W56KGY-16-R-0023_Questions_19April2016_FINAL.pdf

April 19, 2016

Questions in reference to the CECOM LCMC G8 Contractor Support Service opportunity

(Solicitation # W56KGY-16-R-0023)

Ques t-ion

Reference Question Answer

1 Solicitation (RFP) page 2, Executive

Summary #6, “SECRET Level of

Safeguarding

Required,” and

Performance Work

Statement (PWS) Page

7, Section 1.7.

With regards to the requirement for the contractor to have the ability to store classified material at the contractor site, for what purpose does the government anticipate this requirement being applicable (ie: classified information in monthly status reports)?

SECRET LEVEL of

Safeguarding has been removed from the requirement. Please refer to the revised PWS dated 19

April 2016 and Solicitation

Amendment 0001.

2 Solicitation (RFP) page 2, Executive

Summary #6, “SECRET Level of

Safeguarding

Required,” and

Performance Work

Statement (PWS) Page

7, Section 1.7.

The requirement for SECRET storage seems to put an unfair burden on small business and would severely limit competition and small business participation, would the government remove this requirement?

SECRET LEVEL of

Safeguarding has been removed from the requirement. Please refer to the revised PWS dated 19

April 2016 and Solicitation

Amendment 0001.

3 Solicitation (RFP) page 2, Executive

Summary #6, “SECRET Level of

Safeguarding

Required,” and

Performance Work

Statement (PWS) Page

7, Section 1.7.

The cost associated with the requirement for SECRET storage is a very significant burden on small businesses and could severely limit competition and small business participation. We have successfully performed classified contracts with a large business subcontractor added to the DD254 continuation sheet with the subcontractor added as a performance location with safeguarding. Would the government add an authorized subcontractor to the DD254 continuation sheet as a performance location with safeguarding to fulfill the

SECRET LEVEL of

Safeguarding has been removed from the requirement. Please refer to the revised PWS dated 19

April 2016 and Solicitation

Amendment 0001.

SECRET Storage requirement for the small business prime?

4 Solicitation (RFP) page 2, Executive

Summary #6, “SECRET Level of

Safeguarding

Required,” and

Performance Work

Statement (PWS) Page

7, Section 1.7.

If the requirement for

SECRET storage is an absolute necessity for the prime contractor, would the government consider allowing the small business prime to meet this requirement by contract award?

SECRET LEVEL of

Safeguarding has been removed from the requirement. Please refer to the revised 19 April 2016 and Solicitation Amendment

0001.

5 Solicitation (RFP) page 45, Section L-21, #6 Proposal Content, Volume I (b), “That the Offeror understands the systems identified and described at Appendix

C of the PWS and the support required to sustain them.”

The last Appendix attached to the Performance Work

Statement (PWS) is Appendix

B. Can the government please provide Appendix C?

There is no Appendix C of the PWS. However, system requirements are stated in the

PWS at 3.0 Requirements..

6 PWS Page 7, Section

1.7 “The Contractor must provide adequate storage at their facility for classified hardware to the level of

SECRET.”

The last Appendix attached to the Performance Work

Statement (PWS) is Appendix

B. Can the government please provide Appendix D?

The Appendix that is stated on page 7 is referring to

Appendix D of the DD254.

7 PWS Page 7, Section

1.7, “The Contractor must provide adequate storage at their facility for classified hardware to the level of

SECRET.”

What PWS element requires the storage of classified hardware? What type of hardware is to be stored at contractor site?

There is no classified hardware required and none to be stored at the contractor site. This has been removed from thje PWS. Also, SECRET LEVEL of

Safeguarding has been removed from the requirement. Please refer to the revised PWS dated 19

April 2016 and Solicitation

Amendment 0001.

8 In the cost proposal the RFP asks for 3 excel spreadsheet

(cost, sanitized cost and Labor

Description). However the cost proposal requests pricing

The pricing methodology and supporting documentation can be submitted as a PDF document.

methodology as well as supporting documentation. Can these items be in a word document versus an excel spreadsheet and will there be a separate fourth file?

