A07_-_Q&A_Interactions_(Solicitation).xlsx
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Updated and Approved Q&A Interactions
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| SECTION REFERENCE | QUESTION | RESPONSE |
| Wage Determination | The Government provided WD 05-2247 (Rev.-18) dated 12/29/2015 as an attachment to this RFP. Rev 19 of the WD that incorporates the Executive Order regarding sick leave was released on 12/30/2016 and posted 1/3/2017. Will the Government be amending this solicitation to incorporate the Rev 19 WD? | Yes. |
| Section L | The NAICS is specified as 541712 with a $38.5M size standard. The size standard for 541712 is 1000 employees. Is the size standard intended to be 541712 with 1000 employees or 541330 exception with $38.5M revenue? | The correct NAICS for this requirement is 541330 with a $38.5M size standard exception. |
| FBO | The solicitation closing date is stated to be January 30, 2017, in Section L; however, the Deltek GovWin page indicates the closing date is February 6, 2017. Please verify the solicitation closing date and time. | The closing date for the subject Solicitation is 06 February 2017. |
| Section L | Section L instructions state that the maximum page count allowed for the Technical Volume is 25. We request that the Government increase the page limitation to 50 pages to allow sufficient space to convey an adequate technical response. | The page count will stay at 25 pages for the Technical Volume. |
| Section L | Section L instructions state that the maximum page count allowed for the Past Performance Volume is 10. We request that the Government increase the page limitation to 20 pages to allow sufficient space to convey an offeror’s relevant past experience. | The page count will stay at 10 pages for the Past Performance Volume. |
| Section L | Section L Technical Documentation requirements include requests for items such as procedures, timelines, CWBS, and resumes. Are these items counted in the page count for the technical volume? | No |
| Section L | Section L Technical Documentation requirements include requests for various procedures (e.g., transition procedures, program management procedures, QC and QA procedures). Is the Government expecting a formal procedure (document) to be included with the offeror’s proposal as an exhibit? Or is the “procedure” meant to be a short summary or description of the steps taken to accomplish a task such as transition or program management? | A short summary or description with the option to include formal documents as exhibits. Any exhibits will not count towards the page count. |
| Section L | Section L Technical Documentation requirement (6) states that letters of commitment and resumes must be submitted for “all” proposed personnel that are not currently employees of the prime contractor. Is this requirement referring only to proposed named personnel such as the Program Manager? Or does the Government require a resume and letter of commitment for any personnel that will be hired to staff the contract? The latter would be an undue hardship on any prime proposer other than the incumbent. Do the resumes count towards the page count? | Letters of Commitment and resumes are only required for Key Personnel. |
| Section L | Section L Technical Documentation requirement (10) requests a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. Is this plan to be submitted with proposals? If so, does it count in the page limitation for the volume? | YES, IT IS REQUIRED. NO, IT DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS PAGE LIMIT. |
| Section L | Page 2 of Section L instructions state that the maximum page count allowed for the Past Performance Volume is 10 pages. Page 4 of Section L instructions state that the Past Performance Volume shall not exceed ten (10) pages plus five (5) pages for each major Subcontractor and Joint Venture Partner. Please clarify the page count for the Past Performance Volume. | The maximum page count is ten (10) pages for the prime contractor and an additional five (5) pages for each Subcontractor/Joint Venture Partner that is included in the proposal. If there are no subcontractors or Joint Venture Partners then the maximum page count is ten (10) pages. |
| Section L | Section L, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance instructions reference a Past Performance Questionnaire; however, no questionnaire is included in the RFP documentation. Please provide. | Questionnaire was inadvertanely omitted from the posting and will be added via an amendment. |
| Section L | Section L, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance instructions require the submittal of the first page of Government and/or commercial contracts. Is performance as a subcontractor allowed? If the work is being performed as a subcontractor, is the requirement to submit the first page of the subcontract with the prime contractor, rather than the first page of the prime contract with the Government? | If submitting a record where performance was as a Subcontractor, please identify that as being the case. The 1st page of the Prime contract is required. This is to get information on the Government contract, not the subcontract details. |
