QA_Spreadsheet_Smith_30AUG_1630_.xlsx
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- JE-OPETS-BEI (Business & Analytical, Engineering & Technical, Information Technology) Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- W911QY-18-R-0008
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74 Questions with Answers.
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| FedBizOpps_Award_Notice_-_Contract_Information.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| W911QY-18-R-0008_P0001.pdf | ||
| Final_RFP.pdf | ||
| RFI_addendum_BEI.pdf | ||
| Section_M_6_Feb_2018.docx | DOCX document | |
| Section_L_7_Feb_2018.docx | DOCX document | |
| JE-OPETS-BEI_DRAFT_Performancr_Work_Statement.docx | DOCX document |
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BEI
| Question # | Page | Paragraph | Section | Industry Reference to Question | Industry Question | Government Answer |
| 1 | 4, 5, 7 | CLINS 1001, 4001, and 7001, Travel, are shown to be FFP CLINS in Section B. However, the narrative in the CLINS states “Travel reimbursement is on a cost reimbursement basis only…”. | Please confirm that the Travel CLINS identified will be CR CLINS, not FFP CLINS. | Travel CLINS will be FFP CLINs that will be adjusted as travel needs arise. | ||
| 2 | 4, 6, 7 | CLINS 2001, 5001, and 8001, ODCs, are shown to be FFP CLINS in Section B. The narrative states “ODC reimbursement is on an FFP basis only.” | Can the Government please clarify if incidental supplies or materials that are required to support a future Task Order will be CR or FFP? | FFP | ||
| 3 | 20 | Clauses Incorporated by Full Text, 52.216-18 Ordering (Oct 1995) states that the ordering period is from 1 October 2018 through 18 February 2024; however page 23 of 37, 252.216-7005 Ordering (May 2011) states that the ordering period is from contract award date through 18 February 2025. | Will the Government please confirm the ordering period dates that are currently conflicted? | The ordering period will begin on date of actual contract award and will consist of a five-year Base Period, one 1-year Option Period, and one potential 6 month extension. | ||
| 4 | 31 | 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations (Oct 2014) – Alternate I (Sep 2015) | If submitting a proposal as a small business, does this clause need to be completed and submitted in the proposal? If so, please advise which volume it should be submitted within. | This is included in the SAM documentation the offeror is required to submit in accordance with, Section L, D, 1, d - Section IV: Representations and Certifications. The information will be submitted as Section IV: Representations and Certifications of the Administrative Volume. | ||
| 5 | 6 of 8 | 2. Volume 1 - Factor 1 - Past performance | L, Attachment 2 | a. Will the Government please confirm that subcontractor (teaming partner) past performance is acceptable for submission? |
b. Will the Government allow small businesses to submit relevant past performance as a prime contractor for contracts that on-boarded 10 or more FTEs (in lieu of 40 FTEs) within 30 days in the last five years to be acceptable for submission as acceptable past performance since there are only 3 labor categories that are being set-aside for the small business community? a) Yes
b) No
| 6 | Can an organization that does not have a facility clearance at the time of proposal submission be included on a prime offeror’s team and be sponsored for a facility clearance post award of an IDIQ in order to participate on future Task Orders as part of the offeror’s Team? | Clearance must be in place at time of IDIQ Order award. At a minimum you must have a SECRET at the IDIQ level and a Top Secret at the task order level if the task order RFP specifies Top Secret. | |||
| 7 | 7 | Section L | The Organizational Plan will demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) Task Orders of forty (40) FTEs. | Can the Government kindly clarify the requirement to demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) Task Orders of forty (40) FTEs? Does this mean three TOs each with 40 FTEs (total of 120 FTEs) or a total of 40 FTEs across the three TOs (e.g., 15 FTEs, 15 FTEs and 10 FTEs, respectively)? | Each of the three task orders has 40 FTEs. Task orders totaling approximately 120 FTEs will be awarded prior to the start of the period of performance. |
| 8 | 26 | Section J | DOCUMENT TYPE DESCRIPTION PAGES DATE |
Attachment 4 CEAQ 2
| Attachment 5 PPAQ 4 07-AUG-2018 | We assume that the three CEAQs can be submitted for contracts that may include or be different from the three Past Performance References (and PPQs). Will the Government please clarify if the CEAQs and the PPQs can be provided for different contracts? | CEAQs and PPQs can be provided for different contracts. | ||
| 9 | 2, 32 | Section A, Section K | NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, applies with a small business size standard exception of $15,000,000.00. |
(b)(1) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541330.