9 Page 44 L-21 proposal

Instruction volume III.

page 47 Volume III cost/price

The solicitation asks for 3 .xlsx file, Cost/price proposal, Cost/price proposal sanitized and Labor description.

However starting on page 47

Volume III cost/price proposal content it makes no mention of the contents of the labor description file. What specifically is the government looking for in this file? Is this a repetition of the labor description in the technical?

Based on the requirements in

Sections 3.0 through 3.9.13, a Labor Description file is not required and removed from Section L-21, 3.

Proposal Files of the solicitation. Please refer to

Solicitation Amendment

0001.

10 PWS section 1.3 In the PWS section 1.3 it asks for a one (1) option to extend services for up to six (6) months. However in the B tables or CLIN structure there are no CLINs to price for supplies or services. Was this intended to be an unpriced item?

No, this is not an unpriced item. The one (1) option to extend services for up to six

(6) months is not an unpriced item. Offerors will not propose a price for this option. Rather, during the evaluation process, the

Government will derive its price from 50% of the probable price of Option

Period 2. Please see H-3

Option to Extend Services of this solicitation for reference and Section M-2, Factor 3

Cost/Price for the how option to extend services will be evaluated. At contract award a CLIN for this option will be established.

11 PWS section 3.0 requirements lists

3.1thru 3.9.

In the PWS section 3.0 requirements lists 3.1thru 3.9 service supports with a range

Yes, the offeror is to bid 23

CME on day 31 for the duration of the contract’s

RFP page 47 Volume

III cost/Price of CME's totaling from 4-23.

In the RFP page 47 Volume III cost/Price proposal content it states "for purposes of evaluation only, all offeror’s shall assume maximum staffing for the cost reimbursement effort to support the maximum full time personnel addressed in the

PWS for the full period of performance starting on day 31 after award.". To confirm, is the offeror to bid 23 CME on day 31 for the duration of the contract periods?

base period and option periods.

12 Page 47 of 55 paragraph (7) of the solicitation

On page 47 of 55 paragraph

(7) Small Business

Participation Past Performance offeror’s are asked to submit information substantiating their efforts to maximize opportunities for U.S. small business contractors. Since this is a small business set aside, does the small business participation FAR clause apply? If so, is this intended for the primes who must be small businesses themselves or only subcontractors that are large businesses?

Yes, the small business participation past performance part of the past performance volume applies to offerors that are small businesses. FAR 52.219-8

Utilization of Small Business

Concerns will also apply to the resulting contract. .

13 On page 46 of 55, Volume II – Past

Performance Factor

Proposal Content

On page 46 of 55, Volume II –

Past Performance Factor

Proposal Content, it reads

“This volume shall not exceed

15 pages plus five pages for each major subcontractor.”

Is this in consonance with page

44 of 55, Section; 4. Page

Limitations?

The government has changed the page limitations to 50 pages and has removed the maximum of 5 references language from the proposal files and page limitations areas of Section L in the solicitation. Further, the offeror must submit ALL past performance for the

II. Past Performance Proposal:

no more than 15 pages which consist of,

a. no more than 3 pages per past performance reference,

b. maximum of 5 references, and

c. Questionnaire POC List

Should the 15 pages for the prime and 5 pages for each major subcontractor be the intent, is it a reasonable interpretation that the prime could present up to 5 performance references within their 15 page limit and each major subcontractor could present up to 5 performance references within their 5 page limit?

prime and each major subcontractor that is recent and relevant to the current effort (see section L, Volume

II - Past Performance Factor

Proposal Content).

14 Past Performance

Questionnaire

As regards the Past

Performance Questionnaire’s, in the case where a proposing prime is presenting a past performance reference that was performed as a subcontractor, can the “Respondent” identified in Part 1, Section C., be the customers Government technical representative or must it be a technical representative of the prime contractor?

