Amendment_0003_QA.pdf

NOTE: Information provided within this Q&A is for informational purposes only and is subject to change; the solicitation will contain all official information.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Instruction and Mission Support (IMS) Solicitation W900KK-18-R-0006

Industry Questions and Government Answers

NOTE: Information provided within this Q&A is for informational purposes only and is subject to change; the solicitation will contain all official information. In accordance with Solicitation Paragraph L.2.1, the PCO has decided to answer the following questions. Those received but not answered will not be addressed.

50. Reference: L.6.4.1 & L.6.4.2

Question: Section L.6.4.1 states that, "The Government anticipates a 01 October

2018 ordering period start date for the resultant contract," while the last (newly added) paragraph in Section L.6.4.2 states, ""The Government anticipates an ordering period start date of August 2018 for the resultant contract: this information is provided for use as a basis for proposed "subcontractor burdens" mid-point calculations."

Can the Government clarify the ordering period start date for the IDIQ contract and the start date of Phase In for Task Order 0001?"

Answer: Solicitation Paragraph L.6.4.2 has been revised to state 01 October 2018.

51. Reference: L.6.4.2

Question: Section L.6.4.2 states that, "The offeror shall use the escalation rates provided by the Government in the workbook (not applicable for SCA labor categories)," which implies that SCA labor categories proposed by Offerors do not need to be escalated (a) at all, or (b) at least not at the escalation rates provided by the Government in Columns K, P, U, etc, in the Labor Rates and TEP Tab of the

Cost/Price Workbook. Unfortunately, those Rows are not highlighted yellow, nor are the Year X Direct Rate Rows (L, Q, V, etc.) which use the Government-provided escalation rates as part of a calculation, which happen to be prohibited from editing by Offerors according to Row 4 Instructions in the Labor Rates and TEP Tab of the

Cost/Price Workbook, which state, "Offeror shall populate all YELLOW highlighted cells. Cells not highlighted in yellow are not to be edited.

Can the Government clarify how Offerors are to escalate SCA labor categories at rates other than the escalation rates provided by the Government if the cells containing the escalation rates or used for Direct Rate calculations cannot be changed or edited?"

Answer: Solicitation Paragraph L.6.4.2 has been edited to remove the statement

"(not applicable for SCA labor categories)". For the purpose of TEP calculation, escalation will be applied to all labor categories. However, the binding rate for SCA covered labor categories will be exclusive of escalation as they will be subject to

FAR clause 52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor

Standards -- Price Adjustment.

52. Reference: L.6.3 & M.10

Question: Solicitation Amendment 1 has updated the second paragraph of Section

L.6.3.1 to add UAS IMS key personnel to the first statement, which now states, “All projects submitted in response to this solicitation shall have been performed as a prime contractor, predecessor company, subcontractor, Joint Venture (JV) partner, or UAS IMS key personnel.” Paragraphs three, four, and five of Section L.6.3.1 further define the various legal entities for the purposes of clarifying what constitutes a valid and relevant past performance project for a prime, subcontractor, or joint venture partner. These paragraphs do not define or clarify an entity called UAS IMS key personnel. Additionally, Section L.6.3.2 defines “self-performed” as tasks that the Offeror performed by their own personnel.

Unlike Section L.6.3, Section M.10.0 Volume III: Factor 2 – Performance Confidence

Assessment does not reference or mention the term UAS Key Personnel at all, while the second paragraph in Section M.10.1 Relevancy states, “To be considered relevant, past performance shall be similar in scope. Similar in scope is defined as contracts with substantial efforts for self-performed tasks involving managing 100 or more employees (under a single contract).” Section M.10.1 paragraph three further clarifies self-performed tasks by stating, “For the purpose of this solicitation “self-performed” is defined as tasks that the Offeror performed by their own personnel (as a prime, subcontractor, or within a partnership).”