| (2) The small business size standard is $15.000,000.00. | The Government has invoked exception A to the 541330 size standard, which should move the revenue threshold from $15M to $38.5M. However, it is also stated that the small business size standard is $15M. Will the Government please clarify the dollar value designation for small businesses? | Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove the Exception A language. | |||
| 10 | 2 | Section A | The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. All other requirements will be competed amongst all IDIQ holders. | The pre-solicitation Industry Day charts indicated an estimate of Total JE-OPETS BEI Task Orders to equal about 140 FTEs: |
• 2 to 3 Task Orders to provide Business and Analytics FTEs across Labor Categories (Each Task Order may include 15-20 FTEs)
• 2 to 3 Task Orders to provide Engineering and Technical FTEs across Labor Categories (Each Task Order may include 15-30 FTEs)
• 2 to 3 Task Orders to provide Information Technology FTEs across Labor Categories (Each Task Order may include 15-30 FTEs) Can the Government kindly clarify how the partial SBSA procurement will figure into this projection, since two of the SBSA Labor Categories reside in the Business & Analytics requirements, and one Labor Category falls under the Information Technology requirement.
| Can the Government kindly provide a revised assessment of the number of Task Orders (and associated number of FTEs) that will be competed each at the Full & Open and Small Business Set Aside levels? | The Government anticipates there will be a total of 5 Task Orders for BEI; 1 SBSA and the remaining 4 Full and Open. The Task Order to capture the SBSA Labor Categories; approximately 20 FTEs. The remaining Task Orders will average around 30 FTEs and will mainly consist of labor categories within the same business area. | |||||
| 11 | 2 | Section A | The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. All other requirements will be competed amongst all IDIQ holders. | Can the Government kindly clarify how it intends to compete the three Labor Categories under the Small Business Set Aside? For instance, at the Task Order level will all work associated with Budget Analyst Labor Categories be bundled and competed only among Small Business JE-OPETS-BEI IDIQ prime contractors? | All FTEs under the SBSA Labor Categories of Budget Analyst, Contract Support Analyst & Software Engineer with be released under one task order and only Small Business JE OPETS IDIQ holders are eligible to propose | |
| 12 | 6,8,18 | Section L, PWS | h. Section VIII. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan(QASP) (No page limit) |
The Government shall evaluate the Contractors’ performance under this contract in accordance with the Governments’ developed Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). The QASP is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure at the TO level that the Contractor has performed IAW the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS). It defines how the PRS will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).
Appendix B – Quality Assurance Plane Guidance Appendix B is referred to as both “Quality Assurance Plan Guidance” and “Quality Assurance Surveillance Guidance” in two areas of the RFP. Please confirm the Government is asking us to submit a Quality Assurance Plan, which the Government will use to monitor the contractor’s performance in accordance with the Government’s QASP. Yes, the Government is asking the offeror to submit a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).
Appendix B will be renamed to "Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Guidance" 13 18 Section I 52.219-9 Alt II Small Business Subcontracting Plan (JAN 2017) Alternate II NOV 2016 The clause 52.219-9 Alt II is included in the clauses. But, there is no requirement for a subcontracting plan to be submitted. Will the Government please clarify if a Small Business Subcontracting Plan needs to be provided with the IDIQ proposal.
If a Small Business Subcontract Plan is required, does the Government have Small Business Utilization goals offerors must address and achieve?
| Additionally, if a Small Business Subcontract Plan is required, will the Government evaluate those plans and, if so, what criteria will be used for the evaluation? | Subcontracting plans are not required at the IDIQ level. Clause 52.219-9 Alt II is included because we will ask for plans from large businesses at the TO level. | ||||||
| 14 | 2 | 1 | Section A, Solicitation/Contract Form | Section A Solicitation Form, “NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, applies with a small business size standard exception of $15,000,000.00.” According to SBA, NAICS 541330 for Engineering Services has a size standard of $15M, Except Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons which is $38.5M. | Question: Given that the government stated that the appropriate NAICS Code name is “Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons,” request the government confirm whether the correct size standard for small businesses is $38.5M. | Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove exception A. | |
| 15 | Section L.2. Volume I, Factor I, Past Performance. Pg. 6 of 8 | 2 | Section L.2. Volume I, Factor I, Past Performance | The Offeror shall submit up to but no more than three (3) Government contracts performing as the Prime |
Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years.