| Section L | At the bottom of Page 4, it is stated that “Offerors shall submit the first page of Government and/or commercial contracts for the prime offeror and each major Subcontractor in performance or awarded during the past three (3) years, from the issue date of this RFP, that is the same as or similar to, the scope, magnitude, and complexity of the work described by this solicitation.” Is “all” meant to be all awards received that might potentially be relevant, or just those specifically being cited by the offeror? Are these contract first pages part of the page count ceilings of 10 pages for Prime and 5 pages for major subs/partners? | Offerors should provide the first page of the contract that offeror's are citing as relevant Past Performance. The first pages of contracts will not be included in the page count. |
| Section L | If an offeror cites a Subcontract, may it provide the higher-tier contractor equivalent of the Contracting Officer, COR, etc. vs the Government contacts? (In a subcontractor situation, we may not have the Government information). | If the offeror is citing a subcontract and will only provide the Prime POC infomration, it must identify it as such. |
| Section L | When an offeror is a subcontractor, some primes/higher-tier contractors provide both incremental funding and incremental period of performance modifications and do not provide the actual total period of performance. The final expected PoP or contract value may not be known. Would the Government remove this requirement for referenced subcontractor past performance? | Offeror's are to provide data as stated. If the actual POP or value is unknown, estimates may be submitted. |
| Section L | Section L, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance, (1) Section 3 -Subcontracts and Joint Venture Partners requests an outline of how the effort required by the RFP will be assigned for performance. This information is relevant to the offeror’s technical approach. Suggest that this requirement be moved to the technical volume. If the requirement remains in the past performance volume, does the response count in the page count limitation? And, if so, which part of the page count? Prime or major subcontractor? | This is to remain in the section identified within the page limit specified. |
| Section L | Section L, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance, (1) Section 3 -Subcontracts and Joint Venture Partners requests an outline of how the effort required by the RFP will be assigned for performance and then states that this section should include written consent and letters of commitment from major subcontractors to allow disclosure of past performance. These two requirements are unrelated. Please clarify. | This requires written consent of any proposed major subcontractors and Joint Ventures (JV) partners to allow for past performance to be reviewed. And it also requests letters of commitments to ensure that these proposed major subcontractors and JV partnerss are valid canditates for performance. Letters of Commitment and written consent do not count towards the page count. |
| Section L | Please confirm that this is an “OR” requirement: SF 1408 OR a DCAA/DCMA accounting system approval letter. | Per the language within Section L, you may submit a SF 1408 OR a copy of any letter from a U.S. Government organization approving the accounting system of the offeror. |
| Section L | Is there a mapping available between the Government categories and the Wage Determination categories? | No. |
| Section L | The Government has provided a combined estimate for Material/Travel. Would the Government provide an estimate for material separate from the travel estimate or clarify whether the estimated cost is predominantly material as it appears from (d) (i)? | The estimate for Material/Travel will stay combined. |
| Section L | Section L, (iii) Volume III – Cost indicates that a cost narrative is required, then goes on to state that the cost file shall be submitted in Excel format. Is the cost narrative to be included as a tab in the Excel workbook? Or can the narrative be submitted as a Word document? | It is at the Offeror's discretion as to whether or not the submission is Excel or Word. Either format is acceptable. |
| Section L | On page 7, Section L, (iii) Volume III – Cost (a) (ii) Overtime Premium states that no overtime is to be proposed for this effort. On page 9, (d) Other Direct Costs (ii) Overtime indicates that overtime may be required and should be proposed. Please clarify whether overtime should be proposed and how. | Overtime will be expected throughout the Period of Performance but can be excluded at the Offeror's discretion. It is currently estimated that 21,120 OT hours will be required for the base year, 22,464 hours for Option Year 1 and 24,000 for Option Year 2. |