When the offeror acted as a subcontractor to a prime contractor with regards to the past performance questionnaire, the respondent should be that prime contractor’s technical representative rather than the government’s technical representative since that prime directly managed the subcontractor and not a government technical representative..

15 PWS Paragraph 1.4, Contract Management

PWS Paragraph 1.4, Contract

Management, states in part, “The contractor shall also propose a Transition-In Plan to ensure a low risk and timely transition from the support

The Transition-In (Phase-In)

Plan is required as part of the proposal submission. The

RFP has been amended at L-

21, Volume IV – Solicitation

Documentation, paragraph under the current contract to the new one.” However, there is no mention of a requirement for a Transition-In Plan in the

Solicitation documentation

(SF-33). Will the Government clarify is there is a Transition-

In Plan required as part of the offeror’s proposal or is the

Transition-In Plan required post-award? If the Transition-

In Plan is required as part of the proposal, within which volume of the proposal does the Government want it submitted? Finally, if there is a Transition-In Plan required as part of the proposal, is there a separate page count for that document?

d.to reflect this. The

Transition-In (Phase-In) Plan will not be evaluated as part of the Technical Evaluation

Factor. Rather, the

Government will review it in preparation Post-Award

Orientation Conference. See

Sections 1.4 and 10.0 through 10.2 of the revised

PWS dated 19 April 2016 and Solicitation Amendment

0001 for more information..

16 Solicitation Past

Performance

Questionnaire (page

47 of 55, paragraph

(5) page 46 of 55, Section

1 – Contract

Descriptions paragraph (c)

In the Past Performance

Questionnaire (page 47 of 55, paragraph (5), the offeror is asked to e-mail the questionnaire to the

Government contracting activity and technical representative responsible for the past/current contract. In the

Past Performance Factor

Proposal Content Section on page 45 of 55, Section 1 –

Contract Descriptions paragraph (c), the offeror is asked to identify the

Governments technical representative/COR. Since the

Government technical representative is often not the

COR, should we provide both the Government technical representative and the COR with contact information in

Volume II – Past Performance

Factor Proposal Content?

Offerors are to email a copy of the Past Performance

Questionnaire to the government contracting activity and the government technical representative/COR. In most cases the government technical representative also acts as the COR. If this is not the case, it is sent to the government contracting activity, the government technical representative and the COR. The RFP has been revised to reflect this accordingly.

17 RFP page 48, under

Subcontractor/

Interdivisional Entity

(S/IE)

The RFP page 48, under

Subcontractor/ Interdivisional

Entity (S/IE), the Government references “Section D below”. It does not appear that there is a Section D included in the document. Could the

Government provide Section D if it is relevant, or confirm that

Section D should be deleted from the RFP?

This is a typo and should reference Section J attachment 0005 Sample

Labor CLIN worksheet.

Please refer to Solicitation

Amendment 0001.

18 solicitation, page 47, Volume III Cost/Price

Proposal Content

In the solicitation, page 47, Volume III Cost/Price

Proposal Content, “For purposes of evaluation only, all offerors shall assume maximum staffing for the Cost

Reimbursement effort to support the maximum full time personnel addressed in the

PWS for the full period of performance starting on day 31 after award.” Will the

Government provide a forecasted award date for the contract to allow for a range of dates associated with the Phase

In, 11-month base period, and follow-on option periods?”

The Government will not forecast a specific award date. However, it is anticipated that award will be made in the third quarter of

Fiscal Year 2016.

19 Does the Government require contractor to have a secret facility clearance at contract award?

Yes the government requires the contractor to have a

SECRET Facility Clearance at contract award.

20 Will the Government sponsor contractor for secret facility clearance if contractor wins award?

No.

21 Will the Government provide historical workload data for the current contract?

No, the government will not provide historical workload data.

22 Will the Government be providing any demographic information on current staff for retention purposes?

No, the government will not provide demographics on current staff.

23 If there is a current contract, what is the annual cost for the current contract over the last five years?

The total estimated cost for the first four years of the current contract is

$8,535,330.32 inclusive of fee.

