Questions-Answers.pdf

Questions/Answers

CSS_W911S224U6002

Telephone Answering Services for Fort Drum, NY

Q1: Please confirm if this is a non-personal services or a personal services?

A1: This is a non-personal services contract.

Q2: Is this is a follow-on requirement or a new contract? If it is a follow on contract, could you please provide the incumbent contract number and the awarded price?

A2: This is a follow-on requirement. The current contract number is W911S2-19-P-6012. The total awarded amount is $86,714.55.

Q3: How many people are currently working under this contract?

A3: This is a firm fixed price contract. The Contractor is responsible for determining the number of employees necessary to complete the work required per the Performance Work Statement.

Q4: How many FTE's are required to perform under this contract?

A4: This is a firm fixed price contract. The Contractor is responsible for determining the number of employees necessary to complete the work required per the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Q5: Does the contractor employee needs to report on work during Federal holidays?

A5: IAW PWS Paragraphs 1.2 and 5.4.1, Telephone Answering Services shall be provided 24 hours a day, seven days per week, including all Federal holidays.

Q6: Please confirm what are the provided Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) to support for this role, like who shall provide the following: computer, telephone, desk, office space, office equipment, etc.

A6: IAW PWS Paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4, no Government Furnished Supplies or Government Furnished Property will be provided to the Contractor.

Q7: Paragraph 1.3.2.1. General Qualifications, states: “Contractor employees shall be trained, qualified, certified and/or licensed under the requirements specified in this contract prior to starting work.”

- Please confirm what are the license requirement for this role?

A7: There is no licensing requirement for this work.

Q8: Please confirm what are the proposal submission requirements?

A8: Complete document CSS_W911S224U6002 and email to the Government POCs listed in the SAM.gov posting.

Q9: Please confirm where is the place of performance (where will the contractor employee/s report to work) will it be at Fort Drum, New York or at the contractor’s facility?

A9: Work shall occur in the Contractor’s facility.

Q10: Is the Government requiring the offerors/vendor to have a Facility Security Clearance at the time of award?

A10: There is no security clearance requirement for this work.

Q11: Must the facility be “brick and mortar” or is a remote model permissible?

A11: Remote model is permissible. Please note that the Contractor shall provide one incoming phone number for call forwarding from Fort Drum.

Q12: The call volume estimate of 26,500 minutes you provided, is this annually or monthly?

A12: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.8.

Q13: Would you like a recorded greeting?

A13: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.3.

Q14: How would you like a live operator to answer your phones?

A14: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.3.

Q15: What information would you like us to get from your callers?

A15: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.5.1.

Q16: How would you like your messages delivered?

A16: See PWS Paragraphs 5.4.6.1 and 5.6.

Q17: Is secure messaging required?

A17: No.

Q18: Do you receive urgent or emergency calls? If yes, how would you like urgent, or emergency calls delivered?

A18: See PWS Paragraph 5.6.

Q19: What are the office hours? Do you need weekend service?

A19: See PWS Paragraphs 1.2 and 5.4.1.

Q20: I noticed that the previous contract value was near $80K but read in the PWS that 2 people are required to report to work in person 24/7. Am I understanding the requirement correctly?

A20: The PWS does not require a specific number of employees, only the work to be performed. The requirement is for 24/7 telephone answering services.

Q21: Do the contractor employee/s need to have CAC and background check?

A21: No.

Q22: I am trying to figure out how to input the requested information and needed clarification. There are 5 item numbers and I am trying to figure out if these are 5 different depts that need answering services?

A22: This contract is a base year plus 4 option years. CLIN 0001 is for the base year, 1001 is for option year 1, etc.

Each CLIN has a separate period of performance.

Q23: Are you requiring English/ Spanish speaking Telephone operators?

A23: English is the only required language.

Q24: Is there any other language requirement?

A24: No.

Q25: What is the attentive Start Date for this solicitation?

A25: A dates are listed in the document CSS_W911S224U6002. The Period of Performance (work start date) is listed on adobe page 5, and the date quotes are due is listed on adobe page 1.

Q26: What is the current Call volume per month? Can the government provide a month-by-month breakout?

A26: Current monthly breakout is as follows:

MONTH/YEAR MINUTES

Oct-22 1,775

Nov-22 2,493

Dec-22 2,625

Jan-22 2,391

Feb-23 1,087

Mar-23 1,703

Apr-23 2,193

May-23 1,678

Jun-23 1,565

Jul-23 2,093

Aug-23 1,551

Sep-23 1,902

TOTAL MINS: 23,056

Q27: What is the Call Coverage needs?

