Questions and Answers 9 July 2020.pdf

Questions and Answers 08 July 2020

Q6 Will there be a site visit?

Q6 Response: A site visit is not anticipated.

Q7 Is there an incumbent Contractor? If so, what is contract number?

Q7 Response: Yes, W912HZ-17-D-0001, Shiers Communication Specialists Inc.

Q8 Can the incumbent bid on the recompete?

Q8 Response: Competition is open to all small businesses under NAICS 811213.

Q9 How many FTE are on the current contract?

Q9 Response: Previous awards are performance based, firm fixed price task orders with specified deliverables. Firm fixed price task orders do not specify a specific type or number of personnel/FTE.

Q10 Can you provide the Past Performance Questionnaire?

Q10 Response: PQ-0 attached by amendment

Q11 If we received CPARS on our contracts, do we still have to submit questionnaires?

Q11 Response: Yes. See Paragraph 5a of the Solicitation: The Past Performance Questionnaire included in the solicitation is provided for the Offeror to submit to the client for projects the Offeror includes in its proposal for Subfactor 2 –Corporate Experience.

Q12 Is the due date for proposal submission June 22, 2020.

Q12 Response: See amendment for revised response date.

Q13 What is start date of full performance?

Q13 Response: Date of award.

Q14 Is there a phase-in period?

Q14 Response: Performance will begin at issuance of first task order.

Q15 Is Davis-Bacon Act applicable to this contract? Looks like some of the OSP work could be subject to

DBA.

Q15 Response: The Davis-Bacon Act is not applicable. This is not a construction contract.

Q16 Is a handling charge allowable on material purchases?

Q16 Response: Please see section H.3 of the solicitation. Other direct costs are allowable to the extent they are reasonable, allocable, and determined to be allowable. Unless otherwise negotiated by task order, reimbursable costs shall be limited to material (IAW FAR 31.205-26), rental costs (IAW FAR 31.205-36), travel (IAW FAR 31.205-46), and training (IAW FAR 31.205-44).

Q17 Does section B of the RFP need to be completed or just the Pricing Table in Section J?

Q17 Response: Section B will be completed at award. It is not the Offeror’s responsibility to fill out Section B. See revised section B for Maximum CLIN amounts.

Q18 PWS 3.5 Telephone PBX Activities. What type of PBX are at each location. Mfg., model, size, etc.

Q18 Response: The large PBX systems at the sites have been decommissioned and replaced with VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). The USACE Reachback Operations Center (UROC) on the Vicksburg campus has an Avaya PBX system consisting of an Avaya G650 with two Avaya G450s.

One other building on the Vicksburg campus has an old Avaya Partner system that is used for phone, intercom, and emergency notification within that building. There are currently no other PBX systems at any of the locations. There are still some other systems such as fire alarms, elevator phones, intercom systems, etc using the copper cabling infrastructure, but these systems are not connected to any PBX system.

Q19 PWS 3.7 Emergency Repair Activities. Will the contractor be paid overtime for afterhours services?

Q19 Response: Task Orders will be performance based, firm fixed price with specified deliverables. It will be up to the vendor to propose a level of effort for each. No overtime rates are requested in the pricing template. Emergency activities are only defined by response time.

Q20 PWS 4.2.1 Do the technicians assigned to the location require BICSI certification?

Q20 Response: Please see Section C.4.2.1. All work performed by the contractor will meet or exceed applicable requirements of the most current standards of the BICSI, NARTE, EIA/TIA, IEEE, NEC, NESC, and FM-486-2 for the work being conducted.

Q21 PWS 4.3.6 Is there a current OPSEC SOP/Plan?

Q21 Response: Please see Section C.4.3.6. The Contractor shall develop an OPSEC SOP/Plan within 90 days of contract award. The OPSEC SOP/Plan must be reviewed and approved by the RA OPSEC Officer. The SOP/Plan will include the government's critical information, why it needs to be protected, where it is located, who is responsible for it and how to protect it. In addition, the contractor shall identify an individual who will be an OPSEC Coordinator.