| Section L | Is the entire Overtime amount to be on a separate line from the other labor costs, or only the premium? Would the Government provide additional information on the treatment of Overtime? Treating Overtime differently than other labor may be a deviation from some offeror accounting systems. | Overtime will be expected throughout the Period of Performance but can be excluded at the Offeror's discretion. It is currently estimated that 21,120 OT hours will be required for the base year, 22,464 hours for Option Year 1 and 24,000 for Option Year 2. |
| Section L | Since the Government has provided fill-ins, please verify that no basis for escalation on materials/equipment/supplies/travel is required if the offeror is not proposing an escalation, but using Government provided information. | Not required. |
| Section L | Are Subcontractor Certifications and Representations required to be submitted, or only the Prime Offeror? | Only Prime Offeror's Certifications and Representations are required |
| Section L | An Appendix D is referenced but is not included in the solicitation files. Please clarify/provide. | This is referring to the Past Performance Questionnaire |
| Section L | Section L instructions indicate that proposals should be submitted electronically via the ASFI Secure Bid Response System. Please provide information on where to access this system and provide guidance/instructions for its use. | The offeror’s proposal shall be submitted electronically via the ARL Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE) website at https://safe.arl.army.mil to the designated ARL representatives: Amador Phillip, Contracting Officer, phillip.j.amador.civ@mail.mil and Joseph Dellinger, Contract Specialist, joseph.m.dellinger2.civ@mail.mil |
| Section M | Subfactor 2: Personnel II contains an incomplete sentence: “The offeror’s proposed retention plan addresses.” Please provide the complete sentence. | This sentence should be removed from the section. |
| Section M | Subfactor 2: Personnel III indicates the Government will review resumes and professional reference for labor categories. Is this meant to include all labor categories proposed? Or only program management personnel resumes? | This is for Key Personnel only. |
| Section M | Section M 3. Factor II & Subfactors – Past Performance Evaluation Approach indicates that absent any recent and relevant past performance history, an offeror will be assigned an “unknown confidence rating” and that the proposal will not be evaluated either favorably or unfavorably on past performance. On page 1, the Basis for Award paragraph 2 indicates that a past performance of at least “Satisfactory Confidence” and “Relevant” must be achieved for award. Aren’t these statements contradictory? | As stated, unknown Confidence is a neutral rating. The statement in paragraph 2 indicates that Limited Confidence & No Confidence will not be accepted for award. |
| PWS | “goo” appears after the period at the end of the sentence. Should more information be provided with this requirement? | The additional language ("goo") is a typographical error and should be ignored. |
| PWS | PWS Section C.9.1 refers to Section H Key Personnel Clause; however, there are no named key personnel positions by the Government. Are any positions to be staffed on this contract deemed to be key personnel? | The Key Personnel is the Program Manager. Offeror's may propose additional key personnel if they wish. |
| Section B | The solicitation states that ODCs will not be subject to any type of fee (e.g.handling, materials, etc). In accordance with most contractor accounting systems, certain ODC are subject to G&A and certain ODC are subject to a material handling indirect. Neither of these are considered “fees”. Please confirm the allowability of contractor indirect such as G&A or Material Handling in accordance with the subcontractor accounting systems. | G&A and Material Handling costs are applicable to ODCs. The profit/fee cannot be applied to the total ODCs, to include any G&A or Material Handling costs associated with them. |
| Section H | Are any positions besides the Program Manager considered to be “Key Personnel” in accordance with APG-ADL-h.5152.246-4401 clause? | The Program Manager is considered Key Personnel but Offeror's may propose additional key personnel at their discretion. |
| Section H | If a subcontractor is proposed with the original proposal, is an additional consent process required? | No |
| Section L | The past performance requirement is unclear as to whether it is referring to completed contracts or current contracts (current contracts of what minimum age?) Does this mean the most recent contracts or most relevant contracts? And does it mean as long as the contract was not completed greater than 3 years ago? | Awards, in peformance, completed, etc. within the past three (3) years. |