Based on these statements, it appears that a project performed by proposed UAS

IMS key personnel could not be considered relevant unless it was performed as an employee of the offeror managing 100 or more employees (under a single contract).

The addition of the term “projects from UAS IMS key personnel” to Section L.6.3 and apparent allowance for an offeror to claim past performance for proposed employees who may or may not be current employees of the offeror, without an appropriate update to Section M.10 to clarify how the projects from UAS IMS key personnel will be evaluated, is unclear. Additionally, as proposed UAS IMS key personnel individual experience and qualifications will be formally evaluated under Volume II

Factor 1 – Program Management, Sub-factor 2: Staffing (M.9.2), it would seem duplicative and in conflict with Section M to have their individual performance also allowed as a substitute for corporate project performance confidence experience in

Volume III.

For clarity of the solicitation Section L & M Source Selection Criteria, we recommend that the government delete the references to UAS IMS key personnel in Section

L.6.3."

Answer: Language will not be deleted. Solicitation Paragraphs M.10.1 and L.6.3.3 have been revised to clarify.

53. Reference: L.3.0

Question: The Government’s clear guidance was to ensure that all information pertaining to a particular volume be reflected in that volume. In other words…no cross-referencing. With Amendment 0001, the Government indicated that sub-factor submissions for Volume II would now be submitted as separate files. These critical activities are unquestionably interrelated. Please confirm that the Government will allow cross-referencing between sub-factors in Volume II.

Answer: No, the sub-factor files shall stand alone. Language can be similar within the sub-factors but the offeror shall not instruct the reviewers to see other sub-factor files.

54. Reference: L.6.3.4

Question: In select cases, proposed Key Personnel may have worked for another company, not teamed with the prime, in the performance of relevant work. If relevant work’s consideration is only allowable with a Consent and/or Commitment Letter, what is the Government’s guidance about whether to include specified data (1) for a currently proposed key person (2) who derived their experience from a company other than one teamed with this effort’s prime offeror?

Answer: Solicitation Paragraphs L.5.0 Proposal Structure Table and L.6.3.3 have been revised. If a project of a proposed key personnel is submitted the offeror shall provide a letter of commitment from the key personnel to the offeror. Offerors shall annotate its role, if any, associated with key personnel.

55. Reference: Attachment 06

Question: In the most recent version of the Cost/Price Workbook that was disseminated with Amendment 0002 fee was removed from the INDIRECT RATES build-up tab and is now forced onto the LABOR RATES and TEP tab at the CLIN level. As prime offerors often issue time & material (T&M) subcontracts, this updated workbook structure now challenges maintaining the proprietary nature of subcontractor fees. Given the Government’s demonstrated sensitivity to proprietary pricing information by allowing sealed package submissions, how does the

Government suggest sustaining sensitive/proprietary fee information with the new workbook structure? RECOMMENDATION: That the Government rescind the

Cost/Price Workbook issued with Amendment 0002 today and reinstate the previous, Amendment 0001 version.

Answer: The Cost/Price Workbook has been revised to adjust the “Indirect Rates” tab. The fully burdened rates for subcontractors should include their profit. For the purposes of TEP calculation, the prime contractor’s fee for CPFF labor categories

(on top of subcontractor fee) would be applied on line 148 of “Labor Rates and TEP” tab of Cost/Price Workbook. The prime offeror will only see the subcontractors fully burdened rate.

56. Reference: L.6.1.4 & B.1

Question: L.6.1.4 states the indirect rates proposed in the Cost/Price Workbook are binding, but the answer to question 19 states 1920 hours are used for TEP calculation. If the offeror uses 1920 work hours in its fringe rate calculation it will result in a lower binding fringe rate than what will be the actual rate. If for example vacation/sick and holiday is the only fringe cost, the TEP calculated fringe rate would be 160/1920 = 8.33%, but the actual fringe rate would include more paid time off hours and, at a minimum, be calculated to be 216/1864= 11.6%. This would not result in a change in the fully burdened labor rate in excess of 5%. Since Section B.1 states the indirect rates are binding unless a change in the indirect rate affects the fully burdened rate by 5% or more, how can the contractor be compensated for actual fringe costs. QUESTION: Can the Government remove the stipulation that the indirect rates be binding and be replaced with DCAA audited rates?

