07-18-2019_Vendor__Questions_Final.pdf

Responses to Contractor Questions:

1. Is there an incumbent currently performing this work? If so, who? Can you comment on their performance?

Government’s response: This is a follow-on requirement. The Government does not provide or comment on any vendor performance.

2. Can the government please provide the current level of effort for performing this work?

Government’s response: The Government is unable to provide a response as it is not clear what is being asked.

3. The PWS states that there are currently 250+ classrooms outfitted with ECP equipment. How many end user devices are there in each classroom and what are they? Please provide a list of the equipment.

Government’s response: Computers, television monitors, printers, display systems, audio, AV matrix routing, AV system control, etc.

4. The PWS states that all 550 classrooms are to receive equipment upgrades via the ECP over the next several years. Does the government anticipate an increase in the LOE as the # of classrooms grows?

Government’s response: The Government is unable to provide a response as it is not clear what is what LOE is.

5. The PWS states that we are to include in our bid and furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities, services, travel, etc. to perform this work. Please confirm that the contractor IT team will be working out of government spaces in Ft. Gordon with travel only required among the local buildings. Please confirm the contractor does not need to provide a facility at which our personnel will be physically located.

Government’s response: The Contractor will occupy a space in a Government furnished facility.

Travel outside of Fort Gordon is not required.

6. Bullet 10 specifies certifications that proposed personnel are to possess. Some of the certifications listed are dated (e.g., DOS, COBOL). Please confirm that the list of required certifications is correct.

Government’s response: The list of certifications under Subfactor 1A: Technical ability is correct.

7. Bullet 10 specifies certifications that proposed personnel are to possess. Please confirm that all of these are required as actual certifications rather than tools for which the personnel have experience.

Government’s response: All certifications are requirements with working knowledge.

8. A+ and NW+ are listed as required certifications. In accordance with DoD 8570, having a Security+ certification supersedes the need for A+ and NW+. Is it acceptable that proposed personnel have a Security+ certification in lieu of the A+ and NW+ certifications?

Government’s response: Yes, it is acceptable that proposed personnel have a Security+ certification in lieu of the A+ and NW+ certifications?

9. Does the Government expect each proposed personnel to have all of the certifications listed or does it suffice that all the certifications are covered by the entire team as a collective group?

Government’s response: All Contractor personnel shall have all certifications with Certified Technology Specialist (CTS).

10. The PWS states the Government will award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract. Section 5.4 of the PWS requires the contractor to provide labor hours worked. Please clarify the type of contract. Is it to be a FFP Labor Hour or FFP Completion based contract?

Government’s response: Firm Fixed Price. The Contractor shall report ALL Contractor labor hours (including subcontractor labor hours) required for performance of services provided under this contract for the CCOE via a secure data collection site. The Contractor is required to completely fill in all required data fields using the following web address: http://www.ecmra.mil.

11. The RFP states “This is a best value source selection”; however, at the end of paragraph (1) it also states “… whose proposal … represents the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable offer.” Further, paragraph (2) states “Trade-offs between cost/price and non-cost/price factors are not permitted.”

Please clarify the evaluation criteria.

Government’s response: The evaluation criteria utilized under FAR 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items will be utilized. Please refer to FAR 15.101-2(a) as well.

12. The PWS refers to a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). Please confirm that the referenced

QASP is the Technical Exhibit 1, Performance Requirements Summary TRADOC ECP Training Support

Government’s response: No it is not. Technical Exhibit 1 is a Performance Requirements Summary.

13. Does 'schedule coordination' equate to the PM being responsible for creating and originating work schedules independent of the government/department? Or, will the scheduling duty consist of placing contract staff into shifts pre-established by the government/department?

Government’s Response: No there is no shift work. Please refer to Section 1.6.3 Hours of Operation for detailed information.

14. If the government is recognizing EO 13706, would the government consider re-adjusting the 1920 labor hours noted in the solicitation to reflect 1864 labor hours for accuracy, and in compliance with the EO?

Government’s Response: No, the Government’s requirement will remain unchanged. A minimum of two personnel will be present during operation.

15. Given the potential for increased labor hours, would the government consider reserving an OT CLIN to prevent the possible need for a future modification?

Government’s response: The requirement remains unchanged.

http://www.ecmra.mil/

16. Is this a new requirement, or are similar services being performed on any level currently? If so, could the government share the current contract information?