| Section L | Are hand delivered proposals an option? The Section L instructions provided separate from the RFP state that proposals are to be submitted electronically. | Offeror's proposals must be submitted electronically via the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE) |
| Section L | The instructions for past performance submission on page 60 of the RFP differ from those provided in the Section L instructions in the stand-alone Section L document. The RFP section L instructions state that “a listing of the last three contracts and/or subcontracts completed during the past three years, including all contracts and subcontracts currently in process” should be provided and that reliance will be given on contracts of a similar nature than those that are less similar. Should any and all contracts performed within the past three years be provided? Or only those contracts similar in nature be provided? | It is at the Offeror's discretion. Only contracts similar in nature will be relied upon to better determine whether the offeror is capable of completing the requirement. |
| Section L | Please define PATR | Program Administrative Technical Representative, however, this clause is being removed. |
| Section L | RFP Section L instructions state that “general information” on performance should not be provided. Please define general information. | General information on offerors performance is not required, however, this is being removed. |
| Section L | RFP Section L instructions provide a list of required information for each contract given as a past performance example. This list of required information is different than the required information listed on page 5 of the stand-alone Section L document. Please clarify which should be used. | Wil be removed. |
| DD254 | Many fields in the DD254 are incomplete. Is the Government waiting until contract award to fill in information such as solicitation number, due date, follow on contract, performance location, etc.? | Yes. The Government will provide a final DD254 at time of award. |
| Industry Day Slides | Are the items listed under “Special Considerations”, i.e. prescription safety glass, safety shoes, training, etc direct billable? | Reference PWS section C.11.8. Basic PPE (safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses and hard hats) is not billable. Specialized PPE (such as loading room shoes, contaminated work area shoes, respirators, fall arrest harnesses, explosive work coveralls, special cold weather gear, etc.) is billable. |
| Wage Determination | We understand 3 employees receive Hazard pay. Can the Government please clarify which Labor Categories should receive this Hazard pay and the required hours per year for each employee? | Level III, Level IIB, and Level II with an estimated 500 hours in hazard pay per person |
| Will the Government provide a breakout of employee seniority, including time with predecessor contractors in the performance of this work as it applies to SCA leave requirements? We would need to know the percentage of the workforce that falls in each of the required leave categories by labor category to provide an accurate price structure. We also need to know the anniversary dates in relation to the contract start date, to accurately plan for vacation. |
Less than 1 year - % of personnel per labor category 1 - 7 years - % personnel per labor category 8 - 14 years - % personnel per labor category
| 15 years+ - % personnel per labor category | It is not the Government's responsibility, nor is the Government capable, of providing this information to potential offerors. It is the Offeror's responsibility to obtain this information. | |||
| Solicitation | Section L states the solicitation release date was 16 December 2016. | |||
| The actual RFP release date was Dec 22, 2016. Do all of the dates listed in Section L change with the delayed solicitation release date? | The dates listed in Section L will coincide with the official release date of 22 December 2016. The Solicitation will be amended to reflect correct dates. | |||
| Solicitation | Will Government provide an excel cost template, or do we use our own template? | Your own template will be utilized for the cost proposal. | ||
| Solicitation | The large solicitation file lists the electornic submission as ASFI Secure Bid Response Systems, while the attachment Section L lists submission to ARL SAFE. Please clarify the correct submission requirement. | ARL SAFE will be utilized for proposal submission. | ||
| Section L | The Section L document does not give a number of contracts to cite, but does reference those award during the last three years. |
Question 1: How many contracts should be submitted for the prime and for each major subcontractor?