| Question: Request the Government confirm that bidders can use a subcontractor’s past performance. | Yes, bidders can use a subcontractor's past performance. | |||||
| 16 | 18, 29 | FAR 52.219-9 Alt II | Section I | Section I incorporates 52.219-9 Alt II Small Business Subcontracting Plan (JAN 2017) Alternate II. | Question: Is an offeror required to submit a subcontracting plan in its proposal submission? | No, but they are required at the TO level from large businesses. |
| 17 | 14-15 | 4.10. | Attachment 1, PWS | PWS Section 4.10 states “Access to information at the Task order level beyond that which authorized in the DD Form 254 applicable to this ID/IQ contract will result in a separate Task Order specific DD Form 254 to be issued by the Government.” | Question: DD 254 at the IDIQ level is missing in the RFP package. Does the Government intend to release a DD Form 254 template for this RFP? | A DD Form 254 will be included in Amendment 1. It is also available on the internet. |
| 18 | 1 of 8 | B.1 | Section L B. Proposal Format | Reference Section L B.1 “Input for each Section required under each volume shall begin on a new page. | Question: Request the Government clarify that for JE OPETS BEI proposal, the page limited Volume II – Technical /Management response is not required to start the response to each of the four Section L Subfactors on a separate new page. | Sub factors do not need to be on separate pages. |
| 19 | 6 of 8 | 2. Volume I, Past Performance | Section L.D.2 Volume I, Past Performance | Reference Section L.D.2 Volume I, Past Performance, “Government contracts performing as the Prime Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years and are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation.” | Question: In order to not exclude long-running contracts that have recently concluded, and contracts where the offeror was recently awarded a follow-on contract, request the Government change the requirement to be “currently in performance or concluded within the past five years. For the purposes of qualifying for the period of performance, direct follow-on contracts and their predecessor contracts may be considered a single ‘contract’ ” | Agreed and will amend the language. |
| 20 | 2 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form | JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. | Question: Can large businesses bid these labor categories with small business subcontractors? | No | |
| 21 | 2 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form | JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. | Question: Is it the government’s intent to issue separate TOs for the listed LCATs as small business set-aside solicitations for which only qualified small businesses awarded a JE-OPETS-BEI IDIQ can propose? | Yes | |
| 22 | 2 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form | JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. | Question: Will large businesses be able to bid the listed small business-designated labor categories on TOs or will those labor categories be excluded from large business solicitations? | No. Those 3 labor categories are reserved for small business only. | |
| 23 | 3 of 5 | Section III – Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire | Section M, Factor II – Technical / Management | Reference Section M, Section III – Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire: Up to three Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaires (CEAQ) may be completed and submitted for professional services contracts your company has been awarded within the past five years. The CEAQ must show at least 9 months of performance” | Question: Request the government clarify the specific date from which to determine, “currently in performance or were awarded during the past 5 years”. | The past 5 years leading up to the date the RFP was issued. |
| 24 | 3 of 5 | Section III – Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire | Section M, Factor II – Technical / Management | Reference Section M, Section III – “Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire: Up to three Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaires (CEAQ) may be completed and submitted for professional services contracts your company has been awarded within the past five years. The CEAQ must show at least 9 months of performance” | Question: With respect to the 9 months of performance criteria, will the government allow offerors to include past performance on a contract that is a continuation of a predecessor contract, with no break in performance, to count towards the 9 months of performance? | Yes and include the previous contract number and length of contract. |
| 25 | 6 of 8 | Past Performance | Section L.2 Volume I – Factor I, Past Performance | Reference Section L.D.2 Volume I, Past Performance, “…Government contracts performing as the Prime Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years and are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation.” | Question: For the purposes of qualifying for the period of performance, please clarify when the five year period starts. Is it from time of this RFP issuance or this proposal submission? | See question 23. |