Answer: The use of 1920 hours is for the purpose of TEP calculation. If an offeror has a FPRA those rates shall be applied, and those rates will be binding at the base contract level and will be utilized at the task order level.

57. Reference: L.6.4.1. and L.6.4.3

Question: Please confirm that Fixed Price Labor Hour subcontractors are only required to complete the Indirect Rates tab of Attachment 04.

Answer: Subcontractors should only fill out areas within the Cost/Price Workbook that are applicable to them. The desired outcome is to establish binding rates for the duration of the contract. Offeror will fill out Solicitation Paragraph H.3 to established the fixed fee binding for the life of the contract for CPFF CLINs, profit will be negotiated at the task order level for FFP CLINs.

58. Reference: PWS

Question: Does the Government expect that the winning offeror will begin to execute work under the Higher Level Tasks during the transition period, prior to

Period of Performance commencement (estimated 1 October 2018)? This will have a significant impact on how bidders approach total estimated price.

Answer: See RFP Attachment I, Base, Paragraph 2.2, as it identifies the expectations for phase-in.

59. Reference: L.4.3

Question: The requirement is for both Redacted and Non-Redacted Resumes presented as a separate file within the Volume on the DVD. Can the Government please clarify how the Volume II hard copy submittal of resumes should be provided:

How should the resumes be presented in the printed copy?

Answer: The format identified in L.5.0 Proposal Structure Table applies to printed and electronic media.

60. Reference: Attachment 04-Amendment 0002

Question: Reference Fixed Fee % Line of the Labor Rates and TEP Tab.

Reference your instructions on this line “SUBTOTAL: Total Proposed Cost [Plus

Fixed Fee](Years 2-7 & option) Note: Fee not applied to FFP labor:” Since Fee is no longer a part of the Indirect Rates Tab and FBLRs do not include Fee build-up for both CPFF and FFP designated labor categories, should we assume that the instructions “Note: Fee not applied to FFP labor” no longer apply, and that Fee calculation should apply to all positions in years 2-7 and Extension?

Recommend that bidders change the Fee calculation to include all CPFF and FFP labor categories and make a statement in Volume IV COST/PRICE as to what Fee will be applied to all or each FFP labor categories and what is applied to CPFF labor categories.

Recommend for Task Order 001 that Fee be properly represented in bidder’s build-ups for Task Order 0001 CLINS for both FFP and CPFF labor categories.

Answer: The fully burdened rates for subcontractors would include their profit. For the purpose of TEP calculation, the prime contractor’s fee for CPFF labor categories

(on top of subcontractor fee) would be applied on line 148 of “Labor Rates and TEP” tab of Cost/Price Workbook. The prime offeror will only see the subcontractors fully burdened rate.

NOTE:

1. Data inputted into the Cost/Price Workbook, tab “Labor Rates and TEP”, is for the purpose of calculating the total evaluated cost/price and establishing the binding labor rates. The individual task orders, to include TO 0001, in the

Cost/Price Workbook, is where the contractor will propose its technical solution to meet the requirements of the task order. For TEP purposes, the total cost associated with TO 0001 is incorporated into the overall TEP calculation.

2. Fixed fee for CPFF CLINs will be binding at the base contract level and will be utilized at the task order level (See H.3 LEVEL OF EFFORT (LOE) FOR COST

PLUS FIXED FEE (CPFF) LINE ITEMS).

3. Profit for the Prime contractor will be negotiated at the task order level for FFP

CLINs. Subcontractor profit should be built into their proposed fully burdened rate to the prime.