Q22 If the contractor is registered in SAM, do the reps and certs need to be completed?

Q22 Response: The government is assuming this question is referring to Clause 52.212-3 of the solicitation. Please follow the instructions in the text of this clause.

Q23 Is there any historical work volume/workload data available by location, say for the first quarter of 2020 or for all of 2019?

Q23 Response: The award will be an IDIQ type contract. This is used to acquire supplies and/or services when the exact times and/or exact quantities of future deliveries are not known at the time of contract award. Future requirements cannot be determined by the government at this time. In FY20 (OCT – JUN), approximately 15 task orders were issued (8 – Vicksburg, MS; 2 – Champaign, IL; 5 – Hanover, NH).

Q24 SCA wages per labor category vary by location. Are we to bid separate rates for each labor category for each location per the SCA for each location?

Q24 Response: Wage rates provided by amendment.

Q25 Will the Government please provide the applicable SCA Wage Determination for all contract locations?

Q25 Response: Wage rates provided by amendment.

Q26 Are resumes to be provided for all employees or just Key Employees being the Program Manager and Alternate Program Manager?

Q26 Response: It is up to the vendor to determine what information to include in the proposal.

See section L of the sonication for requirements.

Q27 This is a Service Contract Act (SCA) contract. Under SCA contracts, successor contractors are required by law to offer “first right of refusal” to incumbent employees. Since only the incumbent contractor has knowledge of the names, experience, education and certifications held by incumbent employees, this would give them a competitive advantage as currently written. GMSI request that the names, certification, education information be removed as a requirement of the solicitation as it would deny us a “fair opportunity” under FAR 16.505(b)(1). Other IDIQ contracts we have worked and have been awarded requires the qualification, experience and certification of each labor categories but not the need for names and proof of certifications. Such information could be in violation of Privacy laws.

Request that the requirement for names and proof of certification be deleted from the solicitation.

Contractor state in the proposal that they will meet the requirement at the start of full performance.

Q27 Response: See revised Section L.3.6.4. First right of refusal is no longer applicable to service contracts.

Q28 The solicitation is lacking in several areas which would preclude an offerors to meet the schedule due date for submission of proposal.

a. No due date or contact information in the solicitation.

b. No form PPQ-0 included in the Solicitation or as an attachment

c. No workload data to adequate staff a detailed staffing plan. This is an IDIQ contract and such information should be at the Task Order level including the requirement for staff levels and the required qualifications and certification.

Q28a Response: See amendment for revised response date and updated contact information.

Q28b Response: PQ-0 attached by amendment

Q28c Response: See response to Q23. See section M Paragraph 2.0 for staffing approach requirements.

Q29 How are we to show pricing on the individual five CLINs (pages 2-4) when quantities are to be determined on task order basis? Are we only providing labor pricing in Section J Pricing Template?

Q29 Response: See response to Q17.

Q30 Can you provide Form PPQ-0?

Q30 Response: PQ-0 attached by amendment

Q31 Are we to assume additional labor (other than those identified in Section J Pricing Template), material, equipment, travel, and general conditions are to be determined and priced per task order basis?

Q31 Response: The Government has identified the labor categories in this attachment which may be necessary to meet this requirement. However, the Government is not limiting the offeror to these initially identified labor categories. The offeror should propose those labor categories that, in their judgment, best meet the requirements of the acquisition. Fully loaded labor rates must be provided for all proposed FFP labor categories in Section J for the ordering period. These rates will govern over the life of the contract. The government will set a NTE capacity for Labor, Materials, Travel and ODCs at the BASE IDIQ level.

Breakdown/documentation to support cost reimbursable items may be designated at task order level and must be in compliance with FAR Part 31 provision incorporated by reference..

Q32 Can you confirm there is no SCA or Davis Bacon wage rates that we should be abiding by for the purposes of our pricing proposal in Section J Pricing Template?

Q32 Response: Davis-Bacon is not applicable. See response to Q24 and Q25.