| 26 | pg 2 of 37; pg 3 of 25 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form; PWS 1.3 | RFP Section A and PWS Paragraph 1.3 that, “The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst.” | Question: Request the government clarify in Sections L & M how it will award IDIQ contracts to qualified Small Businesses. | Proposals from small and large businesses will be evaluated in the same manner. | |
| 27 | pg 2 of 37; pg 3 of 25 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form; PWS 1.3 | RFP Section A and PWS Paragraph 1.3 that, “The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst.” | Question: Is it the intent of the government to make awards to Small Businesses as a result of this RFP using the same Section L and M criteria as for the Full and Open Prime bidders? | Yes | |
| 28 | pg 2 of 37; pg 3 of 25 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form; PWS 1.3 | RFP Section A and PWS Paragraph 1.3 that, “The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst.” | Question: Is it the intent of the government to issue TO Requests as SB Set-Asides that are separate from the anticipated three TOs of 40 FTEs? | Yes, TO requests for the SB Set-Aside labor categories will be separate. | |
| 29 | pg 2 of 37; pg 3 of 25 | Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form; PWS 1.3 | RFP Section A and PWS Paragraph 1.3 that, “The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst.” | Question: Should large business bidders include small businesses on its team to address the support requirements associated with the three distinct LCATs? | Large business bidders cannot bid on the labor categories set aside for small business. | |
| 30 | 6 of 8 | Section L.D.2 Factor I, Past Performance | Reference Section L.D.2 Volume I, Past Performance, “Government contracts performing as the Prime Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years and are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation.” | Question: Given that the stated criteria for relevant past performance excludes contracts that may have begun more than 5 years ago but were completed within the past five years, request the government modify the requirement from, “currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years,” to “currently in performance or were executed during the past five (5) years.” | Agreed and will amend the language. | |
| 31 | 6 of 8 | L.D.2 Factor I, Volume I, Past Performance | The Offeror shall submit up to but no more than three (3) Government contracts performing as the Prime |
Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is
| performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years. | Request that the Government allow the use of subcontractor’s contract performance and its associated Past Performance Questionnaire or CPAR. | The Government will allow the use of subcontractor's past performance or CPAR. | |||||
| 32 | 2 of 5 | M., Factor II - Technical/ Management | Section L states: “ For each subfactor below, a rating of “Acceptable” will be based on the Offerors’ adequate description of how they will hire and position three (3) Task Orders with forty (40) FTEs, IAW the labor categories provided in the PWS, that are fully trained and ready to perform all WBS requirements within 30 days. | Question: Are the issuance and start dates of the three (3) task orders to be simultaneous? If not, over what timespan will the three task orders start? | Yes, on 19 February 2019 | ||
| 33 | 5 of 8 | L.D.1d Volume A – Administrative Section IV, Representations and Certifications | Section L states: “The Offeror shall print the SAM documentation and submit it as Section IV of the Administrative Volume.” | Question: The current Section L guidance would require the offeror to print extensive information that does not appear to be relevant to this solicitation. Does the quick search results on SAM.gov satisfy this requirement? If not, what SAM.gov documentation is required to be printed? | Representations and Certifications SAM documentation is required | ||
| 34 | pg 5 of 8; pg 27 of 37 | L.D.1d Volume A – Administrative Section IV, Representations and Certifications and Section K – Representations, Certifications and Other Statement of Offerors | Section L states: “Using the System for Award Management (SAM), the Offeror shall enter the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort (i.e., 541330) and complete the Representations and Certifications information appropriately.” | Question: Is the offeror to provide responses to Clauses Incorporated by Full Text under Section K of the RFP in Section IV of Volume A? | Yes, Clauses should be completed. | ||
| 35 | 7 of 8 | L.D.2, Vol. I, Section II CPARS or Past Performance Assessment Questionnaire (PPAQ) ratings | Section L, Volume I, Section II of the RFP states “Ratings with written assessment(s) are to be provided for each of the three contracts cited in Past Performance. CPARS or Past Performance Assessment Questionnaires ratings will not count against page limits.” | Question: Request the government confirm that subcontractors can submit CPARS or Past Performance Questionnaires. | Yes, subcontractors can submit CPARS or Past Performance Questionnaires. | ||
| 36 | Volume II - Factor II Technical/Management; b. Subfactor 2 | Are the Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire (CEAQs) required? | No | ||||