Question 2: Please clarify if contracts awarded more than three years ago, which are either still currently being performed or which has performance within the last three years are eligible to be cited.
| Question 3: If all of the prime contractor information required to fit within the 10 pages, and all subcontractor information within five pages? Or may we use 11 pages for the prime and 4 for the sub, or some other distribution that equals 15 total pages? | 1. There is no limit on the number that may be submitted. It is up to the offeror to determine what is relevant to establish past performance. 2. If awarded in excess of three (3) years and still under performance, it is relevant. The Government is trying to obtain recent relevant information. If an award has been completed but is within the three years, it is considered relevant. 3. 10 and 5 limiits are firm. | ||
| Wage Determination | Question 1: Are any contract personnel outside of the counties listed on the provided Wage Determination |
Question 2: Do any contract personnel qualify for Hazardous Pay Differential as detail on page 8 of the Wage Determination?
| Question 3: If so, can you detail how many personnel in each labor category quality for Hazardous Pay 8% differential and 4% differential? | 1. No. 2. Level III, Level IIB, and Level II. 3. All are 8% | ||
| DD1423 | Please validate that the CDRLs have the correct CLIN listed in Block A, as they are all listed as 0003, 0006, and 0009. The CLINS in Section B list CDRLs in CLINS 0004, 0008, and 0012 list this data reporting of CDRLs. |
| All CDRLS also have the same Data Acquisition Document Number (4), which is a Management Plan. Please verify that this is the correct document for all CDRLs. | Amendments applied, see revised CDRL's. | |||
| Section L | Since Personnel Qualifications are only given for the PM in the PWS, are we correct to assume that the PM is the only Key Personnel. | The PM is the only Key Personnel but Offeror's can propose additional key personnel at their own discretion. | ||
| PWS C.4.2.5 | It is stated that the Program Manager must possess a PMP Certification obtained within the past 5 years. Given the unique nature of ARL’s research and experimentation requirements being performed under this contract, would the government consider changing requirements to: | |||
| 5+ years of experience managing 100 personnel and able to obtain a PMP certification within 90 days of assuming PM responsibilities | The requirement for the PM is firm. | |||
| Section L | The proposal states that "each file of the proposal shall consist of a Table of Contents, Summary Section, and the Narrative discussion. The Summary Section shall contain a brief abstract of the file." Is this Summary section excluded from page count? | The Summary Section is included as part of the page count. | ||
| Section M | The RFP states that "proposed direct labor rates may be recent actual labor rates supported by payroll records, and/or paystubs, Letters of Intent (LOIs), or salary survey data." Since the all labor categories except the Program Manager are SCA labor categories, our rates must be in compliance with SCA requirements for designated skills, experience, and education. Will the appropriate Wage Determination rates be sufficient support for proposed labor rates? | The requirement is firm. The WD is the minimum required. Rates are required to be a minimum of the WD rate for any given category. The government is providing the current estimated labor categories as reference only. Offerors are expected to make individual determinations based on the current PWS, the Department of Labor (DOL) at Wage Determinations, the Government’s estimated categories, and their own proposed solution to fulfilling the Government’s requirements. Each offeror may assess individual positions differently based on their assessment of the above and local labor market conditions and their proposed recruitment and management plan. Offerors are encouraged to consider local labor market conditions when proposing labor rates. Rates must meet DOL requirements but may exceed them in order to achieve PWS requirements. | ||
| Solicitation | The instructions state ' The Instructions to Offerors is ten (10) pages and it is listed as an attachment in Section J. There is no Section J provided with this RFP. Please clarify. | Section J starts on Page 45 of the Solicitation, titled "List of Documents, Exhibits and Other Attachments. | ||
| Section L | The Estimated labor Categories do not include a category for Program Manager. Would the Government like us to add a labor catgory for the Program Manager? | The Progam Manager is considered a full time Key Personnel. | ||
| Section L | The RFP states "cost or pricing data is not required," please clarify this statement with regards to the separate Section L file, which requires "A full cost proposal IS required in response to the PWS." | See FAR 15.403-1 (c.) | ||
| Section M | For the Technical Volume, Subfactor 2 Personnel, (iii) Recentness of Experience, Section M states "The evaluation will focus on the offeror's recruitment, retention, and identification of program management personnel." We can map the recruitment requirements to section I Recruitment Plan, and retention can be mapped to II Retention Plan. The next evaluation factor is 'identification of program management personnel.' |
The further explanation of evaluation in III states, "The proposed labor categories have the current knowledge, skills, and educational requirements required by the PWS. The Government will review the resumes and professional reference for the labor categories to include education, skills, certification, and evidence of a current Department of Defense (DoD) clearance (as required by the PWS)."
