country Nationals and EX-Patriots for emergency evacuations purposes only. MILAIR will not be provided to Local Nationals.

Will the USFOR-A or Coalition deploy a Quick Reaction

Force in cases of an emergency evacuation or enemy assault on ANA/ANP worksite locations? Also, for security planning purposes will the USFOR-A or

Coalition assist in identifying the closest QRF assets with respect to ANA/ANP worksite locations?

In emergancy situations or evacuations the Coalition will provide

Quick Reactionary Force support to the ANDSF locations where USG and contractor support personnel are living and working. Coalition forces will provide emergency evacuation services for Other Country

Nationals (OCN) and EX-Patriots (Expats) only. The USG will reimburse the contractor for all reasonable, allowable, and allocable costs related to emergency evacuations and extractions.

Will the USFOR-A or Coalition provide a security/threat brief to contractor personnel once they are in country?

No security /threat briefs will be provided by either USFOR-A or

Coalition forces.

Will the USFOR-A or Coalition provide assistance when the contractor must coordinate with the Afghan

Ministry of the Interior and Afghan Personnel

Protection Forces?

No, USG will not coordinate with the Ministry of Interior or Afghan

Personnel Protection Forces. It is the contractor's responsibility to coordinate with both.

Based on the Draft RFP, will any security support be provided under DFARs 252.225-7995 Contractor

Personnel Performing in the United States Central

Command Area of Responsibility?

There will be no Coalition security support for personnel performing within CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

Please describe the type and composition of the security support?

Security conditions are dynamic. The contract will contain an option for personnel security. If exercised, the contractor will have control over type and composition of security it provides in accordance with

Afghanistan law.

The Draft RFP contains DFARS 252.204-7012

Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber

Incident Reporting. Does the Government anticipate covered defense information will be provided to the contractor or will be generated by task activities under this contract?

Yes. The Government anticipates covered defenese information will be be provided to the contractor and generated by task activities under this contract.

Is this work covered under the Walsh-Healey, Davis

Bacon, or Service Contract Acts (SCA)? Is this an A-76

Transition?

The Walsh Healy Act does not apply for supplies manufactured or furnished outside the U.S.; Under the Davis Bacon Act - the contractor will not be painting, constructing or altering any facilities or public building located in Afghanistan in the performance of the contract; Service Contract Act only applies if the work being performed under the National Maintenance Strategy is performed within the US or its territories. Since services for NMS is being performed overseas, Wage Determination is not applicable.

39 What Security Clearance is required?

No security clearances are required since the bases are all ANDSF controlled.

What is the planned work week- number of days and which days of the week, total number of hours contractor employees shall be available for work?

This contract requires performance at various locations throughout

Afghanistan (see Attachment 0002). Normal Afghan workdays are

Saturday through Thursday with the exception of Afghan Holidays.

Refer to RFP Section C, paragraph 2.5

Will the Government please check and verify all CLIN contract types and provide industry with consistent, verified CLIN structures for bidding purposes?

The Government will verfity and ensure the CLIN Structure reflects the correct information.

Will the Government please confirm that it's intention is to cap indirect rates proposed only when they differ from current FPRS or FPRA rates?

There is no cap for indirect rates. If your proposed rates differ from your current FPRS or FPRA rates, provide rationale in accordance with

Section L.4.3.6.7.1

Since we anticipate most all of the work to be performed in Afghanistan, please confirm if it is the

Government’s intent to have Small Business (SB) Goals on this Contract. If it is the intent to keep the SB evaluation factor in this solicitation, please explain this conflict.

Yes it is. The Government anticipates evaluating small business participation.

Will the list of today's attendees, including contact information, be released to promote partnering opportunities for companies still looking to partner?

An announcement will be posted on FBO providing instructions to companies regarding how to submit company information to be placed on a master list of potential subcontractors that will be posted on the FBO NMS webpage.

Is there an equivalent US grade level that the training materials need to be written too?

No, the training material should be written to an Afghanistan appropriate level. U.S. grade level cannot be determined due to different regions and their education levels in Afghanistan.

Is there a requirement for the Prime Contractor to have a DCAA approved accounting system?

Section L will include the requirements regarding the accounting system.

Will the Government consider adding use of the Afghan

Companies as an evaluation factor to both support the

Afghan economy and build the capacity of Afghan

Firms?

No, we do not anticipate evaluating the use of Afghan companies.

Has the Government considered adding a mentor protégé program similar to the ANDSF Facilities O&M program, where Afghan owned firms will be used to perform aspects of the NMS work?

FAR Clause 52.219-4070 PILOT MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM is included in the RFP.

The contractor is responsible to lease a 128 bay facility in Kabul. Is there an existing lease or must the contractor secure a new facility?

The RFP contains the requirements for the Central Maintenance

Facility (CMF). The contractor has the discretion on how to satisfy the requirement. For example it can be one or multiple facilities in one location, as long as it meets the requirements in the RFP.

What supply management system is the contractor required to use for its CLS responsibilities?

CORE-IMS will be utilized for the inventory management system for training and mentoring the ANDSF and to perform CLS.

The Army has asked contractors to price security, dispite the fact that the unbrella security contract is being implemented. Will this cost be part of the pricing evaluation?

Yes. Security pricing will be part of the evaluation factor, as stated in

Section L.

Will the Government please clarify whether any life support facilities or equipment (i.e. generators) will be provided as GFE?

The contractor shall include in its proposal all necessary life support for its personnel.