| 37 | Due to the 12 MB file limitation for the Government’s email server, offerors typically have to reduce the resolution of their final PDF submittal files. This decreases the sharpness and clarity of text, tables, and graphics. Offerors would like to retain the resolution of their files, which would benefit of the Government’s source selection committee during their review. Will the Government please consider allowing offerors to use the AMRDEC Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) system for submitting final proposal files? | No, but you may send separate emails with individual files. | |||||
| 38 | L.C.10 | Per Section L.C.10, Participation of Commercial Firms in the Evaluation Process of RFP # W911QY-18-R-0008 | What are the name(s) and company of the supporting contractor the evaluation will be provided to? | No commercial firms will be participating in the evaluation process. | |||
| 39 | 2 of 81 | First Paragraph | JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. | Please clarify. Does this mean that there will be a restricted and unrestricted suite, with IDIQ contract awards in each? Will contracts be awarded to both small and large businesses, using the same criteria, at the IDIQ level and then TOs will be set-aside? |
| It is unclear how the Government intends to compete set-asides for JE-OPETS-BEI. | The same criteria will be used to award IDIQ contracts to both small and large businesses. Task orders for the specified labor categories will be set aside for small business. | |||||
| 40 | 2 of 81 | First Paragraph | Section A | JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. | Will small business IDIQ contract holders be permitted to compete for only set-aside TOs or will small business IDIQ contract holders be permitted to compete for all TOs? |
| It is unclear how the Government intends to compete JE-OPETS-BEI TOs among small and large contract holders. | Small business IDIQ holders will be permitted to compete for all Task Orders. | |||||
| 41 | 2 of 81 | First Paragraph | Section A | NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, applies with a small business size standard exception of $15,000,000. | Is it the Government’s intent to assign NAICS 541330 ($15M) -or- NAICS 541330 Exception A to this contract ($35.5M)? |
| As written, the solicitation contradicts itself here. | Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove exception A. | |||||
| 42 | 2 of 81 | First Paragraph | Section A | During a Task Order period of performance, subsequent work may be added to existing Task Orders via modification. | How would this work? Doesn’t this limit Fair Opportunity and inhibit competition? |
| All new requirements should be competed to allow all IDIQ contract holders an equal, fair opportunity to compete for work. | Only work that is within scope would be added to existing Task Orders. New requirements will be competed to allow for fair opportunity. | ||||
| 43 | 17 of 81 | H.14 | Should the Government determine that it is necessary to add additional prime contractors, the re-competition will be solicited on a set-aside basis as necessary to sustain the competitive base. | Why would an on-ramp/re-competition be reserved as a set-aside? |
| On-ramps are typically competed using the same proposal submission requirements and evaluation criteria as the original competition. | it is only "as necessary" | |||||
| 44 | 18 of 81 | 52.222-17 | Section I | Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers | Why is this required under JE-OPETS-BEI? Does this contract meet the definition of a Services Contract under 29 CFR 9.2 (i.e., any contract or subcontract for services entered into by the Federal Government or its contractors that is covered by the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act of 1965, as amended, and its implementing regulations)? |
The labor categories required under JE-OPETS-BEI do not fall under the Services Contract Act; therefore, the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers claus is not applicable to this contract. FAR 52.222-17 is included in this solicitation as prescribed by FAR 22.1207.
The definition of a service contract can be found at FAR 22.001.
Far 22.1003-5 and 29 CFR 4.130 have a partial list of services covered by the Service Contract Labor Standards statute.
45 19 of 81 52.243-1 Section I Changes—Fixed Price (Aug 1987) – Alternate 1 Does Alternate 1 apply to this contract?
| JE-OPETS-BEI is for professional services, which do not apply to Alternate 1 of FAR 52.243-1. | Should be Alternate III, will correct with amended solicitation. | |||||
| 46 | 19 of 81 | 52.244-2 | Section I | Subcontracts | Does this clause apply to this contract? |
| JE-OPETS-BEI does not include unpriced orders. | This will be removed with the amended solicitation. | |||||
| 47 | 19 of 81 | 52.248-1 | Section I | Value Engineering | Does this clause apply to this contract? |
JE-OPETS-BEI does not fall under any of the general requirements of FAR 48.201(a). FAR 48.201(a) states "The contracting officer shall insert a value engineering clause in solicitations and contracts when the contract amount is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, EXCEPT as specified in subparagraphs (a)(1) through (5) and in paragraph (f) of this section."