Government response: This is a follow-on requirement. The Government does not share any vendor contract information.

17. Is this a new requirement? If so, would the Government please provide the contract name/title and/or vendor name?

Government response: This is a follow-on requirement. The Government does not share any vendor contract information.

18. Pg. 7 of RFP indicates the period of performance is one (1) base period and four (4) option periods, however, pages 2-3 seems to indicate a period of performance of one (1) base period and two (2) option periods. Please clarify which one is correct.

Government’s response: The period of performance contains a base and two one year options.

3. Does the Government have a helpdesk system in place, if so, what is it? Please provide metrics for the last year/quarter i.e., Tier 1 vs Tier 2, # open, and average closure rate.

Government response: The Government is unable to provide this information.

4. Does the Government have a CM system in place to keep track of releases/builds? If so, please provide the name.

Government response: Government is clear what CM stands for. As a result it is unable to respond.

5. Pg. 12, section 1.6.7 of the solicitation, the Government requests backfill of key personnel in five

(5) days? Is this business or calendars days? Also, industry standard time to backfill a position is 2 weeks or ten (10) business days upon receipt of resignation notice or terminating an employee. Will the Government consider amending the requirement to be consistent with industry standards for replacement of key personnel?

Government Response: No.

6. Pg. 13, section 1.6.10 of the solicitation, the Government indicates the Program Manager and System Administrator are key personnel. The total head count according to the PWS is three (3) Systems Administrators. Please confirm all three System Administrators are considered key personnel.

Government response: Yes

7. Pg. 19, section 5.2, bullet 2, the Government references contact the “Contractor…”. Is the Government referring to the Program Manager? Please confirm since this is the first reference to this requirement and its unclear who the Government is referring to.

Government response: Please refer to 5.2 again as it is listed in the title.

8. Please advise if the AV equipment is under warranty and has a maintenance agreement with the vendor that includes a Service Level Agreement.

Government response:

9. When was the last time there was an equipment refresh? Was AV a part of the refresh?

Government response:

10. The Government references the development of table to track equipment.

a. How is the Government currently tracking equipment?

b. Will this have to go through the RMF processes? If so, please confirm the Government will provide RFM resources and that this is out of scope for this effort.

Government response:

11. Pg. 12, section 1.6.7.1, the Government states “Posses the following certifications which are needed to run TRADOC ECP Equipment”, listed below. In review of the PWS, Section C Proposal Instructions, Subfactor 1A: Technical Ability, clarification is requested.

a. There is a reference to COBOL that is listed in Subfactor 1A, but not listed in the PWS.

Also, there are no references to software development in the PWS. Will software development be added. Please elaborate how COBOL will be used?

b. Also, the Government states must possess a certification for Windows O/S, MAC O/S, Unix O/S, CCNA Cisco, HTLM, and DOS. These are technologies. Is the Government giving the vendor liberty to determine which certifications may be used to demonstrate compliance with this requirement? If not, please provide the name of the certification that will be used by the Government to demonstrate compliance.

c. DOS is end of life. Please elaborate on what certification must the contractor provide to demonstrate compliance.

12. Pg. 65, Evaluation Criteria. The government listed provide rapid response to user's system malfunction. Can the Government please quantity what is meant by rapid response?

Government response:

13. Pg. 12, section 1.6.7.1, the Government states “Posses the following certifications which are needed to run TRADOC ECP Equipment”, Windows O/S, MAC O/S, Unix O/S, CCNA Cisco, HTLM, and DOS. In review of the PWS, Section C Proposal Instructions, Subfactor 1A: Technical Ability, clarification is requested. There is a reference to Visual Basics that is listed in Subfactor 1A, but not listed in the PWS. Also, there are no references to software development in the PWS. Will software development be added. Please elaborate how Visual Basics will be used and what certification is required to demonstrate compliance?

Government response:

14. Pg. 73. The Government indicates database can be created using Microsoft Excel or ACCESS programs and must be assessable via the Cyber COE internal SharePoint knowledge management website and/or Fort Gordon Lifelong Learning Center (LLC) web portal.

Government response:

15. Please provide version of SharePoint software and who controls licensing. Is the SharePoint on-prem, shared solution, 2016, or 2019? Is the contractor developing SharePoint interface/workflow required to maintain solution once in production?