The contractor shall include in its proposal all equipment necessary to manage facilities provided by the USG or the ANDSF listed in

Attachment 0019.

What educational or literacy level should be assumed for the Afghan Trainees?

The contractor shall provide English to Dari translation, classroom and shoulder to shoulder training.

Section L addressess how the offeror should address assumptions upon which its proposal is based.

Will the contractor have a requirement to provide targeted education for Afghan to support the maintenance and supply tasks - e.g. reading comprehension for manuals or arithmetic for shop measurements and tolerences?

Training requirements are set forth within the RFP. The contractor is required to propose its training approach in accordance with Section

L.

58 What does NMS stand for? National Maintenance Strategy

Has the MOD and MOI leadership formally accepted their responsibilities under NMS?

At this time, there is not any formal agreement in place.

60 Will there be an affordability Cap for security?

No, security is not included in the affordability cap in accordance with

Section M.2.1.3

Where will TACOM determine if the contractor will be utilizing its security solution provided in the proposal or if security will be provided under the DoD's alternative security services contracting vehicle that is projected to be available before April 2017?

Decision will be made upon execution of option for security.

Will TM'S and training materials be produced in English and Dari (not Pashtu) only?

Yes, English and Dari will be the only two languages for the technical manuals and training materials.

Technical Manual Translation - Will translation only encompass a direct word for word translation of existing technical manuals, or will alternative format structured toward how the end-user learns be entertained?

The RFP includes the requirements for translation.

What measures does the Government have in place to control pilferage of parts, usage of counterfeit parts and corruption issues related to procurement by the

Afghan government of spare parts?

CSTC-A and MoD/MoI mentoring and advising will address any pilferage issues. The contractor shall reference Section C, paragraph

3.2.3 of the RFP regarding counterfeit parts.

Can the Government confirm that the reference at

L.4.1.1.5 to "other than the Corporate Entity or

Division" could include proposed subcontractors?

The Government confirms.

During the September 2015 Industry Day, the published

DRFP had a 36% SB requirement. Now, as of the

02MAR16 Industry Day, the Small Business requirement is now 3%. That is a 33% reduction.?

The previous released draft Request for Proposal (RFP) did not include a small business evaluation factor. The latest draft RFP

(released February 2016) now includes a small business participation factor. The goals for this factor are as follows: 3.0% for Small

Business (SB), 0.4% for Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), 0.4% for

Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), 0.3% for HUBZone Small

Business (HZSB), 0.3% for Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), and

0.3% for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).

Refer to Section M.4.4 for more information. The 3% goal is based on the entire contract value of NMS. This was figured out based on history of similar contracts and was based on the amount of work that would be done CONUS and then it was extended to show total contract value.

What is the difference between the subcontracting plan submission and the small business participation factor?

The differences between the Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Small

Business Participation Factor, as outlined in Section L.4.4.9, are as follows:

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan:

(1) is not required of small businesses.

(2) is developed and submitted in accordance with FAR 52.219-9 Small

Business Subcontracting Plan and its ALT II and DFARS 252.219-7003 incorporated by reference in Section I (or DFARS 252.219-7004 if the offeror has a comprehensive subcontracting plan) and TACOM Clause

52.219-4004 in Section L.

(3) is evaluated in accordance with the FAR, DFARS, and AFARS.

(4) has goals that are expressed as a percentage of Total Subcontracting

Amount.

(5) has goals broken out for the basic and each option separately.

The Small Business Participation Factor:

(1) is required of all offerors, including small businesses.

(2) is developed and submitted in accordance with this Section L clause.

(3) is evaluated in accordance with Section M.

(4) has goals that are expressed as a percentage of Total Contract Amount.

(5) has goals which are not broken out for the basic and each option separately.

Will contractor employees be covered by the existing

Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) or a similar bilateral agreement?

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Afghanistan is for NATO forces and to cover its mission to train, advise and assist Afghanistan

Forces. There is a Bi-Lateral Security Agreement in place with the U.S.

and Afghanistan. Other Country Nationals (OCN) and Ex-Patriots (Ex-

Pats) hired on the NMS contract will be provided Coalition support to evacuate their personnel in Emergency situations only. Local

Nationals hired on the NMS contract are not covered for evacuation purposes and would be supported by their own government. The contractor shall follow all U.S. and Afghanistan laws under the NMS contract. Since the USG has little control of supervision, screening and oversight of contractor employees the USG will seek protection for OCNs and Ex-Pats only on a case by case basis for immunity within the Afghanistan judicial system.

What is the difference between the subcontracting plan submission and the small business participation factor?

The differences between the Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Small

Business Participation Factor, as outlined in Section L.4.4.9, are as follows:

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan:

(1) is not required of small businesses.

(2) is developed and submitted in accordance with FAR 52.219-9 Small

Business Subcontracting Plan and its ALT II and DFARS 252.219-7003 incorporated by reference in Section I (or DFARS 252.219-7004 if the offeror has a comprehensive subcontracting plan) and TACOM Clause

52.219-4004 in Section L.

(3) is evaluated in accordance with the FAR, DFARS, and AFARS.

(4) has goals that are expressed as a percentage of Total Subcontracting

Amount.

(5) has goals broken out for the basic and each option separately.

The Small Business Participation Factor:

(1) is required of all offerors, including small businesses.

(2) is developed and submitted in accordance with this Section L clause.

(3) is evaluated in accordance with Section M.

(4) has goals that are expressed as a percentage of Total Contract Amount.

(5) has goals which are not broken out for the basic and each option separately.