| This requirement is not exempt based on FAR 48.201(a)1 through 5, or FAR 48.201(f). | (1) For research and development other than full-scale development; | |||||
| 48 | 20 of 81 | 252.242-7006 | Section I | Accounting System Administration | Does this clause apply to this contract? |
| JE-OPETS-BEI is not a cost-type contract. | This will be removed with the amended solicitation. | ||||
| 49 | 30 of 81 | 52.204-8(C)(2) | Section I | What applies under this paragraph? |
| The clause requests the contracting officer check the applicable requirement. | Nothing was selected by the contracting officer, therefore they do not apply. | ||||
| 50 | 35 of 81 | 52.222-46 | Section L | To which JE-OPETS-BEI labor categories will this clause pertain? Will a Professional Compensation Plan be required at the IDIQ level or just the TO level, for only the applicable labor categories? |
| Price is not being evaluated at the IDIQ level, so it is unclear why this is a requirement at the IDIQ level. | Clauses included in the IDIQ will be applicable to subsequent TOs. | |||
| 51 | Attachment 1 PWS 1.3 | It is intended to award at least three IDIQ contracts. | Because set-asides are being made under this contract, does this mean that at least three large business -and- three small business awards are anticipated? Please clarify how the Government intends to ensure competition at the TO level. |
If only three total IDIQ awards are made and only one is to a small business, then there will not be an opportunity for competition at the TO level.
| Alternatively, if no small businesses are awarded an IDIQ contract, it is unclear how set-asides could be competed. | At least two small businesses must be awarded an IDIQ contract in order to ensure competition at the TO level. If one or zero small businesses are awarded an IDIQ contract, the set aside will become full and open competition. "at least three"…there may be more. | |
| 52 | Section L, page 68 of 81, 2. Volume I – Factor I, Past Performance (Sections 1 and 2 – 15 Page Limit) |
And
Section L, page 69 of 81, 2. Volume I – Factor I, Past Performance Section II: CPARS or PPAQ ratings will not count against page limits.
Please clarify. One statement says Sections 1 and 2 have a 15-page limit, but Section II says that it does not count against the page limit.
| These two statements contradict each other. | The actual CPARS rating or PPAQ do not count against the page limit. The page limit applies to the narrative portion of the section. | |||
| 53 | 68 of 81 | Section L | The Offeror shall submit up to but no more than three (3) Government contracts performing as the Prime |
Contractor or performing as a “major” subcontractor (i.e. 25% or greater percentage of the contracted work is performed as a subcontractor) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five (5) years and are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation. Can offerors submit past performance contract references for work its major subcontractor performed or must all proposed past performance contract references pertain to the offeror’s (i.e., proposed Prime’s) unique experience?
| Solicitation directions are unclear. | Yes, subcontractors can submit CPARS or Past Performance Questionnaires | ||||
| 54 | 69 of 81 | Section L.b.ii | This section shall provide a narrative describing methodology to be implemented on future JE-OPETS Task Orders regarding recruitment, retention, replacement and management | Why is this information being requested here when the same information is also requested in the following sections: |
- Section L.b.i.: describe a detailed recruitment process
- Section L.d.i.: describe a plan to manage on- and off-site support personnel -Section L.d.iv.: provide a strategy to address retention throughout the POP
| Suggest rewording to: This section shall provide a narrative describing methodology to be implemented on future JE-OPETS regarding replacement. | The solicitation stands as written. | ||||
| 55 | General | Are over-under teaming arrangements allowable? | The government assumes "over-under" means teaming arrangements where 1 vendor is the prime and the other is the sub. If that is the case then the answer is yes. | ||
| 56 | Section C | Descriptions and Specifications, the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and associated Labor Category Descriptions are included in Section J attachments; however, the Solicitation’s Section J, Attachment 1, Performance Work Statement does not appear to list the Labor Category Descriptions, as referenced. | Will the Government be developing and providing a detailed description for each Labor Category under Section 5.0 of the PWS, inclusive of degree and years of experience requirements? | No, this will be done at the Task Order level, however not all Labor Categories will have a degree and years of experience requirement. | |
| 57 | Section L, Volume II | Factor II Technical/Management, a. Subfactor 1: Organizational Plan, ii, states “The Organizational Plan will demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) Task Orders of forty (40) FTEs”. | Are all positions full-time or will there be part-time (consultants or SME) opportunities? | The majority of positons are a full FTE; however there will be some that are less than a full FTE. | |
| 58 | Section L, Volume A | Administrative, d. Section IV: Representations and Certifications | Does the Offeror need to provide a signed Representations and Certifications or is a screenshot print out of a current SAM Entity Registration sufficient to confirm that the required Reps and Certs have been completed? | Screenshot printout is acceptable. | |
| 59 | Section A - Solicitation/Contract Form | “The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this IDIQ. JE-OPETS-BEI will be awarded as a MA IDIQ contract using full and open competition with partial Small Business set asides reserved for labor categories Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst. All other requirements will be competed amongst all IDIQ holders.” | Is the Small Business Set Aside for Software Engineer limited to just Software Engineer or does it also include job categories in the Software subsection (from the PWS) “Software” which had the jobs of “Software Engineer”, “Software Specialist” and “Software Test Engineer”? | Only the roles listed within the solicitation are being set aside: |
Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst 60 Section A – Solicitation/Contract Form NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, applies with a small business size standard exception of $15,000,000.00 Discussion: The Small Business Administration (and Sam.gov) cites NAICS Code 541330,Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, having a small business size standard of $38,500,000.