16. Section 1.5 of the PWS at the bottom of page 7 reads, “The period of Performance shall be for one

(1) base and four (4) 12 month option years.” Page 53 states, “The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 42 Months.” Pages 3 to 6 of the RFP show CLINs 0001/0002, 1001/1002, and 2001/2002 but not CLINs 3001/3002 or 4001/4002. How long is the period of performance?

17. Does the Program Manager need to be located in any particular place, or can he/she be located in the

Contractor’s corporate office?

Government response: Please refer the Performance Work Statement.

18. Are all three System Administrators considered key personnel, or just the most senior System

Administrator?

Government response: Yes. Please refer the Performance Work Statement.

19. Are letters of commitment or letters of intent required along with the resumes that are being submitted?

Government response: Yes.

20. If the Offeror is the lead partner of a joint venture and performed a task order under the joint venture contract as the technical lead, can that task order be used as a past performance?

Government’s response: Please refer to the past performance instruction provided.

21) Can the instructions portion of the Specific Relevant Contracts Sheet be deleted from the submitted Volume II to conserve page space?

Government’s response: Yes.

22) The Specific Relevant Contracts Sheet is in 10-point Times New Roman font. Is this acceptable or should it be expanded to 12-point font before submission?

Government’s response: 12-point font is acceptable.

23) For information provided within tables or graphics, would 9- or 10-point font be acceptable?

Government’s response: 10-point font

24. Is this a new requirement?

Government response: No, it is a follow-on to a previous requirement.

Is this work being conducted by another contractor as part of another contract vehicle? If so, who is the incumbent and what is the contract number? If not, how are the services currently being provided, through contracted employees or military personnel?

Government response: Not sure what is being asked. However, the Government does not provide information regarding its vendors.

25. Network+ and A+ are equivalent IAT Level 1 qualifications. Will the government clarify if both certifications are required, and if so, provide a rationale for this redundancy?

Government response: Both certifications are required, however, Security plus is the preference.

26. The solicitation requires an Associates Degree or higher for the System Administrators. Is there a substitution of experience for education for the System Administrators? If not, will the government provide justification for the Wage Determined requirement of degreed personnel, with specialized certifications, and a security clearance? (Section 1 1.6.7.1 12).

Government Response: There are not substitutions for the education requirement.

27. This section refers to "the current contract". Is there a "current contract" or is this a reference to post award replacements of employees who resign?

Government’s response: No.

28. What type of pretest or practical exercises should the contractor be prepared to execute? Shouldn't these be included in the requirements section of the solicitation?

Government’s response: Contractors are not required to take tests.

Are all three Systems Administrators considered key?

Government’s response: Yes.

29. Will the government confirm the Program Manager annual estimated workload of 60 hours (Technical Exhibit 2) is correct?

Government’s response: It is an estimated workload.

30. Is the term "contract manager" the equivalent of "Program Manager" as used in this section?

Government’s response: The Government is unable to provide a response.

31. If there is no phase in period will the government provide a timeframe after award that ancillary government services (such as CAC issuance) and workstations will be available for contractor use?

Government’s response: Yes.

32. This section indicates Management Plan is due 30 days after award but must are required to be implemented at contract start date - will the government confirm there will be more than 30 days between award and start date?

Government’s response: No the Government cannot.

33. This section indicates this is an LPTA acquisition. The FY 2017 National Defense Act, still referenced by most IT centric procurement officers, states "To the maximum extent practicable, the use of lowest price technically acceptable source selection criteria shall be avoided in the case of a procurement that is predominately for the acquisition of 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". Given the technical nature of this work, education and certification requirements for personnel, and the security clearance requirements will the government provide the rationale for an LPTA acquisition which will likely result in minimally qualified personnel and potential retention challenges for any offeror due to low pay?

Government response: Lowest price technically acceptable remains unchanged.

Attachment 3 Wage Determination 74 The Wage Determination provided is for counties in Texas. Will the government confirm the correct Wage Determination is for the Georgia counties of Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond?

Government response: an updated Wage Determination has been included in the solicitation.

Attachment 3 Wage Determination 74 Will the government confirm if the duties and responsibilities of the System Administrators meet the SCA Section 8(b) Computer Employee exception as described in 29 CFR Part 541, Subpart E - Computer Employees?

Government’s response: No, the Government cannot.