Please clarify what is to be addressed in Subfactor 2, Subsection III Recentness of Experience. The only labor category required by the PWS is Program Manager, which seems to align with 'identification of program management personnel' in Section M.
Question 1: Does Recentness only apply to 'program management personnel'?
Question 2: If so, is the Program Manager's resume included with this section?
| Question 3: Would the PMs resume then be in the volume page count? | The PWS requires a wide variety of requirements and does not list specifically what labor categories are requried to fulfill those requirements. Offerors shall propose their own solution to fulfilling the requirements and may be based on the estimated labor categories identified. In the Government's judgment, the type(s) of labor categories required for performance of this proposed contract is as set forth below and defined in Section L, paragraph entitled "Special Technical Capabilities." However, offerors shall propose labor categories in accordance with their own accounting/personnel system and their own plan for performance of contract requirements. Resumes are only required for key personnel that are proposed and resumes will not be included in the page count. | ||
| Solicitation | The RFP states, "However the offerors shall propose labor categories in accordance with their own accounting/personnel system and their own plan for performance of contract requirements. Offerors shall provide a description of qualifications for each of the proposed labor categories so that the Government can determine whether they are equivalent to the categories set forth by the Government, and whether they are necessary and appropriate for the contract effort." |
Question 1: Does this refer to the SCA labor categories for those listed in the RFP, or only to labor categories we proposed in addition to those in the RFP?
Question 2: Where does this description of labor categories go in the RFP response?
| Question 3: If it is to be included in Technical, is it excluded from page count? | 1. This is for all labor catergories that will be proposed to fulfill the contract requirements. 2. Technical volume. 3. No. | ||
| Q&A Interactions | Question 1 from the published Q&A file states: |
"A copy of these steps are Tech IB - $24.32 per hour, Tech IIB - $27.29 per hour, Tech IIIB - $30.54 per hour, Tech IIID $32.40 per hour"
| Are these rates current (Jan 2017)? | These rates are from the previous contract and are not current. | |||
| Wage Determination | Will the Government please provide the Wage Determinations for Prince George's County? | Yes | ||
| Solicitation | Is it the Government's intention to include the use of flexible work hours, e.g., "Normal work hours at ARL facilities are from 0745 through 1615, Monday through Friday. The Contractor shall allow the use of flexible work schedules to include, but not limited to, Alternate Work Schedule (such as, eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day in a two week pay period), Regular Duty Hours starting before 0745 each day, or Regular Duty Hours extending past 1615 each day, or four 10-hour work days per week.... etc."? | See PWS C.6.1 | ||
| Section L | Will the Government clarify the page limitations, in keeping with the following standard: "Pages that exceed the required page limitations will not be evaluated. Table of Contents, Cover Pages, Summary Sections, Manpower Charts, Letters of Intent, Contract Work Breakdown Structure, Letters of Commitment, Resumes, and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans (QASP) are excluded from the page count.... etc."? | Correct, Letters of Intent, CWBS, Letters of Commitment, resumes, and QASP are excluded from the page count. | ||
| Section L | Will the Government please clarify, that while the Offeror is to provide our QA/QC procedures in the Technical Documentation response, is it the Government's intention to provide their (the Government's) QASP to enable response to requirement (10)? | The Gov. will not provide the Gov. QASP. |
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