| Questions: Would the government please clarify that the size standard of $38.5 is applicable. | Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove exception A. | ||||||
| 61 | 4 of 8 | Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Bidders | Section L. | Past Performance page limit is noted as 15 pages and Page 6 of 8 states “2. Volume I – Factor I, Past Performance (Sections 1 and 2 – 15 page Limit)”; however, Section II on Page 7 of 8, states “CPARS or PPAQ ratings will not count against page limits”. | Can you please clarify Past Performance page limits? | The actual CPARS rating or PPAQ do not count against the page limit. The page limit applies to the narrative portion of the section. | |
| 62 | 2 | 2 | Attachment 2, L.C | The solicitation states that a company with multiple divisions is not permitted to submit a separate proposal by division for award consdideration. | Can a company submit a proposal both as a prime and as a member of a joint venture, where the entities who make up the joint venture are under the SBA Mentor Protégé Program? | yes, per FAR 19 and DFARS 219. | |
| 63 | 2 | 1 | Section A - Solicitation/Contract Form | NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, applies with a small business size standard exception of $15,000,000.00. | According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Table of Small Business Size Standard Matched to North American Industry Classification System Codes the size standard for NAICS Code 541330 is $15M, except under the NAICS Industry Description of Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, which has a size standard of $38.5M. | ||
| Will the Government please clarify which size standard is applicable to this RFP? | Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove exception A. | ||||||
| 64 | 2 and 28 of 37 | Section A - Solicitation Form and Section K - Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors | Would the Government respectfully consider increasing the partial small business set aside threshold from $15,000,000.00 to $38,500,000.000 under NAICS Code 541330 by using one of the exceptions (e.g. 'Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons")? |
| Size standard for small business is $15M, Solicitation will be amended to remove exception A. | |||||
| 65 | Attachment 3 - Section M | Section M | The Solicitation provides in Section M that, "[a]wards will be made to the Offeror(s) whose proposals represent the Best Value to the Government by applying the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection process described in FAR 15.101-2." | Question: Will the Government consider opening Task Orders up to the full Best Value continuum, rather than just LPTA? There are certain labor categories under the Business and Analytical, Engineering and Technical, and Information Technology domain where substantial value could be derived from these "knowledge based services." Section 813 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) discourages the use of LPTA for procurements that are predominantly for the acquisition of, " (1) information technology services, cybersecurity services, systems engineering and technical assistance services, advanced electronic testing, audit or audit readiness services, or other knowledge-based professional services..." | Orders for TOs will be placed in accordance with the procedures at FAR 16.5 |
| 66 | Section L (Page 4 of 8) and Section L (Page 1 of 8) | L.D Proposal Contents, Table 1 and L.B.1 Proposal Content | The file names specified for the various volumes in Table 1, L.D Proposal Contents conflicts with the directions in L.B.1 Proposal Content which provides that file names shall clearly identify the company name, solicitation number, and volume name and number. | Can the Government please reconcile? | The table refers to the name of the volume. B.1 refers to the name of the actual file being submitted. |
Example:
CompanyName_W911QY18R0008_ADMINISTRATIVE Vol A_1 of 2.pdf
67 Page 17 of 37 Paragraph H.14 (Addition of Contractors During the Life of the ID/IQ Contract) In Paragraph H14, the Government indicates its intention to, "maintain the presence of small businesses as part of the awardee base." a) Can the Government please provide clarity regarding this statement?
b) Are there a certain number of IDIQ award spots being reserved for small businesses? If so, how many awarded spots will go to small businesses?
c) Can the Government confirm whether there will be small business set-aside task orders? a) the Government would like to have a competitive base of small businesses on the IDIQ
b) No
c) Yes for the three labor categories listed in the solicitation:
Budget Analyst, Software Engineer, and Contract Support Analyst.