A27: See PWS Paragraphs 1.2, 5.1, and 5.4.1.

Q28: What is the government’s current CRM?

A28: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.6.1.

Q29: What is the current Phone Service used?

A29: The incumbent Contractor is Telephone Answering Services of Watertown under contract W911S2-19-P-6012.

Q30: How long do recorded calls have to be retained?

A30: Retain written call logs for 60 days. There is no requirement to maintain audio recordings.

Q31: Does the government currently provide Chat?

A31: No.

Q32: Will the contractor be required to schedule Appointments or just deal with emergencies?

A32: See PWS Paragraph 5.6.

Q33: Does the government have readily available Scripting? Or will new scripting be needed?

A33: The Government requires only the scripted greeting listed in PWS Paragraph 5.4.2. The Contractor shall create a script to ensure they obtain all additional information as required in PWS paragraph 5.4.5.1.

Q34: Total number of organizations or transfers, that are require?

A34: All calls will originate from Fort Drum. Call reporting instructions are listed in PWS paragraph 5.6.

Q35: Is there a list of On call personnel and notifications?

A35: See PWS Paragraph 5.6.

Q36: Will a On call Calendar be provided?

A36: See PWS Paragraph 5.6.2.2.

Q37: Will the government require Live Relay?

A37: No.

Q38: Does the government require mobile applications features?

A38: No.

Q39: Does the government require self-booking features as part of the answering services?

A39: See paragraph 5.6.2.3.

Q40: I wanted to know if contract personnel would be provided a facility in order to conduct operations and if contractor needed to provide hardware such as phones and answering machines.

A40: See PWS Paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4.

Q41: As far as the quote, are you only requesting the prices for the 26,500 estimated minutes or the 24/7 work in total.

A41: The Government is requesting a quote in price per minute.

Q42: According to the PWS, Section 1.3.4. Employee Appearance, It states: Contractor employees shall be appropriately dressed including any necessary individual protective clothing and equipment. My question is: Is this an on-site Telephone Answering Service or conducted remotely?

A42: That is standard language in our Performance Work Statement. None of the Contractor employees for this work will be on-site at Fort Drum. They will either work remotely or in the Contractor’s facility.

Q43: I am following up on the subject RFP as it does not appear to list Sections L and M (Instructions to Offerors/Evaluation Factors for Award). Any additional guidance or insight regarding these requirements would be greatly appreciated.

A43: This is not a Request For Proposal under FAR Part 15, this is a Request For Quote under FAR Part 13.

Provisions 52.212-1 and 52.212-2 are included in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation.

Q44: Is the government mandating 8 hour shifts to accomplish 24/7 operations or will other shift length options be acceptable?

A44: The Contractor is responsible for determining shift lengths.

Q45: The PWS states that 2 people are required. If call volume is below 26,500 minutes, can the contractor reduce manning?

A45: See PWS Paragraph 5.4.1.

Q46: Are the proposed staff resumes’ required materials for this submission?

A46: No.

Q47: Does the contracting officer have any Telephone Answering/Monitoring software in mind to be used for this contract?

A47: No.

Q48: Is there an accurate Wage Determination sheet?

A48: The solicitation has been amended to include the current Wage Determination.

Q49: Page 30 where are these forms located?

A49: ARs and DA Forms are available here: https://armypubs.army.mil/. FD Regs are provided by the COR upon request.

Q49: Where do we locate EMS General Awareness Training handouts?

A49: These will be provided by the COR after award.

Q50: Does it have to be a team specifically dedicated to the Government campaign or could the agents be working other campaigns in addition to this?

A50: The Contractor can support other customers at the same time.

Q51: How was the campaign run before?

Q52: The Contractor shall determine how to complete the work required.

Q52: Are there any restrictions as far as using non-US based answering service representatives?

A52: Yes, Contractor employees must be physically located in the United States or its outlying territories.

Q53: What is the expected call volume per day/per hour?

A53: There are too many unknown variables/factors that make it impossible to provide daily or hourly “expected” call volumes. We cannot predict service needs or emergencies; we can only respond to each issue as it’s reported.

Q54: Does the call center have to be located in NY?

Q54: No.

Q55: Are we looking for 5 customer service agents, or 5 slots to be filled around the clock?

Q55: The Contractor shall provide staffing levels IAW PWS Paragraph 5.4.1.

Q56: We understand that the period of performance/contract begins on February 12th. What is the anticipated service start date? How much time will be provided for the implementation of the project?

A56: The first day of the period of performance is the expected work start date.

Q57: The pricing sheet asks for a few for 26,500 minutes per year. How are invoices to be submitted? (Example, monthly invoices for the number of minutes used each month.)

