PFD Solicitation Questions_AnswersRev2.docx

27 May 2020

1) On Page 87, Section L.2.3.2.1, Section 1 Management, Manufacturing, Para 2 it states that offerors need to include “current and historical working quality documentation demonstrating:

· Management Commitment

· Control of Documents

· Human Resources (Training)

· Internal Auditing

· Improvements (Corrective Action, Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement)”

Our company quality documents pertaining to these 5 categories are more than 25 pages in length alone. Can these documents we submitted perhaps in a volume II appendix such that they won’t count against the 25 page limit? If not how can we go about submitting this company documentation with our bid?

Answer: Offerors must adhere to the 25 page limit. If the offeror would like to refer to charts, graphs, tables, photos, etc. in Volume II of their proposal, these may be included as a reference in a volume II appendix. No text will be evaluated in the appendix.

2) Our Quality Management System (QMS) is not currently certified by an accredited 3rd party, however, we are willing to go through the certification process if it is a requirement for the contract. Is 3rd party certification of our QMS a requirement for contract award? Will our proposal receive a rating of “Unacceptable” or "Marginal" for not meeting the requirement to "present a 3rd party certification document" with our proposal since we are not currently certified and are unable to include a 3rd party certification document in our proposal?

Answer: 3rd party certification of the QMS is a requirement. Contractors without certification will be evaluated "Unacceptable" and will not be included in the competitive range.

21 May 2020

1) We need to know when the Log Demo will be scheduled and cannot find it. How many days after IDIQ should/will the Log Demo be scheduled?

Answer: 105 days after contract award, and two days of contractor support.

2) D-7 – Unique Identification (UID) Requirements - We’ve reviewed the referenced FAR/DFAR 211-274-6(a), 252.211-7003, and 252-211-7006; there are several applicable options for which we are seeking clarification.

Is Radio Frequency Identification required at the item, carton, and/or pallet level?

Answer: No, the proposed individual dollar value per PFD will not exceeds threshold for this requirement, but at a minimum, RFID/UID are on the pallets and shipping boxes. The shipping information should be included in the Peckham Shipping instructions. (See attached)

3) C.12.2 – Lot Traceability - Section C.12.2 Lot Traceability directs contractors to “maintain complete and accurate records of the system serial numbers that correspond to each lot produced…”.

Will the Government provide an example of or guidance to the serialization composition and format required?

Answer: No, there are several types of serial numbering systems that can meet this requirement. It is key that product traceability from the end product back through supplier or operator is maintained to reduce product nonconformance inspection.

4) C.8.1– Quality Management Systems (QMS) / C.8.1 and General / L.2.3.2.1 – Proposal Submission Instructions Section C.8.1 states “The contractor shall maintain, operate and continually improve a QMS acceptable to the government in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 or equivalent.”

Section E-1.1 states “Any exceptions to ISO 9001:2015 shall be clearly stated.”

L.2.3.2.1 states “The offerors shall present a 3rd party certification document” in reference to “Proposals shall describe, in detail, the offeror’s Quality Management System (QMS).”

One can infer an inconsistency between these statements; can the Government clarify if 3rd party certification of the QMS is required?

Answer: The supplier will be rated from what is requested in section L of the contract. We are requesting that suppliers meet a 3rd party audit and provide some detailed information to help support their quality system management commitment. There seems to be a consistent overarching theme.

5) Several events, timelines and obligations are triggered after or upon “contract award”.

On the Required Delivery Schedule table (page 45), Time of Delivery is stated as some number of days “after IDIQ award” for several CLINs.

Section C-7.1 states “The contractor shall attend and participate in a technical conference with government contracting and program management technical personnel to be conducted within 30 days after contract award [...]” Section E-1.1 states “After contract award the government will visit the offeror’s manufacturing site to perform an audit of the facility and its manufacturing processes including Process, Logistics, and Quality Management System (QMS)”.

Can the Government clarify whether the references to “After contract award” in sections C-7.1 and E-1.1 is synonymous with the phrasing “after IDIQ award” used in the Required Delivery Schedule?

Answer: After contract award is synonymous with after IDIQ award.

6) As you are no doubt aware, there is an awful lot to do in response to this solicitation in a relatively short time. Could you please extend the due date? Another month would allow us, and the other offerors, sufficient time to properly address all the items required Answer: The government is not extending the solicitation due date at this time.

15 May 2020

1) Is an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) required with the proposal submission?

Answer-Yes

a. If so, for what period? (e.g., year 1 only[?] since that has most of the items and years 2-5 are the same production activities).

Answer-For the duration of the contract.

b. At what level of detail?

Answer-Sufficient to outline what the vendor determines are critical tasks and milestones affecting and driving the proposed schedule.

2) For the final production product, will manuals need to printed as hard copies or is electronic version all that is required?

a. If hard copy printing is needed, how many manuals will need to be printed?

Answer: From CDRL A003- The First, Second, and FRC submissions may be delivered to the Government representative electronically. Each submission shall be sent with a letter of transmittal on Contractor letterhead with appropriate signature blocks completed and will be considered a draft until accepted by the Government.

3) Since the solicitation talks about all things required throughout the entire lifecycle of this contract, at times it is difficult to determine exactly what you want delivered with the proposal submission. For example, some things are only relevant at the Design Validation (DV) phase and the same thing for the Development Testing and Operational Testing DT/OT) phase. Can you please provide a checklist of what items are currently required for each of the five Volumes?

Answer: Please follow the general instructions in Section L.

4) How many offerors will be selected to proceed to the Design Validation (DV) phase?

Answer: There is no set number of offerors that will be determined to be in the competitive range for DV.