68 Factor II Technical/Management Government will rate offerors based on their description of how they will hire and position three separate (3) task order with approximately forty (40) FTEs among the those task orders. However, the Government also requests in Factor I a higher standard of providing past experience of hiring forty (40) FTEs on a single contract versus over a number of contracts/task orders similar to the Technical/Management section. Would the government remove the 40 FTE requirement in the Past Performance section? Or at a minimum, would the Government make the requirement similar to the Technical/Management section and allow vendors to use 3 contracts/task orders for a total of no less than 40 FTEs. Having different standards for Factor I and II may create a challenge in an equitable evaluation. Moreover, this change will allow vendors to use the most relevant past performance contracts that most align with the scope of the PWS, Factor II: Technical/Management, and the mission of JPEO-CBRND. Section M:
Technical/Management says "The Organizational Plan will demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) Task Orders of forty (40) FTEs."
Past performance says "Relevant contracts must have demonstrated the Offerors ability as the Prime or as a major subcontractor to recruit, hire and position forty (40) FTEs within 30 days that were fully trained and ready to perform all WBS requirements."
| 69 | L/M guidance regarding Past performance | “Offerors shall submit a list of up to three Federal Government contracts for which the Offeror was the prime or a major sub-Contractor (a major subcontractor is defined as having performed at least 25% of the total cost of the contract being cited) which are currently in performance or were awarded during the past five years and are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation.” | May offerors submit past performance citation(s) from proposed team member subcontractor(s), or are only contracts from the offeror/Prime allowed? | Yes, subcontractors can submit CPARS or Past Performance Questionnaires. |
| 70 | Instructions to Offerors for Volume II - Factor II Technical/Management Subfactor | “Section III – Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaire: Up to three Corporate Experience Assessment Questionnaires (CEAQ) may be completed and submitted for professional services contracts your company has been awarded within the past five years.” |
“Criteria for Acceptability of subfactor 2:
To be evaluated as ”Acceptable”, the Offerors’ Recruitment, Retention, and Replacement Competency shall conform with all instructions to Offerors, demonstrate low risk to successful performance, and demonstrate a thorough response to all three sections of this Subfactor. The CEAQ shall clearly demonstrate corporate success in executing professional service contracts.” a. The CEAQ phrasing of “may be completed” is confusing; please clarify if offerors are required to submit at least one but no more than three CEAQs; must submit exactly three CEAQs, or may submit zero CEAQs?
b. Please clarify if offerors may have CEAQ(s) completed by proposed team mates/subcontractors.
c. Can offerors receive “Acceptable” evaluation for Subfactor 2 with zero CEAQs?
d. If we had a CEAQ sent to you on the JE-OPETS Acquisition proposal in July 2018, can you please use it for this submittal rather than us requesting the same form from the CO again? (We are able to use the same task on this submittal because it is also relevant to the BEI PWS) a) An offeror may submit CEAQs, but is not required to.
b) Yes
c) Yes
d) Yes, and you will need to indicate who you sent it to.
| 71 | L.Vol II.a- Subfactor 1: Organizational Plan | Organizational plan currently states "Plan will demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) Task Orders of forty (40) FTEs." | Can the government clarify: Does this mean the plan will demonstrate scalability to accommodate three (3) TOs of forty (40) FTE's each (for a total of 120 FTEs) or does this mean the plan will demonstrate scalability to accomodate three (3) TOs of forty (40) FTE's total? | Three (3) TOs of forty (40) FTE's each (for a total of 120 FTEs) |
| 72 | L.2- Volume I, Past Performance | Will the Government accept past performance from a teammate as part of the offeror's response? | Yes. | |
| 73 | Section M: Evaluation Factors for Award | "Awards will be made to the Offeror(s) whose proposals represent the Best Value to the Government by applying the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection process described in FAR 15.101-2" | Will the Government please clarify this statement, as pricing is not being submitted as part of this proposal? | IDIQ awards will be evaluated using the LPTA process, but without price. Price will be a factor for Task Order awards. Price will not be evaluated. The class deviation applies as stated in the RFP. (Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy Class Deviation 2018-O0006 –Evaluation Factors for Certain Multiple-Award Task or Delivery-Order Contracts) |
| 74 | Attachment 5 | The Past Performance criteria for Employee Retention/Attraction and Cost/Price Performance have the exact same criteria which does not apply to Cost/Price Performance. | The three statements (E1, E2, and E3) under Cost / Price Performance should be interpreted as they relate to Cost / Price Performance. | |
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W911QY-18-R-0008
Questions and Answers 74 Total Questions 31 August 2018
File details come from the government source that posted it.