24 Is there an incumbent contractor performing these services?

The original contractor was

Viatech.

25 What was the award fee awarded on the current contract if the contract is a

CPAF?

The current contract type is

Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF).

26 What is the NTE amount for the solicitation?

If ‘NTE’ for this question means ‘Not to Exceed’, then there is no NTE for this solicitation.

27 PWS Page 5, Section

1.3.1, “Performance of unclassified work may take place at a government-approved contractor facility.”

PWS Page 7, Section

1.7, “Contractor is authorized to receive and generate classified material at the contractor’s facility.”

If the government anticipates some contractor personnel working on contractor site instead of government site, will the government revise the pricing worksheet to include contractor site pricing? If so, will the government also declare which labor categories historically work on contractor site instead of government site?

No, the government will not revise the pricing worksheet to include contractor site pricing.

All performance will take place at a CONUS government facility only.

However, there may be some instances where the contractor may have to work at the contractor site. This is in the unlikely event of a base closure or unforeseen circumstance which disallows any personnel from entering the government site.

Please refer to the revised

PWS date 19 April 2016 and

Solicitation Amendment

0001.

28 PWS Page 5, Section

1.3.1 Primary Place of

Performance, “The primary place of performance will take place at Government

Facilities located at

Aberdeen Proving

Ground (APG), MD.

Potential travel

Temporary Duty

(TDY) locations are:

Fort Belvoir, VA, Fort

Lee, VA, Redstone

Arsenal, AL, Tobyhanna Army

Depot, PA, Fort

Huachuca, AZ, Fort

Hood, TX or other locations as approved in advance by the

Contracting Officer’s

Representative

(COR).”

PWS Page 8, Section

1.7, “Contractor and all associated sub-contractors employees shall comply with adjudication standards and procedures using the National Crime

Information Center

Interstate

Identification Index

(NCIC-III) and

Terrorist Screening

Database (TSDB)

(Army Directive 2014-

05/AR 19013),

applicable installation, facility and Area commander installation/facility access and local security policies and

Can the government please clarify if the work under this contract will be only CONUS based? If the scope of the contract does include

OCOUNS requirements, will the government revise the pricing instructions to reflect both CONUS and OCONUS rates and identify the

OCONUS place(s) of performance?

All performance will take place at a CONUS government facility procedures (provided by government representative), or, at

OCONUS locations, in accordance with status of forces agreements and other theater regulations.”

PWS Pages 8-9, Section 1.7.1, “US based contractor employees and associated sub-contractor employees will submit an Isolated

Personnel Report

(ISOPREP) prior to deployment, in accordance with AR

525-28, Personnel

Recovery. The contractor is required to fill out the survey on NIPRNET at https://prmsglobal.prm s.af.mil/prmsconv/Prof ile/Survey/start.aspx prior to deployment.”

PWS Page 11, Section

1.8.2, “Uncompensated effort is defined as hours provided by personnel in excess of forty (40) hours per week for CONUS man-hours and eighty-four (84) hours per week for OCONUS man-hours without additional compensation for such excess work.”

31 RFP L-21.4 Volume II

(b), page 45

The page limitation and maximum of five past performance references seems

The government has changed the page limitations to 50 pages and removed the

“Maximum of 5 references)

RFP L-21.6 Volume

II, page 46, “This volume shall not exceed 15 pages plus five pages for each major subcontractor….Offer ors shall submit all

Government and/or commercial contracts for the prime offeror and each major subcontractor in performance or awarded during the past three years, from the issue date of this

RFP, which are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation.”

to conflict with the statement to submit references for ALL contracts awarded within the past three years. Will the government remove the reference to submit all as this would not be possible for a large business subcontractor to accomplish within 5 pages and burdensome as well?

maximum of 5 references language from the proposal files and page limitations areas of solicitation section

L.