A57: The Contractor shall invoice by number of minutes used. The Contractor may choose the frequency of invoices.

Q58: Can messages be dispatched to on-call personnel via text message?

A58: No.

Q59: Please clarify the “Total number of times personnel checked for messages” item under 5.5. Under which circumstances would government personnel contact the vendor for messages?

A59: This refers to how many times the Answering Service Operator checked their phone system for voicemails from DPW callers/customers.

Q60: How frequently are on-call assignments updated?

A60: Does not occur during normal business hours, see PWS. After hours/holidays/weekends, this will occur at least three times within a 24 hour period (three shifts).

Q61: Is the government willing to use a vendor-provided, secure online portal to update on-call assignments?

A61: No. Our 2nd/3rd/holiday DPW Techs do not have access to computers and do not have government issued smart phones. The most effective way for our DPW Techs to check-in at the beginning of an after-hour/holiday/weekend shift is to call the same phone number that our customers use, that’s programmed to call the answering service operators for emergent issues.

Q62: The PWS lists 24 hours and 7 days a week, however, the service price line sheets on pages 3 to 5 of the amendment doc shows 26,500 mins for each option year, which converts to approximately 18.40 days total. Please advise on which is correct, or if I have misunderstood something.

A62: The Government will pay for minutes used. The Contractor shall provide 24 hour call center service IAW PWS Paragraph 5.4.1.

Q63: Are we required to login to a 3rd party system and/or include Appointment Services?

A63: No.

Q64: In 5.4.5.2. you stated The Contractor shall maintain the automated recording system and make available electronically to DPW Employee daily.

Does the DPW want access to the recording system or are they requiring daily recordings of calls sent electronically daily?

A64: Electronic delivery instructions are in PWS Paragraph 5.4.6.1.

Q65: The PWS mentions that no less than two people are required for answering calls 24 hours a day/7 days per week, and there needs to be 1 shift supervisor for each scheduled shift to provide guidance. Can one of these call answers be dual-hatted as a shift supervisor?

A65: No.

Q66: In the WD provided, what labor category would these call answering and shift supervisor personnel fall under?

A66: The Contractor shall determine the appropriate category.

Q67: What is the maximum number of agents allowed for this contract?

A67: The Government does not list a maximum number of agents, only a minimum.

Q68: Is overtime allowed for the contract?

A68: This is a Firm Fixed Price contract. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to determine how to pay its employees.

Q69: What is the required start and end time for each shift?

A69: The Government requires 24/7 availability. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to determine shift start/stop times.

Q70: What is the average call handle time?

A70: The Government does not have this information.

Q70: What was the annual contract spend over the last 12 months?

A70: $19,634.55.

Q71: Who is the current provider of these services? Are they in good standing with Fort Drum?

A71: Telephone Answering Services of Watertown. Contract performance is satisfactory.

Q72: Has the contract gone full term with all extensions/amendments?

A72: Yes.

Q73: Are you open to alternative pricing methodologies?

Q73: No.

Q74: Are shared resources acceptable? A shared resource is an employee who answers calls on multiple projects, when they are active on a call, they only work on that specific project. (No multi-tasking).

A74: Yes.

Q75: Are shared resources acceptable? A shared resource is an employee who answers calls on multiple projects, when they are active on a call, they only work on that specific project. (No multi-tasking).

A75: Yes.

Q76: Are there any security requirements that are not listed in the RFP?

A76: No, and please note this is a RFQ under FAR Part 13, not a RFP under FAR Part 15.

Q77: Section 5.2 - Log in-out requirements. Since this is a 24/7 project would we be notifying the COR at each shift change? Daily? Or in the event of an outage?

A77: No need to notify COR at shift change. Yes, the COR must be notified if the Contractor encounters a system outage.

Q78: Section 5.4.3 - Contractor shall answer 75% of calls within 4 rings. Each phone system is slightly different, should we assume 3 seconds per ring? (Answer SLA of 75% within 12 seconds?)

A78: The criteria is based on rings, not seconds per ring. Contractor shall answer 75% of calls within 4 rings regardless of phone system.

Q79: For emergencies that affect a large number of people, what are your expectations on service levels during this period?

A79: The Contractor shall the incoming calls and handle in accordance with the supplemental guidance sheet that will be provided to the contractor post-award.

Q80: Will metrics be available for Service Level, Abandon Calls, Average Speed to Answer, etc?

A80: No.

Q81: What is the current rate?

A81: The current rate for Contract W911S2-19-P-6019 is $0.70 per minute.

Q82: Does the current provider have a training manual?

A82: The Government does not have this information.