32 PWS Page 16, Section

3.2 Budget Analysis /

Execution, “Ten (10) years of experience as a GS-560- Budget

Analyst or GS-510-

Accountant within the

Federal Government and has formerly held the position of a GS-

12 or higher, or Ten

(10) years of experience as a private sector equivalent.”

In our experience, several

MOS within all branches of the military perform a similar, if not identical function to the GS civilian positions listed. May the contractor substitute an equivalent amount of military experience as the GS positions listed?

We are not certain what is meant by “military experience,” but if a candidate has equivalent active duty military budget/accounting specific experience, that would meet the criteria. The PWS has been revised in section 3.1 through 3.9 to include active military equivalent experience. Please refer to the revised PWS date 19

April 2016.

33 PWS Page 20, Section

3.4 Managerial

Accounting, “Six (6) years of experience as a GS - 510 –

Accountant within the

Federal Government, and has formerly held the position of a GS-

In our experience, several

MOS within all branches of the military perform a similar, if not identical function to the GS civilian positions listed. May the contractor substitute an equivalent amount of military experience as the GS positions listed?

We are not certain what is meant by “military experience”, but if a candidate has equivalent active duty military budget/accounting specific experience, that would meet the criteria. The PWS has been revised in Section 3.1

12 or higher or six (6) years of experience as a private sector equivalent.

through 3.9 to include active military equivalent experience. Please refer to the revised PWS date 19

April 2016.

34 PWS Page 34, Section

10.0 (IAW Sections

3.3 & 3.9)

Will the government waive the

Master’s Degree requirement and replace with a Bachelor’s degree for all three key personnel positions?

No. These are senior and executive level equivalent positions requiring a

Master’s Degree, which is considered necessary to meet the government’s requirement..

35 PWS Page 16, Section

3.2.1, “…and Joint

Review documentation.”

The government lists a function called the Joint

Review documentation, is this the same as the Joint

Reconciliation Program (JRP)?

Yes. Joint Review documentation is any supporting documentation that was generated for the

Joint Reconciliation Program

(JRP)

36 PWS paragraph 10.0 For the required resumes for key personnel as detailed in

PWS paragraph 10.0, are redacted resumes, with names and contact information removed, acceptable?

Names and contact information should be redacted from the resumes.

37 PWS Paragraph 1.4 PWS Paragraph 1.4, Contract

Management, states in part, “The contractor shall also propose a Transition-In Plan to ensure a low risk and timely transition from the support under the current contract to the new one.” However, there is no mention of a requirement for a

Transition-In Plan in the

Solicitation documentation

(SF-33). If the Transition-In

Plan is required as part of the proposal, within which volume of the proposal does the

Government want it submitted?

Finally, if there is a Transition-

In Plan required as part of the proposal, will the Government consider a separate page count for that document?

The Transition-In Plan is required as part of the proposal submission. The

RFP has been amended at L-

21, Volume IV – Solicitation

Documentation, paragraph d.to reflect this. However, it will not be evaluated as part of the Technical Evaluation

Factor. Rather, the

Government will review it for the Initial Meeting (Post-

Award Orientation

Conference) as described in

PWS sections 1.4, 10.0, 10.1, and 10.2. .

40 The Schedule B Table on page 4 of 55 in the solicitation contains

0004 A001, a

**NSP** SLIN that references the

Performance Cost

Report IAW DI-

FNCL-80912, Data

Item A001, and PWS paragraph 1.4.

Since the requirement in the

PWS for Program

Management resides in

Paragraph 1.4 Contract

Management, and seems not to be provided for in the

“maximum staffing”

(interpreted to mean 23 man/years), is it a correct interpretation that the

Government does not want the

PM function costed as a direct expense?

Correct. The program management (PM) function of PWS 1.4 shall not be proposed as a direct cost.

41 Paragraph 1.4 of the

PWS

Paragraph 1.4 of the PWS references DI-MGMT-80227 and CDRL A002. Is that an error?

Yes this is a typo and should read ‘in a accordance with

DI-FNCL-80912 and CDRL

A001’.